Clean, clean, clean

This weekend, in prepa­ra­tion for a visit from my (Great) Aunt Virginia and her husband Mark, Adam and I did a lot of cleaning. Real cleaning, too — vacu­uming and dusting and organ­ising of random corners filled with stuff. I only saw one closet where some­thing had been stashed away in desper­a­tion, which is pretty good for me!
Ultimately their visit was cut short by time and health and the need for sleep, but it was great to see them even for a short bit. We gave them the grand tour of the (sparkling clean) place, talked a bit about holiday plans, and then they were off! I envied them their drive out the Dulles Greenway and north through Leesburg and into Maryland — the scenery is gorgeous out there, and I’m sure the leaves were starting to turn.
Speaking of leaves, fall on us with a vengeance. After the summer drought left every­thing parched, last week was a solid block of drizzle and rain. The temper­a­tures are drop­ping, leaves are starting to fall, and pump­kins are crop­ping up in door­ways. I put a pot on the stove with mulling spices this weekend because it just seemed to fit with the weather! I received the bulbs I ordered earlier this summer from Brecks, which defi­nitely tells me fall is here — I’ve got to get planting!