Sunday Salon---Fall Edition

Bingley standing on a bed of leaves from the Mountain Ash tree

Fall is here. And it is wonderful.

Weather: rainy and windy.

Fall is my favorite season: It is so wonderful around here in early Fall. The weather starts to turn but it is still warm enough to go outside with a light jacket and feel very comfortable. Favorite foods, pumpkin spice (everything), and fun activities like pumpkins patches and Halloween prep help turn our thoughts away from summer projects. Football games dominate weekends. It is fun to cheer for a favorite team with other fans. Fall is also the time when I start turning inward. It is a season when I can sit and read all day long and not feel guilty. Cooking and baking delicious foods like baked acorn squash, pumpkin muffins, and apple cake are tasks I enjoy.

A magical moment caught on film when Ian saw his pumpkin lit up for the first time. The magic of it took Ian's breath away and he stood transfixed for a full moment.

Today: I made a batch of chili and homemade cinnamon rolls. Both Don and I associate those two foods together because they were paired in our school cafeterias when we were school-aged. After dinner, Don caught me up in a hug saying, "Ah, comfort foods!" I used recipes I found online. If you want to give them a try here are the recipes: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls and Heartwarming Chili.

Pumpkin Patch fun

Leaves: Our Purple Mountain Ash tree is the first tree to dump its leaves in the yard. And dump it has. I love the leaves and wish I could save them in the variety of colors forever. This weekend we swept and blew the leaves off the deck four times. I guess it was a little like shoveling the snow when it is still snowing.

Our Mountain Ash a week before it dumped all its leaves

Books and reading: I actually haven't been reading much lately. I hardly read anything on the trip to Europe and then didn't pick back up the pace once I got home. I think I need to participate in the read-a-thon or something to spur me on. I missed book club this past week due to a sore throat and a stuffed up head, but it didn't matter since I hadn't finished the book. This coming week my other book club should be better since I finished the book for it before going abroad.

Rest in Peace Rep. Elijah Cummings: This week a Representative to Congress from Maryland died. He was an amazing man who always sought justice for oppressed people. He was a model of a fine person and will be greatly missed. 

"I want justice, oceans of it. I want fairness, rivers of it. That's all I want. That's all I want.         ~~~Elijah Cummings 

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