Octobers...

A friend posted this quote on Facebook. 

October 1st...not technically the first day of autumn, but in a way it has always felt that way to me.  The back to school feelings of September have ended, and the school year routine is a bit smoother.  There is usually a slight chill in the air by October.  As we transition from summer to fall here in the UK, my homesickness has hit!  Summer in the UK felt similar to the states, but without the unbearable heat.  Now that autumn is in full swing I am feeling the differences. 

October embodies everything I love...sweater and boot weather, pumpkin everything, changing leaves, cool temps, hoodies, and harvest time.  As AJ will tell anyone, I live for sweater weather.  I love throwing on a sweater with boots.  When we first moved, a lot of Brits told us about the weather.  AJ would always respond with, "W will absolutely love the weather...she lives for sweater weather!"  It is true. Sweater weather has been one of the aspects of daily life in the UK that I wholeheartedly love!  Our temps have been in the mid fifties..perfect for a sweater, scarf and boots!.  Everyday, I smile as I pull on another sweater.

Pumpkins are another iconic fall symbol for me!  For over two-thirds of my life, I lived in the Pumpkin Capital of the World (it is a real title!).  We celebrate pumpkins with a town-wide festival for four days, and then we later have a competition to chuck pumpkins from catapults!  There are pumpkin cookies, pies, donuts, ice cream sundaes, and chilli.  One of my favorite memories from elementary school was making pumpkin bread in sixth grade after learning about fractions.  In the fall (and into the winter, if I am honest!), our kitchen routinely smells of pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin bars baking in the oven.  I loved to treat myself to a pumpkin spice latte on my way to work.  I am sure there might be few places that revere pumpkins as much as my hometown, but Northeast England is not one of them!

So true...so true...Edinburgh won my heart instantly!!

Pumpkin anything is a large part of my sense of autumn.  In previous years, our grocery store in the states has put limits on the number of tinned pumpkin that could be purchased at one time.  My hometown is serious about their love of pumpkin.  We easily use at least twelve cans of pumpkin in a season for breads, cookies, bars, and pies.  I knew that tinned pumpkin would be nearly impossible to purchase at my local grocery store when we moved.  Pumpkin is not a common item in the UK.  We looked at the stores, googled possible locations, and asked store clerks.  One clerk even asked me, "Why would you eat that?"  Unwilling to accept defeat on the tinned pumpkin search, I headed to Amazon!  Just as we ordered tinned pumpkin, we received some from one of AJ's visiting co-workers as well as his visiting parents.  There will now be enough pumpkin to satisfy my cravings and maybe convince our UK neighbors of the glory of pumpkin!
 

The tinned pumpkin shipment

There is not an ounce of me that is a farmer or has any desire to be a farmer, but there is something about the Midwest harvest in October that is home to me.  Cornfields have always been a part of my life.  I never had to look far for one.  They frequently have a prominent place right next to the highways.  I never realized how much cornfields were a part of my landscape and sense of home until I moved to the UK.  On my drive to and from work for four years, I spent the majority of the drive passing cornfields.  The fields gave me a sense of the passing time.  I would witness the planting in spring, the growth through the summer, and then the harvest in the fall.  

Octobers in the past have always brought trips to the apple orchard.  AJ and I would always dedicate at least one Saturday to the apple orchard.  We would headed out early every year in attempt to beat the crowds.  We would buy a bushel of apples, cider, cider donuts, and many other treats.  Pumpkins and mums for the porch would be loaded into the trunk.  There are no apple orchards or pumpkin patches in our area.  Walking into our grocery store today, I was pleasantly welcomed by pumpkins.  A few of them came home with me to adorn our porch! 

A welcomed sight of autumn!

Octobers have always held a special place in my heart!  They truly encompasses everything I love.  Our first October in the UK looks a bit different than in the Midwest, but it is no less special.  This will be the October that we traded the apple orchard and pumpkin patch for castles, cathedrals, tea, and scones.  It will be the October that I shared an important part of heart through pumpkin anything with neighbors and new friends.  This October will be the one that I truly learned that home can be anywhere if you look hard enough!

As I am baking up all things pumpkin this October, remember the lights are always on!

~W