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! ♥
out come the orange lite strings,all my scarecrows,and my collections of pumpkins!!! leaves in fall colors are garlanding across my sideboard, and cinnamon and apple cider candles are sprinkled all over the house..closer to Thanksgiving the turkey collection arrives on the scene..i love it all so much, but the best thing is that my hubby married me on my birthday which is just around the first day of fall most years!!! so, fall for me is that for the last 23 yrs…fall has had an extra special meaning for me!!!!
Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary!
I’m from Vermont (but presently live in RI) & consider myself a ‘True Vermonter.’ Fall & everything that comes with it in VT is deeply embedded in my soul. The warm days & cool crisp nights. Driving the back roads & drinking in the fall foliage with the turning leaves on hillsides & mountains full of bursting colors. Crisp apples & homemade fudge at the Apple Barn where you can go through the Corn Maze, select a pumpkin, use a gigantic sling shot to shoot rotten apples far out into the corn field, take your picture next to the handpainted life-size VT Moose out front & have some warm apple cider while munching on a fresh out of the oven apple cider donut. Have a visit with ‘Johnny Appleseed’ & select a peck of juicy macintosh apples to bring home with you & maybe a fresh apple pie too!
Fall means VT & stopping by the Apple Barn & enjoying all it has to offer young & old alike. Vermonters will start up a conversation with you (a stranger) & make you feel welcome & like you have come ‘home.’ That will always be ‘fall’ for me.
Vermont is so beautiful in the fall…I hope it’s healing quickly from the hurricane!!!
Fall makes good on every promise. The wind thrills as it lifts my hair in swirls; the leaves promise smiles and deliver. The first crisp cool morning promises I can wear my best (and oldest) sweater and brings back bittersweet memories of Dad, who loved me so well I can still feel his hugs.
Autumn is my favorite time of year. The rich colors, fall foliage, pumpkins, gourds make it such a warm and cozy time of year. I love to snuggle in a super soft blanket with one or both of my furry friends and read a good book or write a letter to one of my many penfriends with a cup of warm cider close by. (don’t forget the cinnamon stick). I married the love of my life in September, moved to Amish country in Lancaster County , Pa. and it was there that I found my first “Heart of the Home” cookbook. Your fall give away is gorgeous and I think it’s wonderful that you think of your fans. “Happy Autumn to you”!
I love everything about Fall! I have to rely on memories of the East Coast since I now live in Texas. We get Fall a little later. I especially love the glow of light from homes at dusk.
Just everything! I love the colors most of all – in the trees, in the sunsets, in the apples, in the pumpkins and squashes. Then, I love the smell in the air – the crispness and cleanness that makes you feel so alive. And the cooking…the soups, the cabbage rolls, the cobblers……….what is not to like? Oh yes, the short time we have it :).
I love the clean, crisp air compared to the long, hot days of summer.
It is refreshing and exciting!
I love quilts!!
I love wearing sweatshirts and jeans while walking in the crisp, cool air. The colors of fall are my favorites and i find much joy in watching the trees change colors. Fall foods also bring back memories of family meals and good times together. It has been my favorite season since I can remember! I’m so glad you like fall too, Susan!
The thrill of buying school supplies (even if you don’t have kids) simply because you can.
Fall is my favorite too…although in SoCal we don’t have the gorgeous leaf changes until much later in the season, it still feels like Fall. There is just something about the light in the afternoon turning golden colors…the way the shadows lengthen on the screen door…somehow my soul just knows it’s Fall and has the urge to put an apple or pumpkin pie into the oven. That is definitely one of my favorite things, being able to turn the oven on again. 🙂 Since we have to create some of our Fall atmosphere here, taking mini trips to someplace more Fall-like is always fun. The Central Coast and Julian are always good for soaking up a little Autumn goodness. Then coming home and cooking up a batch of apple butter (or pie…or crumble) makes the house smell heavenly. Ooohhh and making chicken pot pie. Yum!
Thank you for the chance to win the cozy quilt…and to share, it was fun!
VERY fun! Thanks for joining in!
I can’t wait to start wearing my Halloween sweaters and getting out my vintage Halloween decorations to enjoy and it’s a sure sign that fall is here!! My class at school will start baking Halloween sugar cookies and decorate them. I have a copy of your Autumn book in my classroom too!
Teach . . . the children well . . . 🙂
I love camping this time of year. What could be better than walking in the woods with all the leaves on the ground. I also like the campfires and cooking a wonderful meal. The best time is spent with the grandchildren and knowing that I am laying the ground work for them and that hopefully they will remember these good times with me.
They will, and someday they will come on a blog like this and write all about the memories you are making with them now! xoxo
I love sooo many things about Fall, that it is impossible to pick just one! That would be like picking only one favorite sentence from a beloved book, or a solitary note from a favorite song! I love the smell in the air, especially of leaving being burned- it takes me back to my childhood where everyone in our neighborhood burned their leaves! I love a crackling fire, that nip in the air, a pot of chili simmering on the stove, hot apple cider, and the leaving falling like prayers from the trees. I love cozy cardigans, old sweatshirts softened by love, a new skein of autumn-colored yarn and a pair of trusty bamboo knitting needles! But the thing I love the most is having my college girls come home and hug their Dad and six foot tall “little” brother, snuggle on the couch with me, watch old movies and tell me with tears in their eyes, that they missed us and are are so happy to be home. Yes, they actually have said that! Ahhh… Autumn is just another word for Heaven 🙂
What a wonderful season fall is. My favorite past time is to help the neighbor rake all the beautiful leaves into neat piles (very high of course) and all the neighborhood kids dive in. So much fun.
For over 2 decades as a first grade school teacher, I started the season with an interactive group song: “Fall is here. Fall is here.
How do you think I know?
The air is getting cooler;
I know it must be so!”
As the song continued each child would add his/her own favorite “rite of fall” to answer the question in the song. (Halloween getting closer was always a popular response.)
Now that I am retired . . . I still sing the fall song.
“Fall is here. Fall is here.
How do you think I know?
I’m baking leaf-shaped cookies;
I know it must be so!”
And then those leaf-shaped cookies are packaged up and delivered/mailed to friends and family. It’s my favorite way to share my love for my favorite season!
The first thing I do is take the flag buntings down from the porch and put my own pumpkins I grew in my little garden.
I live in the most beautiful little town, Nevada City, CA people come from far and near to see the fall leaves. It’s a California victorian gold rush town.
I’m ready for boots and vests, we have a firepit in the backyard and the grandaughters come for marshmellow roasting. One little grandaughter is Lily Autumn a wonderful redhead.
Her name is Lily Autumn? That’s just gorgeous!
yes. Come see Nevada City we will show you how beautiful it is, and not too far.
🙂 OK!
Fall has always been my favorite time of year. The smell of woodsmoke from the first fire of the season, the scent of fallen leaves when you crunch through them. The change in the larch trees-it goes from bright green to chartreuse to yellow to yellow orange & finally to orange. It is wonderful to look up to the mountains and see great swaths of orange swooping among all of the evergreens. I live in a mountain valley in western Montana, so all I see is mountains & sky. And can’t forget the honking of the Canadian geese as they head off for their winter quarters. Sweaters that have been stored all summer coming out for a snuggle. The quality of light when it starts changing everything to gold. I was married in the fall, October 4 as a matter of fact. This year is our 31st anniversary. So fall is truly my favorite time of year.
Well, Happy Anniversary Carmen! Must have been a beautiful wedding!
I love getting to snuggle up with my hubby to stay warm under the covers.
I love, love the smell of fall in the air and the colors dancing about!
I love the smell of autumn air, which is completely different than any other season. It’s scented with leaves, chimney smoke, and cool evening rain. I love fall baking and homemade soups. Fall brings families together.
FALL is my FAVORITE season………the brilliant oranges, golds, and reds are perfection to me. We’ve just spent 7 days at Emerald Lake Lodge in Yoho National Park (BC, Canada)…..the GOLDS against those forest green colors absolutely MAGNIFICENT!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I’m an October birthday girl…….guess that’s why I LOVE fall so much…………..
Happy Birthday Dee! Sounds like it was beautiful!
Fall is truly the most awesome season of all. Living in the midwest, I am fortunate to welcome in all the seasons, but fall is the best. We have had the most wonderful fall so far, high’s in the mid 70’as, evenings in the 50’s. Great to open the windows at night and feel the gentle breeze wafting pass the curtains. The bright blue-sky days with abundant sunshine can’t be beat. I just look up at the sky in wonder and feel so blessed. Wanting to capture this overwhelming beauty and cherish the memory for those days that aren’t so gorgeous. Can’t wait for the leaves to change. Around here the peak is about the last week of October. So much to look forward to!
We arrive back on Martha’s Vineyard in the nick of time, October 14th!
The red, gold and orange leaves swirling down from bright blue skies.
This time of year when it’s still HOT in Texas – we know it must be “Fall” somewhere, so we turn up the A/C, get out the quilts to decorate on the back of the couch, bake an apple pie with LOTS of cinnnamon, put a pot of soup in the crock pot and invite friends over for a “It’s Supposed to Be Fall Ya’ll” party. Oh to actually experience crisp air and cold nights in late Sept!
I like your spirit!!
Autumn is the time to plant bulbs for spring flowers (tulips, daffodils, crocus), time to relish the spicy smells of burning leaves and cinnamon candles, and to observe the haze over lowlands on crisp October mornings. It’s time to listen to the weather forecast and be prepared to cover blooming flowers overnight to protect them from frost. The subtle autumn colors of Iowa’s fields (corn, soybeans, alfalfa) – those harvested and those waiting to be – are an artist’s palette of warm brown, tan, and rust hues.
Fall is probably my most favorite time of the year, maybe because my birthday is the first of November. I love the look of Fall, the beauty in the leaves, the crispness in the air and the wonderful Fall colors. Making pumpkin butter to give as gifts, oh my, I love it all.
Mmmmm pumpkin butter!
I love the images of trees full of colorful leaves reflecting on water or the images of sunlight on fall wildflowers. These images connect me again to the many fall seasons I have been blessed to share.
I’m not a person who had a Mother with a garden and who was taught how to can things from her. No, I am a 64 year old woman who never did this before a few years ago. We moved to a home new to us with a very old pear tree. I found a recipe online for spiced pear jam. I didn’t want to waste these beautiful pears so I read on and proceded to make this out of this world jam. My family and friends now wait for me to make it. It’s a special recipe, I think, because you use no pectin and you cook it on the stove for two hours. It has given me so much joy to start something new. So, every Fall I look forward to the bountiful harvest of my little ole pear tree.
That’s great, what you thought to do with those pears! It sounds delicious!
Fall…… time to make applesauce, pumpkin cobbler, and the soups on! I love he brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. There is nothing like walking/kicking thorough the crunch of fallen leaves….. I love the change of seasons, but always at conflict with myself as to what season really steals my heart. Spring with the promise of new life and it’s beautiful colors
and the summer to come. So which do I love best? When Springs arrives I love it best, but when Fall comes I change my mind and love it best.
Yes, there is that amazing moment in spring too!
Good Evening Sweetest Sue…. now 11:00 pm so 8:00pm your California Time….& I just Flew to Your Blog! & what do My Wandering Eyes did Appear??? An Autumn Give~Away Contest! Oh My Goodness! & it’s for one of Your Cozy Vintage Quilts! Huge Smile on MY Pumpkin~Face 🙂 ok….1stI Adore This Blog & Everything that You Shared with Us….is all Part of The Perfection of This New Season from your Cute Pumpkin~Patch to Cozy Nights in front of The Fire……I do Believe That One of My Most Favorite Things about “Fall” is The Absolute Feeling of Real Magic That Twirls in The Air Like Autumn Leaves doooooooo…..When Pumpkins turn into Jack~O~Lanterns…When Costumes Dance in Our Heads….When Our Kitchens begin to get Busy Baking all the Sweet Treats…The Scents of Cinnamon & Nut~Meg…warm Apple~Cider Mulling on The Stove…Scarecrows & Witches Ghosts & Goblins….Boooooooooo! 🙂 It’s The Knowing Deep inside Your Soul That “Fall” Truly Is The Beginning of all The Fun & Frolic…The Holidays have Begun….& “Us Kindred Spirit Vagabonds”..with “Our Wild Gypsy Blood” Begin to Celebrate All The Magic & Joy……of….”Fall” We Twirl & Laugh & L♥ve……& Teach The Children that it’s Time for The Harvest How Nature is a Gift From God….to Breathe In The Fresh cooler Air to Prepare for Halloween & All The “Fall~Festivities”…..I Savor the Last Days of Sweet~September…& Welcome In With Open Arms…..October & All it’s Orange Enchantment! Yay! Thanks Sweet Sue for Inspiring All Of Us! Trick~Or~Treat ♥ xoxo Poof! 🙂
Definitely “Treat” Angie! xo
Fall is Scout dressed as a ham, and Boo Radley shuffling through dry leaves–coming to save her. It’s the only time when smokey air smells clean and crisp. When rain doesn’t sprinkle, it spits. Outside it smells dry and wet at the same time, and inside it smells like pumpkin or chili or cider. Outside it’s windy and rustle-y; inside the fire cracks and someone’s playing Frank and Dean and Rosemary. Everything whispers–big times coming, breath deep, get ready. Cuz up ahead it’s Halloween, and then it’s Thanksgiving, and then it’s my birthday, and then it’s Christmas and then it’s New Year’s and then there’s a whole calendar to fill with all the good stuff, all over again!
ooooo, Scout dressed as a ham and Boo Radley . . . that was a good one!
Time to reread my favorite book of all time. Thanks for the nudge!
My favorite thing is to rake a pile of leaves and have the grandchildren run like crazy and jump into them!! M-m-m-m-m that wonderful smell!
I could go on and on about what I love about Fall, but some of the things I love are the amazing colors, the enticing smells of all the Fall foods, and the crispness in the air!
I love to put a pot of water on the stove to simmer, and add some dried cloves and cinnamon sticks. That’s the smell of fall in my home.
I love so many things about fall, but probably one of my most favorite things is Apples. I just happen to be eating a slice of apple pie made with apples from my dad’s tree. I just LOVE your Cranberry Apple Crisp recipe and it has become one of my favorite fall recipes to make. The book falls right open to it.
Now that I have grandchildren (two babies and one 3 year old), I love walking in the fallen leaves with the 3 year old who says, “Look Gram! The yellow tree! I like crunching the leaves.” So do I….especially with her.
Happy Autumn, nice lady!
Jody
Fall is a brilliant canvas of beauty in the Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia where I live. The autumn splendor is everywhere-the mountains wear a crown of bright colors, and the leaves have begun to fall and flutter away bringing such beauty and peace.
I find it impossible to choose a favorite thing about fall; I have many. Among them are: The trees which paint God’s glorious creation with colors of warmth and comfort, the smell in the air as neighbors burn piles of leaves raked from their backyards, the chill in my bedroom in the morning after a night with the window open, and then, of course, the warmth in my bed as I bury myself deeper under the covers and stay there a while longer. Fall isn’t fall without a spicy pumpkin candle burning as I cook dinner or lay on the couch under a handmade quilt (from my mama, who else?) of burnt reds, golds, oranges and forest greens and sip cider or cocoa or coffee as the breeze blows through my open windows . I could never forget the crystal clear skies which only amplify the crispness in the air. Nor the joy I feel the first time I see my breath during a night stroll around the block.
Best of all, this year I will be enjoying my favorite season with my first baby who I cannot wait to dress in sweaters and jeans and take outside to watch him play in the leaves. He will be seven months old in just a few days and will undoubtedly make the cutest prop for all my fall-ish photos.
The best prop of all…seven months, that’s when they really start getting gooooood! Fat little necks and things like that! Have fun!
I love the fall because it’s the time to come inside from the summer sunshine and start my Christmas Gift Crafts. It’s too hard to stay inside in the summer! I also love all the colors of fall. This SLO town girl is looking forward to seeing you Susan at “Remnants of the Past”!
Can’t wait, this show is going to be great!
I hope Judy ordered up some fall weather for the show!
Oooh Me too! Knowing her … it will be beautiful!
My favorite thing about fall… is throwing on a sweatshirt & jeans on a brisk fall morning, and spending some time outdoors with our animals. 🙂
My daughter’s birthday of course, October 9th.
apple picking with my family…..reading a book under a warm comforter by a fireplace……college football……..tailgating at college football games….the smell of baking anything with cinnamon and apples……arts and crafts festivals…..hot bubblebaths….turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and alot of gravy…..the smell when raking leaves…..bonfires and smores…..hot tea on a cold morning…..hot Baileys and coffee on a cold night…..farmers markets…..buying the perfect Christmas gift for a loved one….marigolds in my frontyard….. finding a great pumpkin and carving it…..mom’s famous ice cream cake on my dads birthday…..sweaters & jeans……decorating my house in fall colors……but the BEST thing about fall is that Christmas in just around the corner. 🙂
My favorite season is Autumn. I grew up in sunny Florida, where there really is just one season. Now that I live in NC, I really enjoy seeing nature turn on her best colors. The cooler nights somehow awaken the most incredible leaf peeping one could ask for. There is nothing better than snuggling under a warm quilt, with a good book(like Susan’s Autumn book) and a cup of hot chocolate.
the sunny days with a hint of coolness in the air, a perfect day for a walk in the woods or a football game. the smell of smoke in the air from the first fall leaves being burned. pumpkins showing up everywhere you go. hanging clothes outside to dry and watching them flutter in the fall breeze. squirrels and birds aplenty at the bird feeders. the lovely colors of the trees, the plump grapes hanging on the arbor and the apples hanging on the trees that you know will be crisp and delicious. that’s fall outside my backdoor.
Two things happen in the fall that brings me out of my summer hibernation…
1) My electric tea kettle comes outof the pantry and sets up residence on the buffet until spring and…
2) I bring out my 2 favorite fall books- yours and Cranberry Autumn by Wende and Harry Devlin for the kids!
Being a SoCal girl, the leaves on my trees don’t start changing until sometime in November. I usually have painted leaves on my Liquid Ambers for Christmas. But come September, there is something about the Fall Months that make a warm spot in my heart. When September hits I start craving things “Apple”, pie, tarts, cider, cake, streusel, cookies, pudding, bread, donuts, dumplings, turnovers, of course caramel apples and anything else that is apple. Then about mid October, I start craving most of the above again, but in “Pumpkin”. If we didn’t have calendars, I would be able to figure out it was “Harvest Time” by my cravings. Another favorite part of Fall is when I visit my daughter’s house in Napa Valley, some of the vineyards are breath takingly beautiful when in full fall color.
But the best thing about Fall is “Thanksgiving”, a public chance to thank God for all His abundance and Blessings.
I love when the sun peeks through on a gloomy day and the beautiful trees against the dark gray gloomy clouds absolutely RADIATE with color. That, and apple cider!
I love the smell of leaves and wood burning. Taking a walk and looking at the big fall moon. The colors of the trees are so beautiful. I appreciate nature and all its beauty.
I think you’d have to agree we ALL love Fall!
I adore fall on my porch & on the lawn…pumpkins,pansies,snapdragons,mums, kale,bittersweet, cornstalks, a carpet of leaves.
In the kitchen…duck gumbo with crusty french bread slattered with butter, cornbread dressing, pecan pie, cranberries “pop” and leaf shaped spice cookies.
At the State Fair: corny dogs, salt water taffy, caramel apples, 4H farm animals and baby animals too!
At High School & College Football Games: old friends, marching bands, pom-poms, hot chocolate and plaid blankets over several knees.
Fall tickles every one of my senses, making my mouth water, my eyes and ears stand at attention. My nose transports me from todays aromas to autumns past. My heart swells with thanksgiving and my arms reach out to embrace it all in one big loving hug. Here’s one for you too, for sharing the gift of your talents with us all. Ever grateful!
Fall is the start of new beginnings with bulbs being tucked into the ground ready for a glorious Spring, trees shedding their leaves but I know they are settling in for a long sleep in preparation for a flowering show in time to come. The air feels fresh again, children are back in school learning new things with new school supplies and I start my crafts up again with new enthusiasm. It is a time of new beginning of things that were stashed away while the summer heat was on.
WOW…what I love mOST? That is super hard. I love the crisper weather (being from Southern California, well, I hope it shows up soon…LOL) I love the turning of the leaves…snuggling up in a quilt…and I LOVE watching my boy play football…Gotta love the boys of fall…
I love the fall in the Midwest-Illinois for the beautiful colors of the changing leaves, the cool crisp fresh air, the brilliant blue sky, bonfires, hot apple cider, honey crisp apples, big cozy crackling fire in the fireplace with all the lights off and a few candles glowing, snuggling under the covers with hubby, hot pumpkin soup, the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, and hot apple pie, wonderful sweaters, being wrapped up in a goose down blanket all warm just out of the dryer, and decorating the house for fall.
I love taking crisp walks with my hubby and baby girl in the wonderful time before the sun sets. The smell of wood smoke in the air, and cheery orange pumpkins on doorsteps.
Like so many others, I love fall…first off I adore Thanksgiving and all that ties that wonderful holiday to us: gratitude, family, cozy time together and a feast! I love the three Fire Ash trees out my front window (not yet bright red but they will be), fall walks, Saturday bike rides to soccer games, home-made soups, fleece blankets at our college town’s football game, and fires in the fireplace and a picnic in front of the warmth. It’s a time of counting blessings, sinking deeper roots and enjoy the beauty of sparseness.
LOVE your blog so much! ~Beth
LOVE the people who are coming to it! Thanks Beth!
The best thing? Hmm… I would have to say it’s the crisp fall mornings that fill your lungs with cold fresh air, reminding you how glorious it is to be alive.
Love, love, all the traditional gifts of fall, but what I love most is that fall says “home” like no other season. A pot of savory soup simmering on the stove. The warmth and glow of that first fire from our wood stove. Gathering in the last harvest from our garden, and stocking the freezer and pantry to last all those winter days. Soft comfy throws to cover up with when the chill blows in. Enjoying these glorious days rocking on our covered country back porch. Watching my handsome man chop and stack the wood to keep us warm all winter. This beautiful autumn season fills my heart with thanksgiving for our home.
I love the fight! The struggle Mother Nature exhibits to bring in Autumn is exhilarating. One day it’s windy, foggy, cold, maybe raining. I’m looking for my jacket. The next day I’m wondering what happened to my favorite shorts because I’m sweltering. I’m reminded to just let Autumn happen and be alive in the struggle!
It usually takes me a bit to fall into Fall because I love Summer so much. I have a month long birthday (the 7th) celebration and who cannot help but smile at all the good wishes and birthday cakes and treats being lavished upon me? To top it off, I get to shop to my heart’s desire for a big bowl full of my favorite candy because it is Halloween! Life is decadent for me in October. 🙂
Just one thing????? REALLY, just one?? Impossible 🙂 The colors (leaves), comfort food(smells coming from the oven and bubbling in the pot on the stove), the crisp cool air, geese flying in V-formation, cozy quilts to curl up under (hint, hint), and a good book to read, a cup of hot tea or cocoa, JUST ONE???! The beautiful autumn blogs from Susan Branch……… I feel completely at peace during this season!
xoxoxo!
The changing of the leaves (which sadly we don’t get much of in Texas), cooler weather, the smell of a wood burning fire in the fireplace, Friday Night Lights, State Fair of Texas (it’s amazing if you’ve never been), cooler weather (did I say that already?) ’cause it’s been really hot here, and most of all, climbing in bed and the sheets are cold and you need a warm and cozy quilt (preferably one my grandmother(s) made). Fall is a crazy time where things in nature are starting to die, yet I feel life is just getting started. Love The Fall!
I love every thing about fall and orange is my favorite color, so it is even better. I also really love the smell of leaves and a fire, it smells so good. I love to get apples and can apple pie filling for the family and the first apple crisp YUM!
It has to be all of the smells in the air. Every where you turn it’s there. Pumpkin pie baking, leaves, my fall candles, cool crisp days (love it!) – really, what’s not to like? Loved it so much had to have our wedding in the fall. God is good!
I love putting the garden to sleep in the fall, and bringing out the soup and casserole recipes. Knit sweater weather, and backyard fire pit memory making evenings.
The annual wine-making party kicks off fall each year:
A large group of friends and family all convene and first, we break 90 cases of grapes and set them up to sit for the next year. Then, we bottle the wine that’s been fermenting since the previous fall. This year we had over 800 bottles of wine! There are no additives, which means there are no headaches or hangovers. That’s a lot of wine and and lot of laughter!!
And I bet there are lots of volunteers to help!! Like a barn raising, only with wine!
Fall…..Just some of my favorite things: the colors-leaves-pumpkins and witches (…and witches hats!); scarecrows, sweaters, carmel apples and sleeping with the window open on cool nights. I love the way the light is in the late afternoons. Fall picnics and making cozy dinners. It’s always fun to watch the new season’s t.v. shows. And oh yeah~ my birthday!!! Just a few of my favorite things during Fall!
Happy Birthday Linda!
Many, many years ago in 1973, I wanted to get married in September. Mark wanted to get married in October. “I don’t want to get married in Halloween month!” I announced, put out.
He thought that over for a while, then he came back to me and said, “Don’t think of it as Halloween month. Think of it as the time of year when all the leaves change color and everything becomes beautiful.”
We got married on October 25th and now, 38 October 25ths later, we take our vacations around our anniversaries. And unlike a September anniversary, our vacations occur after the October 15th change from summer rates to winter rates on the hotel rosters. So, wherever we go, we can stay longer for less money. And every year, as we are driving to our destination, I see all those beautiful trees abloom in ravishing fall colors and I remember what a very wise man once told me about getting married in October.
Lucky you!
I love the slant of light that falls across my lap as I sit in my favorite red chair with a pile of knitting at hand, a mug of cocoa resting on the coffee table, a bowl of fish crackers beside it – and the screen door open to let the chilly breezes whistle through. I like to orchestrate my moments just so! Of course some of my own quilts are sitting nearby with a black cat sleeping atop the pile – adding one more would be lovely!
I love the crisp exhilaration in the air and the way that everything changes in the fall.
I love, love, love the glorious colors of the autumn leaves!
I love the tastes and smells of hearty soups and stews and the beginning of the time of year to gather inside more as a family.
I love to begin my decorating for the season with the apples and leaves and then the pumpkins, and finally the turkeys. It’s fun to keep adding things until Thanksgiving, when it will be time to take it all down and bring out the beginnings of Christmas!
Thank you, Susan, for your beautiful books – and now your blog – that bring such inspiration and joy for every season of the year! Thank you for the generous offer of the beautiful quilt. Hoping against hope….that it goes to someone very special!
It’s bound to, with all these sweet comments!
There is that first night when it’s so cool you get to put the quilt back on the bed and you wake to find you need your slippers because the tile is just cold enough to make you skip across the floor and your brain seems to have cleared of the summer haze. Oh and for breakfast there will be apple pancakes, maple syrup and bacon with fresh coffee. Fall is a breath of fresh crisp air that awakes my soul to a new start.
Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. Coming home from work when it’s already getting dark, smelling the woodburn from the neighbors fireplace and then opening the door to my home where my three lovely cats are waiting for their cuddle! Going for a walk, enjoying the wonderful colors of the leaves… and then returning home for a bowl of hot chickensoup… Love, love this time of the year!! Thank you so much for sharing your favorites about fall on your blog, it made me feel all cosy and warm inside 🙂
Audrey xx
Fall means a calm and rest for my weary, mind, soul and body! As much as I enjoy the other seasons, this one calms me the most. I was walking under some big trees just the other day and they looked like I felt, and I stopped and looked up and said outloud to the tree, “You will be able to rest soon. You will drop all your worries called leaves, your stress will go back in the ground (sap) and you can rest through the winter in preparation for a glorious spring, but until then, rest, my dear friend, rest.”
Waking up on a sunny Saturday, sneaking out of the house before my two little girls wake, running down the hill to Alki beach, taking in the crisp Fall air with the sunrise over Seattle, coming home to a warm breakfast with tea made by my sweet husband, hearing the sound of football in the background, hopping in the car with my four year old to make a 9am garage sale, finding a great old darling shelf and tablecloth for her room… Love the start of Fall!
I love Fall because it is gorgeous—it can be very brief in Colorado; however, the bits that we have I treasure. The rustling of the leaves under my feet—-I love to walk along a path or sidewalk strewn with leaves. I love pumpkins and putting pumpkin into everything, even chocolate cupcakes! Fall leads to sweaters and flannel and the down comforter and the soup boiling on the stove….it leads to Fall festivals and corn mazes and centerpieces of pine cones and gourds on the dining room table. It is colorful and delicious and I love it all!
My favorite thing is the cool weather. I always have more energy in the fall.
Pumpkin pie.
You’ve had 950 responses so far so I’m taking it easy on you.
You are so funny! OK!
My favorite thing about autumn in Japan is the way the sun sets to the left of Mt. Fuji from my window and the orange color washes all across the sky reflecting into the ocean below~I can’t ever get anything done…Ijust want to stare and absorb the colors into my soul.
That sounds nice!!
My favorite is hot apple cider! 🙂
I love everything about fall… Fall is my season… I love the way the earthly space I inhabit gets quiet, relaxed and sleepy.
After a summer of yard work, running, going, doing. You can have a good sit down with that first hot cuppa tea for the season and really take a deep breath and relax for the moment. Even pull out a cozy afghan for the first time…
Also, tradition for me when the real chill of fall sets in is turning the oven on for the first time after the summer heat. Mixing up a big meatloaf, slicing up butternut squash, and scrubbing ‘taters for baking and after everything is done, dishing up a plate and scooping copious amounts of butter and brown sugar on the squash and loads of butter and sour cream, chives and bacon bits on the baked potato.
Homemade gingerbread for desert. With candied ginger whip cream…
Mmm-Mmm-Mmm!!!
Dear Susan
As I thought about your question “what’s your favorite thing about fall” this morning, I suddenly became a fourth grader again, walking to school down a yellow, orange, burgundy and red sidewalk. I can still hear the crunch of every leaf under my feet and still smell the wonderful woodsy scent that each step released. The tall sheltering trees along my path gently and quietly sprinkled “new” leaves on the ground as I passed so the next child could enjoy this special gift for the senses…but maybe it was just for me on my walk home…
Today (the 28th) is my husband John’s 71st birthday…another favorite thing of fall. This dear, kind, gentle man is the love of my life. We were married in November almost forty-seven years ago on a beautiful day in Pennsylvania. THIS is probably my FAVORITE thing about fall…the beginning of a wonderful life with my best friend, my lover, my children’s father, my soul-mate.
I have many favorite fall memories of my own, those with John, with our three children and now with our six grandchildren. John and I often sit on our front porch and observe all the trees and bushes in our neighbors’ yards that are turning so many vibrant colors. We have seen this yearly event many times yet we never tire of its beauty. We watch in awe as though we have never seen this miracle of nature (of God) before. My past impatience waiting for our own trees to begin their brilliant display has recently turned into grateful calm…OUR trees extend the show, even if just for a few days…I no longer want to hurry it along…
Now that I am in the autumn of my life, I want to take my time and delight in each tree as it sheds its summer green. I couldn’t wait to get out the box of “FALL” decorations and put out the little touches of whimsy that have been part of our family and home for years. The homespun pumpkins, scarecrows, pillows, the wooden “WELCOME” plaque with orange and yellow leaves that hangs on the front door, and the large dried arrangement that fills a wall basket on the porch all add their own coziness to our home. They make us smile. John has changed our wooden blocks to read “Happy Harvest”. They sit above the back door. My room fragrance has changed from Lemon Lavender to Nutmeg & Orange Zest or Spicy Pear…each wonderful scent wafts thru our whole house…John loves it too…this special man…my most favorite thing about fall.
Each year, I add these memories and more to all the other “favorites” that fill my truly grateful heart…I know that I am blessed…
Thank you for that Sherrill!
Susan…
Thank YOU for giving me the incentive to write this…I have been wanting to do so for quite a while…what a wonderful coincidence that it is John’s birthday today! I gave him a copy with a handmade birthday card this morning at breakfast. He must have liked it too, as I became wrapped in a warm, fuzzy hug within seconds!
About an hour ago, we filled our coffee cups(he makes coffee every morning) and I showed him your blog about your cross-country train trip…he LOVED it! We both are train travel fans and he is an HO scale model railroader. If you are ever in the Denver area (we live in SE Aurora) we would love to show you and Joe his little railroad/airplane man-cave. : )
Have a wonderful day…it is 10:00 a.m….just heard the train clock…our day is going to be one of a kind…as they ALL are…
Tell John we say Happy Birthday!
I did and he says, “thank you”… : )
By the way, because of your little video, I can’t get the smell of cinnamon out of my mind (or nose). I am about to make peanut butter and cinnamon sugar toast for lunch…YUM!
Loved your early morning look…wish I could get into the habit of getting up earlier…so much of the loveliest part of the day is lost when I stay snuggled under my blankie in the morning. Of course I tend to stay up late in the company of my trusty(most of the time) computer…John usually gives up on me about 11:30! HA!
O.K. Susan! You can probably tell from my email address that quilts are my favorite things to snuggle in autumn. Also, How to Make an American Quilt is one of my favorite movies. Oct 4th is my birthday. I love that in Fall the summer HOT heat goes away! My favorite smell is apple crisp in the oven! I could go on but….have you guessed that Autumn is my favorite of your books?
Something was telling me that! Happy Birthday Kirsten!
When you have time……..can you tell me how to add my photo to my replies? I’ve done so already on your You Tube. Can’t figure out how to do it on the blog. Thanks.
If i knew how I would tell you, but I can’t do it either! Someone here should be able to help you!
Been sitting here with my fingers on the keyboard for a good 20 minutes, trying to put my thoughts into words, but I think it’s the gathering, the tidying up, the taking stock in what we have, the “getting ready for winter” that makes me love autumn — and doing all of that amid fall’s radiant colors and crisp smells. The birds have that same sense and flock to the feeders — I could watch them for hours, thinking back to autumn days when I was a kid, playing hide and go seek among the corn shocks at dusk, making leaf houses and playing tag in the front yard, going for an afternoon horseback ride through the fallen leaves. Ahh, life is good!
Hi Susan! 🙂
I have several favorites. I love wearing sweaters and my mary janes come back out of the closet. I love mary janes! 🙂 I also love cuddling with quilts and making and eating soups and the smells that fall brings. I love it all! 🙂 Thanks for doing this wonderful give away.
Hugs,
Shann
Love your blog. I’m afraid I am all wistful about autumn even though we are heading into spring in Sydney, spring is gorgeous however it is the long hot summer I am not looking forward to. i shall enjoy your blog with autumn and winter images over our summer. Thank you!
Wow, I have just had the most amazing time reading some of these comments (impossible to read them all, so many)!
My favorite thing about Autumn is walking in the golden woods with my husband and our dogs…and now our little baby boy, too.
But there are so many more….Fall is so precious, and I am always taken by surprise when it arrives, because it seems too special to come every year.
Sending my love to you and Joe, out there in the big world, having your adventures! I think of you often…
xoxoxo
I love the crisp cool air and the smell of the fireplace burning and pumpkin bread baking. All cuddled up in a flannel quilt, sipping tea, reading a good book.
Waiting for old man winter…….
I have always declared fall as my favorite time of year. It’s hard to say precisely why ( I have no faults with the other seasons!) but I do have a childhood memory that conjures up a certain feeling that taps into why I find this time of year most evocative. I was about 8 and the month was October. My mother forgot to pick me up from brownies (gasp! I know, unheard of now but times were different then and as the busy mother of 7 who could blame her losing track of one). Dusk was approaching and my anxiety was building but nonetheless I decided to walk the 2 + miles home. I remember walking as fast as I could and feeling so uneasy that I kept visualizing my home, knowing that every step took me closer to all things safe and sound. (This is where the evocative memory kicks in) I recall the inner relief having made it to my street and finally seeing all the familiar homes. I so clearly remember that distinctive, crisp night air, my cold cheeks, the black silhouettes of trees against the fading red sunset, the distant smell of burning leaves, the winey smell of crabapples, the crisp, scratchy sound of fallen leaves underfoot, halloween decorations scotched taped to windows and pumpkins on doorsteps. And oh, the reassurance of finally reaching home and opening the kitchen door to wafting steam from a pot of something on the stove, apple walnut cake on the counter, 6 noisy bothers and sisters who seemed rather indifferent to the fact their sister had just walked home in the dark….and so close to halloween, how spooky! To this day all those sights and sounds of fall stir something up in me. It’s probably because, like the essence my memory, as the days become shorter and darker home becomes even more of a center of all things familiar and comforting…On a side note, we laugh about this memory now…the day the mother forgot her child! She has no clear recollection of this story which makes it all the more my own memory of autumn.
Very poignant story…xo
Jacquie…so glad you made it home that evening…as I read your story, I was walking right along with you and holding your hand tightly! I was so relieved when “we” opened your kitchen door. How sad that in today’s world most children wouldn’t be able to walk those 2+ miles safely… : ( I remember as a child setting up a “pretend house of many rooms” with my friends in a nearby woods…my, how times have changed.
Have a great day with your lovely memories and enjoy the moments that will become future stories… : )
Thanks for the reply! I’ve never put that memory down in words but I had a few moments before I had to get myself and my kids ready for work and school. It was a fun exercise to start the day with a little creative writing. I should get in the habit of doing it more often! I’m also a new reader to SB’s blog. Wow, what a friendly place. Enjoy the season! Jacquie
In Indiana, the four seasons are all special in their own ways but FALL has to be my favorite. We revel in the sunny warm days and the refreshing crisp nights. We can invite our friends over for a bonfire in the woods which makes the guests feel like they have visited a state park without the travel time. We have a bounty of colorful mums to snip for vases inside the house….and they last forever! It’s time to think of baking once again where lighting the oven doesn’t matter because it’s no longer hot and humid outside. We pile on a few extra blankets on the bed so that we feel burrowed in for the night. And I recall the childhood days when my grandfather, lovingly called Poppo, would visit us and have fresh cider and glazed yeast donuts in hand. Really, is there anything not to like about FALL???
I love Indiana! I love the old movie State Fair too, with Jeanne Crain.
I am in good company so will not feel too weird sharing this ( I think!). There have been some Fall days here in New England where I feel so emotional….the beauty can be so overwhelming that I just want to cry tears of joy that I get to see this.
I had a dream where I found myself in a forest in the Fall at twilight – crunching leaves and winding paths – it was so magical. I remember thinking this is the best setting for a story to take place.
Thank you for all you do, Sue!
Tamsen! So nice to see your sweet self here! I hope your dream comes true!
Tamsen, don’t feel weird about sharing your feelings with us…that’s what having a kindered spirit is all about! We understand you perfectly! As a matter of fact…if we were standing there with you…we’d be crying too! Wouldn’t we “Girlfriends”? Never feel weird about sharing who your inner self is around us. There are so many of us here that would never share any of these wonderful things with our friends we see daily because they just aren’t kindered spirits. It takes a special soul to understand the heart of a kindered spirit and I feel very comfortable speaking for the other “Girlfriends” here when I say “WE” understand and hear you loud and clear! <3 FOSB 4~Ever! ~ Doreen ~
Your are so right Doreen, we’re all long distance girlfriends, with short distances between our hearts.
Sweet comment, Cynthia! So true!
Wow. I am speechless. Thank you!!!!
This is what I love about US! 🙂
Good morning, Susan! You have certainly touched hearts with this post 🙂 I’m still reading through them ~ am so enjoying this sharing 🙂 Thank you again for all your sharing of talents and smiles! It’s a blessing to me to be a small part of such a wonderful gathering ♥ have a very blessed day!
I love the quilt Susan! My favorite thing about fall is going back to school! I’m a teacher and I love to teach!
Susan
We love our teachers! Thank you!!
I love EVERYTHING about the Fall…..but maybe for my favorite I would choose driving down a country road through a woods with a canopy of fiery red and yellow trees above with the sun streaming through. Maybe I’ll send a picture. Just want to thank you for this blog…every morning I bring my coffee to the computer and you are my first stop!
xoxo Thank you Mary Lou!
Fall is a lovely reminder of God’s many blessings and a time to be truly thankful for them. I remember my little girls dressed up in homemade paper pilgrim hats and colorful Indian headbands stuffed with construction paper feathers. Thanksgiving morning I’m busy in the kitchen, the stove turned on full blast, listening to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, preparing for the feast that will greet us in a few hours. We have so much to be thankful for.
I love fall! I think my favorite thing is the crisp, cool feel and smell in the air after a long, hot summer.
I love the feel in the air. Everything feels fresh. Summer can almost be oppressive. There is so much life everywhere. Everything becomes heavy…the plants, the air… When autumn rolls around and the temperature cools…it’s like electricity…I get a charge!
Nicole in MD
It is really hard for me to pick any one thing that I love about fall because I love it all so much, but if I have to pick one thing it would be the smell in the air. I love the smell of woodfires rising from chimneys when I take my dogs out at night. I also love the soups and breads we tend to cook in the fall. Love it all!
Yes, that chilly starry nighttime thing is good! Another reason to have a dog!!
Fall brings the perfect blue skies, crisp air, low humidity, apple picking, pumpkin patches, scarecrows and sweater weather here in New England. I was born a Southern girl but got to NE as quickly as I could and this is home. It feels like I lived here in another life. And, Fall is sometime only dreamed about in the Gulf Coast of Texas.
There’s a quote about people falling in love with New England before they’ve even seen it …that happened to me too!
Hi Susan,
My favourite thing about autumn is pumpkins, specifically jack-o-lanterns. I love to walk around on Halloween with my daughters and see each different face. Everyone who carves a pumpkin becomes an artist (even if it’s just for a day)!
Fondly,
Leslie-Anne
I love the first day of Autumn as when our boys were younger, now in college, we would walk to the coffee shop downtown and I would get a coffee and they a hot chocolate. Here in CA, I love seeing the Ginko Bilboa trees turning into their brilliant gold color.
Here in Brazil, the leaves don’t change colors during fall, but it doesn’t mean the season is any less special. I love the beautiful, cloudless blue skies, the lower, golden sunset, the crisp air and cool breeze. I love making myself cozy on the couch in the evenings. A cup of tea, a good book or knitting, a blanket + watching the fire dance and crackle = autumn heaven in my book. Fall is also a great season for fruit and produce. We wait anxiously for the season that brings us tangerines, jaboticaba and delicious strawberries. I bake more often, as it warms up our apartment and fills it with the smells of cinammon, clove and honey. Fall is the opening of the “soup and risotto season” in our home. There’s something wonderfully therapeutic about making potage parmentier, aspargus soup and mushroom risotto (it must be all the stirring :D)… Spring has just begun, but thank you, Susan, for making me dream of fall. Lots of love to you,
Happy Spring Marcia!
My favorite thing in Fall is my morning walk crisp air,crunching leaves and the beautiful colors on the trees. So comforting!
officially, my favorite things are the colorful leaves (western mass) and the smell of woodsmoke on a crisp day or cold evening. unofficially, it’s the way my husband calls fall “the harbinger of death” because it precedes the dreaded
winter. i laugh every time he says it!
LOL!