Is it Sept yet?!

School started two days ago. The stores have had fall decor on the shelves for several weeks. And I'm already seeing halloween as well as Christmas reels in my social media feeds. Unfortunately, the Fahrenheit continues to hover at the century mark. Summer temps take a long time to back off here in the Deep South. Our calendar may be rolling over to September in the next couple weeks, but the serious heat will still be with us for a few months. 

Hoping to hurrying fall along, I recently purchased the cute little mahjong mat below. I took it to play with my mahjong ladies a couple days ago and it was a hit. If you can't beat those folks jumping on all things fall while it's still hot as Hades outside, then might as well join them.

Last weekend we participated as hosts for a Back to School brunch at the club. Guests were encouraged to bring in school supply donations to be made to our local district, and I must say everyone was quite generous. It was good to see more of our friends and neighbors here in the hood as folks slowly trickle back to the Bay from travel and second homes in cooler US climes. 

A few of my husband's first cousins recently drove up from their homes in the Houston area for a visit. My husband's dad is the last surviving sibling of that generation, younger brother to his five older sisters (the cousin's mothers). And so they wanted to get in a visit with their Uncle Sonny before his dementia progresses any further. My husband's mother had a wonderful time because she loves visiting and has known these "boys" their whole lives. She's still pretty on the ball at 89, and so they all enjoyed strolling down memory lane with her and letting her get caught up with the latest news from each branch of the family. We had barbecue catered in, but I whipped up a chocolate sheet cake with cinnamon because it's my mother-in-law's favorite.