Summer is ending.  I can’t believe it.  Just today I realized that the summer flowers were all either dead or dying; they will need to be dug up and replaced with hardy mums and flowering cabbages over the weekend.  I love the fall…it is pretty, the air is crisp and it is the perfect time for baking lovely, spicy things.  Unfortunately, the downside of the fall is that it precedes the winter.  If you live in the northeast (or the north anywhere, for that matter) the thought of facing yet another winter may very well make you want to hibernate.  Having survived last year’s wintry hell, this year I have decided to be 100% proactive.  As far as I am concerned although everything may seem dark, cold and dead in the winter, our hope should not be destroyed as well.  In order to give myself something to look forward to I have already booked a trip to a southern destination!  Last year I fled to New Orleans in the early spring and I cannot tell you what it did to buoy my spirits.  I highly recommend planning a little getaway for yourself.  Here are a few planning tips:
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