Autumn only more so

As I sit here at my desk, the window in front of me is open and there's a strong, warm wind blowing in a drying my hair. It's glorious; it's 76F and wonderfully balmy. Or barmy, from the point of view of a Brit who is definitely not used to this kind of weather in October. I got all the winter woolies out at the weekend and me and the husband ventured up into New Hampshire to see the fall foliage - what amazing colours! It was a little chillier up there. We saw the first snow in the White Mountains and took heaps of pictures of all the pumpkin people and harvest and Halloween paraphernalia. I love this time of year! I am so looking forward to Halloween; here it seems like the Yanks start gearing up for it at the end of September and everyone seems to make an effort in dressing their doorways or windows or gardens. You can get black trees with baubles! It's like Christmas but spookier! I'm really excited about the whole pumpkin thing. I grew up in the north east of England where we used to hollow out turnips with spoons. It was an all-day job, but they do smell rather delicious when they have a candle burning in them and they biodegrade in a really alarming and satisfyingly grotesque way. And of course, you can eat the mash. I'm not sure what I'll do with all the pumpkin innards; I'm really not up on pumpkin recipes, although I am sure they are legion.

I've been told that the temperature is going to suddenly drop. One day we'll be skipping around in our light jumpers, the next we'll be pulling on the thermals. It's all good; when it's colder I'll be writing even more instead of looking out of the window and yearning to go sailing one more time...

Ah! I'm loving it!

The last few weeks I've felt a little bit lonely for the first time during our 7 months here. It's a weird feeling, I'm not normally prone to loneliness at all. I like spending time on my own, I am not the sort who needs people around me and constant activities. However, I have been really missing my good friends from home. It would be lovely to meet up with some of my best girl buds for a drink or a moan or a laugh. It's so fricking difficult to meet new peeps in your thirties unless you have a child or work with folks. The New Englanders are very friendly and welcoming, but they have a reserve - not unlike the Brits - and it's hard to break that wall down. And I've realised how often us Brits bond with humour: a self-deprecating, dry, ironic humour that is widely misunderstood over here. I love the Americans' positivity, but it can be a little alienating in a strange sort of way. We have a couple of friends from the husband's work who are fab, and we're slowly meeting others through joining various clubs and wotnot, but it's a bloody gradual process and sometimes I feel like a bit of a saddo.

However, I've had no excuse not to write! I have been tackling my chick/wit lit novel and I'm on the final leg of my first draft.

The writing is actually going extremely well. At least, in the sense that it's pouring out of me. I'm not convinced that it's particularly good; I think I might have some serious editing and rewriting to tackle in due course, but the flow is there and that's what I'm excited about. I am just shy of the 100,000 word mark and I reckon I'll be finished my first draft in about 2 weeks time. Then it'll be time to bring out the Champagne! In the meantime, I might have to try one of those pumpkin spice lattes...