My sister was born in April and her colors are those of the sea.  She’s happiest when she’s got her toes in the sand and she’s gazing out on the ocean.  She delights in lighthouses and the feel of a warm sun while listening to the sound of waves breaking on the shore.

I’m the opposite.  My heart soars as the sizzling temperatures of summer break and I feel my blood quicken on those first mornings of fall when I step out the door for my morning walk and realize a trip to the coat closet is in order.  I’m a jeans and sweatshirt girl.

My home is decorated in the hues of autumn.  I lean towards deep browns, oranges and reds. Yellow has to be on the gold end of the spectrum.  When I decorate my home for summer I tend toward the deep blues and reds of the Fourth of July rather than the bright pinks, greens and yellows of summer.  This year I brought those hues into my home in preparation for several parties and it wasn’t until a few weeks ago when I switched them out to the colors of fall that I felt centered again.

I was born in October and my theory on the colors and hues that calm me center around the theory that we gravitate towards the things associated with our births.  Am I drawn to fall colors because I associate them with the comfort of being held by my family and the first feelings of belonging that came during that time?  Perhaps my early connections of birthday celebrations that happened in October and brought happiness tied themselves to the colors of that season.  In any case, my hues are autumn’s hues.

It’s been four years since I’ve experienced a northern autumn so I’m pulling these photos out of my archives, most of them taken in Northern Virginia or Ohio.

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My husband and I are in the process of our 24th move since we started our married and Air Force life together 36 years ago.  We’re headed up to Omaha, Nebraska and although we might be a bit late for fall’s glory this year, I’m pretty sure I’ll see it in 2014.  Because I’ve complained about the searing heat of Louisiana for five summers now my husband has decreed I’m not allowed to grumble about being cold when our zip code changes!

We’ll see how that goes….