September 17, 2007
Fall Shopping … and a CONTEST!
We had a great weekend with College Guy and his friend Illinois Guy. As you might imagine, he was “oh so happy” to pose for this picture “for the blog”. But I said, “I have to take a photo - otherwise they won’t believe you actually came home!” Ok, that’s not true. I just like getting at least one photo of him when he’s home. (Well it IS true that I told him I needed photo-evidence for the blog. But mostly, I just wanted a picture for me.) He grew up with a scrapbooking mom - he’s pretty tired of photos, I think. (But boy does he have great albums of his life. Someday he’ll appreciate that, right? Or maybe someday his future wife will appreciate it.)
I did a little shopping today. Never mind that I have waaaay too many emails in my in-box to answer. I paid bills AND scheduled a dentist appointment today, and if you know anything about me, you know that those are two of my least favorite things to do. Susan (The Awesome Assistant) told me I deserved to go shopping. And who am I to argue? So slowly, I’m starting to turn the house over to fall. 
Fall is my absolute favorite season of all and I love doing up the house with all things autumn. It would be smart for me to decorate with what I have first, and then see if there are any holes that need filling. But what fun is that? So today I bought this great gourd, and candle. Tonight I’ll get the rest of the stuff out that I already have (after dealing with all of my emails - I promise). Maybe later in the week I’ll go shopping again to fill in the holes. Don’t tell WH. (Who, by the way, really really appreciated all of your birthday wishes last week! And who, by the way, really really hated that I put a picture of him on the blog in an apron. I got in trouble over that one.) 
Just so you don’t think it was all about fall today, I also got this beautiful pottery mug in the mail today from my new favorite pottery place. The pie plate was a gift from a friend, and I immediately hopped right over to the website to see if he had any mugs. (Actually, my friend was going to buy me mugs, but knew of my “mug problem“. Obviously that didn’t stop me. Obviously that is why I have a mug problem.) John does amazing work and is featured in several museums. I’m happy to have these two pieces from him.
I also found this fun bag today. (Did I mention that I have a bag problem, too? I’m addicted to great bags. sigh. Surely there are some of you out there who share this affliction??) I love the way this gal tied on a bunch of fun ribbons. I tried to get her to make them for us at Loopy, but she is having a hard time keeping enough in stock at the shop where she works. She kept my card, so maybe in the future.
I’m thinking we won’t have an official Sneak Up this week. Only because Susan felt the need to take off to San Diego for the rest of the week. (She needs a vacation from the yarn. Go figure.) And while the other Loopy Elves and I could probably handle a Sneak Up without her, it just wouldn’t be as much fun! So we’ll take a little breather and be back next week with more fun stuff. (”What stuff?”, you ask? Well, we have Yarn Pirate, Yarntini, more Fiesta, more from Schafer, and the new Classic Elite Alpaca Sox yarn, for a start. Plus more of Wendy’s Patterns. And oh BOY, wait until you see our two newest indie dyers! They won’t be here next week - but they’ll be here in October.) Also, we are heading out of town on Friday morning to visit College Guy for Parent’s Weekend at his college. (I know - I’m spoiled, aren’t I?) So orders placed Thursday night and into the weekend, will start shipping on Monday morning.
And now, the September Loopy Loot contest. Since Fall is my favorite season, I’d love to know something that you like about the Fall. Do you have certain family traditions for the season? Special recipes that you make? Decorations that you love? A favorite Fall memory from your childhood? What makes the Fall special for you and your familiy? Leave your answer in the blog comments and we’ll randomly pick one winner. This month, the winner will receive two skeins of highly coveted yarn - a skein of Wollmeise in Raku-Regenbogen (I kept one of these for myself!) PLUS a skein of the beautiful Pumpkin Spice from Yarntini. Woohoo!
Sheri whatbetterwaytocelebrateFallthanwithnewyarnfortheseason?
DataGoddess said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
Fall means pumpkin pie and the return of soups and stews to the menu. I love to cook, and hopefully I’ll get to cook more now that my desk is on the other side of the wall from the kitchen
I would wave to you guys as you drive up to CG’s Parents’ Weekend, but I’ll be out of town, too. Going to sit around and knit with a friend in LA for the weekend.
knitography said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:35 pm
Fall is one of my favourite seasons too! There are many reasons for this but here are two of them. Firstly, I LOVE the fresh, crisp air of fall, which smells absolutely fantastic. The second thing I love about fall is my annual visit to the pumpkin
patch to pick out my halloween pumpkin. I love pumpkin pie, so I always get a few extra pumpkins for that purpose. I know you can get them at the grocery store, but it’s so much more fun to go straight to the pumpkin patch. Besides, maybe one day when I’m there I’ll see the Great Pumpkin!
Nichole said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
I love ALL things fall - its my favorite time of year. The cooler temps mean we can take out the handknits and wear them proudly (and without sweating to death)! Apple picking… walking around a fair with a mug of hot apple cider… cider donuts… apple crisp… yum-o! What’s not to love about fall when you live in New England??!!
cecily said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
honestly, the thing i like most about fall is the smell of the early fall air. it’s so crisp, and sometimes full of the smell of fires in fireplaces. also, i’m quite the little kid at heart, and i love to be able to scuff my feet through leaves. and it’s not fall without my mother’s applesauce, which she puts a lot of cinnamon in. yummm.
Denise said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
Of course, high school football is my favorite fall tradition, but is starts so early now that last Friday’s game was the first one that even felt “fallish.” It was game four of ten.
Over at the Wool Gathering at Young’s Jersey Dairy near Yellow Springs, Ohio, I started a new fall tradition. They have cinnamon ice cream for fall. Yummmmy!
Karen said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:37 pm
Fall means taking our sailboat to a quiet cove on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, anchoring overnight, and watching the geese flying to destinations unknown. It’s a restorative time — very special.
Ellie said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:38 pm
Fall means bringing out the cozy sweaters, and snuggling under blankets to watch tv. Not to mention the cooking and baking that’s not quite right for the rest of the year - pumpkin cheesecake, warm apple turnovers.
Nancy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:38 pm
Fall is my absolute favorite season. It contains my 2 favorite holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Halloween allows you to be anything you want, just for one day, without question or comment, and Thanksgiving is all about family. And neither require you to give presents to anyone at all. Purely pleasure as far as I am concerned. One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to make donuts. Especially the ones that turn them selves over in the pot while they are cooking. I need to get this recipe out and make them for my grandchildren as it has been a few years since I have done it for them. I have finally been able to taste the pumpkin spice at Starbucks. YUMMMM.
ChristyH said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:38 pm
Fall, how do I love thee, let me count the ways. I love fall because I can close my windows. (I live on a busy street) I love the color of the leaves and sometimes it looks like the earth is on fire. The snap to the air recharges my batteries and I feel energized again. Baking breead is not a chore anymore. I could go on and on but I think you get the point.
What no sneak up!!!! Wahhhh and I finally have funds to spend. You certianly know how to torture a person. Is North Korea looking for you? LOL
Christy in Michigan
Darlene said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:39 pm
What’s not to like about fall? I love the crisp air that smells like woodsmoke and leaf smoke, thoughts of harvest grains and vegetables, hearty soups, and the colors all around–orange and green are my favorite colors, so seeing all the trees wearing orange and red and green and yellow all at once is a treat!
Wendy in Cambridge said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
I love fall! Halloween is my favorite holiday, and my birthday is the last week in October. One of my favorite childhood memories is going trick-or-treating every year with my parents and little brother. It was cool and dark out, very suitable for what was, to me, the most magical night of the year. And it came just a few days after my Halloween birthday party!
That was in the late forties. Today, I have two very good friends who are 7 and 4, and we go trick-or-treating every year!
Tammy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
Oh how I miss fall! Here in So California, it doesn’t mean more than a slight drop in temperature and a few falling leaves.
Anyway, my absolute favorite thing about autumn would be my childhood memories from New York of the colors… and leaping into the pile of freshly raked leaves!
Phyllis said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
Love the gourd, and the mug is a perfect match for the pie plate.
Fall brings memories of trips to the Franklin Cider Mill (it’s been there practically forever) and crazy Halloween parties and costumes. One memorable party was the first year we were married. Party was held at a bachelor friend’s new home. Bachelors only needed bottle openers in those days. One of the guys came as the mummy, and his bride had wrapped him in yards and yards of gauze — and forgot to leave an important opening/escape hatch. He didn’t realize it until after a couple of beers. Yep. And being a bachelor pad, no scissors to be found. We had to cut him out of the gauze with a steak knife. He was teased for months!
melissa said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:43 pm
fall is my favorite too! i’m looking forward to making lots of soups, lots of pumpkin pie, and wearing my new coat!
Sharon said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:43 pm
OK. I’ve seen bags that I like, but that one just about did me in. I REALLY, like those colors! Fall - I love to have a little fire in the back yard and have a marshmallow roast. There is nothing like a fire in the fall.
Amy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:44 pm
I have a different approach to fall than family celebrations now that I’m in college. At my school, we have Black Cat. See, we’re a small women’s college without sororities or anything, so we ban together as classes and have been celebrating this for almost 100 years. Each class has a color and mascot .For example: my class is red so we chose the Phoenix as our Mascot. Black Cat week occurs in early fall and celebrates our unity as a school, especially with the first-years. We have everything from a play making fun of the school to a bonfire in a trashcan (cheesy) to sports day to a big dance at a nice venue. It’s pretty much amazing and as the cool wind comes in we can feel the warmth in the sisterhood of our college.
PS: The winner gets a black cat toy.
Tanya said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:44 pm
I love fall too - just a wonderful time of year!
Let’s see - I suppose our current tradition (since we have a small child) is raking up all the leaves and then running around in them until they’re scattered all over the yard again. Really though, fall means apple pie in my world. Preferably my step-dad’s - he makes the best pie ever, and even does his own crust. I’ve never mastered pie, so I invite myself over to their house at every opportunity in the fall.
I suppose another wonderful part is pulling out all the lovely wool socks that I’ve knitted and haven’t been able to wear in 90 degree/90% humidity weather.
Miss T said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:44 pm
Fall is my very favorite season. The colors, the crispness of the air, the chance to wear scarves and shawls and jackets, I love everything about it. And fall food is fabulous–soups, stews, gratins–I’ve been craving it for months already! I love scrunching through leaves and wearing boots with my jeans. I love pumpkins and squash and peppers and the last good tomatoes of the season. Really, it should last for at least six months!
Amy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:45 pm
What don’t I love about fall? Its probably my favorite season too. I love digging out my fall sweaters and being able to wear them. I love the changing of the leaves and taking walks in the cool, brisk air…
Probably my favorite tradition, started as a child, but continues into adulthood is watching “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” Poor Charlie “I got a rock” Brown… And I absolutely to this day love Snoopy, especially his laugh. It makes me smile every time. : )
Angela Milazzo said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Fall in our family usually means the return of homecooked hot meals - beef stew, chicken and veggie soup, and especially chili.
AnnaMarie said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Fall for our family is snuggle time. It’s colder so we need to snuggle more with each other, the Corgis, fuzzy blankets and warm leather recliners. It’’s time for more hot tea, less ice tea. More reading and DVD watching, less outdoor time. Fall is always my time of renewal and taking stock of the year behind while I look back on what has been and think about what will be for next year.
I’ve always thought that Fall took me all the way to New Year’s Eve where I take my hopes and dreams and write them down for the next year. It’s always coldest in January here which for me is true winter.
Right now I’ve got months and months to snuggle and dream.
I love Fall!!!
Aimee said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:48 pm
Fall means Halloween!!!! I am a Florida girl, so I have never fully appreciated the return of sock weather until I started knitting socks since I spent most of the year in flops, but it means sock weather - all those socks I knit all year get to come out and play. It also means that I have a birthday coming up. So does Tattoo Boyfriend.
I don’t look forward to the holidays. I do look forward to the annual changing of the leaves in the Carolina Mountains (if you have the chance, you should come see someday!). I look forward to SAFF!!!!! And I get Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffins at Starbucks!!!!
Katherine said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:48 pm
Sadly, my family has no fall traditions. None! But for you, Sheri, I will start one. I hereby declare fall for my family will mean Pumpkin! Now I just have to decide what pumpkin to pursue. Shall I make pumpkin bread? Pie? Soup? Mom loves pumpkin butter… It’s going to be grand!
Sally said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:49 pm
I love long Sundays filled with football (and knitting, of course) with a big pot of soup or chili for dinner. Pumpkin spice lattes and Carmel apple cider too, yum!
Jodi said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
Fall is my favorite season when I’m in Chicago (if I’m in Minnesota, it’s winter!). Trips to the apple orchard, baking up a storm, having a fire in my wood-burning stove, long walks along Lake Michigan — theses are all good things about fall.
Kim said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
Fall means the kids trick-or-treating in the crisp evening air! You can just smell fall!
I just had to click over to the pottery site you mentioned and fell in love with a mug and saucer, so here I am trying to find out the price and where it has to come from and I look at the address and It’s about 5miles from my house!
Wouldn’t you know it, something that beautiful and it’s always been right around the corner, and I knew nothing about it (and dare I say that I go to places specifically to buy pottery!) Sometimes you just have to shake your head and laugh over things
Melissa said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
My favorite season is fall also! I love the crispness of the air and the crunch of leaves under foot. I love pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin butter bars (so good!!) and pumpkin lattes. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I love when it gets cool enough for me to wear my college sweatshirt and to visit my alma mater and see the marching band.
shadkitty said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:56 pm
What don’t I love about Fall?
When I was little we used to go to upstate New York to see some family, and they would have a festival called the Fall Foliage Festival. We would all eat funnel cakes, watch the parade and roam around. It was beautiful! October is one of my favorite months all together. People start decorating for Halloween, you can smell the crisp leaves in the air. Sometimes we have bonfires. I love to dress up for Halloween! It is so much fun to pretend to be someone else for a night, and you get candy!!! Whoever thought that up should be given a medal…or at least a candy bar. lol
Then in November, the air gets a bit crisper. We can pull out our sweaters and socks. Our family always gets together to eat. I love to eat! Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, pecan pie, pumpkin pie! When we are together for the holidays, my father and I always make fudge together, I’ve been doing it so long now that I can’t remember when I started. I know how to tell when fudge is at the softball stage without even checking! We haven’t always been close, my father and I, but that one little tradition keeps us from drifting too far. The fudge is usually gifted to other friends and family, and taken into work.
I am now a little south of my birthplace, and it’s taking us a bit for the weather to get the message. Still, in my mind I am already wrapping up in blankets and sipping hot chocolate, watching the leaves turn as the kids stand at the bus stop. It’s a beautiful time.
Yvonne said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:56 pm
I think what I love the most about fall is that it is so pretty outside. There is that nip in the air and the leaves turn colors. I love how the trees look. And as a new knitter, fall means to me the time to start working on scarves for winter and the new ability trying to learn how to knit socks.
Halloween is also great. I think what will stick in my mind about Halloween was when I was a kid went out to the country one Halloween to see some friends and this is out in no man’s land. But what I remember the most was seeing toilet paper in the trees. The trees were covered with it. Dont see stuff like that in the big ole city.
Yvonne
Gretchen said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:56 pm
I love getting to wear my sweaters again. I’m a little ashamed to say I haven’t knit myself one yet, (socks are too addicting) but they are my favorite thing to wear. I also love going to the stores and browsing all the back to school supplies. I have a “cute notebook problem” as well.
Jen said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
Fall marks the return of two of my favorite things: soup season and cooler weather! I unabashedly hate summer and the hot, humid, mugginess that it brings. Give me 15 degrees and 10 inches of snow any day! And the cooler weather means I can drag out my soup pot and make my favorites - chicken soup with tortellinis (a family recipe) and minestrone soup (another family recipe).
Karen said,
September 17, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
I love the fall - the changing of the leaves are just gorgeous and I love to go for a drive up into the mountains to see all the fall foliage. Simply beautiful!
I remember as a little girl, we’d go to the apple farm and pick apples, get pumpkins and in the end we had hot apple cider and fresh hot apple donuts. If it was a nice day, we’d go on the hay ride (something I continued to do with my daughter when she was little) (I wonder, now that she’s in college, if she’d still do that with me?)
Nikki said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:00 pm
My favorite NEW thing about fall is finally getting to wear the socks I made all summer!! My favorite thing in general about fall is the cool crisp mornings where you need a light jacket or sweatshirt and the glorious afternoons where you carry your jacket out. And the color of the sky, and the leaves turning and that Halloween is in the fall… and that my cats start snuggling with me again (ok, really it’s the fleece blanket but I pretend its me!) and well, I just love fall!!
michelle said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:00 pm
I’m a fall lover also. The colors, the colors drive me crazy! Everywhere I go during this time of year takes a bit longer because I have to take detours. There’s a favorite spot of mine in West Stockbridge (MA) that is lovely all seasons, but in the fall it is breath taking. There are so many trees that you’re like in a tree tunnel, and when they are in full color I try to go that route anytime I can. It’s only a couple of blocks stretch but oh so beautiful.
It’s funny though, at one time in my life I thought they should switch the seasons to only two, spring and summer. Growing up in southern CA you really do not get the experience
Kim A. said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
Fall is my favorite season, too. I love the way the light changes, and I remember the crisp fall days of my childhood in New England–the gorgeous foliage against the bright blue sky in particular. I distinctly remember the first time I tasted pumpkin ice cream; I was in college and a friend introduced me to it. Yum!
Sherry said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
I wish I could say I loved the fall. It’s always sad to me that the daylight hours gets shorter and it’s colder. As for childhood memories, any good ones are tainted by the anniversary of my only sibling/sister’s death on 10/4 when she was 8 & I was 4. My sister’s death was followed by mother’s death on 11/12 - 2 years later. Don’t know why I’m sharing this info in the comments. But I have to say writing this makes me realize & remember why I feel so yucky this time of year.
On a positive note, as the season marches on, I appreciate that the pace of life is slower .. there’s more time for knitting and relaxing.
Betty H said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:06 pm
I love to see the leaves change. I like the smells in the air, fresh rain, fireplace smoke, and the foods cooking (pumpkin and pecan pies). I love being with my family. I like people gathering around sporting events from high school, college and professional levels.
Patricia said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:08 pm
Fall for my family means pulling out “The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” and watching it while we have hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream and pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips. After that we start the discussion of Halloween costumes. We have kept our tradition while living in states that are still pretty warm in fall by utilizing the air conditioning. I love fall because it is such a snuggly time and brisk and fresh at the same time. I get to pull out sweaters and all of the decorations and soup and stew recipes. Fall is awsome!
karen w said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
The one thing I like about fall is taking a trip to the apple orchard and cider mill. And baking all things appley.The hay wagon ride out to the trees to pick your own apples is a blast. The cider and donuts are yummy. The only bad thing are the BEES! at the cider mill. Crack open that first jug sitting at the picnic tables with your fresh donuts and the bees come swarming. Look out!
The downside of fall is that it turns into winter, which means 2-3 months of a slushy mess. It seems that here in Metro Detroit, it is too cold for the snow to stick around like it did when I was a kid. (Not *that* long ago thankyouverymuch!).
Barbara said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:11 pm
I have two favorite memories of the fall season. I went pumpkin picking with
my grandchildren when I was able. That was always a lot of fun. Of course we always
had to bring them home and cut them out for Halloween. I think my daughter-in-laws made pumpkin pies out of the what we chopped out. The other was
to go to Eckert’s Apple Orchard and pick apples. Several and I mean several
years ago, my friend Darrel and I picked apples until we hadn’t any more room for
them in the car. The next day we spent making apple pies, apple betty, baked
apples, and anything else that had an apple in it. I guess we probably froze at
least l5-20 apple pies. That was fun too. I wish I could do both of those things
over again. My grandchildren might just be too old to go pumpkin picking right
now. It’s funny how you pick them when your little and then you want to pick them
again when you’re all grown up.
Stacey said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
I love all things fall! Leaves, pumpkins, football, halloween, the smell of wood in the fire! I love them ALL!
Traditionally, we visit the local pumpkin farm and pick out pumpkins, eat apple cider donuts and drink cider. And I am always asked to make my Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting at every fall family gathering! They are FAB! But sooo bad for me!
carolyn said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
fall is our favorite time of the year.. since we live in Texas, we finally get to cool off!
I have to get my husband his favorite fall candles - “Witches Brew” from Yankee Candle (I got them this weekend). And the first truly cool night of the season we burn those and have White Chicken Chili for dinner and start the first fire of the fall in the fireplace.
I can’t wait.
Wendy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:14 pm
Oh how ironic that one of the prizes is a delicious yarn in PUMPKIN! I absolutely adore pumpkin! Pumpkin flavored everything! One of my favorite things about fall is that I can get all sorts of goodies that come in pumpkin flavor and I have a good excuse, it’s pumpkin season! Every year we go out to the farm on the weekends to pick pumpkins, load up on pumpkin muffins, pumkin cookies, pumkin pancake batter, and pumpkin butter. At Thanksgiving, mom knows to get one pumpkin pie for the family and one for me! I know, a little over the top, but hey, it’s only one time a year that I get to indulge like this. Fall is totally my season. After all, I am an October baby. Rusty reds, oranges, browns, and golden tones look best on me and my wardrob is bursting with fall colorways.
Missy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:18 pm
I LOVE FALL
growing up in california meant no real “fall” for me.
now it’s my favorite season of the year… for many reasons:
my birthday’s in october
I love the crisp air
the pretty leaves
PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES (Which are the gateway lattes to the christmas drinks)
spiced apple cider
the pumpkin patch with my son
OHIO STATE FOOTBALL!!
I love just about everything fall
Karen Wong said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:18 pm
Here in Texas, it can be hot and summer-like until November, so, in celebration of the season, I bake my special apple cake and we eat it in the autumn chill of the AC…ah–I can almost see ripening pumpkins, colorful leaves, and that nip in the air (even though it was 99F today).
Enjoy the season!
Barb said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:20 pm
Fall is probably my favorite season, especially here in the Pacific Northwest. The days are already getting shorter, which means knitting earlier in the day, watching some TV and cuddling with WH and our two dogs.
The apples are falling off the trees in our backyard and I’m making every version of apple pies, crisps, brown betties, etc. that you can imagine. The house smells so good. I just today surrendered the summer flags for the scarecrow and pumpkin versions…Next up a fire in the wood stove and, of course, my clogs and handknit socks….
~Kristie said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:20 pm
My favorite fall memory is when my husband and I bought our new home and a month later got married in the backyard with our closest family & friends in attendance. Since we were house-poor from all those horrible closing costs & such, we had to skip our honeymoon, but our new fall tradition is that every anniversary we take a trip somewhere. This year — we’re off on a mini-cruise!
LaLa said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:20 pm
I love the smells of fall. Apple Cider is one of my favorite. Luckily, Beanpods makes a great Apple Cider candle (I went shopping today, too and found them on sale at Hallmark). I also love the smells of leaves, pumpkin pie, pine trees, and the first snow.
georgia said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:21 pm
you know, i made mr. yarnpirate an apron out of camouflage canvas-type fabric. it’s very manly. maybe your hubby needs one too…
mouse said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:22 pm
Fall is my favorite season because it contains my two favorite holidays.. Halloween/Samhain and my birthday! I LOVE pumpkin pie (my grandma’s was the best.. but sadly she didn’t pass on the recipe and no one can duplicate “that” taste) and fall leaves, the smell of fireplaces, the warm cozy smell you get when you turn the heat on for the first time, Witches Brew candles from Yankee Candle, hot spiced apple cider & hearty soups and stews… and the wearing of handknits and boots!
My favorite holiday tradition is carving pumpkins. I have those little saws and special tools to aid in the process.. and I usually make my own stencils. The pumpkins get more and more elaborate every year.. my son (now 6) absolutely loves watching the shapes and faces come to life.
Cindy in Oregon said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:22 pm
Fall is my favorite time of year. I love watching the leaves change colors and the hint of crispness that greets the morning air. I love, love, love being able to put my BIG down comforter on my bed again. Nothing beats being curled up in a comfy bed under a big down comforter with the windows open and crisp air coming in.
Julie S. said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:22 pm
Fall has both Hallowe’en *and* Thanksgiving! What more could you ask? My best childhood memories are all of Fall - the start of school, the start of Girl Scouts, Hallowe’en, picking apart bread to make stuffing to stuff the turkey, apple pie dumplings and cider doughnuts at the orchard, thinking ahead to the Christmas cookies…Fall is definitely my favorite season in New England.
Lauren said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
No questions asked - the best part of fall when I was little was warm home-made applesauce with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top as an after-school snack. And I think my favorite part now is that when the weather gets a little cooler people don’t look at me like I’m crazy for knitting wool socks!
Vera said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
I love fall because I was married in the fall (October 28th), so when the temps start to drop a little, and things get more comfy, and I see all the fall decorations, I’m reminded of my wedding day. My colors and decorations were fall themed.
My hubby loves fall becuase Halloween is his favorite holiday. I don’t care one way or the other so much, but I love to see him so happy about Halloween. He even picks out my costume for the parties we must attend.
Of course, he would have loved to have gotten married on Halloween, but I drew the line on that.
Laura said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
Fall is my favorite season as well, mostly because of the weather. Here in PA, the summers are hot and humid and winters are freezing. Fall is perfect, sweatshirt and jeans weather. I also love the leaves changing color and watching Penn State football
And this year, I’m excited to wear the socks I learned to make this summer!
Theo said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
We have a vulture tree, where many, many of those guys live. They always come about March 25th and always leave September 25th, so that definitely is the beginning of fall. We also have geese, geese and more honking geese!! I love it. We often have Indian Summers and cut our firewood this time of year. It is so gorgeous. So, we have lots of Fall activities. It is my favorite time of year as well!! Crisp mornings with a little frost and warmer afternoons, the aspens that turn amazing colors….
christa said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
Fall means the return of pumpkin and cinnamon to my life. When I was a kid, we used to (and still do) make Old Witch’s Magic Pumpkin Cake. The recipe was from the back of a children’s book from the library. It also means mulled cider and pumpkin pie. My three favorite holidays are in the fall as well…Halloween, Thanksgiving and my birthday and these treats go along with them beautifully.
Sandra D said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:25 pm
I’ve always liked fall best, too. Different reasons during different stages of my life. But it’s always been about the colors - fall colors just really sing to me. And right now, it’s also about being able to open the windows again, after the heat of summer and the need to live with the AC. I can hear the birds and the rattle of leaves in the breeze.
I LOVE your gourd! Enjoy your weekend at CG’s school. And now I won’t worry about missing another Sneak Up by going to the yarn shop tomorrow!
Lauren said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:26 pm
oooh - and roasting pumpkin seeds after carving jack-o-lanterns!
kit said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:26 pm
my favorite things about fall are makings soups and stews again and taking the kids to the apple orchard and to a local farm to handpick their pumpkins for carving.
ann said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:27 pm
I will be married 30yrs. on October 1st of this year. This year is also special because my son will be married on October13th! Love is in the air or maybe it’s cinnamon and spiced apples and pumpkins!!!
Rebecca said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:27 pm
My favorite fall memories involve jumping in large piles of leaves, getting caramel apples with my mother (and not getting some for my brother or father), and going on long walks in the crisp evenings. I love those little marshmallow pumpkins (in fact I just bought a bag), fresh apple cider, and winter squash. I love the excuse to wear beautiful handmade scarves and the excuse to knit more.
And I shouldn’t forget Cranberry-Apple Crisp. Mmmm… Fall is yummy.
Lynda said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:28 pm
I love to decorate outside with pumpkins, mums, and pansies. Inside, I start to burn my favorite fall scented candles. One of my favorite fall dinners is roast with butternut squash and sweet potatoes. I just bought a butternut squash yesterday, and I’m looking forward to making that very dish. I also look forward to Friday night High School football games and the end of Daylight Saving Time!
Sandra said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:28 pm
My family has their own football game called the toilet bowl (the prize is a painted toilet lid heh) Then a pig roast and hayrack ride. We look forward to it as a family every year. The family is large so there are people that we only see at this event. Makes me love fall even more!
Kelly said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:29 pm
What a beautiful mug and pie plate! I too share the bag addiction. I just can’t resist a cute bag. My favorite thing about fall is packing up the kids and going apple picking. Then after we come home we have apple cider and the kids help me make apple pie.
meg said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:30 pm
Fall means making Mulled Cider with Williams Sonoma Mulling spices. Making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins. We take lots of walks in the woods and kicki around the leaves! I also love taking pictures of our family outside by the leaf piles.
I think I love Fall becasue it is the start of new routines and all things cozy:)
Jana said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:31 pm
Fall is my favorite season, too. It’s perfect, not too hot or too cold and everyone stays closer to home (or indoors) playing cards, watching movies, eating popcorn and laughing. I especially love Halloween so that makes it the perfect season. The Fuji apples are ready. We have a great farmers market and it is so great when the Fuji’s are picked (the wait until the first frost, to make the sugar go into the apple - that’s what the guy said anyway, every time I would say “are they ready yet”) here in Washington we love our apples.
Karen said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:31 pm
I always like to bake pie pumpkins and make pumpkin pies from scratch. None of that canned crap for me. And I love the colors of the trees, and the fresh MN apples, and my birthday is in the fall too!
Lisa said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:33 pm
Love the “cooler’ weather. (In Dallas, that just means lower 90’s) high school football and the State Fair. I always loved fall - especially October - because that is when my birthday is! Growing up, October was ” birthday month” around my house : a grandmother on the 4th, me on the 8th, my Mom on the 16th and my brother on the 23rd. My mom always made me this great chocolate cake…….
Lisa J said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:34 pm
Fall is my favorite season too. I am glad there are so many of us! I went to college in Western Mass and let me tell you, I loved autumn in the Berkshires. I think the red leaves are my favorite. No, yellow. No, purple. No, greeny gold. Well, you get the idea. The other fantastic thing about fall is the return of pumpkin pie ice cream. MMMMMM.
Monica said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:36 pm
Fall is also my favorite season. I love the cooler temperatures. I love that I can start wearing my sweaters and hand knit socks. But mostly I love all the colors. I don’t think there is any thing prettier than the oranges and reds and yellows of the changing trees against the clear blue fall sky.
As for memories, I always loved Thanksgiving, my mom would bake at least 15 or 20 pies ( I am not exagerating) the house would smell so good … pumpkin spice and baking apples. And then right after Thanksgiving the cookie baking would begin. Ok now I need to find something sweet to eat.
Now every fall we take the kids to the Scottish Festival and get fresh apples, apple cider, apple butter, and apple dumplings from our favorite apple orchard. We all look forward to that.
OK I could go on forever about Fall, but I will stop. I think I need a pumpkin spice latte now FPS
Melissa Featherly said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:37 pm
I love the cool crisp air of fall. I love when it is cold enough to snuggle up on the couch with a hand-knit blanket. I love the the colors of the leaves as they change . I also love to make apple pie!
Kathy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
I love fall, too. It means I can turn off the AC, throw open my windows and let the crisp, autumn air fill my home.
Fall in Colorado isn’t too shabby, but I was raised in Northern Michigan and fall there was magical. The colors were so vibrant and I used to love walking in the woods with my dog. I can still here the ‘crunch crunch’ under our feet. I had a collie when I was a teenager and I think she loved those fall walks in the woods as much as I did!
Ronni said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:39 pm
I love fall too. I love decorating the house up for Halloween. I usually start with just some fall colored flowering plants in the house and a wreath on the door and work my way up slowly. We end up decorating up the place for months though - Fall to Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years right through Valentines. (I have a patient hubby as I believe I have mentioned before.)
And I love being able to cook again. The last few weeks of summer are too hot to put the oven on so one of the first things I do in the fall is make Shepherd’s Pie (I’ll put the recipe on my blog someday soon) and start doing more baking. Both of which are big hits around here. But I think the best thing about Fall here is that when the rain starts Christmas is coming. I formed that subliminal signal when we moved to California when I was a kid and to this day (many many years after I could be called a kid) I’ll spend a week grinning like an idiot after the first rainfall of the fall.
Grace said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:41 pm
One of the things I love about the fall is the abundance of APPLES! I live in the northern suburbs of Chicago, closer really to Wisconsin, and I make my boyfriend go with me to a ton of apple places. There is one place I try to go to every year (they have brats and fresh doughnuts to boot!) and we try to go to a few new places. Right now the foliage is still pretty green, but the leaves will be turning soon. So lovely. My boyfriend also hunts and I usually accompany him (hoping each time that the deer evade him–don’t tell him!), but we travel to really lovely parts of Wisconsin. I am also a HUGE football fan, mostly pro but I do like a good college game, too! Plus I love SWEATER weather; what knitter doesn’t?
Kristi said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
Fall for me is Pumpkin-Apple Soup with Curry and Cream. It was a recipe I saw while in college–many, (too many) years ago–at a friend’s house. A dozen years later I found the out-of-print book on a clearance table at a discount bookstore! It also means taking out all my sweaters and corduroy pants to go run out in the leaves with my kids. Driving through the Berkshires or the Adirondacks are close seconds!
Jenna said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
I absolutely love fall but it’s so short where I’m from. Sometimes we really one get maybe a week or two of in between weather stuck between summer and our ridiculously long winter. What I love most about the season is the crispness. The crisp, fresh feeling of the air as the humidity fades. But especially the sounds of the leaves as you walk over them and you can crunch them under your feet and they make that satisfying crinkling sound. Perhaps my favourite fall memory was going through a corn maze just outside of the city.
Maria said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:44 pm
We have a motorhome and every fall we sneak the kids out of school for a day and head up to Northern Minnesota (Duluth) to check out the fall color. Well, we also go for mexican food. The State Parks in Minnesota are awesome! Please let me brag, because about 6 months of the year Minnesota is frozen!!!
Tracy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:45 pm
Outside, Fall is the beautiful colors and crunch of leaves underfoot and that wonderful fall “smell” and difference in light when I’m out for a hike.
Indoors, Fall is the smell of things cooking in the oven (pot roast! cookies!) and the sound of football on the tv. Cozy!
Janelle said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:45 pm
I grew up in Texas, where we didn’t really have fall. Now I live in Pennsylvania, and fall still feels like a holiday every year. I love when the air turns a little crisp and we start drinking cider from the orchards in our county. We always take the kids to buy mums and pumpkins, and pose a photo on the front porch. We have one from every October and one of these days, I’ll get around to framing them. I have an idea about starting a progression of boys-with-pumpkins pictures going down the hallway or something.
And of course, one has to eat large quantities of those mallowcreme pumpkins.
SpaceCase said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:46 pm
I love autumn, but it’s a lot different in Chicago than it was growing up in the mountains of New Hampshire. So in recent years, I’ve discovered a special treat that only comes around in the autumn - the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. It reminds me of trips to apple orchards and seeing the mountains covered in a rainbow of colors. Sure, it’s a stretch, but it’s also yummy.
Ann said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:47 pm
I love fall also. I don’t think there’s any one thing that stands out. It’s just the combination of the nights being cooler, the clear blue sky, the smell of the leaves and flowers at the end of their season, the harvest foods made with apples and pumpkins. All these and the family memories that I have from this time of year - it’s just the best!
Jenna S said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:49 pm
Fall is absolutely my favorite season!
Gone is the oppressive heat and humidity of summer.
Enter cool mornings, sunny bright afternoons and crisp evenings. Fall is perfect as sunrise highlights the ever changing colors of the leaves. Perfect for walks, scuffling and crunching through crisp falling leaves. Perfect for porch sitting, rocking on the swing watching the neighborhood kids play hopscotch on the sidewalk. Perfect as dusk fills the evening sky with blazing color and you smell a wood fire wafting on the breeze. No doubt the best part of fall is getting to bring out and wear sweaters!!
Sigh
I love fall!
annette said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:51 pm
I love that fall smell in the air. Plus my family’s yearly trip to Vermont, for the foliage and apple cider and maple syrup and the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream factory.
Cindy Evans said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:55 pm
Fall is my favorite season also!!! I love the feel of the crisp air and able to open my windows for some fresh air! I also can’t wait to show off all the pairs of socks I have knitted this summer. It has been a hot summer and no sock wear at all!!!
Elizabeth said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:57 pm
So glad College Guy got to come home - and that you’ll get to see him again so soon!
For me, fall is first & foremost about my a couple of birthdays. Mine is October 11 and my younger sister’s is October 6. My parents are divorced & growing up, my dad would always drive up to New Hampshire(where we lived with my mom) from Connecticut(where he lived) for Columbus Day weekend & spend our birthday weekend with us. We always did fun things. I love my birthday. I don’t even mind that I’ll be 31 this year. Well, ok, I mind a little. It’s weird being an adult.
But fall also means that I get to watch my extra special ET dvd — one of my very favorite movies. When it was the 20th anniversary of it a few years ago, I bought the fancy box set and watch it once a year…usually around Halloween. It has those great Halloween scenes with the kids dressed up & trick-or-treating that I love.
And fall means wearing my wool socks again with my favorite Birkenstock clogs - they’re Mary Jane style, so the socks peek through! yay for cooler weather!
Maggie said,
September 17, 2007 @ 6:59 pm
Around the middle of October, the bakery near my parents starts making their fantastic ginger cookies - seriously to die for. And then they only make them until the end of January! I eat an alarming number of ginger cookies during that time period. Best part of Fall, hands down.
Lesley said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:00 pm
Fall is everything wonderful when people smile more, rejoice at change of leaves, prepare for the upcoming holidays…and sneeze their heads off!!! The more beautiful it is, the worse my allergies are. Just waiting patiently for that first hard freeze
singlewhiteknitter.com said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:01 pm
i have to agree with everyone who has said the smell of fall… it’s like nothing else. i love it at night when you can smell the leaves and someone’s fireplace from a block away. it’s the best smell in the world… but fall is my favorite season, so… i also like the food (thanksgiving rocks!), and the layering of clothes… and breaking out the scarves, hats, and armwarmers that have been stored all summer… and the rumble of school buses in the morning… and…. and… and….
Nancy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:01 pm
Man, if it wasn’t for a contest, I wouldn’t make a comment, but here goes — I have never liked Fall! Yes, it’s crisp, and yes, the trees are pretty, but where I lived most of my life, it always meant to me the beginning of Snow, Cold, and Bitter! And, I have always disliked Cold Weather! I hate wearing coats, and boots, and anything that is heavy. Plus, I get really depressed without all the hours of Sunshine!
Now, talk to me in the Spring — that’s when I come alive! I love the Summer and the Hot Weather! I know, I’m crazy! But now that I live in Florida, Fall isn’t quite so bad (since I know we’ll never get snow or temperatures below 40 degrees - and only for a few weeks each year).
Ann said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:05 pm
I love fall, too. For me, fall symbolizes back to school — I always loved getting new school supplies: fresh, unmarked notebooks, sharp pencils, and new pens. Now that I’m no longer in school, fall has become a time for me to learn new things. I learned to knit last fall; this fall it seems that weaving may be in my future. And I still get to shop for cool school supplies with my elementary school daughters.
corey said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:06 pm
i love the somewhat cooler weather we finally get in the fall. not that it’s that cool here in florida, but anything is better than the heat and humidity!
what i really, really love are all the pumpkin flavored desserts and scented candles! in fact, DH and i shared a slice of pumpkin cheesecake tonight that was to die for!!! yup! gotta love the pumpkin cheesecake!!
Deborah K said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:10 pm
I LOVE the cooler weather - it makes me want to knit even more.
I LOVE fires in the fireplace and cuddilig up with an afghan and a cat in my lap.
I LOVE hayrides and apple cider.
It’s such blessed relief to have the heat and humidity over. YAY!!!!!!
Amy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:11 pm
Truthfully, I still love fall because I always loved school, and fall is when school starts. What a goody two-shoes! But I also love the cooler temps, the changing of colors, fires in the fireplace, and apple crisp.
Katey said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:12 pm
Fall is also my favorite season! I love the smell of the cool air, the way the nights are crisp, like the lovely array of wonderful apples! I love to sample the apples at local farms, enjoying the fall colors in Pennsylania. Hiking in the mountains on October weekends is a wonderful way to enjoy them.
(p.s. I have a thing for bags too — does this go together with loving knitting, yarn, needles? Perhaps I feel a need to have a fun place to put all my goodies and tote them around with me?)
Liz said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:14 pm
Favorite fall things (it’s my favorite season, too):
- New pens and empty notebooks
- A return to cool weather (thank goodness!)
- Pretty pretty leafies
- College football (go Northwestern go!)
- Skittery, crunchy leaves underfoot
- Lots of birthdays in Sept./Oct./Nov.
- Apple picking and any related activities that might let me ride behind a tractor
- Halloween-y, Edgar Allan Poe-y things
- The end of hurricane season (good friends + Florida = nervous Liz)
- Wild, windy, rainy nights…I find them very romantic for some reason
- Giving thanks for all that you have and for the people you’ve loved
melissaknits said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
Fall is my favorite time of year. It’s dramatic around here, and we’re all aware of things changing. This is fair season, so there’s the NH Wool Arts tour Columbus Day weekend - we hit the same farms every year, buy the same hand made soap and the same lamb stew. Then Rhinebeck, and we all know what that means. Local ag fairs abound, and we try to see as many as we can. But I’d have to say MY favorite fall activitiy, and it is a tradition, is “putting up stuff” for winter. I love the snug feeling of jars of salsa, jam, chutney, applesauce filling the shelves, and I love the smells in the kitchen and everyone gathered around helping. I think it’s one of the things I miss most asthe kids grow and leave. Somehow, when it’s down to just me and Mr. Wonderful it won’t be the same.
Smuddpie said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
I LOVE fall! The kids love going to pick apples at the orchard and making a dutch apple pie. Yum! I also love turning on the surround sound when there’s a football game on and hearing the roar of the crowd. It’s a stadium in my living room!
thursday said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:16 pm
I love fall….but it comes late for us here in Arizona. Here, I think about getting a bagel and coffee on a crisp, cool morning. I can’t wait for the mornings to be cool and crisp again! Rather than oven hot. I love that I can wear sweaters, jackets, and jeans! My birthday is in November (yes, still fall!) and I’ve always had pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin and this is the season for it! YUM. I want pumpkin pie now. Fall is also the time of baseball - the postseason, the world series!
Rebecca said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:18 pm
Fall is my favorite season as well. The colors of the leaves and the smell of the air are something special. Or maybe is it because my birthday is October 1st? I can remember kicking little piles of dry leaves as I walked to school and I try to do it still whenever I can.
Anne said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:19 pm
I love pick-your-own apples, corn mazes, wearing sweaters in the morning but not in the afternoon, but most of all I love that my birthday is the first day of Autumn!
Katie said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:21 pm
I love the beautiful colors and the landscape that seems to come alive every year in OH. The crisp in the air and warm apple pie are lovely too!
Tiffany said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:24 pm
Perhaps it’s the fiber-holic in me talking, but one of my favourite things about fall is Rhinebeck! I love getting to drive through upstate New York and see all the beautiful fall leaves and pretty little towns. Then when we get there, we get to sample all the lovely fall flavours like maple cotton candy! My sister and I make a road trip of it every year, and this is the first year we won’t be going because of financial considerations. I will definitely sorely miss it!
There’s also the usual apple picking and pumpkin carving - an annual event! And I love all the great fall flavours in the kitchen like squash and pumpkin and baked apples! MMM! I wish it could be fall all year round!
Lori said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:25 pm
I was raised in Austin, Texas, which has exactly 2 seasons: hot and wet. When we moved to the Midwest, I was wowed by the appearance of 4 actually distinct seasons. When we moved to Ohio, I continued my enjoyment of autumn by moving down the road from a family-owned apple orchard (blueberries there in the summer) and near a gorgeous woods in which to enjoy the turning of the leaves. I love the chill in the air, the smell of wood smoke, the colors (not only the spectacular leaves but also the muted browns and rusts of the dying of the year), and the wonderful segue into winter foods (chilis, stews, pies, and anything eaten over rice).
Autumn and spring vie for my affection as the favorite season but hey, I can enjoy both of them, can’t I? My daughters, all raised in the Midwest, just don’t understand my enthusiasm for the beauty that each season holds. But I continue to adore them as they come.
Kay said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
My favorite part of fall is the smell in the air before the weather turns really cold.
Cyndy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:32 pm
Apples,all types.
Kristen said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:32 pm
I’m not sure if I like autumn or winter more, but I truly appreciate not being hot and sticky. My favorite part of fall is that first day when the air smells different. It transports me to football games and all the adventures that went along with those. My other favorite part of fall is that one perfect day when you get to see the trees’ leaves against either a really blue or a really gray sky.
Brenna said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:34 pm
I just love fall and Halloween. I wish I lived where there was more changing of the season in Southern California. My favorite teenage tradition was going to Oak Glen to pick apples with my mother and brother. It was a favorite activity until I moved away from home. I’ve been able to go once with my husband and oldest child but we haven’t found the time to go since we had our second. Both of my children are old enough this year I think to appreciate what fun it is to tramp through an apple orchard.
Kelly said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:34 pm
Fall.
Sweaters. Football. Chili. Cool, crisp mornings. The smell of dry, fallen leaves and the rustle under your feet.
Fall is new beginnings and official endings. It’s tart, freshly picked Macintoshes and cider drawn right from the tap. It’s looking forward to fires in the fireplace, soup in the crockpot, and the last harvests of the season.
I can remember cool September mornings, standing at the end of my driveway, waiting for the bus to come. I could hear the trains in the valley below, and barely see the other side through the morning mist. Dew sparkled on crispy brown grass, and as I took in the sights and smells, I thought that THIS was what it was all about. And never felt more alive.
That’s fall.
Kati said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:35 pm
Fall is my favorite season. We’re in Upstate NY so it’s the start of cooler weather and beautiful foliage. The Fall means Hockey - Go Sabres! Sunday football on TV with my husband… Pumpkin hunting and carving together (mines always better :O)) - we’re a little competitve about it - but its all in good fun. It’s the smells of comfort food … soups, stews, chicken & biscuits, homemade applesauce and jams…sweaters and jeans… wool knitting projects….hand quilting… now that the worst of the summer heat is over.
I could go on and on (obviously). I just love the changing of the seasons.
Bertha said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:36 pm
What DON’T I love about fall is a better question! I love absolutely everything, the crisp air, wearing jeans, corduroys, boots and sweaters, going to the apple orchard to pick apples and make the first apple pie of the season…my favorite holiday Thanksgiving! But probably the best thing I like about fall is the Topsfield Fair! It’s the oldest county fair in America in Topsfield, MA (about 15 minutes from where I live) and it runs for 2 weeks at the end of every September/beginning of October. I love looking at all the exhibits–giant vegetables! Handmade quilts! Spinning yarn from Angora rabbits! Farm animals! Beef jerky! Honeybees! Baby chicks hatching! Carnies! And of course fair food! Candy apples, fried dough, giant (and I mean GIANT) turkey legs! German Fries! Apple crisp with ice cream! I am frequently heard to say that my favorite day of the year is Topsfield Fair day! I am SO excited to be a mom this year so I can bring my daughter for the first time! She is only 7 months old so she probably won’t appreciate it, but she loves animals so maybe she will have fun!
Casey said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
Fall is a great time of year and this week in Virginia is having cool fall evenings and mornings. I’m a sweater girl so hurray for the fall. We always have a big Apple Festival
at church. There are bushels and bushels of apples, apple butter, apple cider, apple cookbooks, apples everywhere. It is a fun event for all who work and attend.
Kate said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
Fall is my favorite season for a few reasons - not only because my birthday is in the fall! I love the weather changes most of all (though I’ve missed out on them since my family moved to California). I love the crisp nights where you start to bring out the warmer blankets and the sweaters (even better know that I’ve started knitting my own). I love the brilliant colors of the leaves. Football and knitting. Pumpkin pie. Wonderful time of year!
Heather said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
Ooh, fall things! I’m actually cooking a lovely beef stew as I type this, and a loaf of pumpkin bread *just* came out of the oven.
I love fall cooking! We have all the standard traditions, like going to the apple orchard (the one near us has the BEST cider & cider donuts EVER), pumpkin carving for the husband & kids, breaking out all my yummy fall smelling candles, and of course, knitting. Um, not that knitting isn’t a summer thing, it’s just more cozy in the fall.
For me personally, this time of year always makes me want to watch lots of BBC. I don’t get tv, so I have to rent everything, but fortunately for me, my library rocks. I’ve got several seasons of All Creatures Great & Small in, plus a couple Masterpiece Theatre productions, and a set of Midsomer Murders. Cozy evenings with candlelight, a nice glass of merlot, a good British period piece, and a soft, fluffy sweater is my idea of heaven. Especially if the neighbors up the street fire up their woodburning stove…nothing smells better on cold, crisp night air!!
KnitSteph said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:39 pm
Fall to me means, cooler weather, Friday night football games, homecoming mums and marching bands. The leaves start changing and things just seem crisp.
I was born in September and I just wonder if it makes me more inclined to like this time of year. I like it when I step out in the morning and instead of the sweltering heat, I walk into cool air. When I don’t have to have my car A/C on for the drive to school.
Fall is also back to school and new school supplies! I love paper and folders and spirals and new pens and pencils.
Fall Rocks!
Michelle said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:39 pm
Winter is my fav season, but fall is a close second. Growing up in an area where we had foliage, there tended to be raking of leaves by adults and then jumping in said leaves by children. I’m sure that some of the adults did not appreciate us children jumping in the piles, but it was TOTALLY worth it! And you have to jump in piles of leaves as a child because being an adult means that you can suddenly see all the bugs crawling in the leaves and have no desire anymore to jump in there.
Dixie said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:39 pm
I have memories of raking the leaves in the backyard, then jumping into the pile. Pretty darn exciting when you’re 6. Over the years, all the leaves (post-jumping) went into one spot in the very back corner of the backyard. I remember finding that spot after a while and leaping onto it…surprised to find it had turned into a pile of dirt. Early science lessons.
These days, autumn means I get to wear wool again without being horribly uncomfortable. Sweet!
Robin Pearce said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:40 pm
Fall is all about the weather, especially this year that we’ve been so HOT all summer. That crisp air compels me to sleep with the windows open and get to work on Christmas knitting! Soon there will be pumpkin doughnuts, family togetherness and feasts galore, oh and leaves, cannot forget falling leaves. I put up the fall wreath just today, so now the decorating can begin!
Michelle said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:42 pm
I love fall. Everything about it. The cooler weather, the extra-blue skies, even the rainy days.
I especially love:
- baking/eating anything flavored with pumpkin (mmmm, waffles…)
- fall foliage hunting/viewing
- my wedding anniversary
- cool-weather clothes
- soups
- apple-cranberry pie
I could keep going
bungalowmum said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:44 pm
Pie Night is my favorite fall tradition. It takes place the week of Thanksgiving and every member of the family gets to choose what kind of pie they want. Then several us get together and bake all the pies….yes, every person gets an ENTIRE pie to themselves…. We make a pretense of eating dinner on Pie Night, and it’s potluck, but really, we’re all just biding time until the pies come out. That’s when the eating and trading starts. It’s so much fun! It does take quite a while to bake that many pies, but it’s so worth it. Since all my siblings are married, it’s very often that we all can’t be together for Thanksgiving, but none of us have missed Pie Night yet!
Laura said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:44 pm
Fall is truly lovely. This year, my favorite part about fall will be being finished with graduate school comprehensive exams (!!). But this year, like every years since I’ve moved to the northeast, my favorite part has been going to the local orchard, apple picking, getting fresh flowers (mums), delicious cookies, cider donuts, and fresh baked breads at their little store. I just can’t wait! (Oh yeah, and the pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks could make this list too
)
Kristin G. said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:45 pm
Fall is about food for me! Already, even though September just started (Well, sort of. It feels like it anyway!), DH has made (I know– he cooks! He’s totally a keeper) a pumpkin cake/cream cheese roll (sooo good!) and pumpkin cookies. I can’t wait until it’s a little cooler (still around 85 in Atlanta) and we can have yummy fall chili (with noodles! Apparently that’s something indigenous to my homeland: Louisville, KY). I’m quite looking forward to cranberry sauce and cornbread, too… or maybe, just Thanksgiving
As a youngster, fall made me think of school starting– and the pictures! Every first day of school, through high school, my mom took a picture of us. Sometimes it was a pain, but I’m glad that we did it now that I look back on it. Keep taking pictures, Sheri
Oh, and another fall favorite? The gorgeous LEAVES! I’m looking forward to some socks on FALL trees!
Oh, and that yarn sounds even more scrumptious than fall foods!!!
Hariamrit said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:46 pm
I love fall for 2 reasons. One I can start wearing almost winter clothes, and two winter is not far behind, my favorite season. All the critters on the farm are starting to get frisky, me too. And it means more Starbucks.
Kristin said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:47 pm
Fall is my favorite also because:
The crisp air in the morning, and the cool “crunch” under my shoes when I step on leaves on the ground. The beautiful colors of the mountains, and the cool breeze. Holding my warm coffee mug while sitting by a fire or on the porch in the morning.
We love to ride our bikes on a cool “Rails to Trails” railroad bed-turned bike/walking trail this time of the year. It’s very flat, but there is an exciting tunnel, and a neat bridge to bike across. It’s beautiful when the foliage appears. It almost seems like God just dips a paintbrush and dabbles here and there with the trees!
Fall is also the time of the year when I’m thankful for my family and friends, and when my DH and I celebrate our years together!
Jane said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
Fall is DEFINITELY my favorite season for two reasons: 1. Halloween is my birthday, and I always enjoy it; 2. I love the colors of the changing leaves. While I now live in Seattle, I grew up going to my Grandparents lake house in NW WI. Ever since moving to Seattle, I take an annual visit to the lake house to see the beautiful fall leaves in WI. I love the crisp air, the crunch of the fallen leaves under foot, the spectrum of warm colored leaves, and the hot toddys too. Happy Fall!
Kellie said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
Autumn (as we downunder refer to Fall) is my fave season as it signals the return of the cooler weather (I am definitely not a sun worshipper) and makes all my crafty endeavours more fun - what better time to crank up the knitting output, start wearing all those luscious hand-dyed socks, and finish all those quilty projects. Plus you start to see a lot more of one of my fave colours - orange!
Emma said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
No family traditions here, but I do love fall so much that this is really my favorite part of the year–when it’s still hot out, but you know fall is around the corner. You’re just waiting for it, urging the weather people on the news to bring the temperatures down. It’s like Summer is beginning to give up her fight, and you revel in every halfway-crisp moment, just knowing what’s coming.
Cathy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
Another Fall lover here!! Everything mentioned above just makes me long for Fall to be here full force. Got that little taste of it this weekend and now we’re back to high 80’s and AC is back on. But in the Fall, just cozying up on the couch with a nicely knitted afghan and knitting while watching a movie is sooooo relaxing. Pumpkin anything - especially pumkin spice lattes from Starbucks (thanks for letting us know when they came out again, Sherry!). Traditionally, my mom and I do lots of Fall festivals and craft shows and start getting ready for the holidays! Of course, apple picking. And our Fall season tickets to local theater starts which is always exciting!! And I love the beginning of school with new students and it always re-invigorates me as a teacher!!
Yeah Fall!!
peggy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
I grew up in Western NY. Fall meant raking leaves. As a child, I would rake the leaves in my grandmothers yard. Our reward would be to build a bonfire with them, wrap potatoes in foil and bake them in the center of the pile. I can still remember the fun we had jumping in the pile of leaves first and that smoky taste of the potato. They were delicious.
knitopia said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
I love making my grandmother’s cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving because it is delicious.
Linda said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
Fall is my favorite too - here in Chicago it only lasts about 3 days, and then it’s gone. The best thing about fall is SWEATERS. And the leaves changing colors, and the crispness of the air. And apple pie, I love apple pie. Mmmmm…
Sue J. said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
Fall was always the happiest time of the year for me as a child. I loved to rake leaves and jump in the pile. My mother, who was always working and so busy, would even take time to help me and join in the fun. I remember the smell of burning leaves in the fall, too. And with a chill in the air, out came the winter sweaters and coats, mittens and hats. But, most of all, Fall is about gorgeous colors. Having lived in Wisconsin for most of my life, the changing colors would just take my breath away. There isn’t a combination of colors I like better than those of Fall.
Lazuli said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:54 pm
Oh my. Fall is most certainly my favorite season! I love how the air feels: crisp and cool, like apples. I love the colors of the leaves and how they crunch under your feet and let off a smell like pumpkin pie. I love fall foods - pies, soups, sqashes, with plenty of nutmeg and ginger and cinnamon and allspice! My cats love fall, too, because it means the windows get to be open most of the time, and their little indoor selves can feel the breeze. I think I love it so much because I had to leave it. I lived in MA until I was six, and then we moved to California - fall there is very different! Since then, though, I’ve been back on the east coast and experiencing falls not just in memory, but in reality, too!
Martha said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:54 pm
Fall always means new beginnings for me, more than the first of the year. I make big plans in the fall. I also start looking for ways to settle in for our winters and I get more reading and knitting time in.
Kit said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:56 pm
My favorite things about Fall are the colors.
I hope that picture goes through.
Katy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:56 pm
I love that fall brings cooler weather, so that the dilemma of dressing appropriately for both polite company and the weather of summer is over, and I can go back to my 9-month uniform of jeans, long-sleeve t-shirt and sweater/vest/fleece/jacket.
Also, fall brings pumpkin beer and pumpkin pie and crisp nights (and days) and that yummy smell of fallen leaves on the sidewalk.
freecia said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
The snap to the air is always a fall treat! And I tend to browse the llbean catalog a lot more for jackets. I need another jacket like I need another mug (I think my current jacket count is 15?)
Here in my section of California, it’ll be a while before the leaves start to turn color. Doesn’t stop me from grabbing a mug (preferably new to the collection) and enjoying a morning cup of tea while watching the gray morning sky turn blue.
Tammy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 7:58 pm
Fall, the chill in the air, the first fire in the woodstove, and hot, mulled apple cider. Carmel apples, applesauce, apple pie, spice muffins, pumpkin carving. Oh man, I am ready for FALL!! Making myself hungry here. I’ve never liked the colors of Fall for myself, but they are really starting to grow on me once they are mixed up.
Dorothy said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
I the Autumn with all the beautiful colour changes that occur here in KY. I think it is the most beautiful of the seasons!
Alex said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:02 pm
Whoooooa! What a prize!
Fall is apples, but especially pumpkins for me. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes, whatever else places manage to get pumpkin into. =)
That gourd is so pretty…such a lovely orange.
Liz said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:02 pm
Fall means watching the kids night time soccer games while drinking hot chocolate trying to stay warm. Every year my Mom makes this awesome harvest cake. It has cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices, and some apples, served with dream whip on top. When Mom makes Harvest Cake we know it’s time for the Fall. And we always go to the Pumpkin festival at the local Berry Farm. Fall is my favorite season, is it any wonder why?
Kim said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:02 pm
I love the fall leaves. Also I have a beautiful old oak tree in front of my house that drops acorns all over the place. I love to sit in the front part of the house and listen to the falling and crunching of the acorns under peoples feet as they walk by. It such a warm and fuzzy kind of a sound.
Trish said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:07 pm
I love the crispness in the air during fall, the way the leaves change colors and fall from the trees. I also love being able to wear my favorite hand knit socks and comfy sweaters. I also love fall because my family always gathered together for Thanksgiving. No one ever missed it!
Alexis said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:07 pm
My favorite things about fall can be matched with the five senses.
Sight: the color of the leaves here in New England
Taste: pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and my first hot vanilla of the season from Starbuck’s
Hear: the geese honking overhead, and the fallen leaves crunching beneath my feet
Touch: the feel of a warm sweater pulled on for the first time
Smell: the smoke from fireplace chimneys in the air
Sandy H. said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:08 pm
Fall begins the season of wonderful smells through the house. Yummy things like stew and soup smells issue from the kitchen and pumpkin-mania begins. I have a race with myself to find new recipes using pumpkin as the core ingredient in breads, cakes, cupcakes, stews, ravioli…you get the idea.
Also fall begins the time of getting ready for Christmas…knitting outside in the warm sun and pouring love into handmade gifts.
Meghann said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:13 pm
Fall is my favorite time of year! I wait every year for those first hints of fall…..the air turning crisp, the leaves burning in their autumn glory, and let’s not forget the most important part…..getting out the wool! My favorite part is early in the morning….snuggling under my favorite blanket, drinking tea, and reading my email and listening to the rustle of the leaves.
Growing up, every year we took a “leaf” tour. I grew up in Maine and we would take a Saturday to drive through the countryside, looking at the leaves, getting a special lunch and enjoying time together as a family. I can’t wait until my kids are a little older so we can do this together!
Jenn said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:15 pm
The best thing about fall for me, besides the chance that it might get chilly enough to wear wool items (socks!!!!), is that hubbo and I were married in October. Awwwwwww.
Sara said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
Fall means it’s time to go to Apple Hill! I loooooove this family tradition. Every year around October my parents and I go here. For the last 5 years I’ve dragged my husband and this year will the first year with our baby Emma! We EAT, EAT and EAT the best food. Fresh apple cider doughnuts (made to order!!), caramel apples, apple fritters, apple pie, you get the picture. My poor husband doesn’t understand how I can eat so much! I highly recommend it if you are in Northern California. Oh yes, big surprise, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!
Julia said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
Ah…. fall. I’ve always loved, but I don’t really have any specifics. And right now, it seems so far away. The thing I hate most about Arizona is that fall is supposed to be encroaching, but it’s over 100 degrees outside, consistently. I am supposed to feel a brisk chill down my spine and the hairs on my arm lifting in response… but nothing but this cursed heat.
What I love, and I miss, about fall is anticipation. Winter is my favorite season… and fall heralds it’s coming. I miss Winter’s Procession.
*sigh* Just one more year.
Emily said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:17 pm
Fall means my birthday!
But even without that, I love fall too. I just love the colors of the season, the muted oranges and reds and yellows that make up the trees.
What I don’t love about fall is all the deer on the roads during mating season. I’ve had a couple of really close calls on a curvy rural road that I have to drive almost every day.
So, fess up. Did College Guy come home just so you could do his laundry?
(BTW, I’m sorry if this posts twice. I keep getting an error.)
Donna said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:21 pm
I LOVE fall! My favorite memory is crunching through the leaves with my bast friend on the way to and from school. We live in Seattle now, so not so much crunching - it’s more like slogging, but it is more beautiful with way more color in the tress.
Kelli said,
September 17, 2007 @ 8:27 pm
Ok, first, if you love bags, check out julipbags.etsy.com. My friend Amby is now making these awesome “Everything But The Sock Knitting Bags. They’re big enough to fit a scarf, a sweater, or even the beginning of a blanket in! Plus, they’re just super cute and really well made.
Second, I love fall! First b