Friday, September 25, 2009

Autumn Friday Five

From RevGalBlogPals:

Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest. Jeremiah 5:23b


The Autumnal Equinox has just come 'round again. I took a look back at our Friday Fives and noted that it always seems to make the Rev Gals and their Pals think of changes.

There is something so nostalgic about this time of year, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. The nights grow cooler, crops are harvested, for some of us the leaves are beginning to change colors. The scent of smoke is in the air, pumpkins are in the stores (or on wagons, or in roadside stands for those of us in the country). I'm thinking of putting away my summer clothes and pulling out the sweaters. And I have a tub of Fall-themed items that my husband just lugged up from the basement. I'm looking for my scarecrow.

For this week, let's share some memories along with some hopes and expectations.

1. Share a Fall memory.
My brother and I raking together the biggest, most impressive leaf pile EVER (we lived in the middle of the woods so there was a never-ending supply), then absolutely demolishing it by running and jumping in it. It would start off taller than we were, and end up in a small pulverized heap. To add an element of danger, we'd put it on the edge of a pretty deep ravine, and try not to fall in. By some miracle, neither of us ever did.

2. Your favorite Fall clothes--(past or present)?
Jeans and a snuggly cardigan - fall temps are such a great excuse to layer on my favorite soft cardigans.

3. Share a campfire story, song, experience...etc.
I got to go to Girl Scout camp once, which coincidentally took place in the fall. We sang "make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold." A memorable night game we played was a version of hide and seek, where one team had to hide and each member had to make a different assigned animal noise. The finder teams had to see who could find all the "animals" on the list first. I'd lost my voice earlier in the evening, and so spent the whole game vainly attempting to make a hooting noise. It took forever for anyone to find me, and it was cold!

4. What is your favorite thing about this time of year?
Cool days, the crunch of leaves under your feet, the feeling of something new happening, the change of activities, kids boarding the school bus. It's a time for new things, and has a freshness about it.

5. What changes are you anticipating in your life, your church, family...whatever...as the season changes and winter approaches?
The decisions made at the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly in August have riled up something pretty ugly in my parish. There are members from one of the churches in particular who are up in arms, and want the whole parish to leave the ELCA. The way it looks now, this one of the churches will either leave, or a good chunk of the members will leave the church which effectively closes that church. Either way, the parish cannot afford to lose one of the churches, and will be forced to make some tough decisions in order not to close. So my hubby and I will be downloading the mobility papers onto our computer soon, and we'll be making preparations to leave within the year. This all has happened in this last month, so we're still reeling.

Bonus: What food says "AUTUMN" at your house? Recipes always appreciated.
Yummy soups, especially comfort food combinations like tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.

1 comment:

Dorcas (aka SingingOwl) said...

Love those cardigans...yep yep yep. And CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BABY! :-)