Labor Day Blues

RHYS BOWEN: It has just hit me that it is officially the end of summer today. Every year it's the same. I look back and ask myself where it went. What happened to those picnics I planned beside the ocean or in a leafy glade? What happened to long afternoons sitting in the shade sipping lemonade and reading? I know I can't really complain. I did spent six weeks in England and Greece and France. Then I was on a book tour, all over the country.

But it's the winding down I'm whining about... the lazy days by a lake with all the time in the world like you see on the commercials where they catch fireflies. The communing with nature. The drifting in a canoe or sleeping under the stars. They never seem to happen. (Maybe it's because my frightfully British husband hates picnics and hates camping even more. The one time we took the family he complained of being cold all night and went out next morning to buy a sleeping bag rated for the top of Everest. He's never been camping since.)
And now autumn is upon us. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. And approaching winter.  I've never been a fan of winter. I suppose I look upon it in a Robert Frost type of way--the harvest being brought in, conscious that the days really are growing fewer for me and my friends.

So tell me, Reds and Readers: do you look forward to fall? Do you enjoy it? And please answer the age old question that worries me every year. Am I allowed to wear white after Labor Day.

HALLIE EPHRON: I keep thinking it's going to be fall and then we get the weather report - another hazy humid 90+ degree day. Can't wait for the air to turn cool and crisp. The problem with fall is that it's too short. Before you know it it's sleeting and then snowing and if we have another winter like last winter, I'll get a lot of writing done because I'm not leaving the house.

LUCY BURDETTE: I totally get your sadness about passing of time, Rhys. Although, like Hallie, I do love fall. What's made a huge difference for us is that we migrate to Key West when it gets cool--we just don't do winter any more, not in New England anyway. Didn't one of our guests last week talk about how he used to hate going back to school? It was my favorite time of year--new clothes, new teachers, new books--I loved it. I think that nostalgia helps with each approaching Labor Day!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: It's all I can do to stop myself from buying huge packs of  lined notebook paper and a new --what did we call them? Binder? With little hole punch reinforcements that you lick, and TABS.  Love tabs. I just cannot get over how quickly the seasons go by, though. Summer simply did not exist this year.  I guess we're all used to that rhythm of back-to-school, and there's a feeling of passages when it arrives, even if we're doing exactly the same thing. With sweaters.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I love all the seasons, passing in turn. As much as I might sigh for a visit to Lucy's Key West in February, I wouldn't want to live anywhere without a full four seasons. Fall is back-to-school, with all the energy and change that that engenders. It's also less yard work, letting the garden die down, and-after a few frosts-not having to worry about ticks when I'm out walking the dogs!

The end of summer always, always feels like it's too soon, and that things have been left undone. I try to treat it like that last half hour before the guests arrive: what hasn't been done, won't be none, so you might as well move on and concentrate on all the fun ahead!

And Rhys, I stand firm on the no white after Labor Day rule, with the exception of tennis shoes, which always got a pass. Sure you COULD wear white shoes or white jeans in September, but what's the point of changing seasons if you can't change how you dress? I love the idea of things in season, temporal pleasures that come and go. So there are no more white shoes...but here comes pumpkin-spiced latte!

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: I wish I could feel wistful about the end of summer, but, quite frankly, I'm ready for this one to be done. Missed one family trip because of a sick senior cat. The kiddo got the flu, which turned into pneumonia and we had to cancel another vacation and his camps. Then we were planning on a last hurrah makeup trip — and I went into my second round of pneumonia. I've also been trying to finish THE QUEEN'S CONSPIRATOR due in (yikes!) less than two weeks, and also gear up for the launch of MRS. ROOSEVELT'S CONFIDANTE on October 27 — all with a kiddo at home, who'd usually be in camp or outside playing.

You'd better believe we're all going to be toasting the end of the summer of '15 and raising a glass to fall and new beginnings!

P.S. White? What is this color of which you speak? Seriously, New Yorkers don't wear a lot of white, even in summer....

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Rhys, if you would prefer not to lament the passing of summer, please come spend August in Texas. We are always desperate for that first nip in the air, for pumpkins and crisp mornings and a hint of woodsmoke. Of course summer does go too quickly, but as usual it's been too hot to do most of those things I daydreamed about last winter anyway...

As for white, I just got a new fall clothing catalog that featured a model wearing white jeans and shirt with a faux suede jacket. I think we can safely be rebels and throw out the "No white after Labor Day" rule!

RHYS: I'm with you, Debs. White when you feel like it. And Susan, I know, I know. I can't tell you how many times I've been to New York and felt like a peacock in the hen house because everyone else is wearing black and I'm in pastels! But this me in a white leather jacket at an upscale boutique when I was on tour with Cara Black. Luckily it was a tad too tight as the price was $2500 and I would have been sooooo tempted!

And Susan, you deserve a long fall break! And Hank, I used to love going back to school too, although we wore uniform so there was never the thrill of new clothes.

So who else looks forward to fall? And who else does NOT like pumpkin spice lattes?

One Last Thing

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Labor Day! That means the end of summer is upon us (or in Texas at least according to the calendar), and what I want to know is WHERE DID IT GO?

Remember when you were a kid and summer stretched endlessly before you? Now it seems to go by in a flash, and this one... just vanished. Yesterday I realized that I've gone the entire summer without eating a cantaloupe. How is that possible? And how can I not have bought tomatoes from the farmer's market? I haven't had a margarita, even on National Margarita Day (yes, there is such a thing) and that is a long standing family tradition. (And I don't mean a restaurant or bar margarita, but my dad's "from scratch" recipe.) I haven't been swimming. (I didn't set up the infamous green inflatable pool this year.) I never managed to put any Sambac jasmine in the pots on my deck. (I love the delicate white flowers, and the scent at night is heavenly.)

To give myself a little credit, I have grilled quite a bit, and spent time in the garden and sitting on the deck, playing with the dogs.  I've watched several summer rainstorms from the swings on the front porch. I've watched dragonflies and fireflies and hummingbirds, and yesterday saw Monarch butterflies for the first time on our Greg's Mist Flower in the front garden.

I did make ice cream, but did not manage my once-or-twice-a-summer treat of a root beer float.

AND I have had exactly two Sunday mornings when the weather was cool enough to allow me to lie in the hammock and day dream for an hour or two, which for me is the absolutely perfect summer Sunday.

REDS, what have YOU missed doing this summer? And can you squeeze it in at the last minute???

HALLIE EPHRON: Yes, the days do seem to speed past. I remember older folks saying that and I wondered what they were going on about.

We have had a glorious summer here in New England, weather-wise. Sunny days and cool nights. We could use a bit of rain, but by now our lilacs are usually moldy from too much of it. We indulged root beer floats -  my go-to dessert in summer, just a small one. And wonderful local tomatoes. All I grow that's edible in my garden in herbs, but it's been so nice to go out and clip some parsley, sage, oregano, and basil.

I want your dad's Margarita recipe, Debs, pretty please?? It doesn't have to be summer for a margarita.

RHYS BOWEN: Where did it go? Every year I make a vow to enjoy summer, slow down, take a picnic to a nearby beach or park and spend the afternoon with a book. And every year Labor Day comes and I realize I've been working every single day. Stupid! I suppose I do always have an end of summer deadline and a new book that comes out in August, and I was in Europe for six weeks in May and June so I can't complain. But I should enjoy simple summer pleasures, slow, lazy days.

Actually my son got married in July and the house was full for a while and we did sit on the balcony talking, laughing and sipping wine until late at night, so that was perfect. And I have a post-summer treat coming up. We're going to a lovely bed and breakfast inn in Pacific Grove for my birthday. Right on the ocean, lovely grounds and Carmel nearby. I vow to sit, relax and do nothing for three days.

DEBS: Wow, Rhys! Three whole days??? I suspect that will be a world record for you:-)  Enjoy!

LUCY BURDETTE: Yes, time has FLOWN by! Good for you Rhys--you deserve every minute! We've eaten a lot from the garden, and are finally seeing these wonderful tomatoes ripen. And John brought in a strawberry tonight--we agreed it was the most amazing strawberry we'd ever eaten. And we've seen lots of friends and family and eaten many cakes. But hmmm, not one single root beer float, which I also love. And we haven't gone to Cape Cod, which I miss. Though I did finally get to yoga on the beach, which was lovely. All in all, a most wonderful summer, just too short...




JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: This summer we didn't make it toOld Orchard Beach for  glorious day of tacky pleasures on the sand and the boardwalk. However, if it's warm enough, we may go tomorrow! Thinking about it, most of what we didn't do this year is related to the weather; as Hallie says, it's been on the cooler side in New England (or, as I've read, we've just gotten used to unnaturally hot summers in the recent past) so the beach, hitting the midcoast or floating in the Saco River just haven't felt like pressing needs. 

We did get lots and lots done on the property, as I've told you about here. And we got to spend a lot of time, all five of us, as a family. I remain aware the time for that is slipping away faster than the end of summer, so I'm grateful for it.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: We have a swimming pool. I did not go in. Not once. And there you have it. We used to have wonderful times floating--we'd get blow-up rafts, and iced tea, and books, and just float around reading. It was so fabulous. That was before THE BOOK. Our garden is still fabulous, and we walk through it and cut flowers almost every day... The dahlias are crazy wonderful now. We did grill out. Yay, us.  We went to Tanglewood, and heard two gorgeous concerts from the BSO.  Ah, we went outside to watch the meteor shower, but I saw only one shooting star. One good part was when I looked at my calendar wrong, and realized I had worried myself out of a whole week. When I got the week back, it was fabulous.

DEBS: Oh, Hank, that cracks me up. Only you would worry yourself out of a whole week... But maybe we should all do that, and then discover that we had a totally FREE week! To do whatever we wanted. Float in pools. Swing in hammocks. Read (rather than write) books. Eat Lucy's tomatoes. And maybe even drink margaritas. (By that pool...)

So, Hallie, for you:

Charlie's Perfect Margarita

1 1/2 oz white premium tequila, 100% agave. (I use Espolito--even the smell is fabulous.)

1/2 oz top quality orange liqueur--no triple sec! (You can use Cointreau, but I use one called Clement Creole Shrubb. It's made in Louisiana--as you might guess--and is a little less sweet with a hint of herby spice. Delish!)

1 to 1 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice. (I use the larger amount--I like my margaritas limey.)

Chill a short glass.  Rub the edge of the chilled glass with a cut lime, then dip the rim in fine kosher or sea salt. Fill with ice, add the other ingredients, garnish with a lime sliver, and enjoy!

If you are making these in a batch, it's best to mix the ingredients in a pitcher, then fill the chilled and prepared glasses. And if you are making a batch, you may appreciate an electric juicer. It takes a lot of limes!

Readers, what have you missed this summer? Can you get anything in this last official weekend?