Fall, Colds, and Cheesy Potatoes

Is it Fall Yet?
I have been asking that all year. Autumn is my favorite season of the year: the temperatures are exactly my comfort zone, the air seems heady like champagne with the smell of wind, dying leaves, harvest and homework.
I am still getting used to is NOT meaning the start of a new school year for me...though it has been three years since it has. What it means these days is planning Holiday presents (I make most of mine), Holiday baking (some of my recipes need to ripen for a month or more), and more importantly--Colds.
Z and I were down with colds this weekend. I wish I could say we used handkerchiefs and dosed ourselves with herbal teas and meditated the illness away with no waste chemicals.
We did not.
Z probably went through three boxes of paper handkerchiefs himself, and I went through half of another. We bought over the counter remedies in all sorts of shrink wrap, bubble pack, gloriously effective wastefulness.
We choose our battles.
To comfort chilly bodies and cranky moods I made a casserole from Our Farm of diced potatoes, ham, green peppers and a cheddar cheesy white sauce.
I must say, trying to use up our CSA I have now made cheese sauce several times from scratch, and get quite a kick out of making it with local butter, flour, milk, AND cheddar cheese. Yum!