Cozy Crisp Days, Pumpkin Soups, and Little Wins

 "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." (Arthur Ashe)

 

Hello, my lovely friends!

    It never fails—the moment Fall officially arrives, our weather changes in a absolute snap. Just over a week ago I was complaining about ninety-degree days, and now we’re floating around in rainy sixties. I’m loving every single bit of it. We’re still in a serious drought around here, so this steady rain has been such a welcomed sight. I’m crossing my fingers that this means we’ll actually get a decent winter with some good snow this year to give the land a break.

We had such a fun week getting out of the house and doing a few Fall things. My mom isn’t really into going out much these days because of her pain—she loves to remind me she’s pushing eighty now and getting around is tough—but every so often she really enjoys it. Last week we managed to get her out for a couple of quick stops. She needed to swing by the bank, and then we hit up Hobby Lobby. She had way too much fun in there, picking out some cute things for Fall and Christmas that I’ll show you later this week. It felt so good to see her out and walking around a bit, using her wheeled walker so she could take a seat whenever she needed a rest.

We actually had plans to go to our garden center’s Fall Festival on Saturday, and I even rescheduled the Twilight Zone marathon I usually host on Twitter to Sunday just to make room for it. But then we realized we’re heading back there next Saturday anyway for their pumpkin weigh-in contest, so we decided to skip the festival and save our energy. Since my Saturday opened up, I still wanted to do something cozy. I remembered it was the very last weekend for our local Farmers Market, so Mike and I hopped in the car and went down. It was absolute perfection outside—not too hot, with just the right cool breeze. I managed to score two full bags of fresh veggies, though you could tell even our local farmers had a rough season with the drought. It breaks my heart seeing how hard it hit the state this year, so here's hoping a heavy winter snow helps us bounce back next spring.

After the market, we popped into World Market so I could hunt down that Pumpkin Ginger soup I fell in love with last year. Success! I also grabbed a few extra treats while we were there: a little coffee syrup sampler packed with autumn flavors, some fun pasta, and a couple of Asian snacks. It was such a good, quiet day out, and honestly, my mom was thrilled to just stay home and have  time with Scoots.

Now we're officially wrapping things up for the season. Our lawn guy did his final mow and is coming back tomorrow to blow out the sprinklers, right on time for three straight days of rain. My garden is still trying its best, though. I have one stubborn tomato plant loaded up with fruit that's finally turning red, and my bell pepper plant randomly woke up and started growing again, even though I know nothing will probably come of it. I definitely need a better game plan for next year so I can start earlier instead of scrambling at the last minute and coming up empty.

All in all, it feels so nice to finally slow down, lean into the chill in the air, and watch the season shift around us. How is the weather holding up where you are—are you already wrapped in sweaters, or are you still waiting on that Fall crispness to hit?

Thank you for sharing a moment of your day with me. I hope the hours ahead treat you kindly and bring you a sense of comfort. Warm wishes, and see you next time!