4. Here comes the autumn

My calendar :)

This Monday was the first day of October, and rain and a cold, piercing wind were an unpleasant surprise to us, who got used to the warm days of the late September. Practically all the trees turn golden yellow from summery green, fading and preparing for a long dark and frosty winter. People have also been started preparing: they look for the warm sweaters and jackets, buy and lay in stock honey and cranberry or currant jam (which my Granny prudently produces for us in summer) and try to be mentally prepared when suddenly (it always occurs suddenly) winter comes (though it seems to me that the only people who are not preparing are communal services which started to repair (or it's better to say tinker) pipes with hot water..).

Cafes these days are crowded, because everybody wants their warm cup of berry tea. This week I've already been to 2 of them: my favourite 2-storeyed Shokoladnitsa (La Belle Chocolatière or Das Schokoladenmädchen - the cafe network is named after this canvas) on Kitai-gorod and Tsiferblat (Clock-dial-plate), where you pay for the time spent in it. And I decided to buy a french press - a very popular tool in such cafes - to make my own favourite "sea-buckthorn"  (as my vocabulary says) tea which helps me, I hope, to get the vitamins and gather the strength for a cold winter and difficult studies.

So, I want to ask you, how are you preparing for the winter? You can leave your answers in the comment section below :D