These mornings I have been waking up thinking of extra blankets.  It is slowly turning into Fall, and though the days are still hot, the early mornings are a little bit chilly.  I love this time of year.  It always reminds me of the beginning of school, which I adore.  I have always thirsted for knowledge and loved organizing.  The school year is a time when it is a little bit cooler, there are new teachers, new classmates and new possibilities.  Add to that the perfect collection of notebooks and writing utensils and I am a happy girl.  The blank page with a pen or pencil in hand is the ultimate of beginnings.  I am so happy to be here in Florence at the start of my second chance, when everything is coming alive again.

The morning is the best time, just before everybody wakes up, when the air is cool and the world is still.  Those out on the street exchange conspiratorial looks, as if we are sharing a secret.  I guess that we are- the world is a different place before the sun comes up in the sky.  The birds just begin to twitter and sing, and everything waits, enveloped in quiet and ready to share the adventures that a new day brings.  It is a wonderful and peaceful way to start the day, to start a year.  I believe Fall is really where a new year begins after the sluggish heat of the Summer.  Time to start preparing anew for opportunity and eventually for winter.  Time to add an extra blanket to the bed.