Fall Rituals

It's just me, my husband and young son so we just started a few traditions of our own, but just this last year we started "Crockpot Sundays". It's that cozy feeling of having something cook all day and the house smells wonderful. We usually watch some football or play in the leaves if it's not too cold outside. We absolutely love this time of year because it seems that the chaos from the summer if finally winding down and it seems to get peaceful. Sooooooo nice.

Oh we love fall! We have an apple picking party here since we have apple trees. We only have three trees and they're crab apples, but they're great for apple sauce and juice and pies! Mmmm. Then there are canning days. I love the way house feels when it is just getting cool out and the house is warm and smells of spices and food. I canned tomatoes (diced, and sauce and juice) and apples and grape jelly this year.

Then we have a favorite corn maze and pumpkin patch we go to every year. Your girls may be too old for that, but they may also roll their eyes all the way to having fun! We usually grow pumpkins too but this year we had no crop (blight) but even when we have to buy them we love carving jack o lanterns and choosing pumpkins to make into pie!

We collect pine cones for arts and crafts projects. We gather fodder for the goats for the winter and that is also a time to enjoy the end of the summer and tucking in the whole family for the winter ahead. This year the weather has been unseasonably warm, but that is about to change. And is there anything better than a leaf pile?!?!

I just love to look at the rows of jars of food, the stacks of fodder for the goats, the stacks of firewood, the spring batch of chickens all grown up! It is the reward of a successful summer's work, even after a bad year like this one. I feel like we're prepared and tucked in.

Everything isn't dying, its going to sleep to rejuvenate! I love getting snaps of the kids, but I also love close ups of the seed inside dying plants.... Just me.

I like to catch kids in the act of showing personality, not teeth. I think a great photo op would be your 13 yr old throwing leaves up in the air raining down on your 16 yr old, arms folded rolling eyes - well not exactly that would photograph wierd, but looking like a pissy 16 yr old. You could take them to a punkinpatch that does hayrides. Give them pumpkins and have a carving contest with a silly prize. Take them to a costume store and take pics of them trying on all the differant crazy costumes.

Well September is all about back to school and then I feel in October that we can breathe a bit and slow down and savor life for a short while before holiday madness truly begins. I start thinking about the holidays in October, which gives me warm fuzzies.

My kids are still little so we go pumpkin or apple picking and of course have to buy/make costumes for Halloween. Even if your girls don't want to go pumpkin or apple picking, see if any of your friends or your husband wants to go with you! I'll miss decorating the house with all the kiddie Halloween stuff when my kids get older, but I'm looking forward to getting rid of some of the tacky junk that they like and being able to do a more sophisticated, grown up take on fall decor.

In that vein...I am in the garden club and fall is a busy time of year for us. We do a harvest fair and make crafts to sell there and then it's holiday decorating madness (but a good madness) from mid-October through December. That's a lot of fun and I've learned so much from these talented women.

Fall is a great time for outdoor activities! This weekend I went for a run, ran a race, biked with my kids, and we all did some kayaking. It's the best time of year for hiking too.

Cooking - I made my first apple crisp of the season 2 weeks ago...yum! Now is the time for cooking nice roasts, soups, breads and all those things it's too hot for in the summer. I love that it's squash season - acorn, butternut...you name it, I'm roasting it! I also start making and freezing cookie and pie doughs for holiday baking and slowly add staples like baking supplies, spices and dry goods to my shopping cart for holiday cooking. Just seeing a can of pumpkin puree or a bag of pecans in my pantry make me smile.

Fireplace and football - we LOVE watching football and the best is when it's chilly enough to have a fire in the fireplace and cuddle up with blankets while the game is on.

Speaking of fire...we also like to make sure we use our grill and firepit until the bitter end of the season LOL so we plan outdoor cooking well into October/November and make sure we have firepit fires until the snow flies. Sometimes we get a fire going as we're raking leaves because it's cozy and homey. We can stop and have some tea or cocoa and warm up by the fire before getting back to yard work.

And finally...we are a hockey family. I was not a hockey person before I got married but I married a Bruins fan so I'm one too, as are all of our boys. My boys all play hockey and as much as I dreaded being a hockey mom, one of my favorite things about fall is seeing my boys back in the rink doing what they love. I don't find the regular season games on TV to be all that compelling unless they're playing certain teams and my husband and kids watch every game they can (all 100+) so that gives me time to read a book or surf the web in the same room with them or get other things done in peace.

If you find your spirits seriously sagging as the days shorten, you may benefit from the therapeutic use of a light box. Some of my family members have seasonal depression and a light box helps so much with this!

Catch your daughters candidly, those I find to be the best photos of people. It's their true selves.
As far as autumn memories, my family and I used to do this, after dinner we'd all get our warmer clothing on and take half hour walks. It was fun, because this time of year there are lots of Halloween decorations, and come mid November Chirstmas decorations go up too. We used to get such a thrill just stopping to look at homes. But while doing this we would get a chance to talk, laugh a lot, and meet up with neighbors and friends. I miss this. That's why I miiss the my country a lot.

We bob for apples or hang them from a tree with string...so fun and makes for great photo ops!