A Cloudy Day...

Today it is cloudy outside. Now I am a California girl, not quite the Katy Perry type of “California Gurl.” But I do enjoy my dose of sunshine. This weather makes me feel that the inevitable is happening. The changing of the seasons. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the holidays. I love decorating for Halloween and staying inside while it is pouring down rain outside and baking banana bread, and then moving onto Thanksgiving (the holiday that most stores skip right over) and Christmas. It really is a magical time of year. When I was little, my mom (and my mom#2, or step-mom at their house) would decorate the entire house for whatever holiday was coming up. It didn’t matter if it was Valentine’s day, or Halloween, the decorations would come out. The house would be filled with them! Tastefully of course, not gaudy like the sweater your Aunt Suzie knitted you and expects to see every holiday season. I have come to realize that this is what made the traditions come to life for us as kids. The little things. My mom is not a baker, but give her a basket or present to put together and it will look like a million bucks. (Look out Donald Trump.) A lot about life is about traditions… We pass them along and make new ones along the way. So I am going to share Fall traditions from my childhood and one I am starting with my kiddos. When I was a kid we always got up really early one weekend morning and went to the pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay to pick out our pumpkins. We saw the same Dracula year after year, and every year he still scared me. We would then find a fun-off-the-beaten-path-kinda place for breakfast. My dad would always take us to the Harvest Festival at our school. We would be all dressed up in our costumes, so excited to show them off. With my girls we have started going up to Apple Hill with my in-laws and getting apples to make apple sauce. Every year I break out my trusty food mill and strain the already pulverized apple pulp. The special moments in life are often shared in the quiet, or not so quiet of your own home. Feel free to post some of your own. It is fun to see what other people do and sometimes use it yourself. But imitation is the best form of flattery, right?