1. Autumn colors!–and not just the spectacular varieties of leaf color, but also walking through the leaves. The brush and crunch underfoot add music to wherever you walk and the colors a feast for your eyes. Get outside, be active, and enjoy the season. 2. Cozy sweaters–I love snuggling into a soft warm sweater on cool mornings and evenings. Add a cup of hot chocolate or apple cider, and a good friend to talk or binge-watch TV with and I’m having a great time. 3. Crafting with friends–I start working on Christmas craft projects in October. I’m a paper crafter, so handmade Christmas cards are a must, but also paper ornaments, exploding box cards, and folded books. Here some pics of projects I’ve already completed. 4. Pumpkin. . . everything–Latte, pie, or muffin, I love it all. Did you know Kraft Dinner has a new Pumpkin Spice flavor this year? I’m trying to find it so I can try it, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on any yet. If you’ve tried it, please let me know in the comments what you think of it. 5. Catching up on a good book. . . or three–I’m reading…

Can it really be October already? I hope so! I love this month, and here is why… Cooler weather. I admit it. I hate the heat and humidity of summer in the south. Being hot makes me cranky. Ask my husband, he’ll tell you it’s true! But a miraculous change in the weather sweeps in around the first of October each year. Mornings have a cool nip in the air, and the mid-day sun is warm but not breath-stealing. The first hints of autumn arrive. I love wearing sweaters, the smell of fallen leaves and the evening temperatures that let me jog in the neighborhood without melting. Welcome cooler weather! Football! By October, high school and college football seasons are in full swing. I love football. In fact, it is one of the few sports I do enjoy watching. I love the school rivalries, the excitement, the sweaty men in tight pants , and spending a Saturday afternoon (and often the evening too!) curled up on the sofa with my hubby watching all the games. Football is a great pleasure of the Fall. The holidays. October means Halloween and an excuse to decorate my house with pumpkins and buy chocolate!…

Apples – I just can’t get into eating apples in the summer. Once fall comes, it’s like I’m discovering apples all over again. I like the tart kind. Braeburn and the new Honeycrisps. Hot, homemade soup – Something else I don’t make or eat in the summer. It’s a great easy meal for autumn. (Today’s soup is split pea.) Fall foliage – I lived in Florida for a while as a teenager, and I really missed seeing the leaves change. Now I’m lucky to live in an area with lots of trees and lots of fall color. Crunchy Leaves – All that fall foliage leads to crunchy leaves! I love stomping through them. First frost – So pretty. Time to get out the big, comfy sweaters! My wedding anniversary – Twenty-three years this October. I can hardly believe it. Pumpkins – Sometimes I grow my own. Not this year, though, so I’ll be picking up some big ones soon. Jack-o-lanterns – Some pumpkins eventually become Jack-o-lanterns! I was a little disturbed when the supermarket started selling pumpkins with pre-painted jack-o-lantern faces a few years ago. I’m a purist. Gotta carve my own, usually on the day before Halloween. Costumes –…