Autumn

I love October. Love it. I think it may be my favorite month. Christmas is my favorite holiday--Geoff and I make our "rules for Christmas movies and music allowance" months ahead of everybody else. We decorate before Thanksgiving! But I have come to realize, just today, that I think October is my favorite month.

Reasons:

1. The trees are ablaze with fiery reds, oranges and golds. In Seattle, the evergreens provide a magnificent backdrop and balance of green to these deciduous trees to make them stand out even more. I've always wanted to visit the North East Coast to catch their fall; I've heard it's outstanding.

2. A new start. I realize this is what New Year or Spring is all about, but being a student or having my husband be a student for the last twenty-four years of my life...the fall is the new start. And what happens when Geoff is finished with school? Annalise starts kindergarten. The Fall will always be the beginning of my year and the start of my seasons.

3. It marks the start of all the festivities! Spooky Halloween is fun, Thanksgiving is top-notch, and Christmas--ahhh, my favorite. There is so much gathering of friends and family how can I not love this time?!

4. The cold, crisp air. It is so clean. Add wood burning in a fireplace--the smell in the air outside is tangibly nostalgic to me. It feels so good to breathe it in.

5. You can see your breath when it gets cold enough. Fun. I'm so easily amused...

6. It gets dark outside earlier. I don't know why I like this. I like it just as much as when it stays lighter longer. I like 'em both but get so excited for the change. Though being a mother who puts her children to bed at seven in the evening...the dark hours starting at six o'clock really help.

7. Sweaters and coats. And if you want, scarves and gloves and hats (...oh my!)

8. With the bounty of apples, one should mix apples with sugar and cinnamon and bake the mixture in what will become a flaky, golden crust. (I made a pie a week ago, brushed with egg white and sprinkled with sugar. I also added some leaf shaped crust in areas of the pie. It was beautiful.) Serve with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. When weather demands it, you should also have cider or hot chocolate.

9. Bring out those flannel sheets! While I love my high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, flannel has a divine element all its own.

9. Rainy days. One should take a day to watch old movies, curled up on a couch with cozy socks on. Bonus if the socks just came out of the dryer and they're toasty. That's also the time to enjoy that hot apple pie, cold ice cream, and steaming cider or chocolate.

10. The sticky summer (my least favorite season, by the way) makes me less inclined to cuddle. The cooler weather is fabulous for flirting with my Geoff.

11. Pumpkin pie. It's my favorite.

12. Carved pumpkins. Whenever I am doing the actual carving I seem to always think, "Why am I doing this again?!" My designs get a little labor intensive. But it's tradition. It's fun to see them when their faces are lit up. I was reading tips recently and the article said to seal up the flesh with Vaseline (to last longer), sprinkle cinnamon on the lid (it will smell like pumpkin pie), and create a chimney for it by burning the candle with the lid on, looking for the blackened area on the lid and cutting a small hole in that spot. Another tip: if it gets withered too soon, soak Jack face down in cold water for 8 hours.

13. In Seattle, the wind that blows during this time causes power outages. A lot of people don't like them. I do. The TV is off. The music is turned on, thanks to batteries--or live music, even better. Conversation happens. Candles are lit and beautiful. By the way, a nurse I used to work with (whom had been a labor and delivery nurse for a long time) told me that there is an increased volume of babies delivered nine months after a storm...

That's my list for now. I may add some more as I re-experience this month again for the...29th time...