Welcome to October, friends! With a new month comes today’s October Sunday Letter, one devoted to my adoration of October. Don’t you just love October with it’s sweet light and falling leaves? Soon the temperatures may even cool (or so the weatherman says). ‘Tis the season of harvest on the farm, baking in my kitchen, and all things pumpkin.
Who’s ready? ✋✋✋
Bring on the Pumpkins!
In my version of Heaven, leaves on the trees will be the brilliant colors of fall, and the Garden of Eden will include at least one huge pumpkin patch. Pumpkins for picking, pumpkins for sitting, pumpkins for eating (no pie for me, but pumpkin bread or cookies, yes!), pumpkins for carving, pumpkins for wishing upon.
Can you wish upon a pumpkin? Sure you can.
Linus concentrated all of his wishes in the Great Pumpkin. Remember?
Oh, and in my version of Heaven, we will travel streets paved of gold inside pumpkin carriages, just like Cinderella.
Did you know, the first time a pumpkin was mentioned in a fairy tale was Cinderella? ✨✨✨
So maybe nostalgia vaults the pumpkin to the top of my list of favorite autumn things. But let’s not forget homemade costumes with those plastic masks from Sterling’s. Apples dipped in caramel and wrapped in wax paper by the preacher’s wife, enough for every trick-or-treater in Keiser, Arkansas. A jack-o-lantern filled with candy by night’s end provided the stuff of every kid’s dreams (and all the parents’ nightmares).
The adult-me still loves fall and Halloween. On the first official day of fall, I decorated my porch and yard with pumpkins, switched out our summer front door wreath to one more reflective of fall, and squeezed a few violas into pots still blooming with spring-planted flowers.
With just a touch of orange, the spirit of autumn is alive and well. My soul feels rejuvenated.
See Charlotte the Orb Weaver in the picture above? She has been living in our front bed all summer, and I talk to her every day. Talk about a natural fall decoration!
Happy Birthday, Bernice 🎉🎉🎉
October 1st marks the one year book birthday of Bernice Runs Away, and what a year it has been.
In case you don’t know how fun being an author is, here’s a tiny glimpse of my Bernice year in review!
Hands down the #1 best thing about being an author = the people I meet. When my first book launched in 2016 (!), I had zero idea of what to expect. Truthbomb: The industry is difficult to maneuver. Publishing is tricky. Marketing can be a mystery. But my readers make all the tricky, mysterious maneuvering so worth it!
THANK YOU for every review, every book club invitation, every social media mention, all the things! With so many events already scheduled for 2024, I think Bernice’s party is just getting started.
Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
With autumn comes baking. Right?
These Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies will not only be calorie-free in my version of Heaven, but they will also be healthy. Here on Earth let’s just call them a decadent, well-deserved treat.
Fans of malt, rejoice!
These flat, chewy cookies are perfect for ice cream sandwiches.
And what better way to celebrate a book birthday than with a little ice cream?
A scoop of vanilla in some, a scoop of salted caramel in others.
Click Here for the recipe. It’s Ree Drummond’s creation—need I say more?
What’s Blooming + Growing?
We don’t often think of fall as the blooming season, but there is much to admire in the fall garden. The mums I’ve been faithfully pinching back all summer are in full bloom. Nasturtium, exhausted in late August, has made an admirable comeback. Our roses look better than ever.
Oh, and my watermelon is still growing!
Things Momma Says:
I thought the Razorbacks were going to be good this year, but they are speeding downhill fast!
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Thanks for being here, my Sunday Letter besties. I hope your October is filled with magical pumpkins, decadent fall treats, and glorious weather. 🎃 🍪 🍂
Now tell me—what do you love about October?
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
I love crisp fall mornings, soft cozy sweaters, and the smell of a pot of soup,chili, or gumbo simmering on the stove. It’s my favorite season!
Yay to all those things!!
I always look forward to sitting on the bank of the Mississippi River in Helena for three days listening to the music at the King Biscuit Blues Fest.
I have always wanted to attend King Biscuit!
I love seeing the bounty of acorns on the ground – knowing one might just grow into a beautiful oak tree. I also grab a few for decorations with the inside pumpkins.
And I love, love, love pumpkin pie. With whipped cream, of course.
Love your view on acorns! I had the most delicious pumpkin cream pie at book club this week. Yum.
I love Fall, I think it’s one of my favorite times of the year. The nice cool breezes which makes my wind chimes play such a beautiful chime. October is my Oldest sons birth month so I’ve always looked forward to this month! I love the fall decorations pumpkins, mums cornstalks and ornamental cabbages and gourds. And oh the treats baking pumpkin bread is on my agenda for this week! I always love to read, Oh what Mama says and boy did she hit that one on the head about the Razorbacks…..gotta love those hogs though!
I love Fall, I think it’s one of my favorite times of the year. The nice cool breezes which makes my wind chimes play such a beautiful chime. October is my Oldest sons birth month so I’ve always looked forward to this month! I love the fall decorations pumpkins, mums cornstalks and ornamental cabbages and gourds. And oh the treats baking pumpkin bread is on my agenda for this week! I always love to read, Oh what Mama says and boy did she hit that one on the head about the Razorbacks…..gotta love those hogs though! Have a fantabulous Fall🎃👻
I love the cooler temperatures and the changing leaves, but the best part: it’s my birthday month! My birthday is on the 23rd and my granny’s birthday was the 28th. She always said I was the best birthday present she ever received!
I love driving through our heavily wooded area and noticing the colors developing on the trees . The lower level of the sun makes our multiple lakes shimmer. There is an increase in hummingbirds as they pass through on migration. And, as long as they are not in my house, and I don’t walk face frost into their web, I like the spiders!
I was more than ready for fall but have just begun to put out pumpkins and change my wreath because of our travels. Walmart had a great selection of pumpkins at reasonable prices but not one mum. I bought 3 pumpkins and wish now, I’d gotten a few more.
I loved each of your books and am eager to see what’s next. I think you you did an amazing job navigating the book publishing process!
I so miss rolling in and the huge piles of leaves and nip in the air in the morning and evening. Oh, and crisp apples picked of the tree and cider fresh from the mill. I have always loved fall and find it many years with a late vacation.
If we are lucky, we get a taste of fall in mid-January and my hollies’ berries finally turn red for Valentine’s Day.
Gosh, I cannot think of anything that I do not love about October except the dreadful occasional hurricane that blows through here. I consider October to be my favorite birthday present. It always arrives the day after my birthday and I always get to decorate for the beginning of my favorite seasonal celebrations. Halloween is bursting on every surface of my house. Spookytown is in place in an old armoire. My little neighborhood decorating has caught on as more and more neighbors join me with spooks and monsters. The cemetery goes up tomorrow, along with the flying witch soaring over the graves. This years addition is a 6’5″ grave digger with flashing eyes. Oh joy!!
How fun!!
I love the rice, corn, and bean harvest here in NEA. It’s the culmination of such hard work and lots of prayers. The blue of the skies is so clear and dramatic in October against the colorful leaves. The crisp morning air and the warm afternoon temps are the best of both worlds! Flowers seem to perk up one more time and the scent of pumpkin spice is exciting! Life is beautiful every month, but October is amazing!
Just returned from NEA. I love seeing harvest!