Drifting Leaves: An Autumn Tag

My friend Olivia tagged me with this little seasonal challenge over on her blog, Meanwhile, in Rivendell... last fall.  I'm in the mood for blog tags lately, so finding it in my drafts was perfect timing.  Belated thanks, Olivia!

Here are this tag's rules:

1. Download the cover photo and use it for your post (check)

2. Acknowledge the person who tagged you (check) 

3. Tag others and comment on their blog to let them know! (check) 

4. Slip into autumn vibes (check)

And here are the tag questions:

1. If autumn isn't your favourite season, what is? And if autumn is your favourite season, why? 

Where I currently live, autumn is my favorite.  Winter is my true favorite, but the winters here are mostly grey and ugly and barren, with no snow to cheer up and beautify the world except for a couple of days here and there.  I am passionately in love with snow (and I have lived in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Connecticut, so I know whereof I speak -- this is not a childish and frivolous love) and Christmas and so many wintery things -- but winter here is disappointing.  

So I love autumn best here.  And that's because it's when we can say farewell to something I hate: being hot.  I really hate being hot.  And it is hot here from late May through mid-September.  It's quite disgusting, Holmes.  But when fall finally arrives, the heat leaves and I feel like myself again.  (I actually get the summertime version of Seasonal Affective Disorder toward the end of most summers, so I literally mean I feel more like myself again when autumn comes to rescue me.)  Also, I get very creative in the fall and usually do some of my best writing then.  And I love all the changing colors of the tree leaves.  And I love to bake, but it's too hot in the summer to bake much, so I can bake more again once the weather cools down!

(All photos in this post are my own.)

2. What is your favourite thing that you do each autumn? 

I love to go to Colonial Williamsburg in the fall to see all the beautiful trees and drink hot apple cider while strolling down Duke of Gloucester Street.  It might be my favorite season to spend there, though come springtime, I'll say that's my favorite.  Both are so beautiful!

For the past few years, we have gone to Colonial Williamsburg in mid-November to see them fire their bricks.  They build a giant kiln out of unfired bricks that they made all during the spring and summer, and then build a massive fire inside it and bake the bricks.  It's amazing to watch.

3. What are a couple of your favourite autumn memories? 

I have a lot of fun making costumes, and I have some great memories of making unusual costumes for my kids, especially when they were very small.  A fire truck, an airplane, a big squishy pumpkin, and a Lego person were some of my favorites to try to figure out.  

4. What book most reminds you of the autumn? Movie? 

The Hound of the Baskervilles by A. Conan Doyle is set in October, and it's hands-down my favorite fall read.  I am exceedingly fond of the 1988 version starring Jeremy Brett, and we watch it every October.  Well, most Octobers -- I'm sure we have skipped a year once or twice.  But generally, we cozy up with it sometime in the fall.

5. What is your favourite drink for the season? 

I love hot apple cider.  And cold apple cider.  It's one of the few things I really only drink in autumn.

6. What is one new thing you want to do this autumn? 

I am contemplating making homemade apple butter for the first time.

7. Do you decorate for the autumn? If so, how soon? If not, why? 

I do, a bit.  I hang seasonal wreaths or other decor on the closet door in our foyer, and I made a fall-themed wreath years and years ago to use in autumn.  This year, I pulled all the flowers and things off it and redecorated it with a mix of a few of the old pieces and some new things.  Here's how it turned out:

I used the bits and bobs that were left over from that project to make a triangular wreath-ish thing to go around a whole bunch of battery-operated candles as a centerpiece for our dining room table.  Three of the candles are in tall glass candle holders that my kids decoupaged with autumn leaves they'd collected.  They made those years ago, and I really like how they turned out.  They've lasted so well, too!

I have a few other things I bring out just for Thanksgiving to put on my mantel, but this is the bulk of my autumn decorations.

8. What is your favourite way to celebrate Thanksgiving? 

With my family, either at my house or my brother's house.  I loved celebrating it in Colonial Williamsburg, but now that Dad is gone, I don't really want to do that again.

9. What colour makes you think most of autumn? 

Dark orange.  Orange of all sorts, really -- the only time of year I don't mind the color orange is autumn.

10. Type up a list of ten words or names that encapsulate the season of autumn for you.

Cool

Crisp

Welcome

Change

Creativity

Renewal

Hope

Comfort

Finally

Cozy

I hereby tag:

The Maidens of Green Gables

Cab Drivers and Coffeepots/Musings of an Introvert

Sidewalk Crossings

Taking Up Room

With Freedom, Books, Flowers, and the Moon

Here's a clean list of the tag questions for you to copy with ease:

1. If autumn isn't your favourite season, what is? And if autumn is your favourite season, why? 

2. What is your favourite thing that you do each autumn? 

3. What are a couple of your favourite autumn memories? 

4. What book most reminds you of the autumn? Movie? 

5. What is your favourite drink for the season? 

6. What is one new thing you want to do this autumn? 

7. Do you decorate for the autumn? If so, how soon? If not, why? 

8. What is your favourite way to celebrate Thanksgiving? 

9. What colour makes you think most of autumn? 

10. Type up a list of ten words or names that encapsulate the season of autumn for you.

My Middle-earth Quilt

I did it!  I finished my Middle-earth quilt throw blanket thing!  And on Hobbit Day, no less :-D

I've been working on this throw blanket since the end of July.  I bought a set of twelve beautiful fabric panels from Sweet Sequels that were printed with Haleigh DeRocher's lovely Impressionistic Tolkien artwork, first of all.  

Then I bought a fluffy faux fur fabric for the background and two contrasting green fabrics for the front, both from Hobby Lobby.

I laid out the panels in a design I liked, and then interspersed them with the green fabric, which I had cut into pieces the same size as the artwork panels.

Then I sewed all those pieces together by hand, first sewing them into strips of seven blocks each, then sewing those strips together.  

I just worked on that every now and then, usually in the evening while watching a TV show episode to relax or something.  I finished sewing all the blocks together in mid-August.

Then it was time to cut down the faux fur backing fabric to fit, which was the hardest part, really.  I ended up laying it all out on the floor in my library to cut it.  Once I was done cutting, I was left with a pretty disgusting pile of fluff.

Then I pinned the wrong sides of front and back together and sewed all the way around the edge, except for about an 8-inch gap on one side.  Pulled the whole thing through the gap so it was now inside-in, sewed the gap shut, and then sewed all the way around the edge again so it would lie flat.  Tacked it down in four places in the middle so the back and front don't shift around a lot, and ta-da!  I'm done!

It suits our library couch so well!  I can't wait to snuggle up under this while reading this fall and winter.  That backing fabric is soooooo soft and warm.

The whole project cost me $60-$70, and took about two months of very occasional working.  I loved making it!  And... I have a lot of the backing left, plus some of the contrasting fabric, so I actually ordered another set of the fabric panels from Sweet Sequels this month, and I plan to make at least one throw pillow to match this and go with it on the couch.  I might also make some book sleeves.  I might even offer one as a prize for the giveaway next year for my annual Tolkien Blog Party.  We shall see!

Speaking of the blog party, today is the LAST DAY you can enter this year's giveaway!  If you haven't entered yet, go here and do so before 11:59pm EST!  And, if you haven't checked out the party at all yet, here's the kick-off post with links to all the others.

To-Do List for Spring of 2022

Here are the things I would like to accomplish this spring.  So, by the end of May, basically.  I've got some pretty busy weeks coming up, so this might be a little shorter than my usual lists, but these are what I think I can realistically do, anyway.

~ Finish the major revisions of My Rock and My Refuge

~ Start a street team for my Once Upon a Western series 

(All photos are mine from visiting Colonial Williamsburg last spring.)

~ Read 3 books for my latest Classics Club list

~ Read 10 books off my TBR shelves 

~ Watch 4 movies off my TBW shelves 

~ Go see Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore

~ Go see The Quiet Man on the big screen thanks to TCM and Fathom Events

~ Make a hobbit-themed wreath

~ Make a fairy garden outside

~ Visit Disney World and Legoland for the first time!

That ought to keep me busy, don't you think?

All Finished with My Winter To-Do List for 2020/21

February is over at last.  Whew.

Although spring has not yet sprung, I've finished everything on my winter to-do list that I'm reasonably going to finish, so I'm going to wrap it up and begin afresh.  Let's see how I did...

~ Finish writing a short story  Check! I released my new short story "Run, Run" in January as an e-book here for Kindle and here for Nook.  It's free!  (In the US, anyway -- it should be free for Nook everywhere, but the Kindle version may cost you a small amount in other countries.)  "Run, Run" retells the story of The Gingerbread Man, and is a sequel to my book One Bad Apple.  I've included a recipe for 1800s-style gingerbread in the e-book as well, in case you get as hungry reading it as I got while writing it.

~ Finish the first draft of my Beauty and the Beast retelling  Fail.  I'm not quite half done with this first draft, I think.  It's already at 30K, so this is going to be another longer book, which is fun!  But I have a lot to write yet.  I absolutely love these characters, though, so I'm not complaining about having lots of time to spend with them!

I still don't have at title for it, though.  It'll come.

~ Finish re-reading The Lord of the Rings  Fail.  That's okay, too.  This is my ninth time reading it, and I'm really in no hurry.  I've been enjoying Heidi's read-along of it a lot!

(This and the following book pictures are from my Instagram account.)

~ Read 3 Christmas books  Check!  In fact, I read six!!!  I think that's the most Christmas books I've ever read in one season as an adult.  I read:

• Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories by L. M. Montgomery 
• A House to Let by Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, and Adelaide Anne Proctor
• Yuletide: A Jane Austen-Inspired Collection of Stories edited by Christina Boyd
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (reviewed previously here)
• Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
• Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews

~ Read 6 other books off my TBR shelves  Check!  I read ten.  It was a great winter for reading!  I read:

• Code Red at the Super Mall by Eric Wilson
• The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
• Jewel of Persia by Roseanna M. White
• For the Sake of the Game edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
• The Lone Ranger by Elizabeth Rudnick
• Further Chronicles of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
• Faces to the Sun edited by S. J. Lasko
• In League with Sherlock Holmes edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
• Black Orchids by Rex Stout

~ Read 3 books from the library  Check!  I read:

• We are the Ship by Kadir Nelson
• Black Heroes of the Wild West by James Otis Smith
• The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby

~ Read at least 1 book each month about/by someone who is not white Check!  I read four:

• We are the Ship by Kadir Nelson
• Black Heroes of the Wild West by James Otis Smith
• The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

~ Host a pirate-themed blog party in February  Aye, aye!  We had so much fun.  Go here for the wrap-up post with links to all the different posts people contributed.

~ Watch 3 Christmas movies  Check!  I watched:

• Holiday Affair (1949)
• The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
• A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
• White Christmas (1954)

~ Watch 4 movies off my TBW shelves  Check!  I watched seven*:

• Call of the Wild (2020)
• The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
• Calcutta (1946)
• Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
• Virginia City (1940)
• Sleeping Beauty (1959)
• Against All Flags (1952)

*I had watched two of those before (The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and Sleeping Beauty), but so long ago that I didn't really remember them, so I kept them on my TBW shelves until I had a chance to watch them again and decide if I liked them enough to keep them or not.

~ Go see Wonder Woman: 1984 (2020)  Check!  It was okay -- you can read my thoughts here.

~ Try making cookies with my new patterned rolling pin  Check!  As you can see, it has a very ME design:

~ Help my daughter make a playground for her hamster  Check!  You can see him playing in it here:

~ Repaint the main floor bathroom  Check!  Very happy with the results.  Especially this border I put up:

~ Get back to regularly reading the blogs I love Check!  I've been keeping up reasonably well, I think, and I love spending a couple afternoons every week just reading and reading and reading them.  I'd rather be reading them every day like I used to, but right now, this is what works for my life, so I'll try to keep it up :-) 

I'll figure out a new set of goals in a day or two, for the spring!  Meanwhile, happy Friday to you.

Ending My Autumn To-Do List

December is here!  December is here!  I've waited a whole year for this month!  And man, it has been a looooooong year, hasn't it?

This picture is brought to you by my getting to go out and see Casablanca (1942) in the theater with some friends last month.  We all dressed up in as close to period-correct clothing and so on as we could.  (This picture also brought to you by the Keto diet, thanks to which I have dropped 15 of the pounds I picked up after my gall bladder removal a few years ago.  I finally have a jawline again.)

Anyway.  Because December is here, that means it's time to wrap up my autumn to-do list and see what I got checked off.  All book and movie titles linked to my reviews where applicable.  All pictures are my own, and most are from my Instagram account.

~ Write a short story Semi-fail  A couple days ago, I did get an idea for a short story sequel to One Bad Apple, and I've started it, but it's not nearly finished.

~ Start writing my Beauty and the Beast retelling Check!  It doesn't have a real title yet, though I call it Schoen und Stark just because I hate writing things without a title.  But I know that won't be its final title.  I've got three chapters done and will start on the fourth as soon as I finish the aforementioned short story.

~ Read Roverandom by J. R. R. Tolkien Check!  It was enchanting -- my review is here.

~ Participate in Heidi's read-along of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Check!  It's still going on, and I'm still participating.

~ Finish reading Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome aloud to my kids Fail.  Other books distracted us, plus we've had less reading time the last few weeks.  But we're still working on it!

~ Read 1 other title for my Classics Club list Check!  In fact, I read SEVEN more classics!  They were:

• In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
• A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
• A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall
• If Only They Could Talk by James Herriot
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

~ Read 7 other books off my TBR shelves  Check!  I read TWELVE books off my TBR shelves besdies Roverandom.  They were:

• In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
• Crossfire Trail by Louis L'Amour
• To Tame a Land by Louis L'Amour
• A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
• A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall
• The Father Hunt by Rex Stout
• Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd
• Aslan's World by Angus Menuge
• A Very Bookish Thanksgiving by Kelsey Bryant, Sarah Holman, J. Grace Pennington, Rebekah Jones, and Amanda Tero 
• Tales of the Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov
• Come in, We're Closed by Tyler Bramwell
• Marsalis on Music by Wynton Marsalis

~ Read 2 books from the library Check!  I read three: 

• Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker
• Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
• Call for the Dead by John le Carré

~ Read at least 1 book each month about/by someone who is not white Check!  I read:

• Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
• All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
• Marsalis on Music by Wynton Marsalis

~ Watch 4 movies off my TBW shelves Fail.  I only watched three: Manhattan Melodrama (1934), Mamma Mia! (2008), and season 3 of Leverage (2010).

~ Finish the blanket I'm crocheting for my 8-yr-old's bed Check!  I'm so pleased with it, and so is she:

~ Make a new fall wreath Check!  I love how it turned out, too:

~ Go hiking Check!  We went hiking while on our staying-in-Virginia vacation this fall.

~ Toast marshmallows Check!  We did that on our vacation around a fire pit, and we've toasted them in our fireplace too.

That's all, folks!  I'll make a winter to-do list and share it soon, but for now, I'll leave you with this picture of my hairdo from my evening at the movies last month because I did it myself with no help, which can be hard when your hair is 4 feet long, but it came together at last:

My Autumn 2020 To-Do List

It's still so stinking hot here that I could cry, but once in a while, I get a whiff of cool autumn air under all the humidity, which gives me hope for the future.

So I'm going to start working on my goals for this fall even if it doesn't *feel* like fall yet.  I'm stubborn that way!  Here's my list of things I'd like to do between now and Thanksgiving Day :-)

~ Write a short story

~ Start writing my Beauty and the Beast retelling

~ Read Roverandom by J. R. R. Tolkien

~ Participate in Heidi's read-along of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

~ Finish reading Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome aloud to my kids

~ Read 1 other title for my Classics Club list

~ Read 7 other books off my TBR shelves

~ Read 2 books from the library

~ Read at least 1 book each month about/by someone who is not white

~ Watch 4 movies off my TBW shelves

~ Finish the blanket I'm crocheting for my 8-yr-old's bed

~ Make a new fall wreath

~ Go hiking

~ Toast marshmallows

That's all for this list, I think!  Happy autumn, everyone!

Polishing off My Summer To-Do List

Labor Day has passed, so I guess the summer is basically over.  That means it's time to report on my goals I set in my summer to-do list.

All photos are mine, several from my Instagram account.  All titles are linked to my reviews if I've reviewed that book or movie.

~ Publish One Bad Apple  Check!  My Snow White retelling is out in the world now, and you can order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.

~ Read The Hunchback of Notre Dame  Check!  My review is here.

~ Read 2 more titles for my Classics Club list  Check!  I also read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Chronicles of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery.

~ Read 9 books off my TBR shelves  Check!  I read SIXTEEN books off my TBR shelves, which far surpassed my expectations.  They were: 

1. A Light in the Dark Belt by Rosa Young 
2. Desert Death Song by Louis L'Amour 
3. Chronicles of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery 
4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
5. Macario's Scepter by M. J. McGriff
6. Great Writers: Jane Austen 
7. The Malleville Conspiracy by H. L. Roethle
8. Of Literature and Lattes by Katherine Reay
9. C.S. Lewis: Letters to Children edited by Lyle W. Dorsett and Marjorie L. Mead
10. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre
11. The Queen's Falconer by Charity Bishop
12. Rook di Goo by Jenni Sauer
13. Frederica by Georgette Heyer
14. Just Mercy: Adapted for Young Adults by Bryan Stevenson
15. The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo
16. Mr. Bliss by J. R. R. Tolkien

~ Read 2 books from the library  Check!  I read three:  The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev, and Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King.

~ Read at least 1 book each month about/by someone who is not white  Check!  In my on-going quest to broaden my literary horizons, I've added a lot more "own voices" titles and authors to my TBR lists.  This summer, I read A Light in the Dark Belt by Rosa Young, Macario's Scepter by M. J. McGriff, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev, and Just Mercy: Adapted for Young Adults by Bryan Stevenson.

~ Watch 5 movies off my TBW shelves  Check!  I watched eight, and they were:

1. I Love You Again (1940)
2. The High and the Mighty (1954)
3. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
4. Rawhide (1951)
5. Hamlet (1970)
6. The Outsiders: The Complete Novel (1983)
7. Shogun (1980)
8. Seven Men from Now (1956)

~ Make at least three new kinds of popsicles  Check!  We made butterscotch pudding pops, Oreo pudding pops, lemonade + blackberry, lemonade + blueberry, and hot chocolate with marshmallows!  I think my kids liked the hot chocolate popsicles best.

~ Make another book nook shelf insert  Fail  I haven't solidified my ideas for another one yet, and I also just didn't have time.

~ Finish the blanket I'm crocheting for my 8-yr-old's bed  Fail  But I'm getting close!!!

That's it for this summer, I guess.  On to autumn!!!  I'll have my new to-do list up soon :-)

Did you have fun this summer?  Try something new?  Read some good books or watch some good movies?  I hope so!

My Summer 2020 To-Do List

(My container garden this year so far)

~ Publish One Bad Apple

~ Read The Hunchback of Notre Dame

~ Read 2 more titles for my Classics Club list

(Lavender)

~ Read 9 books off my TBR shelves

~ Read 2 books from the library

~ Read at least 1 book each month about/by someone who is not white

(Snapdragons that reseeded themselves last year)

~ Watch 5 movies off my TBW shelves

~ Make at least three new kinds of popsicles.  I'm thinking I'll start with these Oreo Pudding Pops.

(Dianthus/cottage pinks that reseeded themselves)

~ Make another book nook shelf insert

~ Finish the blanket I'm crocheting for my 8-yr-old's bed

(More snapdragons -- the pink & yellow last year
crossbred and made peach!)

That's all I've got for this summer!  How about you?  Are you making any reading or movie-watching goals, or have things you'd like to do?