Fall is my favorite time of the year, and since we’ve actually started having some fall (rather than pre-winter) weather here in Middle Tennessee, it’s put me in a mind to list a few of my favorite things about the season.

• New TV season starts. With the exception of a few shows I watch on cable that run contrary to the regular season schedule (like the now-shortened Law & Order: Criminal Intent on USA, Primeval on BBC-A, and Army Wives on Lifetime), the new season begins in September (which, when I was in school, I never understood). I’ve already discussed, at length, what I watch. But I just want to give another shout-out to Flash Forward, which is my favorite new show this year.
• LSU Football! Anyone who’s known me for any length of time knows that I’m an LSU football fanatic—though I believe I have mellowed out about it in the past couple of years (since the last National Championship run in 2007).
• Sleeves, Sweaters, and Jackets. Anyone who hates what short/cap sleeves/sleeveless shirts do to our upper arms (i.e., emphasize what doesn’t look good to begin with) is with me on this one. I love it when I can break out the 3/4- and long-sleeved shirts. And I especially love it when it gets cool enough to just throw on a jacket and not have to worry about what top I’m going to wear somewhere. This year, apparently, is the year of the cardigan. I have a few, and I’m okay with that, but I think I look better in the tailored jackets instead of the bulky sweaters. But sometimes, that fluffy sweater is just what’s needed. (In fact, CJ Banks is having a 40% off sale this week, and I went back and got this sweater that I modeled for them a couple of weeks ago—oh, and the tan faux-suede skirt, too.)
• The end of hot weather (at least for a few months). Unlike most people who feel sluggish and hibernative during the cold-weather months, that’s what I feel like during the months when the daily temperature is above about 80 degrees. I have very little tolerance for hot weather—I overheat and dehydrate easily and then end up with a heat-induced migraine. So for me, when the temperature starts falling, my energy level starts rising. Even though the hours of daylight are shorter, I can get much more accomplished during the fall and winter months simply because I have more energy.
• Lower electric bills! Very important . . . when the temperature stays in the 60s and 70s for daytime highs, as it has been doing for the last couple of weeks, I need neither the AC nor the heater running to keep the house comfortably between 68 and 70 degrees. During these months, when there are no extremes to the temperature outside, my electric bill can be as low as $40 (compared to the highest it’s ever been, two years ago when we had five weeks of 100+ temperatures and it was $150).
• Anticipation of the holidays. For someone who lives alone in a city where I’m six to eight hours away from the members of my immediate family, I highly anticipate both Thanksgiving and Christmas because it means I’m going to get to spend time with my family. This year, I won’t get to see my sister’s family at Thanksgiving, which is usually one of the two times that I get to see them during the year. But it makes me glad that I was able to spend a week with them when I went to Baton Rouge early this summer. And I’ll get to see them for the ten or so days I’ll be in BR for Christmas. I also look forward to putting together the “Gift-a-Day” package for my niece and nephews. I remember what it was like to be a little kid and have a present to open every day during December (we had an aunt who did that for us a couple of years), so I’ve revived that tradition and do that for them now. Which means I need to get on the ball and get started shopping for that stuff, since I’ll have to ship it this year!
• Fall Colors. How could I have a list like this and not include my absolute favorite part of fall . . . the changing of the leaves. Here are some pictures I took at Shiloh National Military Park a couple of weeks ago: