It's Fall! Go Away!

 RHYS BOWEN:  I know it's Hallie's week, but I'm hijacking the post today as Hallie is up in Utah. And I'm mindful of what today is. September 20. Tonight is the fall equinox, when day and night are of equal length. It also marks the end of summer, beginning of fall. 

And I am not happy.

I do not like fall. I admit the colors are lovely. I spent a wonderful hiking trip once in New Hampshire with the fall foliage at its best. But apart from that I am not pleased when the days get shorter and colder., the leaves turn brown and fall from the trees, the birds fly south.  Fall says to me that winter is coming. Dark, cold days, rain beating on windows.

 It means that we can't do our favorite walks, (the one pictured here is by the Bay) or we have to take our evening walk before five, which messes up the whole afternoon. I suppose it also symbolizes that relentless path to the end of life, which gets closer and closer every day.

I like spring with its flowers and scents and hope of longer, brighter days. I am a big fan of summer, unless it's too hot. For me summer means beaches, picnics, sitting on my balcony on long balmy evenings with a glass of wine, watching the lights come on, one by one, in the valley below and listening to the sounds of night--crickets, frogs, and occasional owl. 

Another thing I do not like about fall is this obsession with all things pumpkin. I am not a fan of pumpkin spice anything, from candles to lattes. No no no. Today in Trader Joe's I saw the ultimate insult. My favorite little ice creams and look what they've done to them! Pumpkin ginger flavor!  No!!!

I'm sure I'm going to get lots of comments saying that you all love fall and look forward to the coziness of winter.  And I do enjoy the thought of an evening by the fire with a good book and a hot cocoa. But I'm essentially an outdoor sort of person. i like windows open in the house. I always take my lunch out onto the balcony to enjoy the view. And, I have to confess, that I do escape from winter by spending most of it in Arizona where the sky is blue and the temperatures are perfect. 

So do I have any other fall-haters out there or am I the only one?

Feelings About Fall

 LUCY BURDETTE: Are you the kind of person who loves to see fall coming? (I know some of you have been suffering through incredible heat this summer and can’t wait for the change.)  I do love the cooler temperatures, and the open windows at night, and fall colors. Last week, I noticed this sign in a nearby neighborhood. Every day during the summer, these neighbors put this board out with high and low tides marked on it, as well as the temperature of the Long Island Sound. Now that summer has officially ended, the board is taking a rest for the winter as well. I got a chuckle out of it, while at the same time it left me feeling a little sad. Time is passing! the board said. Seize your moments now. I will certainly try. I’m hoping to see lots of family and friends, read good books, eat good food, and write good pages this fall and winter, too.

There is also the matter of the silly things that fall brings, like pumpkin spice Cheerios. Really? Does this appeal to you? How do you feel about fall?

HALLIE EPHRON: Having grown up in southern California where there are no seasons (unless wind and fire count), I do appreciate the seasons. I remember the first time I was in Vermont during peak fall foliage and I could not believe how gorgeous it was.

Here, it means time to rake, time to clean the gutters, time to close up the house and make sure the furnace is working. All done. Now I get to just sit back and watch the show. (Photos by Jerry Touger.)

RHYS BOWEN: I’m not a big fan of fall. It reminds me that winter is coming and I hate short dark days. I like to wake up to blue sky and sunshine. I don’t like cold and wet. I don’t like trading my flip flops for boots and socks. And I really don’t like pumpkin spice latte! This is why we fly south with the swallows to Arizona about this time of year.  Sorry if I sound like a grouch!

JENN McKINLAY: Autumn is my favorite season! Probably because I spent my childhood in a small town in the Appalachians in NW Connecticut. Colorful leaves, apple picking, a fire in the fireplace, and the entire town joining in on Halloween with trick or treating. Those are truly some of my happiest memories. And, yes, I love pumpkin spice - coffee and cake and pie - but nothing else, please. Now we have to drive up to Prescott or Sedona to enjoy the aspens changing color but it’s always a wonderful getaway. 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I love fall! It’s gorgeous, it has sweaters and boots and coziness. It smells good, right? and it’s so lovely to walk outside and breathe the gorgeous fresh cool air. 

I love my birthday, and Thanksgiving, and fleecy things. And it’s time to make beef stew and soup. I love how the weather and our instincts are so connected, we just know when it’s the end of iced coffee time, and when we get to wear tights again.

As for pumpkin spice. Okay. I will weigh in. I really love pumpkin spice… In pumpkin pies. Only. That’s all. End of story. Pumpkin pie, love. Pumpkin everything else, not so much. and in coffee, please. I honestly think it’s disgusting. I am so sorry. It’s just me.

You’re all going to say: what about pumpkin muffins and pumpkin scones and I’m sure those are all delicious, but they were just still not be my choice. If there’s a pumpkin soufflé, okay, that might be good. But I am not making it.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I LOVE fall! It's my favorite season. Crisp days or cloudy (rain, please!), cool nights, hot drinks, soups and stews, but most of all just being able to enjoy being outside again.  When the daytime temps fall below 90 I am in heaven. Add fleecy sweaters, cuddly throws, and maybe a little fire in the fireplace. Then all you need is a good book...

Not so big on the pumpkin stuff, though, although happy to have a piece of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Put me in the "Yay for fall" camp, for all the reasons listed above (except for pumpkin Cheerios ?!?) I also love the sense of accomplishment as I cross fall tasks off my list. Get the chimney sweep in, bring the winter clothing down from the attic, have the furnace cleaned, start stacking the wood in the woodroom. There's a particularly cheerful feeling to knowing you and your house are all set for cold weather - which doesn't mean I'd turn down a stay in Key West or Arizona if offered...

 

Thoughts about fall, red readers?

RHYS On HALLOWEEN

 RHYS BOWEN:  I confess, I’m in grumpy mood.  I am not a big fan of fall. To me it means the coming of winter, darker, shorter days. Less time spent outdoors. And pumpkin spice. I am also not a big fan of pumpkin spice although the world seems to be obsessed with it. I even saw an ad for a pumpkin-spice cosmetic serum today!  I’d rather put mud from the backyard on my face.

And my next confession: I’m not a big fan of Halloween. I suppose I didn’t grow up with it and I can see that little kids think it’s wonderful to dress up in scary clothes and get candy from everyone. When I was a child in England there was no such thing as Halloween. I think they always celebrated it in Scotland but I knew nothing of it until my first year in the US. I had recently moved into our first house, just had a baby and… there was a knock on my door one evening, shortly after dark.  I opened it AND there was a child dressed as a black cat standing there. “Trick or treat” she said.  I had no idea what she meant.  She had to explain that I was supposed to give her candy.  I had to search my purse for some quarters instead.

When I think back to my own kids and Halloween I loved the early years when they were happy with store-bought costumes: princess, witch, pirate. Then came the creative years. One year Clare wanted to be a tree. Do you know how hard it is to make a tree in which a child can breathe and move?  And one year one of them wanted to be a dragon. How to attach the tail so it didn’t fall off when they walked? Much late night sewing involved.

After that the scary years: costumes with fangs and dripping blood. Not my thing. But by then they were old enough to go trick or treating alone.  But who had to carve the pumpkins? That's hard work, folks.

And every year there was the triumphant return, the tipping out of candy for mommy to inspect and toss out anything that looked suspect. Then they were allowed to choose a few pieces to eat and the rest went into the pantry where it was soon forgotten and eventually tossed out.

I don’t think we ever got wholeheartedly into the thing, making bowls of fake eyeballs or spaghetti-guts the way some families did. Perhaps I am a person who scares too easily.

I’ve been to a few adult Halloween parties but never came up with brilliant costumes like Hank and Jonathan. Only one sticks in my mind. John had a dark beard at the time so we went as the devil and a fallen angel. We got lost on the way in a dark and leafy neighborhood and stopped a group of teenagers to ask for directions. A boy was happily pointing us in the right direction when he noticed John.  “You’ve got horns” he said in an alarmed voice.

                “Yes, of course. I’m the devil,” John replied as we drove off. That was fun!

So how about you? Did you enjoy Halloween as a child? Do you still enjoy it?  And what about Pumpkin Spice????

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Aw, thank you, Rhys!  I really remember being a princess, and my mother made a pointy hat out of silver cardboard, and put a pink scarf in the point so it floated down the back. Then I had a pink shower curtain as a cape. I’m telling you, I pranced around the house in that outfit for weeks. It was the perfect princess outfit. As an adult, I once dressed up as a teabag, in brown leotard and tights,  and put a clear plastic bag from my knees up to my chin. Then I filled it with scraps of torn up construction paper (brown, orange and black,) and then  tied a string around my neck and hooked a big Constant Comment tag at the bottom. It was pretty funny. ( I don’t think any pictures exist :-)  Thank goodness.)

Then there was the year when Jonathan and I dressed up as the Arcs, Joan of and Noah. Pretty funny. (Some people have no idea what I meant by this. I think I am hilarious, but maybe it’s just me.)

Pumpkin spice? Hard no. To all. Except pie. But that’s another blog.

LUCY BURDETTE: No pumpkin spice for me either! So funny you’d rather put mud on your face than ps serum, Rhys! I have been enjoying fall in New England–, the cooler weather, the colors, the earlier nights. Until I went to the acupuncturist and he said: “Fall always brings us around to death, doesn’t it?” Yikes, I suppose but I hate to think of that!

I do enjoy dressing up too–especially for an occasion like our previous Crime Bake banquets. Though I have to say I think Hank and Jonathan won EVERY ONE OF THOSE CONTESTS. Still, it was fun to think up a costume and know it would be appreciated by all those creative friends.

JENN McKINLAY: I LOVE FALL!!! AND PUMPKIN SPICE!!! AND HALLOWEEN!!! Potentially, it’s because my well known immaturity really gets to shine during this season. Also, I grew up in the mountains of CT, where it was apple picking, pumpkin carving, and gorgeous colorful leaves dropping to the ground like autumn confetti. Glorious! What was it Anne of Green Gables says? “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” or something like that. That’s me. 

I love the dressing up and the passing out of candy and spookifying the house. My fave memory was when the Hooligans went trick or treating on their own for the first time - H1 was death (black cloak and scythe) and H2 was a crash test dummy (you know, the yellow mannequin thingy) - anyway, I made H1 carry my cell phone as they didn’t have their own phones yet and when they were roaming the streets trying to be scary I called them from the landline to check on them and the cell phone piped up with its ringtone “Here Comes the Sun”. *snort*  H1 reported that I killed their creepy vibe. LOL. 

And Rhys the way you recall all of those Halloweens with your littles  - I can tell you had a blast :)  

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I suspect you’d feel differently about it if you lived in New England, Rhys - the spectacular color on century-old trees, the amazing blue sky that only occurs this month, the perfect (in my view) temperatures - crisp and chill in the morning, pleasantly warm in the afternoon.

However, I’ve never gone all-out for Halloween. Honestly, I’m don’t really decorate for any holiday other than Christmas. So I get a few pumpkins (they were carved when the kids were young) and set a couple candles in hurricane lanterns on the porch and call it good. What I did do was make home-sewn costumes, which then evolved into costumes created from our vast, three-trunk store of dress up clothes and accessories. Leopard, witch, Batman, Glamor Witch (that was the Maine Millennial, of course) Roman centurion (reused for the church Nativity pageant!) Old King Cole, sailor (that was prescient) and several princesses. I have no digital copies of any of these, so instead I’ll share a pic of Youngest and her Shih Tzu wearing matching Halloween costumes/jammies. 

HALLIE EPHRON: I love almost everything about Halloween… except pumpkin spice. My neighbors on both sides decorate to beat the bands. This year our neighborhood has sprouted plastic blow-up tableaus with ghosts and dragons and pumpkins. I love it when little kids show up at the door in their costumes.

Pumpkin carving–or watching Jerry carve a pumpkin–was always a special treat. The faces he carved were nothing short of amazing.

For some reason (maybe I was too cheap) I would not buy store-bought costumes for my kids. They claim this caused a major trauma. A homemade Superman outfit did not compare with her classmates whose parents had bought theirs, but we managed a pretty good witch.

 

As adults my daughters make fantastic costumes from almost nothing. One year one of them went as Cher in her TURN BACK TIME video. I leave it to your imagination. I can’t wait to see this year’s get-ups..

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I'm afraid I've always been a bit of a Halloween fail. My mother didn't make costumes so I had store-bought as a child. I didn't do much better by my own daughter, but thankfully she's broken that tradition and my granddaughter has had wonderful costumes. I can't wait to see this year's! 

 

I do like decorating for fall but skipped it this year, with spending almost the whole of October in the UK. I'm glad not to have to worry about disposing of the pumpkins!

 

Lots of Halloween decorations in London, however! Here's a wonderful house on Tite Street in Chelsea.

RHYS: Great pix everyone. So who is a fan of Halloween? Of pumpkin spice?

Get Ready, Get Set, Fall!

 Julia Spencer-Fleming: Last March, I wrote about the things I love as the season slowly began its turn from winter to spring; I thought I should do the same thing for today, as those of us in the Northeast see autumn just over the horizon. I know you folks in Texas and the south are still sweltering, but close your eyes and whisper the magic words to yourself: "Pumpkin Spice."

1. Yeah, pumpkin spice. And apple cider. and, about a month from now when it goes below freezing overnight: warm stews and fresh baked bread. 

  

2. The humidity that felt like we were living in a swamp is gone! My older Shih Tzu Kinglsey can actual make it a full mile on our walk when it's not 86°F and 86% humidity. I don't have to wear my hair clipped up every day (although now it's down I realize I'm way overdue for a haircut.)

3. The glorious show the trees put on every year.  Yes, it's already begun here, with several maples in our area looking like the edge of their still-green leaves have been washed with a pale orange-red water color. It's a display that will grow and glow for the next five or six weeks; one of the best parts of the season.

4. Getting cozy at home. Soon I'll be bringing out the woolly throws and velvety blanket, and we'll wrap up in them to watch movies in front of the roaring woodstove. I'll put red and yellow and gold tablecloths down, and swap out some of the linen sofa pillows for plaid.

5. The outdoor work changes. Believe it or not, I kind of like getting the wood in.  Instead of pushing a lawnmower under a blazing sun, I roll my red wheelbarrow from the woodpile to the wood room, and get nice and warm from the exercise during the time of year when I appreciate it.

6. The local arts scene kicks in. Yes, even this fall, when we're still wearing masks indoors and socially distancing, the theaters, the symphony, and the local music venues are coming back to life. 

7. We see more of our friends! This may be Maine specific, or something people tend to do wherever winter is long and summer is short. When June arrives in Maine, everyone rushes outside to travel, camp, hike, sail, etc., etc. Then, when it cools down and the kids are back in school, we start socializing with each other again. Bonus: half my friends put together fairly sophisticated weather-deflecting area last fall, so we can sit outdoors in comfort well into the season.

8. Related: the tourists go home. We love you, thanks for visiting and spending your money, but as the old song goes, "How can I miss you when you won't go away?"

9. SWEATERS

10. Just... I love the change of seasons. I'm grateful to live in a place with four distinct times of year (and hey, with global warming, we may actually get three months of spring, summer, and fall instead of two!) I love the onset of summer, I love it's special joys, but when September turns the page, I'm ready for something new and different.

How about you, dear readers? What do you love about the fall? 

It's Pumpkin Spice Time, or not!

RHYS BOWEN: It is officially fall. The leaves are turning, there is a nip in the air, Halloween candy has appeared in all the stores AND pumpkin spice has returned to the universe with the punctuality of the swallows coming back to Capistrano.

I have a confession to make that may anger many of you: I do not like pumpkin spice! I can tolerate pumpkin pies, although they are not my favorite. I like pumpkin soup, but not with that cinnamon kind of flavor. But pumpkin spice lattes? Yuck!

It's that season when we are overwhelmed with everything pumpkin spice. The stores are full of pumpkins. Starbucks had a countdown to the day when pumpkin spice latte would become available.
And it seems that pumpkin spice flavor/scent is available in almost everything, from candles (which are actually quite nice) to condoms.

But when I saw this post by my friend Eileen Dreyer on Facebook I felt I had to share. Is it for real? Eileen is an ER nurse so she should know a thing or two.

Should I add a clause to my will stating that in no circumstances am I to be embalmed with pumpkin spice flavored fluid? I will come back to haunt anyone who tries to do this!

So is pumpkin spice a thing that you either love or hate? Who loves it? And who thinks the embalming fluid is going too far?