Friday's 5: Signs of Fall

I realize it's not Friday anymore, but I got a note from a friend (who, by the way, manages to keep up with two blogs and three children) on Friday evening asking what happened to the Friday's 5. "Those are always my favorite posts," she said. Well, flattery will get you everywhere, my dear. It's a day late, but hopefully not a dollar short.

The temps for most of this week have been in the upper 80s and low 90s -- and the forecast for next week looks just as toasty. For some of you, this weather might be making it hard to tell that summer is over.

So just in case you're confused, here are five signs from my house that fall has arrived:

1. I've washed all the beach/pool towels, folded them and tucked them away for next year. Sure, we might make it to the indoor pool now and then, but there's no need to have six towels stacked by the front door now that our neighborhood pool is closed for the season.
2. We've run out of limes. That means we're about to finish off the gin and tonics for the season -- it's our spring/summer drink of choice, but we're inclined toward a nice 7&7 in the fall/winter.
3. Our produce box is on hiatus. They take a two-week break to shift gears from summer veggies to the fall menu, so we're on our own until October. Thinking this will be a good time to use up all those skillet meals I've stashed in the freezer from sales at Harris Teeter.
4. Even thought it's been warm during the day, it cools off enough at night that we can sleep with the A/C off and the windows open. Best. Sleep. Ever.
5. Today we went to the Caniac Carnival, a sure sign that hockey (and fall) is on the way. To be honest, I really don't care so much about hockey -- but being in Raleigh more or less automatically makes us Canes fans, and Junius really loves it. As it turned out, the carnival was super fun and a great way to spend a (hot) fall Saturday -- not to mention that Juni and Pip got invited to be in a group photo with the team (see photo above).

That's what the forecast shows over at our house -- what signs of fall do you see where you live?