Autumn has always been my favorite season. Probably, it started out that way because my birthday falls in autumn. But over the years I have developed a love for the crisp air, crunchy leaves, sweaters and steaming pots of tea that accompany this time of year.
Today was a perfect fall afternoon…beckoned outside by the sounds of our next door neighbor working in his yard, we stepped out into the 65 degree mid-afternoon sunshine and raked a half dozen wheelbarrow loads of leaves from the front yard. Seeing the gigantic pile of leaves we had accumulated, our neighbor’s nine year old daughter and their dog gleefully dove into the pile, burrowing down in the crackly compost. After they left, we jumped into the pile, too.
By this time it was late afternoon, and we decided to eat the homemade apple crisp I had made yesterday with Pippins from the farmers’ market. It wasn’t dinner time yet, much less dessert — but it seemed like the perfect moment for warm apple crisp, ala mode.
Next we headed downtown to catch a five o’clock movie, marking the Arteest’s first departure from the house since Thursday! (He has been recovering from a nasty cold.) After the movie, we checked out a new restaurant, The Screen Door, where I tried a smattering of comfort foods: chicken noodle soup, macaroni and cheese, braised carrots and corn bread.
Still to come in our autumn adventures — bread baking, fireplace fires, games of Scrabble, and lots more movies.
Last October, Jonathan convinced me to watch “Lonesome Dove” with him. Considering that it was a made-for-TV mini-series from 1989, and given that it is a western based on Texas rangers in the mid-19th century, it took some convincing. This isn’t my preferred genre, and the prospect of watching six hours of it didn’t exactly thrill me at the time. But…sometimes we make concessions for the one we love.
We started out watching the first of four parts on a rainy Sunday afternoon. By the second of four parts, I was hooked — and after watching the third part I insisted we go straight on to the fourth, because I couldn’t stand to wait to find out what would happen.
This year, watching Lonesome Dove was my idea — I even suggested that we make it an annual fall tradition at our house. So over the last week or so we watched the first three parts. And then…I stalled. I’m not sure if I was trying to avoid watching the fourth part because I didn’t want the story to be over, or because I knew there was a sad part coming, but last night we finally finished it.
Not only have I become a Lonesome Dove fan, but I have actually tried to convince Jonathan that if we have a son someday, we should name him Gus, and if we have a daughter, she should be Clara. And this morning in my weekly meeting with my boss, I started a sentence with the words “I reckon.”
I reckon that durned Augustus McCrae has really gotten under my skin.
Here’s a shout out to all of my foodie friends out there…good times are being had in Italy!
In the Cinque Terre we sampled the local specialties of fresh grilled anchovies, focaccia bread, pesto and white wine. In Florence we ate as much gelato as we could justify (e.g. once a day). In Tuscany we had some amazing local specialties — I had a baked layered pasta with pecorino and honey, and the Arteest ate wild boar. Tonight he had ox tail. (Methinks he preferred the wild boar!)
Perhaps the highlight of our culinary adventures was a trip to the Mercato Centrale (central market) in Florence where we wandered around stalls hawking fruits, veggies, olives, nuts, cheeses, meats, bread, olive oil, and very expensive balsamic vinegars (some were aged 50 years old and were as sweet and viscous as maple syrup). We assembled a picnic of focaccia, salami, fresh mozzarella, tiny sweet tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, grapes, plums and a mini-bottle of Chianti. We walked to the park, sat in the grass and nibbled to our hearts’ content.
When we get home, we’ll be hitting the gym.
Sometimes you wake up in the morning to the sound of someone playing “Raindrops keep falling on my head” on an accordion, outside your bedroom window. But not usually. In Venice, unusual things happen. We spent two lovely nights in a groovy old hotel right on the canal. I loved the sound of water lapping up against the side of the building at night. Not as beautiful was the trash floating by in the stinky water. Still…
Now we are finishing up a couple of days in the Cinque Terre, a dazzlingly beautiful cluster of five small fishing towns nestled in the rocky cliffs west of Florence, on the Ligurian Sea. Back in the day (like waaay back, in the 14th century) they had a lot of trouble with pirates around here. (Starla, you must mention that to Daisy…we’ve been thinking of her!) Nowadays, not so many pirates. We have absorbed oursleves into the relaxing vibe around these parts, and filled our tummies with the local specialties (fresh anchovies, foccacia bread, pesto, and white wine, to name a few). Today we experienced a most glorious hike and a well earned swim afterward.
Tomorrow, we’re off to Florence. It just keeps getting better…
Hi all,
Jonathan and I have safely arrived in Italy for our glorious two week vacation. We are currently staying in Varenna, a lovely little town of 800 people. It’s perched on the edge of Lake Como, where we are enjoying a leisurely day of exploring gardens, eating local pasta, and taking the ferry to the neighboring village of Bellagio (yes, the one the casino is named after). Hopefully we’ll be able to post some photos along the way…stay tuned!
