We are experiencing unusually warm temperatures for October in the north land. We have days or weeks of cool temperatures when I'm positive that fall has set in for good and the warmth will be gone until spring, only for it to warm up again with 70-80 degree days. It has been gorgeous. Perfect weather, bright blue skies, orange and yellow leaves, and beautiful evenings to enjoy. I don't remember a fall so wonderful.
While I have always been hesitant to claim a favorite season, I do think Fall wins out. I love everything about it. I love the lingering warmth mixed with the crispness of cooler weather and all that it brings with it. The slowing down, the soups simmering and bread baking, the preserving and making ready for winter, the evenings spent reading or playing games, the warm drinks and comfort food. It's the loveliness of summer blended with the coziness of winter for the most delicious combination.
Our days have been most pleasant. They are days that I know I will cherish forever. I am almost moved to tears at the simple beauty and blessings my life abounds with. I'm not sure I've had this much joy and happiness before to this measure - or maybe it is simply the product of having gone through heartrending grief that makes things more poignant and precious. I have talked before how it is the unexpected blessing of being shaken to the core that gives us the opportunity to re-evaluate our lives and priorities. Along with that comes a new set of eyes, ones that are sharp and ready to be focused on unending beauty or all that is wrong with the world. The choice is ours. I choose joy. I choose beauty. I choose nourishment for my soul. This isn't the first hard thing I've had to go through and it won't be the last. May every hardship make my eyes more keen to focus on what is good and pleasant, my heart be tuned to the importance of those around me, my mind focused on substance and value.
Home has always been a sacred place for me. In the 9 1/2 months between May 2020 and February 2021, we had moved 3 times. Home, I have learned over the years, is a feeling, a cultivation of the things we cherish most, an investment in the routines and disciplines that make us thrive - much more than the four walls that house us. The memories we make and what we do within these structures are what make us who we are, what we will remember and carry with us. The investment in those around us, the sharing of conversation, meals, games, and quality pursuits are what make up the feeling of this place that is so beloved and dear to the heart.
Home, like all the good and real things, is hard to quantify. It can't be measured or narrowed down to a formula. It must be built, experienced, enjoyed, and felt. It's not something you can explain and there is no box store that sells it. It is a feeling set in motion by the people dwelling within and experienced by all who enter. It is an extension of our hearts, the reality of the thoughts in our minds, the incarnate beauty of our personalities that make home the loveliest place on earth. This is why it is the simple things we do and create that turn a house into a home. We create memories, decor, meals, crafts, and lives, and in turn it blossoms into the lovely feeling of home which then feeds our souls. In a world where we see vicious cycles perpetuated all around us, this is the loveliest cycle to set into motion in our life.
As October ushers in a quieter season and the world becomes hushed in stillness, I hope you nourish and cultivate your spirit and body. Buy some flowers for your table, make a simple but nourishing soup, invite friends over for apple dumplings and tea, make a piece of furniture or decor. Fill your home with music and laughter, relish a sunset, wake up in the stillness of the dark and fill your spirit for the day ahead. Share deep conversation with your spouse, kiss and hug and play with your children. Read good books and take time to journal. Write a letter to a friend or make a batch of pumpkin butter to eat with fresh biscuits. Cultivate the things that will produce life for years to come, not only in this moment.
Apple Dumplings
2 C. Flour
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 C. Shortening
1/2 C. Milk
6 Apples, Peeled & Halved
Sauce:
2 C. Brown Sugar
2 C. Water
1/4 C. Butter
2 Tsp. Cinnamon
Mix the first 5 ingredients and wrap around the apples, making sure the seam is in the bottom. Lay them in a 9x13-inch pan with the round top up. Sauce: Heat everything together in saucepan until butter is melted and pour over the apples. Bake at 350* to 375* until golden.
Pumpkin Butter
12 C. Pureed, cooked pumpkin
6 C. Brown Sugar
1 T. Ginger
1 T. Ground Cloves
2 T. Cinnamon
Combine all ingredients; put in a roaster and bake at 300*, stirring every once in awhile. When butter is dark and mounds slightly on spoon and is a bit shiny, remove from oven and ladle into jars, leaving 1/4-inch headroom for 1/2 pints; 1/2-inch headroom for pints. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.