We had a great weekend with College Guy and his friend Illinois Guy. As you might imagine, he was “oh so happy” to pose for this picture “for the blog”. But I said, “I have to take a photo – otherwise they won’t believe you actually came home!” Ok, that’s not true. I just like getting at least one photo of him when he’s home. (Well it IS true that I told him I needed photo-evidence for the blog. But mostly, I just wanted a picture for me.) He grew up with a scrapbooking mom – he’s pretty tired of photos, I think. (But boy does he have great albums of his life. Someday he’ll appreciate that, right? Or maybe someday his future wife will appreciate it.)
I did a little shopping today. Never mind that I have waaaay too many emails in my in-box to answer. I paid bills AND scheduled a dentist appointment today, and if you know anything about me, you know that those are two of my least favorite things to do. Susan (The Awesome Assistant) told me I deserved to go shopping. And who am I to argue? So slowly, I’m starting to turn the house over to fall. 
Fall is my absolute favorite season of all and I love doing up the house with all things autumn. It would be smart for me to decorate with what I have first, and then see if there are any holes that need filling. But what fun is that? So today I bought this great gourd, and candle. Tonight I’ll get the rest of the stuff out that I already have (after dealing with all of my emails – I promise). Maybe later in the week I’ll go shopping again to fill in the holes. Don’t tell WH. (Who, by the way, really really appreciated all of your birthday wishes last week! And who, by the way, really really hated that I put a picture of him on the blog in an apron. I got in trouble over that one.) š
Just so you don’t think it was all about fall today, I also got this beautiful pottery mug in the mail today from my new favorite pottery place. The pie plate was a gift from a friend, and I immediately hopped right over to the website to see if he had any mugs. (Actually, my friend was going to buy me mugs, but knew of my “mug problem“. Obviously that didn’t stop me. Obviously that is why I have a mug problem.) John does amazing work and is featured in several museums. I’m happy to have these two pieces from him.
I also found this fun bag today. (Did I mention that I have a bag problem, too? I’m addicted to great bags. sigh. Surely there are some of you out there who share this affliction??) I love the way this gal tied on a bunch of fun ribbons. I tried to get her to make them for us at Loopy, but she is having a hard time keeping enough in stock at the shop where she works. She kept my card, so maybe in the future.
I’m thinking we won’t have an official Sneak Up this week. Only because Susan felt the need to take off to San Diego for the rest of the week. (She needs a vacation from the yarn. Go figure.) And while the other Loopy Elves and I could probably handle a Sneak Up without her, it just wouldn’t be as much fun! So we’ll take a little breather and be back next week with more fun stuff. (“What stuff?”, you ask? Well, we have Yarn Pirate, Yarntini, more Fiesta, more from Schafer, and the new Classic Elite Alpaca Sox yarn, for a start. Plus more of Wendy’s Patterns. And oh BOY, wait until you see our two newest indie dyers! They won’t be here next week – but they’ll be here in October.) Also, we are heading out of town on Friday morning to visit College Guy for Parent’s Weekend at his college. (I know – I’m spoiled, aren’t I?) So orders placed Thursday night and into the weekend, will start shipping on Monday morning.
And now, the September Loopy Loot contest. Since Fall is my favorite season, I’d love to know something that you like about the Fall. Do you have certain family traditions for the season? Special recipes that you make? Decorations that you love? A favorite Fall memory from your childhood? What makes the Fall special for you and your familiy? Leave your answer in the blog comments and we’ll randomly pick one winner. This month, the winner will receive two skeins of highly coveted yarn – a skein of Wollmeise in Raku-Regenbogen (I kept one of these for myself!) PLUS a skein of the beautiful Pumpkin Spice from Yarntini. Woohoo!
Sheri whatbetterwaytocelebrateFallthanwithnewyarnfortheseason?
Fall in New England is Apple-Picking time. Every year growing up we went apple picking as a family. Once we arrived at the orchard, each of us would immediately grab an apple to eat as we went. By the time we left, the four of us had eaten more apples than were in the bag.
But my all time favorite fall activity is the first fireplace-fire of the year. The smoky smell combined with the cool crispness of the air make me want to snuggle under a blanket with my dog and a book or knitting project for hours.
There are too many wonderful things about fall – but to narrow it down, hot apple cider, pumkins farms and petting zoos, crackling of leaves under your feet, warm sweaters on a cool night, highschool football games, good nights of sleep, jack-o-lanterns, my daughter in the sweetest chicken costume ever, snuggling to watch new fall shows, great jeans, handknit socks, fingerless mitts and more knitting. Fall is the best.
Let me start by saying I LOVE HALLOWEEN! Love it love love love it! It is one holiday that is just for fun and fun for all…. no relatives…no cooking…no relatives… get the picture?! Its just a fantabulously fun time of year. I officially decorate inside and out on Sept. 15th so I get a full 6 weeks to enjoy my funhouse… A few favs… my bedding~its the bed in a bag ensemble from “domestications” featuring witches ghosts tombstones… the whole 9 yards… then my magic mirror… via AC MOORE… it temporarily replaces a real mirror in the entryway… but talks to you and shows a glowing ghost! fun fun fun stuff.
When I was a kid we would rake the leaves into a maze pattern that covered our yard and our neighbor’s yard. If we didn’t have enough leaves we would bring bushel baskets of them in from the woods next to our house. You can imagine dad’s reaction!
Now fall means it is cool enough to go back into my pottery studio and work. If you pick me to win the yarn I might send you a mug of my making!
MJ
Summer used to be my favorite season by far but as I’ve ummm, “matured” Fall has become the season of choice. I enjoy the cooler days, outdoor festivals, comfort food cooking and Sunday afternoons spent watching football and knitting. Fall also means bonfires with friends and family, my birthday!, the migration of monarch butterflies and did I mention Sunday afternoon knitting?
āSummer makes me drowsy. Autumn makes me sing. Winter’s pretty lousy, but I hate Spring.ā
Dorothy Parker
Fall always brings back fond memories of my father, long ago deceased. He and I would go out to our garden, chop down the dried corn stalks and assemble Haloween decorations for our front yard. We would tie string around the bundles of corn stalks and finish decorating with pumpkins, also from our garden. My mother would always have pumpkin pies fresh out of the oven for our dinner that evening. You just can’t beat the smells and colors of Autumn!
350 Comments! Good Gravy!!! š
Fall—- it means pumpkin muffins and my newly developed pumpkin spice decaf chai latte that doesn’t have 410 calories, it means apple dumplings and decorating the house for fall (which I have also started).
So—– we’re doing family portraits when college guy is home next, right?
One day in late September I was hiking in the afternoon. The aspens were yellow, and the maples were red. A ray of setting sunlight burst through a maple tree, setting every leaf alight as if on fire. Who knew they were translucent? Give them all to me–leaves that turn purple, leaves that turn brown, leaves that explode in flame and gold and crimson–and then that surprising first snowfall, with flakes as big as Kleenex that ends it all. Yup, I’m an autumn, does it show?
Fall is special to me because I’m originally from Minnesota, but moved to Texas and discovered fall is very different there…no fabulous colors of leaves, no frosty air, no walking through crunchy leaves….so after returning back home from Texas, I truly appreciate the glories of fall each season…give me my colored leaves and I’m a happy girl
I spent my pre-teen and teenage years in southeastern Pennsylvania. My favorite fall things were the amazing colors (golden walnut leaves against black trunks, flaming orange chestnut leaves, glowing red October Glory maple leaves, grass in hayfields turning golden) and the weather (silver-steel skies and dry, cold air–the kind of chill that hurts your lungs when you breathe in too deeply).
And then there’s Halloween. My absolute favorite decorating season. Funny for a girl who doesn’t like orange or earth tones, isn’t it? Love Halloween.
And then there’s the family insanity that is Thanksgiving. Turkey Day has always been at my parents’ house. Mom cooks, I help, Dad cleans. We have assorted aunts, uncles, and cousins over. I play waitress and never have enough to eat because I’m refilling drinks or gravy or whatever. We eat leftovers for three days, then I go home. Nuts, but in a good way. And Mom’s an incredible cook, so the food is great.
Wow, reading your post and some of these comments is really making me look forward to fall more than ever!
We always go apple picking and pumpkin picking, and hiking pretty well every weekend. Of course the girls collect fall leaves and make decorations for the house. They also have a fall fair for their dolls and make mini apple and pumpkin pies.
This year I’m looking forward to decorating our new house with autumn things (I love the candle you got, by the way, Sheri) and especially to starting a new tradition of sitting (and hopefully knitting) around the fireplace in the evenings (we’ve never had a fireplace before). AND our new furniture is coming in two days, so I can’t wait to enjoy it and the fireplace on those cool autumn nights.
Wow! A ton of comments for your contest – probably because of the awesome prizes!
I love cuddling with my husband a little longer in the mornings, and then again, cuddling a little more with my kids. Something about the chill creeping in, and the darkness of the mornings that makes me grab on to the people I love a little more!
I can’t believe you answer each and every blog post. Simply amazing!
Fall is not really my favorite time of year. Sorry. I’m more of a summer girl. But, I do enjoy being able to snuggle up under the light down comforter. It’s a lovely cozy fall thing. I also love Thanksgiving and trying new food! And of course, fall is the perfect excuse for knitting instead of being outside doing yard work.
Thansk for the contest!
What’s not to love about Fall! The colors of this season are my absolute favorites. I much prefer the cooler weather to the heat of the summer, and my body responds with new energy that it lacked when the temps were hitting the 100 mark.
A favorite childhood memory always returns at this time of year, too, as I remember the many rides with my high school band to the various football games to perform during halftime. Good friends and good times!
I don’t necessarily decorate my home with autumn decorations (which I should!), but I surely do enjoy nature’s decorations a great deal. I can’t wait until the trees turn colors!
Sheri, you thought you had a lot of emails before your blog entry — look at them now!! Ha! Well, Autumn is my favorite time of the year for many reasons, but I just love crisp Autumn mornings and the tint the sunlight takes — more of a golden glow. I remember frosty mornings walking to school — white lawns in front of the houses. It was a treat, because we Rarely Ever get snow here. I like spicey smells of home cooking. I love Halloween — have a little ceramic jack-o-lantern on my computer at work and a Gigi black poodle Beanie Baby in a witch’s hat and cape. Autumn is a friendly, coming together and enjoying friends and family time.
Fall was always my favorite time of year growing up because it meant warm sweaters and time with all of the family at Thanksgiving.
Now that I’ve gone away for school autumn has been a rather disappointing time of year – mostly because I don’t get to see the family for the holidays anymore. Something about that crisp air makes me miss them even more. So now I’m working hard to create my own fall traditions that don’t rely on me being with others to enjoy. Yarn helps immensely. š
Fall doesn’t come very early here in Davis, California. We’re just now beginning to have weather in the mid-80’s, but even so from long family traditions learned in the State of Washington, I transition to soups and stews, a favorite being the following:
Roasted Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder (a recipe I gleaned from the Heartline Cafe in Sedona, Arizona a few years ago)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and toss the following in a large mixing bowl:
2 cups corn kernels
1 sweet potatoe, peeled and diced
1 white potato, peeled and diced
1 T. olive oil
1 tsp. chili powder (or sometimes I use Thai red pepper with garlic)
1/2 tsp. coriander
3/4 tsp. cumin
black pepper
kosher salt
Roast for about 25 minutes, turning occasionally…until golden brown.
Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, saute a medium onion, large carrot, a couple of stalks of celery – all peeled and diced – in 1/2 c. of butter. Add a couple of teaspoons of minced garlic and 1/2 cup of roasted red bell peppers. Saute for a few minutes. Add 4 cups of chicken stock and 2 cups of (I use half and half, but I’m sure Heartline uses heavy cream). Simmer for a few more minutes. Add another 2 cups of cream and simmer until volume has reduced. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
If you want a thicker soup, you can make some equal part butter/flour balls to add to the simmering soup.
Another favorite is Butternut Squash Soup…yummm! Hungry just thinking about either one.
And, of course, fall means the grandchildren disappear…but look forward to a big family Thanksgiving celebration when they return home.
I’m looking forward to first visit from our College Girl, who has been at UCBerkeley for a few weeks now…semester system. We go to watch her run in Stanford Invitational cross country race on Sept. 19th…looking forward to it.
Joan
Jeeze Sheri, you have more comments than the Harlot today! Fall, living in FL I miss Autumn the most. I miss the crisp air that smells of dry leaves and wood burning and the sharpening of the senses it brings. Raking every leaf withing a mile of the house just to make a gargantuan pile to dive into! The fresh baked cranberry pear cobbler with oats and almonds, mmm. The pumpkins in bloom with the promise of Thanksgiving and even the holidays not far behind. Time to get cozy. I also share your bag fettish š Happy fall!
I too love Fall but hate how many calories one consumes with this time of the year. I love and am addicted to pumpkin . From pumpkin pancakes, to pumpkin pies, I love the mall!!! I especially love to make a pumpkin/cranberry bread. The tartness of the cranberries makes this dessert ever so yummy.
Then the day the students ( Iam a teacher) leave for their Thanksgiving break we always have a pumpin day where we do experiments and decorate our pumpkins. I like to take some of the seeds and toast them for the students. it is always funny to watch their expressions as they eat something new to them. We also make individual no cook pumpkin pies.
Wow!! The first time I visit your site and you’re holding a contest! Cool!
Well…a fun fall time for me was when my sisters and I were supposed to be raking the leaves. (I’m originally from RI so we always had a lot of leaves.) I say supposed to because we played more than we raked. It took us hours!!
I remember having contests. One of them was to see who could balance the rake the longest on your hand….so that the “teeth” were way up in the air. I won of course. š I got so good I could walk with it on my palm and go all around the house. We lived on a corner lot so that meant a front and back yard and 2 sides!
Funny the things you remember. š
ChristyH loves fall because she can close her windows, while I love fall because I can *open* my windows. Ahh…finally, a breath of fresh air! That sweet, breathable air carries signals of imminent change, and I get a little flustered at the prospect of new things on the way. I feel like a kid again, as if anything is possible!
My favorite thing to do in the fall is sit in my front yard under the aspen tree when the yellow leaves are falling all around me, listen to my ipod, and knit! When not knitting, I still sit there and read and drink a glass of wine. Since I live across the street from a small college, on Saturday afternoons, I can hear some of the cheers from the football game, if the wind is right. Also, fall is when we can have our first evening fire in the woodstove. That’s always the harbinger of cooler nights, as we move toward winter. One fall tradition we have is traveling from Lake City CO over Engineer Pass to Silverton to see the leaves. Right at 12K ft at the top of the pass, and the view of San Juans is spectacular. Finally, on Sept. 22, I’m going to begin re-reading The Lord of the Rings triology. Perfect reading for sitting under that tree!
I LOVE pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and apple pie with a dollop of real whipped cream. So I look forward to fall to endulge in those. I probably won’t make them until Thanksgiving, but the smell and flavor of those are just yummy.
I also enjoy the colors of fall. Now that I live in Phoenix, I must travel somewhere to enjoy the changing leaves and crisp air. However, living in Phoenix, I also look forward to cooler temps and opening up the house. It’s funny how opposite my life has become moving here (from the midwest).
As far as knitting goes, I’m really looking forward to knitting up some wooly sweaters, which is something I avoid in the summer.
The air – the temperature, the smell, the crispness is wonderful. It’s new and it gives me flashbacks to past Falls at the same time.
My favrite thing about fall is food related, of course.. Apple Cider. YUM! and Squash. I love cooking and eating squash and I am always happy when it shows up in the store.
Fall has always been very special for me, not because of any great family traditions but because of the colors. Fall is when I got married, October will be my 2nd wedding anniversary. The oranges and reds and yellows and golds ……aaaahhh just thinking about it is breathtaking. Another reason I love Fall is the change in temperature, I’ve never been fond of the heat so the lower temperatures are always something to look forward too.
Fall in North Florida means less humidity, beautiful sunny days, college football and colorful birds we don’t normally see passing through to points further south. And sometimes a big old bunch of ‘liquid sunshine’ like now!
As others have said, I love watching the color of the leaves change and the cooler, crisp air!
hmmm….well other than being my favorite season of the year. Sweater season…lol. I remember fresh pumpkin pies, potato soup, homemade apple cider and hayrack rides with our church groups. But the one thing I really enjoyed was making crayon leaves in school. We would color our little brains out in school (second grade I think) then take all our left over crayons sharpen them saving the shavings and place them between two sheets of wax paper we then covered them with construction paper (I always took the green and yellow ones) and then pressed them with a hot iron till the wax melted. When they had cooled we cut them into different leaf shapes and hung them on the classroom windows. It creates a cheap stained-glass effect. I remember sitting there drinking hot cocoa eating my graham crackers and falling in love with the autumn colors. It has been 32 years since second grade and my mother now tells me everytime I take on a new hobbies (spinning, weaving, scrapbooking…..a new sock pattern..lol) It would be cheaper to by a box of crayons. She has known for years my creativity comes from being exposed to different color combinations not hobbies. (wait until she discovers my texture fetish……LOL!). I still have my crayons and after all this time I still drink my cocoa every autumn. (I switch to peppermint and hot tea at thanksgiving..lol). Hark……I hear a sock calling my name……..!!!
Fall means going to the local farm market with my kids to go through the giant corn stalk teepees that are decorated with jack-o-laterns and kitchy Halloween decorations. (My mom used to take me, my sister and brother to the same place.) The kids love it !! And so do I!!
Fall also means getting out the crockpot and making extra hearty meals. Making soup and homemade bread.
Fall means much discussion and planning for kids’ Halloween costumes.
Fall means buying yarn for planned Christmas gifts. The gift that gives twice — once when I buy it and again when I give a finished piece to a loved one.
š
So many things, so much abundance!
Very simple choice for me: Crisp mornings, where I make my breakfast oatmeal and stir in spicy pumpkin butter made in Amish country. Mmmmmm. . . . .. . .. .
Fall is my aboslute favorite time of year! The smell of the crisp clean air here in Maine overwhelms me – I actually get a little gitty when fall first hits! lol. But I think my favorite childhood memory has to be of me, my mother, and my grandmother riding on the back of a wooden wagon attached to the tracktor collecting the harvest’s pumpkins, brining them back up to the house, and painting funny faces on them.
My favorite thing about fall — like my favorite thing about yarn — is color. I love how the nature of fall takes the warmth and the cold from either side of it and just puts it all out there for us to absorb, treasure and appreciate in our own way.
I love the change of seasons, so I like them all… but spring and fall are my most favorite. Fall air is so crisp, and the sky can be so clear, and the wind can get all wild and crazy. It is nice enough to go outside, but not stifling hot. And when I was a child our family used to camp a lot in the fall.
Fall is cookie season! My mom has certain cookie recipes that only come out at Christmas. I, on the other hand, must fight the temptation to start baking now. I don’t think I’ll be fighting it much longer, I am ready to bake.
Of course, I have other reasons to look forward to fall, like my birthday, my husband’s birthday, and the anniversary of our first date (Halloween).
I love the crisp that is in the air come fall, the bright blue skys of Autumn. The yummy apples! When I was a kid all my Aunts and Uncles would gather at my Grandparents house and we would all go their apple orchard and pick apples. Later in the day we would make apple cider with an old apple press. I can still remember how darn good it was, and all the bee’s that where just as interested in the cider as we where!
We take the kids to a local farm that has a pumpkin-fest. We ride a “hay ride”, scurry rides, go through the hay maze and pick out our pumpkins. And I usually talk Mike into buying a few mums. Best thing about fall we get to wear our hand-knits! I love Fall, its my favorite season too : )
We love fall in our house –our wedding anniversary (and my birthday!) plus several other birthdays and anniversaries, apple-picking and the subsequent pie, apple butter and cider bonanaza. Blue skies and amazing New England foliage. But the real thing I love about fall is that my 2 favorite sports are happening at the same time–it’s the height of baseball season (Red Sox fans just LOVE this time of year) and the beginning of the hockey season. Joy! (and knitting time!)
Fall has become my favorite season ever since I moved to the east coast. In California, there wasn’t a fall. But now that I live in New York, fall means it stops being unbearably hot in the city and the stench of the subway isn’t that bad. It also means a return to hot showers and sweaters and jackets and most of all boots!
I have a shoe problem.
What makes fall special for my family is.. well, birthdays. Fall is the season for birthdays in this household- and I don’t care what anyone says, I’m from the NORTH and I count September as fall- because that’s when leaves turn and whatnot! Fall is when all the fun holidays happen, too- getting dressed up for Halloween, eating TURKEY on Thanksgiving (I love thanksgiving.. turkey is the best).. It’s also a time when I really think about “Home” where i grew up- New York. There’s all the “closing down” you do in the fall- when I was in college fall was when the dining hall got fresh apple cider and my classes revolved around apples and fall orchard fruits, going to wineries to see new wine being made, making grapevine wreathes from the pruned vines… It’s such a fun time!
Fall is my favorite time of year. We’re big apple and cider fans around here, so nothing beats a trip to the orchard. I love the cool days and the return of sweaters, sweatshirts and warm socks. While I do regret the shortening days, it’s wonderful to hunker down on the couch with a quilt and a project to work on.
There are lots of things I like about fall. One of them is that it gets cool enough for us to start using the wood cookstove again (something I really miss when I’m away at school like I am right now). It seems to make the biggest difference in the morning – it’s so nice to wake up on a crisp morning and lean against the stove for a bit to warm up, and then to eat a good hot breakfast (often courtesy of my dad) instead of just whatever’s handy. Also, the wood stove is way better for baking than anything else I’ve tried.
Fall always brings back memories, mostly of my Pop, who was a baker for 47 years at a local bakery. He would have my 3 sisters, me & sometimes my brother (& in later years my kids & husband were pressed into service) squeezing grapes for grape pies, baking pumpkin, fruit & custard pies & starting to take orders for Thanksgiving, in addition to our normal baking/wedding/catering orders. We baked turkeys, made the stuffing & gravy & sold all the dinner rolls & pies for Thanksgiving dinner, we even sliced the turkey if you wanted it really ready to go. We usually were booked by the first week of October. Fall usually meant my Pop would work 7 days a week 14 to 16 hour days & not a one of us could keep up with him – & he was usually singing while he worked!!!
Fall is by far my favorite time of year. I live in southern Indiana, and the rolling hills are absolutely stunning in there beauty. I love the crisp air, I feel more alive than I have in months. Fires in the woodstove on cool nights. Earthy and radiant fall colors are my favorite, and I can start wearing more wooly goodness. Oh, now I’m all excited and can’t wait for it to actually get here! (We went shopping for a different woodstove today, even though it was 84.)
Fall is undeniably my FAVORITE for sooo many reasons:perfect hoodie weather. Leaves changing. Caramel apples, apple cider, apple pie. My mother’s famous Autumn Soup, which is now treasured by my DH & stepdaughter. Curling up under a blanket with the windows open in the house. Fresh baked bread. Seriously, need I go on?!
I love the fall time! What I love? I know it’s not the best for the environment but I love the smell of leaves burning, logs crackling while we sit around a campfire roasting a hot dog or making s’mores.
I bring out my favorite fall candles. Smells of cinnamon, baked apple pie (home interiors!), cloves and pumpkin fill the house. And aromas of chili and soup beans fill the air.
I love apples and Fall is when apple picking is at it’s best. For many years we would pick apples and make lots of applesauce to can or freeze for the winter. (It tastes so good in the middle of winter!) I love the cooler weather and the changing colors of the leaves. I love everything Fall. (Except for the fact that it precedes Winter, and that it is always too short!)
For me, it is all about pumpkins….pumpkin bread (we go through about a loaf a week – my son and I make it), pumpkin candles, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin shakes, pumpkin ice cream…you get the idea. We also make our annual trip to the pumpkin patch with our boys to pick out our pumpkins to carve. I love the little ones myself – so cute. We usually make it home with a rather large pumpkin family. And, of course, I love halloween night and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Simpson’s halloween episodes. I really do love the fall! Can’t wait to decorate. We have hit Target’s halloween section on a daily basis waiting for new merch!
I am a native New Englander (Connecticut!) who has relocated to the South (Georgia!), and while I absolutely love my new home, September is always the time of year that makes me miss New England. Everyone starts talking about leaves changing and crisp, cool evenings and breaking out the sweaters and meanwhile it is still summer where I am. Which, don’t get me wrong, really has its benefits! But for my raised-in-Connecticut self, September should be for scarves and hot chocolate and curling up with good books and freezing your fingers off at the beach.
Every fall growing up, we would go apple picking one Saturday and spend the following Sunday making every apple recipe imaginable – apple pies, apple tarts, stuffing with apples, apple cider, yum! That’s something I still try to do ever fall, but apparently it’s pretty uncommon in the South because it’s always hard to find a place that’s open and lets you actually pick your own apples!
So every year now that I live in Georgia, come September I start asking my husband if he might ever want to move back up North (he is from New Jersey), AND THEN. Around mid-to-late October, the first day it gets cold here, I am standing outside with my dog freezing and wonder why in the world I spent the last four weeks wishing it was colder and so very glad winter only lasts three months here… š
I am SO with you on the pumpkin, though. I wish pumpkin was an all year round thing, it is so delicious – the ice cream is one of my favorites, and pumpkin pancakes! There is a bakery here that makes a Pumpkin Cake with cream cheese icing in October/November that is out of this world, so that should be coming back pretty soon!
I’m in southern California now, so fall means there is a chance it might rain and the temps dip down to a chilly 68. :o) But I grew up on the east coast where we would go apple picking every year which meant we had cold storage apples all through the winter and yummy dehydrated apple slices until I ate them all. Oh, and baked apples. I miss hot baked apples which somehow taste so much better when you spent the day picking them yourself. My strongest memory of fall and the thing that most says “fall” to me is taking a walk at dusk and all of a sudden smelling a wood fireplace burning. You know the smell, right? The air just changes and smells so good and somehow you feel warmer even though you’re nowhere near the fire.
My favorite memories revolve around the annual “costume hunt.” Much conversation would be had with the kids and their dad picking out the favorite theme for each year — one year it was a Wizard of Oz theme; the next found us making tubes of toothpaste and mailboxes out of moving boxes. I can still hear my four year old say “This sure is fun,” as he ran from house to house. Now those kids are thirty and twenty-six, but the memories made and sewn those Falls remind me about what fun in a family forges. Now I just make costumes for the occasional party but one of these days I hope to be called into action again — either sitting at my sewing machine or tearing into the stash of costumes just waiting for a grandchild to slip into. Thanks for the jog down Memory Lane.