I just put my first soup of the year in the crockpot. Yesterday in Chicago it was close to 80 degrees. This morning as I walked to the grocery store to stock up on soup ingredients, it was in the 50s and just a wee bit overcast with a hint of precipitation to come. I will admit, my inner Pacific Northwesterner is happy with this turn of events.

Hopefully, autumn is here for a bit. Really it’s my favorite season. As a kid, it meant the start of the new school year. It’s a chance to wear that new red sweater you bought at the thrift store over the summer. To go for a long walk and crunch some leaves. And to make the first pot of soup before heading to the library.

It’s nice to know that as I hunker down to get serious about finishing up the first chapter of my thesis, a simple vegetable soup is simmering away.

Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that are the best.