How can I tell? Lots of ways.
Nicky was sowing name badges into uniform ready for the beginning of the Autumn term earlier today.
The sporting calendar is moving on: today is the last day of the final major of the golfing year, we've wrapped up the summer test series (even if there is one left, it can only be a bit of an anticlimax after the last few days) and to top it all off, the Premier League is back up and running.
And one other thing - we've had our summer holiday.
Could be a bit depressing really, but as always to counter these things we look forward to holidays to come. We'll be back to Orlando at Christmas, and after lunch today we were planning some of the places we will go for meals whilst we are there (back to Teppan Edo is a must, Christmas Day at the Turf Club at Saratoga is looking like the favourite, and we've all agreed that we must finally make our first visit to the Red Lobster).
However, as well as our Christmas holiday, now that we've had our summer holiday for this year, we can start plotting and planning for next summer. A cruise would definitely be nice, and a trip to Alaska would be a new experience for all of us. Most of those cruises start in Seattle, and by happy chance, we were watching the Food Network (one of our favourite channels!) earlier on today, and there was a programme on all about places to go for delightful desserts and sweet treats.
Some of the places that got a mention were in Seattle.
There was The Confectional, who make mini cheesecakes, the Macrina Bakery, whose coffee cakes looked like a slice of heaven, The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co, who were cupcake-tastic, and the Volunteer Park Cafe, where the homemade treats looked superb.
I think that a few days "sightseeing" in Seattle before getting on a cruise ship could be a great idea.
We're not obsessed by food.
No, really, we're not, honest.
Promise!