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That first apple cider donut! By the wonderful Grace Farris.
P.S. Little gratitudes and types of sweater weather.
Fall Memories
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I live in a balmy weather all year round, but it is monsoon in October-December. Every year I will be reminiscing my childhood when the weather is all rain and thunderstorm. When I was a kid I played outside in the heavy rain, then came home all soaked up, take a shower, then bundled up in front of the TV watching my favorite cartoons, sipping hot tea and eating my mom’s piping hot fried banana, cuddling with my mom, dad, and siblings. I try to recreate those memories with my own kids now, whenever it’s raining, we’ll be in our living room, drinking hot choc and baking banana bread (they don’t love tea or fried banana), playing uno or monopoly (we find it nicer to listen to the sound of the pouring rain than the tv, hahaha).
Autumn equinox. I went into the hospital wearing sandals and shorts.
In just 2 days, I left wearing a winter coat,warm and cozy like my new baby.
I love this little story.
This is beautiful! Where I live we call Fall Autumn and I remember my first Apple cider donut. It’s one of my happiest memories. We went apple picking in a stunning orchard that was nestled next to a pine forest. My siblings, their partners, nieces, my kids and husband and my parents were there and it was Easter time. We were all so happy and the kids loved picking huge bags filled with apples. I remember seeing my mum strolling through the orchards with her hands behind her back walking in the contemplative way she did. The donuts were made by twins aged 11 and they were incredible. It was a lovely day. My mum died the following year and we did return to the orchard but the donuts no longer there and the farmer was grouchy kind of a guy but I told him about that day and my mum. It feels almost magical when recounting that day. I did get a smile from the farmer.
Good for you reaching out to the “grumpy farmer guy “. Bet he loved it. It’s great you shared the story about your mum with him, and with us. What a beautiful day and memory.
On my block, there are two elementary-aged kids starting to play the trumpet, one starting the violin, and one starting the bells. The first few weeks of school the sounds from their open windows when they all diligently practiced in the afternoons was hilarious!
amanda …
i can tell by you seeing (hearing) the upside in anyone learning how to play a musical instrument, them repeatedly playing the same few notes over and over and over again that
you must be an awesome neighbor/friend/adult role model for those kids and their families. lucky them. :) thanks for being great around their learning.
hope you have a nice weekend.
can i be anonymous today?
The thought of it does sound hilarious!
At a former place we lived at, someone in a neighboring house played the trumpet. We never found out who it was, but thought it may have been a teacher, because some days it sounded good, and others very much not. We always wondered. And were grateful for our isolated windows because if it did get annoying, we didn’t have to keep listening ;)
My wedding anniversary is in October. Always a time close to my heart. We got married in a park in the Northern CA Sierras with the fall colors and the autumn chill. Glorious!
For my birthday last weekend (57!) my daughter made her signature gluten-free cider donuts. We devour the first few, then mete out the leftovers in small bites to make them last! Also, I was newly pregnant with both my babies in the fall. They were and forever will be my acorns.
Would you or your daughter be willing to share the recipe?? I’m GF and miss cider donuts so much! XO
I will ask!
https://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/how-to-make/gluten-free-apple-cider-donuts/
Megan, she likes this recipe, and subs out some of the butter for applesauce (they stick together better). Pro tip–add plenty of cooking spray to donut pans. She dusts with cinnamon sugar mixture just before serving.
Thank you Laura!! XO
Yes, thank you, Laura (and your daughter)!
Yes, thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
My absolute pleasure, donut folks.
If you attended college in the northeast, there’s an air/temp/color/light/feel of autumn that will transport you back to being 19. The first perfect fall day is like time travel! Truly a magic trick!
Woah you have finally described something I could never put my finger on as former Boston college student!
Yes! That! I live overseas now (still same geographic latitude) and every fall in the Luxembourg gardens I get that northeastern campus vibe and that feeling of being fully, wonderfully alive
Haha, same! I cannot conceive of college in a warm climate, without corduroys, boots and cute scarves! I also weirdly feel that way about people who played spring sports in the Northeast – the early March smell of snow mixed with mud….anyone??
Allison! Yes yes yes! I’m completely transported to chilly spring soccer practices when I smell that special combination of mud and grass when the spring temp first hits like 52 degrees.
And what about porch weather in the spring? Syracuse grad and the arrival of warmth each spring was SO welcoming…and maybe a reason to ditch responsibilities for a day.
Putting a heavier blanket on the bed just to sleep with the windows open…because the overnight temps will drop to the 50’s and it seems like it’s freezing outside. Good sleeping weather, though!
With an October birthday, I always loved getting to celebrate with the season transition. My best best birthday was my Sweet Sixteen: a picnic with four friends by Subdury’s Wayside Inn Grist Mill. If you’re in New England and haven’t been, go. Peak foliage with one of the last working mills chugging away.
Became a mother one beautiful autumn, many years ago. Everything around that experience will always be “fall memories” to me.
My son was 4 months old his 1st October- I remember dressing him in a pair of khaki-colored corduroy’s & a mustard-colored shirt with leaves on it! <3
I miss having “real” fall in Northern California, it is short and comes later, and the trees are not that colorful. When the kids were smaller, we did fall things like going to the pumpkin patch, apple picking, drinking hot apple cider. Now I make pumpkin bread and travel to the Eastern Sierra for absolutely gorgeous fall colors. And bought a pair of gold-colored corduroys. Happy fall!
My first Concord grape was a full-body experience, a la when Joan Allen’s ladyjourney sets a tree on fire in Pleasantville. I’m sure all the chess hustlers caught in the shock wave at Union Square that day wonder why they felt so purple-black and infinite for a minute.
Thank you for this!
One year ago I was almost two months in to a four month road trip across the U.S. I met my BFF in Burlington VT for five days of leaf peeping, wine tasting, and delicious food – including apple cider donuts! We managed to pick the PERFECT time to visit, and I will never forget how spectacular it was. I’m born, raised and still live in San Diego, I’m a summer girl for life, but that was certainly a time to really get what fall is like.
Sounds like a dream!
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