Autumn is always a busy time, not only for me but for most people. It’s all the special days bunching up at the end of the year. Halloween kicks it off, followed by All Saints, All Souls, and Day of the Dead. Then Thanksgiving and the variety of year-end celebrations come flying our way, with Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa leading us up to the New Year. I hope you’re prepared. I’m never quite ready, it seems.
Halloween this year was fun, with Trick or Treat on October 31st in our neighborhood. I think most other neighborhoods scheduled their celebration that day, as well, because the number of our costumed visitors was lower this year than it has been for many of the years we’ve tracked. We know that in prior years we’ve had visitors who drove in from other locations if their celebrations were held on different dates. This year we only had 19 Trick-or-Treaters, down from last year’s crowd of 28 and the year before’s high of 34. We’re a small community, so maybe that’s to be expected, but we missed all those cute costumes.
I went into a baking frenzy when the weather started to get chillier. These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls were my favorite project. They were surprisingly easy to make and oh, so delicious with the Cream Cheese Frosting on top! Gumby and Pokey, my kitchen helpers, thought they were scrumptious.
Look, another SuperMoon! I trekked out in the cold to catch a quick photo before the clouds obliterated it in our location. You have a choice of names for this full moon: Beaver Moon, Whitefish Moon, Frost Moon, or Deer Rutting Moon. Based on the chill that night, I’m going with Frost Moon.
Some educational courses caught my eye this month. Pennwriters offered author Annette Dashofy‘s class, Mastering the Mystery of Crime Fiction. Annette is the author of the Zoe Chambers and Detective Honeywell books and she had lots of information to impart to the authors who joined me in this course. Check out her books! I’m particularly partial to the Zoe Chambers books, but they are all good!
Author and instructor Jane L. Cleland offered a workshop on Mastering Suspense Structure & Plot through the Sisters in Crime organization. I really enjoyed her workshop, which inspired me to purchase her book. I plan to use it to double-check the structure of my book-in-progress. Her advice should make it a stronger, smoother read.
So we’re getting ready for Thanksgiving this week, the big food day of the year. I’m thankful for so much, including all of you who take the time to read these updates! I hope Thanksgiving brings you joy, good fellowship, a chance to shop (local, if you can!), and especially time to read! And if you need a couple books to give as hostess or thank you gifts, or if you are preparing your holiday gift list, let me know! I have some books that are just searching for a new home.
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