I’m really looking forward to autumn this year (or fall, the term to which I must return now that I’m back in the US). I haven’t had a proper North American fall for more than a decade, and as much as I enjoyed autumn in Canberra, the fact that it was happening in April and May (and that the major holiday of the season was Easter) gave the whole experience a surreal edge.
I’ve always loved fall for all the clichéd reasons—foliage, warm days and cool nights, scuffing through piles of leaves, comfort food—but this year even more so, as it brings the promise of respite from what has seemed like an endless stream of 99F/35C days. Hunkered down in the air conditioning, I’ve had plenty of time to daydream about what it would be like to be able to enjoy being outside again. Here are some of the things I’ve come up with.
Fall (Autumn) Wish List 2010
1. Go apple picking
2. Take Miss B to a pumpkin patch
3. Buy some pumpkins and make jack-o-lanterns
4. Visit some of the slew of fall festivals coming up in and around KC
5. Find out what kind of local produce is available in this part of the world
6. Go to the Farmer’s Market for as long as possible, and arrange winter deliveries for as many things as I can
7. Do at least one batch of canning
8. Experiment with cooking squash
9. Dig up some stuff in the garden and plan/plant for spring
10. Find out more about local foraging in general and mushroom hunting in particular
11. Stock up on wood for the fireplace
12. Take Miss B trick-or-treating for the first time ever
13. Unpack and prepare the Australian doona in the hope that it can take on a Midwest winter
14. Make—and eat—Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in three years
15. Make real hot chocolate
16. Revisit some of my favorite cold-weather foods (italian beef stew apple pie savory oatmeal)
I’ll keep you posted on which (and how many) of these I can fit in before winter sets in. What are your plans for the new season?
4 comments:
I think Miss B needs to attend a real football game. ;)
Hey Southern Girl, thanks for the great suggestion! Do you know, we were discussing that very thing on Sunday when we happened to be driving past KU stadium. Consider it added to the list.
Sounds like a fabulous plan, Nancy! And visiting a pumpkin patch - I've always wanted to do that - will you carve a pumpkin as well?
Definitely--looking forward to my second-ever attempt at pumpkin-carving. Although the squirrels have gotten a head start on the first one we bought. :)
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