Pumpkin Time

I hate Halloween. It was marginally fun when my kids were young enough to dress up but it was also a heck of a lot of work. Usually I made their costumes so it was always a lot of pressure to think of something fun (but not too difficult) for them to wear. Then I had to inspect the pillowcase full of future tooth decay that they dragged home. After that, I had to deal with the daily battles as I rationed out their goodies (after surreptitiously siphoning off a few Kit Kats). Just talking about what I used to go through makes me happy that my kids are grown. I still have to buy the candy for the various gremlins that appear at our doorstep but I'm glad that's it.

As much as I'm over the whole Halloween thing, there is one thing about this time of year I love. Pumpkins. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin bars, pumpkin muffins - you name it and I'll eat it. I like to kid myself that it's relatively healthy since there is a vegetable involved but I guess that argument goes out the window when I slather the end product with cream cheese icing. Oh well, I guess something had to take the place of those pilfered Kit Kats.

A Sunday Kind of Love

Since we replaced our windows a few months ago, I have been unable to bring myself to replace the window treatments. This would involve drilling holes into that beautiful (and highly leveraged) wood and I just can't do it. The downside of my refusal to desecrate my window frames is the sun pouring into my bedroom at a very inappropriate hour. Not so bad during the week, but a real sleep killer on the weekend. Today I tried my best. As the sun streamed across my husband's side of the bed, I piled pillow on top of pillow trying to stave off the inevitable. Finally, I gave up and reluctantly faced the day. I shouldn't have waited so long.

It was one of the those perfect fall days. Crisp air, blue skies. Gold and amber leaves still clinging to the trees. I searched the house for signs of life. Everyone was gone. The kids were working and my husband was lucky enough to be treated to the Bears game. (It later turned out to be a dubious gift). I jumped into the car and headed for Big Apple Bagels. Once home, armed with my Cinnamon Danish bagel and apple cinnamon cream cheese, the Sunday paper and a cup of tea, I headed for a sunny spot in the family room. I spent the next hour pouring over the sports page, doing the crossword and thoroughly enjoying the peace and quiet. Still ahead was football, a baseball playoff game and my parents company for dinner. Life is good.