First gloves of the season

After a really lovely September weather-wise, infinitely superior to August, autumn has arrived. Sunrise is suddenly at 7am*, it's lower in the sky when it gets here, the leaves are turning and geese are honking loudly overhead. Their wings really are audible, when they are low enough. On a walk after work today, I wore gloves, albeit fingerless, and put my hood up against the cold wind. It's quite a nice change, but I can't help but be aware of incoming heating bills...

It would help if I weren't knackered. Big Work Meeting was yesterday and went very well, but preparing for it (at the wrong time of year, making it administratively much more difficult), holding it, and the stupid timetable for writing up after it are no help. I actually quite like the meeting itself, which is often very interesting, but it is inevitably a demanding project.

I have let my home and car insurance just roll over again as I did last year. Car insurance quote actually went down, which undoubtedly means I could pay less elsewhere, but decided it wasn't worth the time investment this year. MOT on Friday, though it actually runs out today. In compensation for all of this, and in anticipation of a season spent indoors, I have treated myself to some paint/coloured pencils/superior paper.

And the Yuletide nominations close tomorrow morning!

*Which as usual at this time of year, and correspondingly in the spring, is playing merry hell with my sleep, though in fairness to the movement of celestial bodies**, Covid and stress probably also have a part to play.

** There's a word for what I'm talking about, I can't remember it.