Fun times in the fall

2009 has been a strange year for weather in Chicago. Despite the chilly summer and the sometimes cold, sometimes warm(er) fall we're having, there are a few tell-tale signs of fall. Here are some of our favorite fall moments:

1) New music with hot apple cider. We made up our own recipe: 4 1/2 cups of apple cider (which is basically just unfiltered apple juice), 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger. Pour all ingredients into a medium-sized saucepan and simmer for 30 minutes. Mmmmm.

2) New music with a scenic walk. Cooler temperatures make for pleasant, leisurely walks. Add in some colorful leaves and some good tunes and your're good to go!

3) New music with a homemade fire. Inside or outside, fall is the time for sitting by a fire. Don't forget the music, otherwise you're bound to get bored and make up dangerous fire-related games (see 'Fire Jenga'**).

While we realize 'new music'* doesn't always mean 'good music', we're sure that the simple act of listening to new music while doing things mentioned above during the fall season is ALWAYS better than:

1) Realizing we need to find our cold-weather things (or buy new ones). Hat, gloves, ugh.

2) Raking. I bet the Earth did just fine before someone decided that a 'tidy' lawn was the way to go.

3) Constant rain. It's been a very damp fall in Chicago. Enough already.

Now you know what to embrace and what to avoid (unless, of course, you subscribe to the 'clean lawn' theory, in which case you're doomed to hours upon hours of tediously 'tidying' the grassy areas surrounding your house. Lucky you!), try to do everything this fall while listening to music you've never heard before. Our favorite new site to discover new music is Lala because it lets you listen to any song in their database for FREE ONE TIME before having to pay for it. Check it.

* For new music suggestions, visit OUR Lala page.

** 'Fire Jenga' is a game for which you prepare by drinking copious amounts of alcohol. When you're good and drunk and the fire is raging, simply take a log from the pile and place it on top without the burning wood pile crashing down upon itself.