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After the rainy summer we’ve had here in the northeast, I’ve been more than ready for the sunny-crisp days of autumn. Clear blue skies, plenty of sun to take the edge off the impending cooler temperatures…in my opinion, perfect weather! So when the clouds started rolling in this morning and I could feel the damp chill in the air, my spirits started plummeting.
       Just as I was getting ready for a good wallow, I had a thought about turning the day around. When I decide to take a look on the proverbial "bright side," cold, damp, cloudy days bring a couple of things to mind—crackling fires and steaming hot bowls of soup.

Light a Fire

Instead of barricading myself in my office and trudging through the day’s work—as I am likely to do when I feel myself getting into a funk—I decided to take a different tack. I could keep complaining about the weather and longing for that crackling fire or I could take the matter in hand. So, an armful of logs and an open flue later, I find myself curled up on the couch with my laptop in front of a crackling fire—ready to take on the rest of the day.

Soup’s On!

Now on to that soup! I’ve been thinking a lot lately butternut squash soup. I love the sweet creaminess of this soup and the golden color always seems to lift my spirits. Suddenly, I’m feeling grateful for such a grey and gloomy day; without it, I may not have been inspired to put on my “chef shoes”—a.k.a. fuzzy-lined Crocs—and start oven-roasting and simmering to my heart’s content. So it’s turning out to be a better-than-lovely day, after all, despite its dismal beginning.
    The moral of the story? You have the power to control what kind of day you’re going to have. And if it happens to include a happily crackling fire and a bowl of your favorite soup, all the better!

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