Hello Girlfriends! I just want to say, your touching comments about our Dads (!), the Peter Rabbit Room, Domesticity City, and the newest recipes, plus all the connections we’ve been making with one another have made me so happy; I’ve been trying to think of a way to show you how much I’ve enjoyed reading them! This Fall Giveaway is the result! xo
Plus, October arrives this weekend! So let’s celebrate all us kindred spirit vagabonds and our wild gypsy blood with this . . .
. . . gorgeous quilt, which will soon be in the hands of some lucky winner! All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment at the bottom of this post, and answer one simple little question: What’s YOUR favorite thing about fall? ♣ Here are some hints and possibilities, to get your clock a tickin’ . . .
If you win, you could do this with your new, old, vintage quilt, and that might be your most favorite thing about fall this year. Putting the sweet in Home Sweet Home.♥
Or maybe you love outsmarting the first freeze and getting the last of the tomatoes in from your garden to ripen on the window sill… because they look so darn cute up there!
Or is it the cozy quiet back-to-school kind of morning when you’re alone in the kitchen with the cinnamon toast?
Or is it the way your house smells with your little dinners of acorn squash and homemade chicken and mushroom soup? That could definitely be it! ♣
You could eat that soup in front of this wonderful old movie, which if you haven’t seen, you would love. Have dinner with Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. Bring your twelve-year-old daughter. ♥ ♥ ♥
Or maybe the change of season is so wonderful because we get to have more fires, turn off all the lights and pretend it’s 1840.
Or could it be the sound the leaves make when we crunch through them and kick them into the air? Don’t we just love it when they cartwheel down the road, tip to tip? Or, when we get to make wishes on the ones we catch in mid-air?
Or is it this, the smell of cedar, juniper trees, bayberry, musky rotting leaves, thick dampness in the air, salt and ocean; being swept along the dirt road by the wind filled with flying leaves; looking at Joe, cute in his black beret, the woodland around us laced with spider webs sparkling with dew on foggy mornings . . . could this be it? Yes, it could!
Or, it could be when we reach under the leaves to discover the freebies in the compost heap, volunteers we didn’t plant? We even got a spaghetti squash this year!
♣ ♣ ♣
It’s a season of the little things in life that make it so special. Let the fun begin! What do you love most about the sweetest season? And btw, not to forget, Hellooooo down there in Aussie Land and everyone south of the equator! Tell us all what it is about spring that makes you fall in love all over again??? Inquiring minds want to know! xoxo Have a wonderful Day! You have until midnight tomorrow night (Wednesday Sept. 28 est.) to comment and be entered!
With Love from the Heart of the Home and Me! ♥
I seem to feel more energized in the fall – maybe it’s the cooler air, the blue-er sky, the colored leaves. Just makes me want to get everything ready to “hunker down”, get cozy. Today was one of those “spend time in the kitchen” days, very relaxing & the time didn’t matter. It was a good day!
Oh, how to choose… one of my favorite things would have to be the beautiful blue of the fall sky and I love how the shadows grow long in the evenings. Fall is such a special time!
Donna
Hard to pick one thing, ’cause I LOVE Fall, so I’ll go with the first thing that entered my head- Pumpkin!!! Everything to do with Pumpkins, the color, the shape, the scent. Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cappucinno, pumpkin spice bars, pumpkin candles, pumpkin butter, pumpkin donuts! I could go on and on, ooh , sweet cinnamon pumpkin body lotion. And a quilt and a pup to cuddle with after this Hazy, Hot, and Humid Hotlanta summer! And I know just where that beautiful quilt would hang, too. Thanks for the chance to own it.
Oh what a beautiful quilt and how wonderful it would be to have it! My favorite thing is the colors of Autumn. I have had a problem embracing this season over the years but I’m making a real effort this year to enjoy it! I just bought new candles in all the shades of Fall…burnt orange, sienna brown and rusty red! Thanks so much! ♥♥♥
My favorite thing about fall is the cool crisp air and the colors. Of all the quilts I’ve made, I have more in fall colors and designs than from any other time of the year.
Fall brings many things to mind, but a favorite of mine comes from a childhood memory…apple cider and spiced wafer cookies. You see, when I was growing up we kind lived out in “the sticks” as some called it. At Halloween we only had a couple streets that we could go around to “Trick or Treat”. No one ever was driven back then. Half the fun was just being out and about in the crisp fall air. We started out walking after dinner and didn’t get to the last house till close to 9:00. We would finally make it over to the other street! The best part of getting there was that Mrs. Johnson, the next to the last house, always had a cup of cool apple cider and some spiced wafer cookies waiting for everyone to have for a snack right. I remember the cookies were in those paper treat bags that you could slip the treats right into. After lugging around out treat bags all night (candy bars were much bigger back then), that cider was just what an almost worn out trick or treater needed. And since Mrs. Johnson knew the cookies would never last till we got to the end of the drive way, she also had some candy for our treat bags too! I always remember those day when I see the grocery stores displaying spiced wafer with the other Halloween stuff.
P.S. I am one of those people who always gives out the big sized candy bars on Halloween and to this day my house has never been toilet papered or my windows soaped. 🙂
No, I am sure you are very popular! 🙂
My love of Autumn starts with the sound of the names of the months: September, October, November which are almost the same in French: Septembre, Octobre, Novembre. Just saying those words brings me joy. I feel the chilly wind, the smell of the leaves, the light that is so special and unique, the colors of the maple trees. I like wearing sweaters, nice scarves and shawls. I like to wrap myselp warmly. We have a special word in Quebec to say that: it is “emmitouflé”.
The cosyness of Fall is also vital to me. Being indoor, drinking lots of tea and most of all reading. It is the season to make “provisions” of books. Piles of books. Piles of stories waiting to be read.
The spirit of Fall. There is nothing more marvelous than that.
Dominique
This is the first time I’ve done something like this!! I read everything you and everyone write, but have never posted a comment.
I love waiting for the Sugar Maple next to my house to show it’s first hint of that magnificent “orangey red”. It’s always the tree that starts things off, slowly changing. None of the other trees, even though beautiful, really compare to that color.
You are so right, the sugar maples are the most amazing!
Dear Susan, What a wonderful “fall” gift for someone! Gosh! That quilt would be a wonderful start to the fall season! I love the fall, because it gives me an energy to start fluffing the nest, meaning changing the house to more of a winter style! Of course, in San Deigo, we don’t have true seasons, but it does eventually start to cool down and the leaves do turn colors and anything baking in the oven smells so yummy! So, covered with a quilt and drinking hot cocoa and eating cookies would be a very sweet time to start the fall season!
Hugs to you!
Look at your name! It’s the perfect fall name!
My most favorite thing about fall is pumpkins! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! There is something so happy about their orange, round shape. I talk to them and get downright giddy when I find just the perfect one to take home with me. I also love the crisp fall air, catching leaves in mid-air and cooking yummy smelling food that will warm my family’s heart and soul. I have a 1 year old grandbaby (my first) and I have been looking for a quilt that can be our special “Grammy and me” quilt for picnics under the fall trees and snuggling on the couch together when she has a cold. Nothing is better than a quilt for creating that special, you are loved feeling that I want to instill in her. Thanks for the opportunity! Hugs…
I love making a big pile of leaves for my children to slide in to. The last couple years they have climbed the slide over and over! The picture of cinnamon toast reminded me of my Grandma. I may need to make myself a piece tonight.
My blog post “Autumn” says it all.
Oh so many things make fall my favorite time of the year but a few things would be – the feel and smell of crisp, cool fall air; seeing a brightly colored leaf floating the the creek; watching the squirrels scamper around on the branches trying to retreive the buckeyes (they must be Ohio State fans!); riding along a road and spotting the first brightly colored leaves on a tree or bush when everything else around is still green; enough of a nip in the air to get out and wear a favorite sweater – well I could go on but these are a few of my favorite things! Happy fall to all!
Gloria Groza (the one who commented above) is my mom and she is the greatest mom in the whole world and deserves to win the quilt hands down! I hope she gets picked! I was one of the kids that ate her wonderful Autumn soup and enjoyed all the love she brought into our home growing up! I will miss her when she moves back to Cali. 🙁 Oh, and my favorite thing about Fall is making a big pot of chili and cuddling on the couch with my wonderful husband for an afternoon of football! GO COWBOYS!!! Love ya Susan! xoxoxxo
Love Love,
Lisa 🙂
Hey Lisa Hay! You made your Mom cry! I love you! You deserve the quilt for those wonderful words! Gloria (Groza)
Mom’s and daughters, my favorite people! Along with sisters, aunts and grandmas, and dads too.
Ooops, almost forgot brothers, grandpas and Uncles!!!
There are many things I like about fall. I love the smells from pumpkin bread, apple crisp and soups. Getting out those sweaters and taking a long walk through the woods and enjoying the breathtaking colors. Sitting on a swing by my children and looking up at the sky with the sun shining through the trees on all the golden and red leaves. But one of my favorite memories is my mom quoting the poem “September” by Helen Hunt Jackson about the golden rod turning yellow, leaves turning brown, trees in the apple orchard with fruit are bending down…. that is just a touch of that poem that brings back childhood memories.
Thanks Susan for the opportunity to win the quilt. It looks perfect for the upcoming Christmas season.
I love sitting outside in the damp, chilly air at night. We light the fire and snuggle down under blankets and just absorb the quiet…we think, stare at the stars, reminisce, and wax poetic about how thankful we are to be alive.
Oh Fall is such a wonderful transition from summer! I love getting more candles and different quilts (the ones with flannel backings) out. And cooking casseroles and soups and grilled cheese with apple and pumpkin desserts. And looking through all the holiday magazines for new Christmas cookie recipes….not that I’ll give up all the family favorites. And even in SoCal I can feel the crisper air most nights so I’ll get out the sweaters to wear with jeans instead of tank tops and flip-flops! And a few wonderful mums to tuck into the planters on the deck…oh I love Fall!
I think I love the smell outside the best of all! That, and the thought that Christmas isn’t too far away!!
What more can I say about fall that has not already been said … except I love to watch children enjoy the fall season … jumping into piles of leaves; picking out their favorite pumpkins at the pumpkin patch; trick or treating on Halloween; and even enjoying the delight of the first snowfall. 🙂
There is a crisp feeling in autumn air that definitely separates it from the soft warm summer and the hard cold winter. Combine it with some blustery winds and you know that autumn has arrived. A walk in the autumn air brings energy and a sense of “let’s get it all finished now!”.
There are so many things about fall that make it my favorite time of the year so a few of them would be – the feel and smell of the crisp, cool air; a brightly colored leaf floating in the creek or a puddle; watching the squirrels scamper around in the trees gathering the buckeyes (they must be Ohio State University fans!); driving along and spotting the first trees or bushes that have burst into brillant colors when all around them the others are still green; being able to go out on a chilly but sunny day wearing a favorite sweater; this year part of the fun was going out and looking at the harvest moon knowing that many other Susan Branch followers were doing the same thing! So many small things that just make me feel alive and happy! Happy fall to all!
The colors of the leaves.
I keep trying to post my comment but it won’t go through. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I am trying this as a test to see if it works this time so I don’t keep sending the same comment over and over in case it finally goes through then people won’t think I’m crrrazy! :O
Here it is! xoxo
Fall nights are the best… cool and crisp.. the days sunny and bright.. love it !
My favorite thing about fall is the feeling of snuggling in at home with soft blankets and the smell of firewood, cinnamon and spices. It reminds me of being a little girl and coming in all cold from playing with my friends outside and seeing my mom in the kitchen cooking. It makes me feel warm, even in the cold, just remembering being with my family and all the happy memories of childhood.
I love the crispness in the air. I love the changing color of the tree leaves. I love apple cider and caramel apples. I love walking in the forest preserves and hearing the leaves crackle under my feet. I love the smell of the pumpkin crisp and pumpkin breads I make.
Hmmm the smells are my favorite. Right after that are the colors, the food, the cool weather, football (and not necessarily in that order).
Probably my favourite thing about fall is planning the warm, nutmeggy desserts that I so enjoy making with my family.
I live in British Columbia and my daughters and I always take a September trip to Kelowna to visit a dear friend. We return with a trunkful of orchard fruit that we make into peach, apple and blackberry pies. We have a favourite fruit stand where we go each year to get the fruit and the girls really look forward to this. My daughters are 11 and 13 and we all pitch in with the cutting and peeling and making the pastry. My husband’s task is to enjoy the scent of the baking pies!
With our Thanksgiving coming up soon too, my taste buds warm with the pumpkin treats…I so love pumpkin loaf and pie.
As much as I love the food, what touches me most is the making of warm memories that our family can look back on.
I have a very best friend who lives in Kelowna. Her name is Jeannie Bird — I always try to go up there, and somehow never quite make it. But she comes to California and we meet there. Say Hi to Kelowna for me!
molasses cookies, cider, long car rides through leaves with the folk music turned up, and curling up under a great quilt!
My FAVORITE casserole EVER: Candy Corn and Blanched Peanuts!
I love, love, love when the gradient colors of the autumn leaves make the trees look like giant snowcones…especially beautiful are the maple trees with various shades of red, golden yellow, with just a smidge of green…makes me so-o-o happy! My second favorite thing about autumn is the riot of colored leaves against a beautiful deep blue cloudless sky…truly gorgeous.
Wow! I didn’t want to read everyone’s post because I didn’t want to accidentally copy someone else’s love of Fall. I just want to be me! My favorite things are the colors and smells! I love the colors of golds, reds, oranges, browns, greens, and yellows and all the shades in between! I wear a lot of the ‘winter’ colors like black and white and pink. I love pink, but I really like to wear the fall colors and to see them decorating my home and my classroom! I love to smell the pumpkin candles and the ‘cinnammony’ fragrances of pumpkin bread cooking in the oven! I love reading fall and Halloween books to my kindergarteners and grandkids! I love all the fall festivals and the smells and sights that go with those! We don’t have as many fall colors here as you do in the north (I am in Texas), but I just love them when they do get here! Right now we have been in a severe drought, and it has affected our pumpkins and our trees. I only hope it doesn’t affect our bluebonnets in the spring. I would love to visit the New England states with you and look at the beautiful leaves. You make that wish come to life for me. Thank you, Susan!!
Absolutely my pleasure!
I love a warm pumpkin muffin with a good cup of coffee…walking in the woods with my pups. Leaves falling all around…it’s cool and the tobacco barns are smoking….HEAVEN!!!!
Pumpkin flavored everything….coffee, donuts, BEER (yeah!), muffins, ice cream, bread, ravioli, smoothies, cheese (sweet, boursin like – it is AMAZING!), soup, pumpkin gooey bars, and pie. Did I miss anything??
…and one other noteworty thing I love about Fall – NO HUMIDITY! (at least here in NYC). Best time of year for good hair days! Can I get an amen?? : )
AMEN Colleen! Love New York, the whole country loves New York. Central Park in the fall, how beautiful!
I live in the little town of Swarthmore in Pennsylvania. My favorite thing about fall is Halloween night. After all the trick or treaters have come and gone, I like to walk around town and look at all the jack o lantern all lit up when everything is quiet and there are crunchy leaves still covering the ground. I’ve been doing it for years and looking forward to it again next month.
Oh Susan:
What can I say, so many things have been already been mentioned, but the thing I love about Fall is remembering the smell of burning leaves, I still miss that smell. My girlfriend’s father would burn leaves every year and you know each year when I go outside I think I am still going to smell that smell. That’s what I love about Fall, that musky smokey smell. Love the quilt! Thanks for all your posts, they make my days so much better! Noelle
Hi Susan,
First, last and always I love the beginning of crisp, cool weather that makes you want to run around outside all giddy like a young colt! Warm creamy drinks and apple cidar in front of the fireplace under a warm blanket; flickering lights of spicy candles on the window sills and the fireplace mantel; pouring over my favorite cookbooks or magazines and eagerly planning what to bake and give away for the upcoming holiday season; diggin a favorite jacket and boots out of the closet because I know that I’m going to need them soon to brace myself against that first blue norther, oh yeah !!; knowing that it is finally cold enough to plant mums & pansies and put little pumpkins by the doorstep; looking forward to annual planning of historic home tours in Grapevine TX and McKinney TX with my daughter; warm apple crisp and ice cream; and now getting to read your blog to see what Fall is like in your neck of the woods where there is real Fall foliage! Just a few of my favorite Fall things….
xoxo
WOW SUSAN…This is easy….YOU…for a start…Since I have met you and found your style…I am so hooked….love the quilts…love New England in the fall..Have been there 2 times…and can go again…in a heartbeat…love the CRUNCHING LEAVES…and next time…I will get to Marthas Vineyard if I have to swim across…Love your Autumn Book….have already pulled it out…and will make the Delicious Corn Chowder…Fall is a State of Mind…so true…even in my lovely Southern California…its what you do with it…Quilts all out…especially the Fall and Halloween looking ones…and (oh I would love, love to win your Quilt)…traveling up the Central Coast and antiquing…(miss your shop)….I have already fall decorated…and as you are in the area…you know how Hot it is this week…so what…Its a FALL STATE OF MIND….and you Susan….Thank you for all that you have done for me….(and say Hello to mom…I met her years ago at the Auto Club in Long Beach…she brought me Susan Branch stickers and little things….as she promised at a book signing you had in Central California)…Love this Blog today…see you at Remnants…Carol O. in Southern Californiaxo
Alllll what you do with it! Reality, as they say, is something we rise above! Just having lunch with my mom…she’s a sweetie that way!
I love getting all the sweaters out and feeling all warm and cozy watching my grandson’s football games. Then there’s walking in the woods through all the crunchy leaves and remembering how we used to pile up walls of leaves and make ourselves houses with beds of leaves to lie in. It’s always fun watching the geese fly south on a cold day and then do the opposite on a warm day like they aren’t sure which way to go, because it’s fall, one of the in between seasons.
Confusing the birds!
I remember the moment I recognized fall as my season. I was eight and we were moving back to Colorado from a year in dank foggy Santa Maria, CA. We were driving and took a break at a rest stop somewhere near Raton, NM. It was October and the aspen trees had all turned bright yellow. The air was chilly and breezy and the leaves were sparkling on the trees and raining down on my brother and me while we played. There was a small stream nearby. I can still smell the damp leaves and the earthiness of the stream bed in my mind. I can hear the gurgle of the water over rocks. It was a magical place and one that I recalled in make-believe play for years afterward. I’ve loved fall ever since.
There is something about the angle of the sun and its glint in fall that makes my heart glad. It’s hard to put into words. It’s a very visceral feeling. I love to watch the leaves slowly turn color. In my part of CA, there aren’t many trees that do turn color, but the liquidambar, Chinese pistache, and gingko trees put on quite a show. I love the morning chill, wearing cozy sweaters and wool socks. Somehow the gingerbread cookies I bake year round smell better in the fall. I gather various cones, pods, and acorns, fill bowls with them, and eventually make them into Christmas ornaments and decorations. They are so naturally beautiful that they don’t need much help from me!
After reading many of the comments here (532 entries at this moment!), it’s amazing to see that we are all pretty much on the same page where fall is concerned. It’s a lovely time of year that evokes many happy memories, lures us into the kitchen to bake something fragrant and tasty, and sends us out the door to enjoy everything the season has to offer the senses.
Thanks for the opportunity to wax rhapsodic over my favorite time of year. And for the generous quilt giveaway. My fingers are crossed :-)!
That was lovely Virginia!
My Goodness! I read them all:>)
From Newport Beach, California….. Quilt group arrived today, and served a Fall favorite…Pumpkin Bread made more special with a cup of chocolate chips and a cup of walnuts added to the mix with our favorite vanilla ice cream on top which helped celebrate my birthday a day early. Tomorrow early we’ll fly the birthday flag outside, and then plan which school flag we’ll fly this weekend to go with the marathon of watching Pac 10…now Pac 12 football games all day Saturday. The glorious African Tulip Tree is ablaze with its orange signal from the blossoms that Fall is here. Your “Autumn” book is always out on the coffee table or announcing the season on the front hall table. Fall is in our heads and hearts and you help make it come alive even more so. Thank you for the many blessings you shower upon us. I’ve got your blog on my google page so it is the first thing I see every morning. Great way to start the day.
P.S. I too loved the picture of your father’s hands. So memorable:>)
Happy Birthday Judy! Loved my dad’s hands too!
I love the beautiful colors…the leaves, pumpkins, mountain sides covered in so many different colors. Thanksgiving dinner with family around the table feeling like my Mother’s table many years ago and reminding me of Norman Rockwell’s painting. How sweet it is to hear my granddaughter tell me that I’m the best cook in the world because she loves my mashed potatoes. A cozy time!
One of my favorite things about fall is having homemade carmel and dipping Granny Smith or Honey Crisp apples in it! Yum!!
I love Fall because the hot days of summer are behind! I love the cooler weather and the shorter days of Fall. I love putting colorful mums on my front porch and pumpkins from the garden! It reminds me thatThanksgiving is coming and Christmas is not far behind!
In New Mexico-the smell of green chiles roasting was a hint that fall was coming. I loved going to the Balloon Fiesta in October, and it was so much fun to go out on my front porch early in the morning with my coffee and watch the balloons rise. I miss it. In Texas, it’s the changing color of the leaves, and that b blue sky, which seems even more brilliant in the fall.
The most wonderful thing about (Autumn) Fall are all of the wonderful smells,the air, the food, the colors seem to also have a special smell, my leather couch has a great fall smell. It’s amazing how you can smell so many differnt aromas at the same time! It makes my heart to happy and put more giddy up in my daily step and a smile in heart heart that seems to show all over me! : )
In conjunction with the cool, crispness of fall – I love all the warmth the season brings. From the colors, to the smell of cinnamony goodness baking in the oven, apples crisps, pumpkin pies to the fire blazing in the fireplace, to cozy socks and sweaters and wrapping your hands around a steeping cup tea or cider. Does it get any better?!? Autumnal perfection at its best. XO, jeanette
Gloria Groza (the one who commented above) is my mom and she is the greatest mom in the whole world and deserves to win the quilt hands down! I hope she gets picked! I was one of the kids that ate her wonderful Autumn soup and enjoyed all the love she brought into our home growing up! I will miss her when she moves back to Cali. 🙁 Oh, and my favorite thing about Fall is making a big pot of chili and cuddling on the couch with my wonderful husband for an afternoon of football! GO COWBOYS!!! Love ya Susan! xoxoxxo
Love Love,
Lisa 🙂
Trying to post my comment one more time. For some reason the others all say your comment is awaiting moderation. Whatever that means….
I went out to lunch with my mom, and when I came back, there were 263 comments waiting for me to “approve” before they go up — to make sure we don’t accidentally sell Viagra here! (Spam is huge in blogland!) Such nice comments about your mom Lisa!
Sorry didn’t realize you had to approve every message! I know now so will only post once from now on. LOL 😉 Hope you had a nice lunch with your mom!
Don’t worry about it, I love reading them! Lovely lunch at McKenna’s next to the channel full of sailboats!
oh…Love it there….go there with Girlfriends to listen to different groups…Ocean Blvd…are great…Hope you enjoyed..you are so close….all this talk about Fall…and here we are having high 80s….xo
They seem to be experiencing June Gloom (overcast and foggy) here in Seal Beach…which I’m just calling “fall.” 🙂
I love fall because of the variety of weather we get in the northwest. I love to have a pot of soup simmering on the stove while curled up on the couch with a good book and a blanket – rain or shine! It is also crafting weather for my girlfriends and I.
The most creative time of year!
Pumpkins are what I love best about autumn….to me, they represent warm dinners and delicious desserts, and lots of family togetherness memories….preparing for Hallowe’en, and planning Thanksgiving dinner ♥
What I love the most about Fall? My birthday and how thousands and thousands celebrate it with me! Or maybe because it is also Halloween! Silly me. I am a Halloween Baby.
Treese
My late husband and I were married on October 1st, 1978. From that year on, autumn was the beginning of the holidays for us…finding pumpkins for our porch, taking day trips through the countryside, enjoying harvest festivals, preparing for our family Thanksgiving, buying our tree, adding ornaments every year, welcoming the new year. When autumn came, it signaled the beginning of all good things for all the senses. It is still my favorite time of year, just bittersweet now.
Oh, my, the temperatures both day and night. 70-80s in the day and 40s in the night. Nothing better than curling up under blankets to sleep and being able to sit in the sun and read during the day. Am a new follower of your blog and love it. Helping me to slow down and have a better “presence in the present.”
Beautifully said!
I have always loved fall, but I must say my favorite things are the memories of the fall when my husband and I fell in love 27 years ago. I know it sounds corny but it’s true! Something about when the weather turns to fall makes me feel like I’m young and falling in love. Susan, I am LOVING your blog. Everything about it makes me so happy. It’s one of the first things I check everytime I’m online. Thank you! P.S. I would hang the quilt in my stairway where I would enjoy it every day!!
P.P.S. I think we will have dinner in front of an old movie tonight and I am definitely having cinnamon toast soon–I almost forgot about cinnamon toast!! Thanks for reminding me!! I just wish we had a fireplace.
Candles work pretty darn well in a pinch! 🙂
Oh, Susan–you reminded me of something with that comment! That is another of my favorite things about Fall–it gets dark earlier so we can eat dinner by candlelight! Miss that all summer… Past time for bedtime here but I got reading all of these posts, which I’ve really enjoyed.. How much fun it has been! Did you ever expect such a response?
🙂
Not really!! I’m kind of shocked — but the comments are just amazing, so I’m shocked in a really good way!
Snuggling under a quilt by the fire with my sweetie!
My Favorite Thing About Fall is, after another long, dreadful summer in Mesa, AZ, my Hubby and I wake up from our air-conditioned daze, mosey outside with our coffee cups in hand and *hey!* the air is actually COOL!!! it smells almost Crisp, and there’s a little friendly breeze ruffling about, that doesn’t feel like a blowtorch in our face! The puppies are all frisky and running around us, because they can feel the change as well, and we finally think, maybe, there’s a remote chance of having dinner al fresco tonight without melting into our chairs! We want to run over to Lowes and grab up mums and pansies and tomato plants and plant them all over the place! We pull out our chili recipes and decide which one to taste test for our Halloween TrickorTreat Driveway Party, we go to Fry’s and buy pumpkins, mini punkins, & gourds and I dust them with gold sparkles and put them all around the house, we drive out to Higley to find cornstalks and get a hay bale from the Seed and Feed to put on our desert landscaped front yard…and the bestest thing of all, i get a box of REAL FALL LEAVES from my BFF in Portland!!! which i happily scatter and tape to everything that has a surface until they turn brown and dry up ~ usually 3 days around here. Ahhh Autumn! Hopefully by Oct. 31 it may be cool enough to turn off the AC at night, one can only dream! =)
I should have stayed in NH or Los Osos! I don’t belong in the desert!~ hahaha!
I love Fall because that is when I get to fall head over heals in love all over again.
I have had 25 enthusiastic, energetic, and loving first graders in my care for two to three weeks and it suddenly hits me. I am in love again ! 25 times over!
What a gift I have been given. Am I the luckiest woman alive?! It certainly is not because they are perfect. It is because they are all perfectly unique and special. Each and everyone. For 29 years I have been blessed.
I love teaching!
And those kids are so lucky to have someone who loves her work so much! Thank you for what you do!
It seems every fall,I fall in love with my house all over again.All of a sudden the ideas come pouring in to me and I see all the posibilities in a brand new way.Also I love the dramatic sky that we only seem to see in the fall.Layered clouds backlit by sun with dark blues and grey and pink left over from the sun.I love a dramatic sky.Thank you Susan for all you share with us.You are like a big hug at the end of the day.
I love so much about autumn, but mostly Thanksgiving. The turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and the pumpkin pie, the family gathering. As a quilter and a collector of old quilts, I’m thrilled at the chance to win this quilt. What a generous gift!
“There is a certain slant of light….” I recall raking the leaves under our pear tree in Michigan, and the late afternoon slanted through the branches in a way it never did any other time of year. Now that I’m in Georgia, I SO appreciate that softening of the sun come autumn!
I LOVE everything about Fall- my favorite season of the year! It starts on the first day of Fall by going to Starbucks with my sister and ordering a Pumpkin Spice Latte. There are so many wonderful things about the season- pumpkins, making home all cozy and fall-ish, soup season, curling up in a blanket in the evenings, watching the beautiful colors come alive, building fires in the fireplace, watching “You’ve Got Mail”, apple butter, opening the windows in the afternoon, raking the crunchy leaves into piles, anticipation of the holidays, and pulling out the scarves- just to name a few!
Fall is my favorite time of year, especially October. Finally, in Louisiana, we get cooler weather and less humidity, but it’s not actually cold yet. Cool mornings and evenings. Being able to open the windows for a few hours, a least. Also, burning my favorite seasonal candles [orange & cloves, and cinnamon tea], and baking anything with cinnamon (although I do that any time of year, it feels so much more appropriate in the fall), and making soups more often than usual.
I love all things about fall…just jate what follows!
Come back, I promise to cheer you up in winter!
Okay—first off, I love fall because my birthday comes at the very beginning of it (9/26), but I particularly am loving it tonight because my dear husband just took me to a beautiful B & B in Michigan to celebrate my (gulp!) 60th birthday and it was gorgeous and lovely—cool temps, turning leaves, drizzly rain, and Lake Michigan presiding over all. . .We arrived home late this afternoon to find some lentil-bulgar wheat soup that our daughter had left in the ‘fridge for us, like a good little fairy who stopped in while we were out of town. 🙂 It was delicious—just perfect for a chilly fall evening and tasting all the better because of the love with which it was made.
Happy Birthday Libby!
Fall, I love it all! The way the house smells cooking a pot of soup. The tremendous colors of the trees. Breathtaking! the crispness of the air.
My favorite part of fall is the smell in the air: not sure if it is the leaves, the cold or the fresh bright skies but the combination of the three makes it wonderful.
The lovely golden light of Autumn bathes creation and pulls forth from me an answering joy
Autumn marks the beginning of my favorite half of the year. Cooler cozy weather. The start of baking season. Back to school supplies, no matter how old you are. The Pumpkin Festival in Half Moon Bay, California, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all the holiday decorating. Crafting and making forts from quilts. Visiting and receiving family that is the best part of all.
I would love to sit on my porch under that beautiful quilt & see the golden, shimmering little leaves of my birch tree while the hamhock soup simmers on the stove in the kitchen filling the house with delicious smells ~ a perfect Autumn afternoon.
I love cooler weather, pumpkins and mums, football and knitting, homemade soups and pansies!
soup and pumpkin bread!
what a beautiful giveaway!
bless you!
Autumn has got to be the most splendid season of all! What I love most about it is the cool crisp air, beautiful falling leaves, orange pumpkins, hot cider, and pumpkin bread right out of the oven! What more could one ask for? Wish you could stop by Susan and share a cup of cider with me. Autumn blessings to you!
Thank you Donna!
I love the crisp of Autumn — crisp air, crisp leaves, and perhaps best of all — apple crisp (with homemade whipped cream). It’s worth waiting a whole year for. Happy Fall, Susan and all FOSB!
It is my favorite fall dessert! Good for dinner, good for lunch, good for breakfast, good for snack.
Oh my goodness! You dear, sweet lady! You are gifting that beautiful quilt to some lucky someone?! How very generous! I hope, hope, hope it will choose to come live with us at the end of the dirt road where it will be treasured and loved daily! I do not know if I can condense my love of Fall into words. There is an essence in the air and this year I was out in the pasture watching the colts with my husband when I tilted my head and caught my first wiff of it. After the record breaking summer heat this year, it was heaven. Fall is sleeping with the windows open and pulling the flannel quilt from the foot of the bed in the coolness of the early morning. It’s putting up bushels of corn and apples and fresh New Mexico green chiles and pulling out that first loaf of cranberry bread from the oven. I should stop there before I commence to leaving you an essay instead of a comment. LOL! Blessing for a beautiful fall to you and yours.
Well, as a current Florida girl, we don’t get much fall…and I gotta say, I don’t miss the cold! But what I DO miss are the beautiful colors of fall! We just don’t have those here. I remember…the first year we lived in Florida, we drove home to Georgia for Thanksgiving. Sometime just after passing the state line we were shocked to see trees of many colors….we had literally forgotten that there were supposed to be rich reds, vibrant oranges, and golden yellows on the branches! We loved that weekend at home, and soaked up all the colors before heading back to our ever-green new home in Florida.
Oh Gosh I want to win this one sooooo baddd I can’t stand it!!! I love old quilts especially Double Irish Chains in red and green. Ok relax Kim – maybe the luck of the Irish will be with me lol
I love Fall because of so many reasons. I love the warm colors and the cool nights and the wonderful smell of burning leaves in the air. I love Pumpkins and Pumpkin Bread. Some Amish near us make homemade sorghum to sell and I love making gingerbread with warm sorghum or biscuits with sorghum on a crisp cool morning. I also love the crisp Jonathan and Winesap apples with the tang of the Tennesse mountains in every bite.
I love the smells – a fresh line dried quilt wrapped around a grandchild as she listens to scary stories around a campfire, the smell of the first fire in the fireplace of the fall, and the smell of a tobacco barn drying tobacco down the road. The woodsy smells of leaves and the sharp smell of cedar as my hubby chops some firewood, the sweet smell of pumpkin pie and the spicy smell of nutmeg.
Another thing I love about Fall is the mystery that surrounds it. Misty evenings and mornings in Tennessee give you a spooky feeling that spirits and haints are walking among us. Fall is a good time for ghost stories on the porch or around a crackling fire. Spooky spiderwebs covered with glittering dew dot the yards and porches every morning usually sporting a fat yellow “zipper” spider and a web wrapped fly in the corner. Sometimes late at night a owl or whipporwill calls adding to the eerie sound effects.
I love Fall for all these reasons.. and more –
Kim
Love it, especially when you are talking to yourself! 🙂
Isn’t fall just the greatest season. It’s a time where the leaves start to change colors, crisp air flows, and the days start to feel shorter with daylight hours lessening. It gives you the chances to cuddle up with a good book in front of the fire. Fall reminds me of racking leaves in the yard with my dad and throwing the football. College football saturdays are the best! You have the warm apple crisp baking in the oven and when it comes out smelling wonderful, you top if off with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top. And, on a rainy, chilly fall day you can pour yourself a nice cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows floating in the chocolate goodness. How sweet it is to be bundled in warmth. Fall turns the page and brings out a new leaf, a time for pumpkin patches, mums and roasted chicken. And, who doesn’t like to dress in layers, put on the boots, hear the crunch of the leaves and experience the best season that lasts almost until Thanksgiving. At which point, we start preparing for winter. But, fall, it’s so great you are here! 😀
I love everything about fall – the leaves, the cooler nights that need a quilt, the autumn kinds of foods like soup, stews, pumpkin anything, memories of raking leaves at the farm, then getting the marshmallows out – did I mention apples!! My absolute favorite – apple anything!
My goodness, 532 replies and I’ve read every one! That’s as nice a gift as the beautiful quilt that you are giving away. I love all of the things that everyone mentioned about fall but my favorite thing is our neighbor’s annual “Pig Pickin”. The whole pig goes into the fire on Friday and on Saturday morning, I wake up to the chill in the air and the smell of wood smoke. Friends and neighbors start arriving with their favorite dishes to share and there is always a big screen TV with college football. Children are playing games and laughter fills the fall air. Around 5:00 the pig is removed from the pit and the “pickin” begins. The most delicious pork you will ever taste along with all of the fabulous dishes contributed by the rest of the gang. It’s a tradition that has gone on for at least 15 years in our neighborhood and something that I look forward to every year.
Sorry for going on too long and thanks for your fabulous blog and this wonderful giveaway. We should all be sending gifts to you for all of the blessings you shower on us constantly.
XOXO,P.
Isn’t this wonderful! Look at US!
Fall has been my favorite season for as long as I can remember. Two of my favorites things are my annual Fall Kick Off dinner party. All girls. No spouses or kids and most of the menu always comes from a Susan Branch cookbook. Many new Susan fans have started at Fall Kick Off. Second… Curling up by the fireplace with my book of the moment.
Looks like another 200 or more responses for me to enjoy. This is the gift that keeps on giving…I’ll never get to bed! 🙂
LOL! Me either!
I love all the things you mentioned about fall, but this year, I am especially grateful for the cool weather, after our very hot summer.
My favorite thing to do in the fall is to walk thru crispy leaves – and I love when the leaves swirl around in the wind!
PUMPKINS!!!!
I’m sure my favorite thing about fall will be different from others on this site, but this is MY fall favorite:
Football at Virginia Tech
An every weekend thing
Loud and screaming fans
Live to see the Hokies win!
ps My oldest son played from 2004-2009 and now my youngest is a red-shirt freshman and has the biggest game of the season on Saturday!
pps I LOVE and collect quilts! and your calendars are my favorites!
Good Luck on Saturday!!!
PUMPKINS!!!
I can’t wait to light the first fire in the fireplace. It makes the house even more cozy. Also, like another Julie who posted, it is the start of “Decorating Season”. It starts in September and ends in January. The best time of year!
What is NOT to love about FALL? The scents, the sights, the anticipation of cooler weather, and anticipation of the best three months of the year for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The most magical time of the year!!!
I, too, delight in the fall season! I love the majesty of the trees in their autumn glory, a fire in the fire pit, a local high school football game, candy corn, stacks of various color pumpkins surrounded by mums, excited children shyly holding out their their treat bags for a piece of candy……the list could go on & on! And there are few things I love more than vintage/antique quilts. Thanks for the opportunity to *perhaps* own the beauty you are so kindly giving away!
Kathy
There are so many things I adore about fall. It is without a doubt my favorite time of year. Extremely difficult to name my most favorite thing about the season. This might sound crazy to some, but I will say there is something special about the way the angle of the sun changes this time of year. It casts such a special glow on everything. So lovely!
Scent is such a strong connection for me with Autumn. The musty smell of leaves as they fall and decay, Cinnamon, apples, pumpkin pie …my all time favorite baking scents …and wood smoke from the fireplaces in the neighborhood as people move inside with the cooler evenings. My birthday is in October also. Lots of happy memories connect me with the season.
Dear Susan,
Every fall I can’t wait for your fall issue of “Willard” to arrive. Your artwork, photos and lovely sayings make me start to dream about my very favorite time of year. When I was a middle school art teacher I would always share your fall “Willard” with my students.
Now that I am retired my very favorite thing about fall is taking long walks in the woods in our Colorado mountains with my wonderful husband Daryl and our sweet golden doodle Jack Daniel. I love the crisp fall air, clear blue skies and the smell of aspen leaves crunching under my feet.
I LOVE FALL! I truly treasure this season from the bottom of my heart because it reminds me of my childhood growing up on a midwest farm in the heartland. I remember I would get off the bus after school and run for the trusty old tree swing in the back yard. I would pump my legs as high into the sky as I could and feel the chilly autumn air against my face. The warm fuzziness of my trusty old sweater comforted my skin. The sights and sounds of Fall were everywhere. Brilliant shades of orange, red, yellow and brown surrounded me as I would swing happily watching the tractors and the combines at work in the nearby fields. As the sun started to set my mother would call us in from the porch. “Suppertime!” I would run inside through crackling leaves, past a garden full of pumpkins, with thoughts of what delicious smells awaited me in our cozy kitchen. Always greeted with a smile, we would finish our evening happily indoors together as the beautiful autumn sun set in the distant horizon.
I love so much about Fall, the temps, colors, smells, food, & the activities. Both my DD were born in Fall, one Sept. this year the first day of fall, one on Halloween. DH & I both in Nov. Love getting my home & yard all Fall Decorated, then burning a wonderful candle, right now Pumpkin Buttercream, makes my house smell yummy. Cozy up in front of the fireplace. Sun. to celebrate my DD Bday I baked Apple Dumplins, that was a great Fall smell. Our church always come down for a Hayride, weiner roast, we have a rustic little cabin at the back of our property & build a big bonfire, good times. Our DD used to be in marching Band & I do miss all competitions, football half time shows & fun we had with that.
Dear Susan,
When I got to your blog this evening it said there were 563 posts! Wow! Guess you’re not the only one who loves fall. I read almost all of the posts and can’t think of anything to say that hasn’t already been said. I think every possible thing associated with Fall has been covered! It is an awesome time of year and the only thing that would make it better would be to snuggle up under that beautiful quilt that you’re so graciously giving away ;). It’s so nice of you to do this when you’re the one who brings us so much joy! Thank You very much!!!!
p.s. If I had to pick what I like most…..the smells associated with the season.
One year, in California, we had Thanksgiving at a long table outside under trees and a bonfire to go with it! That was fun!
Living in Florida we don’t get a lot of fall. I have to pretent sometimes by turning the air down low(just kidding). I do love the cool air in th morning while having my coffee outside. Being able to wear pretty sweaters. And blankets! I love soft old worn blankets. I always, even in the summer in Florida, have blankets in the living room all over the chairs and sofa… Many times my girls have said they don’t understand why some friends don’t have blankets in their TV rooms…
I hope you pick me!! Please…
Pumpkin pie, apple cider, Autumn colored sweaters, scarves, pumpkin patches, the smell of candles inside pumpkins on Halloween, the chill in the air, baking goodies….I could go on and on and on! Oh gee, whats not to love about Fall!?
Fall has ALWAYS been my favorite season: back to school shopping, great clothes, apple cider, my birthday, Halloween! This weekend we move into our new house on a tree-lined, Boston area street, white with black shutters like yours. I cannot WAIT to make it homey … put some pumpkins out front and all my fall decorations on the mantel!
Geese honking happily
as they travel on their flight,
cute little ghosts and witches
on a crisp Halloween night.
Apples and soups
and hot crusty breads,
chilly nights under blankets
with good books to be read.
Delicious smells, both inside and out
mmm . . .cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves,
trees in colorful finery
wood burning in the woodstove.
Harvest moons and acorns,
busy squirrels running about.
Piles of crisp leaves
with cute faces peeking out!
Susan,
Thank you for the joy you bring to each season.
How fun Jeanne, thank you!
I love everything about fall! The crispness in the air, cool mornings but warm and sunny afternoons, changing leaf colours, and family pictures in the pumpkin patch! The best time of year, bar none!