The leaves along the road today.


it's October now, and it's cold in London.  i mean, long sleeve shirt under a sweater under a coat-and-scarf cold.  but something i've noticed since moving here is that i'm quite a baby when it comes to cold, blustery weather.

perhaps my blood's too thin from living in sunny Los Angeles for 10 years.  perhaps i have developed a tendency to get cold faster as i get older.  maybe it's the chilly rooms inside my flat, where we're conserving the expensive heating for evenings and even colder days.  i dunno.  what i do know is that while i'm walking around bundled up like it's snowing, i see Londoners walking the same streets next to me in jeans and a t-shirt. 

this is confusing to me.  where do these people come from that they are more than comfortable wearing flip-flops and short sleeves when it's barely 60 degrees outside and extremely windy and/or raining?

yesterday my day's errands had me walking around quite a bit, and it started raining.  of course i had my umbrella in my bag, as i do every day, so i was fine.  but my dear husband who met me for a coffee was wearing a thin windbreaker with a drawstring hood and no brellie.  he walked 20 minutes each way in the rain, his face, hair and half his body getting soaked without wanting an umbrella.  he won't share mine and he doesn't want to own one of his own.  believe me, i've asked him a dozen times.  he claims he doesn't want to have to carry one around.  he'd rather get soaked, even when on the way to work.  clearly, he is an Englishman to the bone.

do my gloves, scarf and umbrella make me stand out like a sore thumb here in England?  i'm not sure.  i do keep my eye out for others dressed in wintery outfits and there are a few.  after all, big scarves on women is extremely in fashion at the moment.  i do feel like a wimpy L.A. girl when adding my big coat and gloves, though.

to be sure, Autumn is upon us here in London, no matter how many people are still strolling about in short sleeves.  this morning while i was out walking i came across a long patch of sidewalk covered with fallen leaves.  as my boots crunched on the leaves i felt happy, smelling that familiar, crisp scent of dying Fall leaves underfoot.  it created a sort of calm in my senses even as i walked along the incredibly noisy Great West Road.

a warm nod to the changing of the seasons.


P.S.
after i wrote the above entry i went out for an errand.  it was bright and sunny so i left my umbrella at home.  by the time i got to my bus stop it was HAILING outside.  not rain.  HAIL.  no shit.  it really is goodbye to Summer!