Discover the Autumn Days

Discover the Autumn Days

Discover the pears that litter the ground, wilted and aging - calling to the Pear Gods, "Please turn me into butter or jam."

Discover the goldenrod, way past its bloom - but still it stands tall, waving in the breeze, calling to birds and to bees.

Discover the spiderweb daintily dangling from each window eaves - delicate patterns of exquisite taste, built by the orb masters of every late fall.

Discover the frost asters dancing above the fields of grain - looking like snowflakes from far away, but mimicking a daisy when each bloom is held close.

Discover the pumpkins - fat, round and orange - delighting the fancies of all young and old.

Discover the cider, all spicy and warm - it touches that something deep down in our souls.

Discover the autumn leaves - broadcasting on trees and littering the ground - Mother Nature's own firework display.

Discover the cool nip in the air - burning your lungs, but opening your senses - your breath coming out in frosty whispers.

Discover the autumn days, don't let them slip away, because in the blink of an eye they're all gone, sleeping away until another year has gone by.

Under the Weather

I have been waiting for the first cool days of autumn for many long months now. When the weather changed Wednesday night, I was so happy! I am just not a hot weather person and I've been looking forward to working in the gardens again and enjoying the fresh air.

That being said, I now have my first cold of the season and I have no one to blame but myself. I made the BIG mistake of sleeping in front of a open window with the fan still blowing on me and viola` - now I'm sick and I can't even enjoy the cooler weather.

Like my granny always said, "Be careful what you wish for!" Hopefully by Monday, I'll be back up to snuff.

Discover the Autumn Days

Totally Optional Prompts

"Discoveries ... Discoveries of what? Places, perhaps - although one often finds, when one gets there, that others have been there before. Ideas - though some claim that the same is true of ideas. What discoveries in history do you think have been important?"

Discover the Autumn Days

Discover the pears that litter the ground, wilted and aging - calling to the Pear Gods, "Please turn me into butter or jam."

Discover the goldenrod, way past its bloom - but still it stands tall, waving in the breeze, calling to birds and to bees.

Discover the spiderweb daintily dangling from each window eaves - delicate patterns of exquisite taste, built by the orb masters of every late fall.

Discover the frost asters dancing above the fields of grain - looking like snowflakes from far away, but mimicking a daisy when each bloom is held close.

Discover the pumpkins - fat, round and orange - delighting the fancies of all young and old.

Discover the cider, all spicy and warm - it touches that something deep down in our souls.

Discover the autumn leaves - broadcasting on trees and littering the ground - Mother Nature's own firework display.

Discover the cool nip in the air - burning your lungs, but opening your senses - your breath coming out in frosty whispers.

Discover the autumn days, don't let them slip away, because in the blink of an eye they're all gone, sleeping away until another year has gone by.

Write on Wednesday - Attention to Detail

This week's Write On Wednesday prompt asks the questions:

Are you detail oriented in your writing? What are some of the details you most notice in the world around you? What details do you focus on in your writing - place, character, emotional? What are the kinds of detailed descriptions you most like to read about?

Write On Wednesday Extra Credit: As you perform a household chore that you do on a regular basis - making coffee, washing the car, cutting the grass - notice every detail of the process. The smell of the coffee grounds as you spoon them into the filter, the hiss of the water as it splashes against the car, the rumbling of the lawnmower’s engine. Write about your experience in great detail.

I like to think of myself as detail oriented, especially in my writing. I love to read about the rich sounds of the big city, the alluring smells of the corner bakery, the magical sights of a lone country road, the touch of a tiny baby animal or the taste of an apple picked fresh from the tree. These details enrich my reading experience and make me strive to be a better writer.

All too often, we get caught in the trap of writing for the sake of writing - trying to hurry through the days word count or page count without stopping to make sure the words are the best that they can be. Many, many times, this is what happens with my first drafts - boring words with no attention to the details.

However, once I have the "bones" of a story on paper, then I can jump into the fun part of writing. Adding the color of my hero's eyes: are they sparkling blue like a midsummer's day, or swirling green like the changing forest? Adding the sounds of the current environment: is the town old and dying, or is it fresh, new and growing? Adding the taste and texture of the heroine's evening meal: is it spicy and hot with a flair for the exotic, or is it the comfort food of a lip smacking hot dog? Adding the smell of the current surroundings: is it salty from the spray of the sea foam, or is it dusty from the mountaintop coal mine? Adding the sensation of touch is sometimes hard: does the heroine's dress feel thread-bare and worn, or is it starchy and stiff?

With the onset of autumn - my favorite time of year - my attention to detail is heightened. The blazing rainbow of colors as the sugar maple trees start to turn, the deepening yellow color of the goldenrod as it ages, and the white snowflake blooms of the frost asters as they dance above the meadows.

Overhead I hear the loud honking of the geese as they make their way to winter parts unknown, the crackling and popping of a backyard bonfire, and the crisp, wet crunch as I bite into a freshly picked pear or apple. I love to touch the dew drops as they glisten and cling to all the garden foliage, feel the rough texture of the corn shocks as I make arrangements in my front yard, or the smooth feel of the pumpkins fresh off the vine. Autumn brings the taste of sweet and gooey carmel apples, the spicy hot flavor of a huge pot of chili, and the warm aromatic tastes of hot cocoa or apple cider. The smells of autumn are probably the best from the damp, wet leaves littering the sidewalk to the clear, fresh breeze after a rain shower to earthy fragrance of the late blooming herbs.

Paying attention to details and describing to your audience the five senses are the best way to draw the reader into your story. Being able to picture yourself in the situation be described is the hallmark of a good author.

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Washing the Dang Dishes

I'm not a domestic goddess and I don't play one on TV. Although I like a nice, clean house, I hate wasting time with everyday household chores. As a matter of fact, I have a cross-stitched sign hanging in my kitchen that I completed back in the early 80's:
"My Home is Clean Enough to Be Healthy, and Messy Enough to Be Happy!"
This saying suits me to a tee. But what is the one chore I absolutely despise? Washing dishes ...

On week's when I'm especially "lazy" I may go two or three days between washings. My philosophy - If I have one sink clear of dishes, then I'm doing okay. The problem with my irregular dish cleaning routine is the fact it causes me more work in the long run.

Drip, drip, drip - filling the dishpan with hot scolding water, I'm now letting some cooler water even out the temperature. Glasses first, some coated with leftover chocolate milk, stained from herbal tea or - oh my heavens, is that mold in the bottom of my hubby's coffee cup? - yuck! It takes elbow grease to finally make them squeaky clean. OMG - what is that smell? Last night's spaghetti and meatballs scrapes have hardened on two plates, salad dressing has dried in three bowls, and is that mashed potatoes still covering the bottom of a serving bowl from two nights ago? I'm surprised we haven't all been sick, just from the fumes escaping the sink! Scrub, scrub, rinse, rinse - then scrub, scrub some more.

The plates and glasses now glisten and gleam, it's on to the silverware. How do so many forks, knives and spoons accumulate when there are only three people in our home? Spaghetti sauce, garlic butter and the same mashed potatoes coat several spoons and forks. I swear, I will never let the dishes get in this shape again? Never, never ... but granny always said, "Never say never."

Why is it my nose always itches just as soon as I put my hands into hot, soapy water? It never fails and I end up with the same soapy water dripping from my nose. Now I have nice clean silverware to go with the clean plates and glasses, so the only thing left is the dirty pots and pans. As I left the lid from the skillet, I'm hit in the face with the molding smell of last night's spaghetti sauce - why didn't I take care of this last night? I guess the same could be said for the mashed potato pot from two nights ago.

Okay, go ahead, say it - you know you want to! I need to do the dishes every night - yeah, like I haven't been hearing that all my life. But the problem is, nighttime is the only time I get to spend with my hubby and I would rather spend it talking or laughing or making love, than standing at the boring sink doing the boring dishes. After all, I cook supper didn't I? My hubby said the meal was delicious, didn't he? And he doesn't care about the dirty dishes, as long as I can maintain that one open sink - and he and my daughter are the only ones that matter.

Welcome, Autumn

I borrowed this idea from Miss Meliss:

In improvisation, one of our exercises is a game called “Seven Things,” in which we go around in a circle giving each other the challenge, “Give me seven things that [whatever].” We are not going to go around in a circle here, but if you’re drawn to lists, this prompt is for you.

So, give me seven tastes or scents that define autumn for you.

Here is my list of seven things that define autumn for me:

1.) Pumpkins - nothing, and I mean nothing, reminds me of autumn more than pumpkins. Fat pumpkins, short pumpkins, skinny pumpkins, tall pumpkins ... orange ones, white ones, green ones, blue ones ... carved, uncarved, painted. I love pumpkins!

2.) Short days, long nights - I'm a night person, so I always relish the time change because the night seems to go on forever. Autumn is just the beginning of the long nights of winter.

3.) Crackling fire in the fireplace or a bon-fire in the backyard - Autumn is the perfect time of year to have bon-fires with friends. Smores, popcorn, hotdogs on a stick - these are just some of the foods I enjoy cooking over an open fire. This is also the time of year when colder nights call for fires burning in the fireplace.



4.) Pears, pears, and more pears - I always know autumn is here because my two pear trees are hanging full of ripe, juicy fruit. This is the time of year when I start canning pear butter, pear preserves, sliced pears and pear marmalade.












5.) Fallen leaves - I love walking through the fallen leaves on a cool autumn afternoon. I love seeing the leaves gathered along the road edges or blowing across sidewalks. Orange, red, yellow and brown - the trees give off a wonderful fireworks display of swirling color.

6.) Homemade Chili - yummy! This is one of my favorite cold weather foods. There is nothing better than the smell and taste of tomato juice, onions, beef and spaghetti (my family loves spaghetti in their chili, but don't like beans) that have simmered on the stove all afternoon. Add a dollop of your favorite cheese and a few oyster crackers and you have the perfect fall meal.

7.) Autumn rains - There is just something special about a nice gentle rain in autumn. The smell is crisp and clear, and it lets us know that winter is not far behind. It causes condensation on the house windows and the that warm snuggly feeling where you want to curl up with a good book and a fuzzy blanket.