Where Did the Summer Go?

I feel like the crickets in Charlotte's Web--you remember, they were singing that the summer is ended and winter is here? Anyway, ever since I came home the summer has felt a little less warm. We've had more chilly days than we have warm days. My tan has pretty much faded. Still have color, but not quite as much. I'm still wearing my Chaco's everywhere and my toenails are still painted pink, so I'm keeping up the allusion of summer. But the other day Mom and I bought new cold weather jackets. I found a green North Face vest and Mom got a leather jacket she's always wanted. So we are in the prep for cold weather.
Dad is rebuilding our deck out front. It is a pain to have to go in and out the back door all the time. The kitty is enjoying it, but our dogs aren't too thrilled. Buddy keeps forgetting and falling on his beak out the front, and Trisket wouldn't survive that jump, not with her short legs. She's getting too old.
Brandt came home for a day and a night and we all spent a soul-sucking, mind-numbing 3 hours at Home Depot picking out lumber. I learned more phrases of carpentry than I know what to do with--flashing, joist hangers, angle brackets, lag screws, galvanized...I guess if I ever have to build something, I'll know what's what.
Mom and I painted last night, so now we are ready for Dad to build the deck. He discovered, once he tore down the old one, that a lot of wood underneath the house right there was rotten, so he had to dig it out and replace it. I think we're good to go now.
I've been writing again! I have a book that I started when I was in college and just never got around to finishing. Life gets hectic and there goes the creative flow. So I started reading it again while I was home and now I'm hooked. I write pages and pages and I thought originally I had a few chapters to go before being finished, but now I know I haven't finished the story. I am on page 300 right now, but I'm only getting started. It's exciting to be writing again. I would like to send this one in and see if I can get published.
Brandt is officially off of probation today! He has been a city firefighter in Helena for one year. He gets a raise and doesn't have to do any more training. And yes, all that you hear about probies having to do all the grunt work at the station for everyone else is true. But he's done! He is pretty excited. He gets confirmed in front of the city counsel on the 24th, so we're going over for that.
Kat got us Elton John tickets for the 30th, so I'll move to Casper on the 28th. I'm excited. Kaelan is a lot of fun, and I enjoyed getting to know Kurt and Kat better. And come January there will be another nephew to play with!