I Know It's Fall But . . .

The leaves are falling, the temperatures are dropping - that can only mean one thing. It's time for all things pumpkin. Now, I like our rotund, orange vegetable friend as much as the next guy but don't you think we've stepped into dangerous overload territory? I'm crazy about pumpkin bread (with the appropriate drizzle of cream cheese icing, of course), I have a tray of the streusel-covered muffins from Costco in my freezer and I think pumpkin cheesecake is a decadent fall treat. But, c'mon, pumpkin flavored dog treats?! Yes, you read that correctly, Fido is now getting in on the pumpkin insanity, whether he wanted to or not.

I swear I'm not making this up. My latest copy of the Fearless Flyer from Trader Joe's has this new addition to dog food listed on page twenty. They also have twenty-two other pumpkin-flavored items ranging from coffee to ravioli. Twenty-two! They did manage to squeeze in a mention or two for non-pumpkin related items but the emphasis was clear - it's pumpkin season and we're going to shove it into any damn thing we can think of!

I suppose there's nothing wrong with showing our chubby buddy some love. I just wish we could spread it out a little. They do can this stuff. So why can't we have pumpkin-flavored coffee in April? Why can't we have pumpkin pancakes in July? I've heard there's actually a glut of the little devils this year, so why not? I know I'm doing my part. I found a deal for ten cans for $10 at my local Meijer store and intend to have cream cheese covered pumpkin bars whenever the spirit moves me.

But those canine treats still worry me. What's next pomegranate-flavored chew toys and butternut squash dog food?

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.