Ah, September. The hot days, the cold nights, snow in the air, kids in bathing suits. The unpredictable weather keeps me from getting bored, but it sure wreaks havoc on my meal planning. Should I make a pot of steaming chili or barbecue burgers? Both in one week is not unheard of around here.

Let’s dive in to my September favourites. (If you want a quick read to put you in the mood here and here are two of my long-time favourite fall poems.)

Books

If you follow my blog, you know that I recently read four memoirs on escaping polygamy. The one I enjoyed most was Favorite Wife: Escape from Polygamy by Susan Ray Schmidt. I recommend it to anyone interested in an honest yet sympathetic portrayal of people caught in a cult.

I also really enjoyed reading Intuitive Eating at my sister’s recommendation. I haven’t incorporated all the principles into my life, but most of them make a lot of sense to me.

I’m in the middle of flipping through this cookbook by Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner: A Love Story. It’s highly enjoyable — especially for someone like me who loves traditions and would love to build more family rituals.

Picture Books

My recent obsession is easy readers written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. If you have young children, please read these.(Only one of them has a Goodreads average rating below 4 stars, so it’s not just me who loves them!)

And here’s one more excellent picture book we have out from the library currently: Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.

Food

Some special foods we enjoyed in September were soft pretzels from Around the Bend, barbecue from Big T’s, ice cream from Marble Slab, and chocolates from the Lindt Chocolate Shop.

I’m happy that apples and pears are in season. I made an interesting pie (pear with pepper jelly, anyone?) and apple butter (my first time). Now I’m thinking about an apple pie or crisp this week (since the temperature has dropped again).

I’m back to drinking tea after an unplanned hiatus. It’s a good time of year for smoky lapsang souchong and all kinds of chai. I’m also drinking one called Cold Zing because I have a cold I can’t seem to kick (I don’t know if it helps, but it certainly doesn’t hurt).

Activities

We managed to take the kids to a couple of splash pads in September. That’s it for the year!

On my birthday we spent the afternoon at the Sunshine Adventure Park at Kayben Farms in Okotoks.

The kids had a good time making brown sugar cookies for the first day of fall (we had friends over for dinner and games, including Ticket to Ride: Europe, one of my birthday presents).

We also made three visits to the zoo. Check out the baby gorilla (I think she’s about 18 months old now).

Podcasts

Last December I shared four of my favourite podcasts. I still listen to those, but here are some others I’m listening to these days. (Caveat: the first two use some coarse language.)

• Happier in Hollywood
• By the Book
• The Longest Shortest Time
• Read-Aloud Revival
• The Next Chapter (from CBC radio)

Bible Verses

“Your statutes have been my songs
    in the house of my sojourning.” – Psalm 119:54

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” – Galatians 5:13

Care to share any of your September favourites?