Autumn, snakes, bad news and book signings

I love cold days. Days that are just a little too cold for comfort. Especially the kind where the sky is a crystal clear blue, and the fiery red leaves look painted. It's a horrible distraction while driving, really. I have my qualms with Illinois but the fall certainly isn't one of them.

It has been an interesting week. I got news last week that my 18-year-old cousin fell off a cliff in Isla Vista, California. He fell about 40 feet and was a John Doe for 24 hours. Thankfully, he survived and was conscious just long enough to tell the nurses his name and his mom's phone number. His story can be found here. Something like that has a way of making the days feel deeper and more important. He is doing well but has a very long recovery ahead of him. I'm too far away to really do anything to help my family, and that's hard. But the funds we have raised for his recovery so far is definitely a huge help, and truthfully, it's overwhelming. People who have never met my cousin have donated money to help my family shoulder the load of medical bills. The outpouring of support has been remarkable.

The weekend was wonderful. We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house, the parents of my cousin who fell. My mom lives there now with them, so it was nice to keep her company. Interesting fact...I lived in that same house as a child. We've kept it in the family. The biggest shock for me was the neighborhood trees, which are so much bigger now than they were when I was 7. 

We went to visit this weekend because I had my first dress fitting (!!!) in Chicagoland on Saturday. The dress is always prettier than I remember whenever I put it on. Our wedding day is one year from this Friday! I can't believe it!

Also coming up...I have a signing for my book at the local coffee shop that inspired it. As I was writing the book, I always imagined I would give them a copy of it if I ever had it published. To do a signing there is like a dream! Hopefully people show up so I don't look like a loser...

Finally, a little creepiness for this Halloween season...I found a snake in our bedroom. It was dead, luckily, but I nearly died. I can't handle all that nature. Now every black cord in a shadowy corner in the house freaks me out because I expect it will start slithering.

Happy Tuesday!