To Every Thing, a Season..
I’m very excited! This is my first autumn-themed post since I started the blog. Dimestore roared to life back in January, in the stale cold of winter and four miserable hours of sunlight a day. The seasonally affected do not blog well. Being “born” after Christmas but before the thaw, there wasn’t a whole lot to blog about but shoveling.
Summer this year, being just an annex of spring of course… didn’t really merit a whole lot of attention. By the middle of July we were all running into the streets and hissing at the glowing yellow orb that seemed to have come out of nowhere to cook us where we stood. Finally in September, we’re getting 77-degree days - but you can still tell.. the nip of fall is in the air!
Fall is my favorite season, and Eddie’s as well! I suppose it’s fitting. We met in the Fall, fell in love in the Fall… Every year we get excited to break out the sweaters (or the vests, if you’re Ed.) We start to gawk at the red-gold leaves zipping past on the highway, marvel at our breath condensing in the air, and I start to get nervous about all the classes I’ve piled on.
Nano is only two months away now, and I’m starting to get revved to spend a lot of time with the Boston crew, guzzling coffee and watching Travis give his yearly rendition of “Merlene the Drag Queen of Waxaucatchy County” (I know that’s spelled wrong, guys. I’m not southern. I’d appreciate an assist!) We’re going to miss Randy and his luxuriant mane this year! Plus, Travis cut off his burgeoning flowing locks, and I’m practically sporting a Kate Gosselin, so Brandon alone will carry the Torch of the Flowing Tresses.
This year we have a few new things to look forward to. The kittens are starting to realize that the world isn’t warm all year round, and have taken to snuggling up to our legs at night. Jawsie, who never snuggles with mama (she’s daddy’s little girl to be sure) was even laying alongside the last few nights, sucking up some radiation from her humans. Indiana, snuggle-bug by heart, was on the bed practically as soon as we were in it. I sort of look forward to waking up chilly in the mornings with kittens keeping my tootsies warm.
In my ongoing effort to get into the Christmas spirit - which was summarily executed by two years of Christmas spent working retail in the Rockingham Mall - I am joining a Christmas Chorus!! Dave and Beth, and Beth (we have a lot of Beths!) are all members of the Merrimack Valley Players, and after 4 years of crummy timing and overstuffed schedules, they have finally convinced me to give MVP a go for the Christmas season. I guess it’s a step in the right direction, hmm? So, in a bitter irony, I will spend my most favorite season singing the musical propaganda of my least favorite season. As Vonnegut would say, “So it goes.”
More than anything else, Fall means baking for me. The house is cool enough to turn on the oven, and so we break out the recipe books. I start to churn out hamburger stew and fish chowders, and we make a lot of bread during the fall and winter. My favorite, English Cottage Loaf will be showing up in the oven pretty soon. It’s soft and chewy, an incredible starter for toast with butter and honey. One batch of dough makes two hulking loaves - which last about three days in our house. Labor Day Weekend will most likely see the start of the bread-making season at Casa Cianci.
We’re looking forward to trying our hand at something new this year as well! Every year we talk about canning our own jam, and I always have a craving for my favorite winter comfort food - macaroni and cheese with stewed tomatoes. This year, we’re going to try a few recipes, and turn the kitchen into a bonafide assembly line for sweets and preserves. If all goes well, you might just find some in your Christmas stocking (but only if you’ve been really, really good… or can entertain us with your stories of being an utter degenerate.) I’ll probably blog the cooking/canning process for the curious… and because I know Brandon is going to cause me to lag behind in blog posts sooner or later, and it’s something interesting to write about!
Sad as I am that our very brief summer is drawing to a close, I’m very much looking forward to all the projects and events coming up over the next few months.
