The best month of the year

It’s October, and I love it. Things are cooling off after the outrageous summer we had. Leaves are starting to turn, and everything feels right again.

I was an October baby, so maybe that’s part of it. Old What’s Her Face made me some pumpkin cinnamon rolls for breakfasts. They’re nothing fancy, just the Pop & Fresh kind, but it was sweet of her.

I’ve been working my way through a variety pack of pumpkin beers from Elysian brewing. The Dark ‘O the Moon Pumpkin Stout is really good.

Pumpkin isn’t the only Fall flavor in my world. Mom sent up some of her homemade chokecherry jelly. I would have preferred syrup, but I had it on a pancake this morning anyway. It’s a taste of Fall from my childhood.

We’ve been fiddling with Halloween themed shows to watch. RL Stein has a more adult themed series of films on Netflix. Old What’s Her Face loved the first one, but I had a tough time getting into it. It’s a long month, so there could be something good coming up.

She used her birthday money and bought a Traeger Grill. She loves her gadgets and had to have the one that connects to her phone via wifi. She likes the idea of adjusting the temps while out doing other things. This meant she had to name it. She called it “The Chamber of Barbecue Secrets.” I figured you guys would get a chuckle out of that, I did.

Things are going to get busy at Entertaining Stories, too. I’m taking the entire Hat Series out on tour. This involves having written a bunch of unique posts, so they’re all worth reading. I’ll reblog everything here in an attempt to drive traffic to my hosts. There are going to be some free days, so if you’ve wanted to get into this series, this is a good month to dive in. One volume per week, and it all kicks off at Teri’s Bad Moon Rising event. Promoting a paranormal series in October feels like the right thing to do.

It’s important to support your hosts. If any of you feel so inclined, share the posts from their sites. This could boost their traffic and net them some new followers.

I’ll be watching the comments all month, so let me hear from you along the route.

I sent the second to last chapter of Good Liniment out to my critique group, and Lanternfish is in the hands of my formatter. This means starting all over again when I publish Lanternfish, and getting ready for Good Liniment in the late winter sometime.

Are any of you excited for Fall, October in general, or Halloween? Let me hear from you.

Saturday fumbling

I started off today reading blogs and responding to comments. I wound up starting another Amazon campaign for Will O’ the Wisp, this time using the genres. I tried to pick fields that don’t overlap with Experimental Notebook. I may not know what I’m doing, but I try lots of stuff.

My wife and I headed for town. We did some minor damage at Costco. She wanted a large white pumpkin for some sort of decoupage project she saw. I knew of a fruit stand that has huge white pumpkins right now. We wound up buying a pair of them. It took both of us to lift them, but I managed fine after I was on my feet.

She told me on the way home that she might not do the project, but they’ll look good on our porch anyway. I’ll leave you to imagine the look on my face.

We were close to The Tilted Kilt around lunchtime. Speaking of gigantic white pumpkins… Nevermind. Our waitress was very nice. I even indulged in a couple of Old Chub Scottish ales, one of my favorites. I had a strange sort of hamburger/patty melt that wound up being awesome.

I looked for the Boise State football game with no luck, so I watched the end of the Cubs/Cardinals game. Then Dr. Who taught me about the Bootstrap Paradox.

I spent the rest of my evening finishing up Sue Coletta’s wonderful book Marred. This is a fabulous book, and I’m really excited for her. If you grab it while it’s on pre-order it really helps. (Hint)

This post is just about the end of my evening. Tomorrow the tour for Will O’ the Wisp starts, so I’ll be checking comments at my host’s site throughout the day. Drop by and say hi.

Guess what we did today

Had some weird salt & pepper shakers

My wife and I decided to make Jack o’lanterns. This is the one I made using these Halloween salt & pepper shakers for eyes. This is the first time I’ve ever peeled the skin off the pumpkin as part of this project. The potato peeler was no help, because a pumpkin has too many hills and valleys. I resorted to a paring knife and survived with all of my fingers in place.

Bills are paid, guests are travelling home, pumpkins are carved. I’m going to finish my Halloween beer tour, then I have to pack for my work seminar. No writing this weekend, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Maybe I can do some writing and publishing next weekend.

It’s Thursday; time for more Macabre Macaroni

I’ll dedicate this one to Doobster and Rachel, both of whom are not fans of pumpkin.

Jack ‘O Lanterns

She placed the project on the counter, turning it this way and that. Maybe the stump should be on the bottom this year. Something classic with triangles, or should she go with more detail?

More classic, I think. She used a felt tipped pen to make the triangular eyes and nose, then added a huge crooked grin from one side to another.
She thought about her son and smiled. A quick glance at the clock told her he’d be home from school in about ten more minutes. Four quick strokes of the knife across a honing steel and the edge was ready. She sliced open the top and scooped out the nasty parts.

The wind picked up and the sound of rustling leaves moving toward the door made her smile. She quickly stabbed out the facial features of her classic Jack ‘O Lantern and threw the pieces in the garbage. A quick wipe with a towel, a short fat candle, and her masterpiece was finished.

The door knob turned and she gushed in anticipation of her son’s approval.
“Mom, I’m home!”

“In the kitchen. Come see what I made.”

She loved him so much. The summer sun combined with the frosty air outside gave him the most adorable flush.

“Oh man! We always carve it together. Why didn’t you wait for me?”

She reached out a leafy green vine and unfurled a tendril along his smooth orange skin. “Don’t worry, Pumpkin. Mama got you one of your very own. Get your human out of the fridge and I’ll help you take out the nasty bits.”

My favorite time of year

I love Fall. The weather changes, but still provides glimpses of Summer and Winter. The occasional 90 degree day could be in the same week as the first frost. (Note: I can’t wait for the first frost, so we can get rid of these flies.)

Leaves start changing, and we’re getting the first hints in the Boise area. Geese are forming into huge flocks. Rumor has it they’re supposed to fly south, but many stay here all year. The neighbors’ sunflowers all died and drooped. The local squirrel has been having a great time with them.

I can usually find a few cheesy movies to watch this time of year. I like the really dumb ones. Watching for you, Little Shop of Horrors, and tell Young Frankenstein he’s on deck.

One of the best new things about Fall is pumpkin – everything. We’ve already worked our way through a bag of pumpkin M & Ms. My wife bought me a bag of pumpkin Oreos, and they’re pretty good. Today I had a pumpkin spice latte. I never drink fancy coffee, but pumpkin spice was enough to draw me in.

We went to the Boise Co-Op so I could look for pumpkin beers. Pumpkin beers are one of my favorites, and I’ve been enjoying them for weeks already. The Co-Op always has a broad selection of things, so we drove downtown.

I wound up with about five different ones. My beer palate is in the neighborhood of porters and stouts; those black thick beers that use roasted grains. Lo and behold, I bought a pumpkin porter and a pumpkin stout. If someone ever brews a pumpkin dopplebock I’ll buy several cases and move to the mountains for a week.

My wife hasn’t even started baking yet. She usually whips up a pumpkin goodie or two, and she’s an outstanding cook.

Maybe a bowl of pumpkin soup, a pumpkin porter, with pumpkin bread for dessert. Then I can watch an old Bruce Campbell movie as the evening entertainment.

What’s your favorite season? What’s your favorite thing about Fall?