Ah Fall...leaves turning colors, crisp cool morning, sweater season.  I used to associate each season of the year with certain alcoholic drinks and Fall was no exception.  Fall can also mean a return to routines.  Kids and grandkids are back in school (well….kind of…), and the holidays are right around the corner. 

Which makes this the perfect time to quit or take a break from drinking. 

Um…say what???  Right now I’m guessing you think I’m nuts.  That this is the worst possible time!  The days are getting shorter, it’s getting cold out, the holidays….and Winter is coming!  (Cue Game of Thrones music).  Unless of course you live in the southern hemisphere, or a more tropical environment, but even then there is still the holidays.  How would any of it be bearable without a drink in my hand…Right?? 

Here’s the thing.   We can always find a reason to put it...

So earlier this month I had a really long week.  Due to the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, smoke settled over my little corner of the world and AQI (thats Air Quality Index) became the new buzzword.  The AQI at my home went from Very Unhealthy to Hazardous and back for over a week.  Which meant "don't go outside."  For my dogs that meant "don't go outside unless to potty, then right back inside." So I'm here to tell you that I learned a few things from this experience:

1. I don't like being stuck inside the house

2. My dogs don't like being stuck in the house either.

3. Being stuck in the house with 4 very bored Border Collies is no fun.  

4. The whole smoke situation made me stressed out and grumpy.

There seems to be a whole number of things to be stressed out about today.  Our current political environment, isolation due to Covid, riots, shootings, natural disasters, the list goes on.  

The interesting thing is that many of us...