Fall Madness

An odd thing happens to me around the middle of September. I begin to get this insatiable itch for pumpkin flavoured everything, I crave caramel apple cider, and the only things I seem to want to do involve apple picking, pumpkin picking, going on hayrides, and driving out to see fall foliage. This oddly incurable condition which affects 1 in 1 Americans is aptly named Fall Madness*. 

As much as I adore England, there is no place in the world I would rather be for autumn than the eastern seaboard of the United States. I have never been able to put my finger on why, but autumn here seems to wrap you up in a well-worn blanket of colour, spices, and crisp, beautiful fall days. It has and always will be my favourite time of the year. A time when I can’t help but imagine Washington Irving’s descriptions of Sleepy Hollow, New York and think about eating all the pumpkin things, and bake with maple syrup, mace, cinnamon, and allspice.

Since I’ve arrived back in the US I have managed to do some of my favourite fall things like apple picking at the local farm, baking cookies, and yesterday I managed to add a new fall favourite to my list and went out to Longwood Gardens. Those of you who have been following my adventures for a while know how much I love being outside and love wandering around gardens. So you’ll understand when I tell you that of all the botanic gardens I’ve been to, Longwood is my most favourite. I’ve even gotten in an evening of sailing on the river.

I’ve managed to share these special days with my closest friends which has made them all the more special. Dear Reader, I implore you to get out and enjoy autumn in all its splendour. Do ALL the fall things! 

A fall staple: Pumpkin Spice Cookies with vanilla glaze.

My Fall Madness presented with a manic need to bake something pumpkin flavoured. Thankfully my nine-year old niece was over for a visit and I recruited her to help. I couldn't stop talking about pumpkin this and pumpkin that. By the time we got to the stage of putting the dough onto the cookie sheets I finally got around to the most important question. 

I turned to my very patient niece and demanded more than asked, "You like pumpkin don't you?"

She looked at me sympathetically, "Well, it's not really my favourite thing."

Suddenly the past hour flashed before my eyes. My niece had been dropping subtle hints the entire time. Saying things like, "I don't like pumpkin pie but I do like apple pie." I began to laugh. 

"Next time we'll make apple spice cookies," I said.

Sometimes Fall Madness can make you jump in the air while you are in the middle of an apple orchard.

After the pumpkin spice incident, I decided to try to hide the symptoms of my fall madness as best I could. Then the message came from my good friend, Erika. She wanted to go apple picking. I tried to contain my excitement. APPLE PICKING! THE QUINTESSENTIAL FALL ACTIVITY!

We went to the local farm during one of their fall festival weekends and meandered up and down the rows of Red Delicious, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious. The names of each species rang magically in our ears and we couldn't help but pick, pick, pick. Our bags became increasingly weighed down by our bounty. Erika stopped for some decorative gourds as well. After all it IS decorative gourd season. I managed to resist the temptation of the gourds, though they seemed to sing out like the Sirens straight out of the Odyssey.

Longwood Gardens in Autumn is a site to behold.

It is as though my friends cruelly feed my Fall Madness. Just a few weekends after my apple picking trip, my best friend, Laurie suggested a visit to Longwood Gardens. We've already established that Longwood is my favourite botanic garden so how could I resist Longwood in the autumn. 

We wandered past the Italian Water Garden, starkly green and blue against the leaves of the trees which were just starting to turn. We skipped through the meadow and past the most beautifully orange maple tree, standing as a Fall Sentinel at the side of one of the paths. The orangery was filled with ornamental peppers and yellow Lollipop flowers. We had an amazingly decadent lunch at the 1906 restaurant where we received a taste of the most amazing apple spice tea. 

As we were leaving, Laurie convinced me to get a student membership card as it would pay itself off at the next visit. How could I resist more autumnal flowers and meanderings?

As the season presses on, I should warn that there may be another post or two involving pumpkin carving, Thanksgiving baking and cooking, and hayrides and apple cider. Fall Madness does not end until I see Santa at the Thanksgiving Day parade in New York. (I suppose that's similar to the old adage, it ain't over til the fat lady sings....) Fall Madness ain't over til the Jolly Man laughs.


* I am not a medical professional. I you feel like you may be suffering from Fall Madness I suggest you contact your GP or alternatively call into your local Starbucks and order a venti Pumpkin Spice Latte.

The Pause Button

I’ve been back in the US for a month. The memories of my year in Durham have begun to fade ever so slightly; making it seem as though it were all a dream. I’ve fallen into a sort of routine here. Wake up. Go to CrossFit. Come home. Shower. Eat lunch. Do something semi-productive. Eat dinner. Go to bed. Repeat. Peppered in between are outings with friends and family. Those are the times I look forward to the most.

My year abroad though dream-like now, has certainly changed my perspective. I feel much closer to the people I left behind and being able to spend time with them has been very important. It has begun to make my return to England in January feel much more difficult than I had anticipated. I received word from Leicester that I have been accepted into the PhD programme and I accepted their offer last Friday. I can’t describe how excited I am to start a new adventure in a few months but it is bittersweet all the same.

I can’t get over this feeling of nostalgia I’ve had for the past two weeks. It began when I suggested to my parents that we visit my dad’s parent’s graves. I had never been to see them and I’ve been getting stuck into our family history and wanted very much to try to connect to the people I’ve been researching. Especially my grandfather as I never knew him. He served in both World Wars and was a Major by the end of WWII. I have only a few pictures of him and I know he was fluent in French (he was from Quebec) and that at one point he was a tailor and had taught my dad the proper way to iron trousers. We visited the cemetery and placed flowers on the graves.

A week later I felt ready to visit my grandmother’s grave. She passed away in January and I hadn’t been able to leave England to attend her funeral. My parents and I made plans to visit the cemetery. I must admit it felt odd standing at my grandmom’s grave. I had visited there many times to put wreaths on the stone for my grandfather, but this time it felt different. I couldn’t help thinking that under the ground my grandmother was lying there now. She is the first person I have been close to that has passed away and I wasn’t entirely sure what I was feeling.

We left the cemetery and went to meet up with some old family friends, John and Ollie. I have vivid memories of them and it had been a number of years since I had seen them last. I remember John always had me in stitches with his Donald Duck voice and Ollie was always filled with life. It was really great seeing them again and being able to connect with both of them as an adult. The feeling of nostalgia that had started a week before hit fever pitch on the drive home while my parents and I talked about “the good ole days.”

Nostalgia is a funny emotion. It is not at all a happy one. It is bittersweet and filled with a longing that can never really ever be realised. I began thinking about moving abroad again and an odd, overwhelming desire to hit the pause button on my life in the US struck me. I suppose in a way it is a very selfish feeling. I don’t want to miss anything. I don’t want to miss my nieces growing up, I don’t want to miss birthdays, I don’t want to miss Monday evening dinners at my friends Laurie and Lloyd’s house. It’s more than that though; it’s the odd feeling of time perpetually working its magic. It’s the not being able to rewind life just to get that taste that the hunger of nostalgia craves.

I do beg your pardon for the odd, slightly depressed nature of this post. To be honest, I’ve been really very happy over the past weeks. It has been brilliant seeing people, and connecting to everyone again. It is inevitable that in revisiting old stomping grounds that nostalgia would rear its head. If anything it reminds us that each moment is a really important and irreplaceable gift. I intend to make the most of the next few months here and when I move to Leicester, you better believe I’ll do my best to make every moment of those three years count.