October 16

I've lived in California for more than 20 years now, so chances are good that I will never get used to the fact that we don't have traditional seasons. When I was a kid, "Fall" meant flannel shirts and jeans and hay rides and pumpkin patches and colored leaves. Now, "Fall" means "well, it might be cool. But it also might be 90 degrees out. Flip a coin."

So in lieu of lamenting the absence of my favorite season, I joined my peeps on the patio after dinner (on this 90-degree mid-October evening) for some shave ice.

Shave ice is pretty much good on any not-cold day (and honestly, I haven't tested the theory recently, but given my experience with my Snoopy Sno-Cone maker way-back-when, I bet it's pretty good on cold, traditionally winter-y days, too). So although I could do without the October heat, I'm thankful for what is.