It's October–join our pumpkin party!

Welcome!  We’re glad you could make it!
Perhaps the coolest thing about blogging parties is, they’re always going on whenever you have the time and inclination to attend, and no one minds–or even notices–if you show up before you brush your teeth,  with nothing but the radio on.
Let me introduce you to five of our guests who arrived early. They brought their ideas about pumpkins, parties, and blogging as a community. Take a minute to get to know them, because (as I was taught in girl-scouts) when you meet new friends, you just might find your next golden one.
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I love these home-made decorations supplied by photographer and maker of beautiful art and food, Anne Dale (and they’re much more eco-friendly than styrofoam-plastic stuff from Walmart).

Decorations by "The Maker Girl"
Decorations by “The Maker Girl”

Anne shares  her creative ideas (and directions for making these glitter pumpkins) at her blog, “The Maker Girl”.
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A party needs something yummy to eat, of course. Help yourself to an indulgent serving of Marylin’s Mom’s “Eggs ala Goldenrod” (click here for the recipe).
Marylin and her mom.
Marylin and her mom.

Marylin was one of my first blogging friends. She posts weekly on her blog, “Things I want to tell my mother,” about her incredible poet-mother, Mary, who encouraged Marylin to become a writer. The stories of their past (as remembered by Marilyn) are combined with their present journey as family in a way that is inspiring, touching, and full of love. Caregivers, and everyone who wants to embrace all of life with courage and tenderness, will enjoy the gathering that happens over at her blog every weekend. Check it out!
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And do sample Marlene’s curried pumpkin coconut chickpea soup.
Soup, beautiful soup!
Soup, beautiful soup!

Marlene blogs and shares photographs on “life through the kitchen window” from London, Ontario. She and I must be twins separated at birth. We have the same food sensibilities, we have January birthdays, we think it’s a treat when WE get to plan and prepare our birthday meal then invite our favorite friends over to share it with us, we both studied the 4-H home economist program, and we both have grown children who know their way around a kitchen. Click here for her stunning soup recipe.
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Now, help yourself to one of Heather’s yummy fall sugar cookies (recipe here).
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I (virtually) followed Heather when she moved from Washington D.C. to Ann Arbor, not only because some of my favorite people in the world live in A2, but also because I, like Heather, love to bake. I agree with her–4 hours making the perfect cupcake is time well spent.  She admits to be a somewhat nerdy analyst number-loving kind of person, and has aptly (and cleverly) titled her baking blog Sweet Precision. Click here to visit Heather’s blog-place.
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Now that you’ve noshed well, take a moment to sit for a spell, and consider what Sherri has to say about how our experience of “October” is dependent upon our place on earth… (click here to read her post, “Listen to your October”).
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A native of the UK who lived quite a few years in California (in other words, a woman like me, who has moved around some), Sherri blogs about the view from her summer house–her perceptions about life, love, family, inspiration and writing–from the actual summer house her husband built for her in the West Country, in England. Weaving stories from the past into the present, her blog-place is where people pause to consider how we might make sense of it all.
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Now introduce yourselves to each other while I go get us something to drink.
In the comments, please link to your blog. You can add to the pumpkin/autumn festival theme, or just give a short description of what goes on at your place. If you’re excessively shy, just tell us your blog name. But DO provide a link (it helps new readers find you; and links from other websites can push you toward the top of the returns in a relevant search engine result).

47 thoughts on “It's October–join our pumpkin party!”

  1. Hello Everyone!
    What a fun party with great guests! If my furry feline Ted and I join in on the pumpkin party, I’ll be bringing a batch of my Aunt Nancy’s hot apple cider to share (adding rum is optional).
    Happy Fall!
    CBXB
    cowboysandcrossbones.com

  2. I love Marylin, her blog and her sweet mother. I can’t wait to check out the other blogs mentioned in your post, Tracy. I break out the crock pot this time of year. I love making soup and chili without following a recipe. For some reason, the crock pot makes me brave. 🙂
    jillweatherholt.wordpress.com

  3. This is a great post Tracy and a great way to make new friends. I already know Sherri and Marylin well and look forward to making more friends like them. My blog title,
    http://charactersfromthekitchen.wordpress.com
    might be a bit misleading – it’s not a cookery blog – no way (I’m useless at baking but sooo admire people who do it with love) – no – the characters in my kitchen are the words I write as I sit here at my laptop gazing at all my time saving gadgets and wonder how to use them.

  4. Tracy, this is a delicious post! Thanks for including my mother’s “Eggs ala Goldenrod” among the foods. I’m going to make a big batch of the Pumpkin Sugar Cookies to take to Kansas after Halloween and share with my mom and her caregivers!
    You are a true (blogging) community builder!

    1. Oh, I’m feeling all teary-eyed; I think Heather will love knowing that you’re taking her cookies to your mom…
      I, too, am going to be making her sugar cookies soon. I love her recipes…

    1. I know—it’s a little weird. AND, I stayed in London once. I was on a road trip with my best friend in 1980, touring around the great lakes and into Vermont/New Hampshire; we were wackily impressed with ourselves for discovering Rome (N.Y.) and London (Ontario) on the map (this was LONG before google maps or GPS), and we picked where we were going to stay by whether we liked the name of the town/city….

  5. Hi Tracy,
    my name ist Susanne and I’am coming from Berlin, Germany.
    I found your link on the blog of Dina.
    She wrote a report about my book and so I read all comments.
    I like pumpkins, too. I like them special with ginger and fresh coriander.
    18 years ago, I visit New England with my family. It was a great journey and I ‘am glad to remember them.
    My english isn`t very good but every day I learn more of them.
    Greetings to you from Susanne

    1. Hallo Susanne– Super, dass Sie vorbei gekommen sind. Ihr Englisch ist doch sehr gut.
      Ich wohne jetzt in New England–bin aber in Minnesota aufgewachsen. Dort hatten wir (meine Familie) eine Austauschschülerin aus Hamburg. Sie heisst übrigens auch Susanne, und wir haben uns in dem Jahr (1978) so gut befreundet, dass ich mit ihr nach Hause gegangen bin. Ich habe dort in der Schule deutsch gelernt.
      Ich wünsche Ihnen sehr viel Erfolg mit ihrem Buch, und werde sofort Ihr blog besuchen. Vielen, vielen dank, dass Sie sich gemeldet haben!

      1. Good morning Tracy,
        you write the german language very well.
        The name Susanne ist very famous in my birth time and so there are a many Susannes in Germany.
        I like Hamburg. In this time they are working on new buildings and I like to visit Hamburg ever and anone.
        Greetings from Susanne

        1. I am hoping to get back there one of these days, to see all the new construction. It’s a beautiful city, one that most Americans overlook on their European tour. They’re really missing something in my opinion.

  6. Hi Tracy! Thanks so much for inviting me early to your wonderful pumpkin party! I feel very honoured indeed and am delighted to be included amongst all your other lovely guests. I’m really looking forward to visiting their blogs. I love what you said about meeting new friends…that in doing so, ‘you might just find your golden one’!The way you bring bloggers together and help form new friendships by introducing us all to each other is such a lovely concept. Simply lovely.
    Have a super weekend my lovely new friend 🙂

    1. Sherri–it used to be one of my special talents in real life, hosting parties to bring people together. So I figured, why not take it to the blogosphere? It’s fun! I’m interested to see how it’s going to develop. I don’t have a particular plan, I’m letting intuition, and the people I meet, lead me into this adventure..

      1. Well, you have the special talent here too Tracy and I’m so happy to be a part of your blogging community…thanks again and it will be very interesting indeed to see where it all leads 🙂

  7. I know I’m a bit late to the party, but I had to go and buy a butternut squash for our roast chicken with brussels sprouts and squash tonight…:) Lovely post, as always, and a great community, as always too…
    Those two kids are adorably cute, Tracy!!
    Also, if anyone cares, I have an insanely amazingly delicious (no, I am really serious!!!) recipe for pasta with pumpkin sauce recipe. I have made it many times and it is stellar. So I need to throw that out here (Tracy, this is way more delicious than my initial recipe at the last party, which is good too, but this, OMG). While you are at it, all the recipes on this blog are stunning. My boeuf bourguignon is an adaptation of his recipe….
    http://fxcuisine.com/Default.asp?Display=39
    Oh, and lest I forget, I am Oliver, The Winegetter. A German Riesling nut who also loves good food and companionship. http://www.thewinegetter.com

    1. That’s the gourmet with the fabulous recipes who suddenly stopped posting them, right?
      I looked at the pumpkin pasta–it is indeed extravagantly good-looking. I’m going to try it. I’ll even take the time to julienne the pumpkin…
      And to all of you, let me just mention that Oliver was the first person ever, outside my own circle of friends, to comment on my blog. He thereby introduced me to the joys of cyber-travel and gave me the ability to meet new friends. A fabulous gift for which I will always be grateful…

      1. 🙂 Thank you, Tracy, you’re way too kind!!
        And yes, that is the guy who mysteriously stopped posting, so I am extremely worried that his page will disappear once he doesn’t extend his domain contract….I’ve copy-pasted some of the recipes that really matter to me, but need to do more preserving work. A timely reminder.

  8. Hi Tracy. I found you through Marylin Warner’s blog and I am so glad I did! I love reading Marylin’s weekly blog posts — she always manages to touch my heart and bring back my own memories. I can tell that I will learn a great deal by following you! Thanks for inviting others to add their own blog information. Here is mine: nancysaltzman.wordpress.com

  9. Hi Tracy, found your blog through Marylin Warner and your party is a great idea, with some great contributions. October is my favourite month, love the transition to autumn and all of the sights and smells associated with it. My next post will be about Halloween, the old Celtic new year, when we think about our ancestors and try to see into the future…
    http://harvestinghecate.wordpress.com/

  10. What a wonderful idea for a blogging party, Tracy! Just wonderful! I loved reading about the “early bird” guests – and man, those cookies that Heather made just look fabulous!!! Thank you for pulling this all together.
    Francesca will join in soon for the Flora’s Table part of “us”; in the meantime I will provide the link to my wine+photography blog Clicks & Corks (http://clicksandcorks.com) – Stefano, the photographer/sommelier (or should it be the sommelier/photographer?…) 😉
    Have a wonderful week!

      1. Thank you so much, Tracy, for your kind words – you are way too kind! 🙂
        Anyway, your office decorating project would be a fun one to pull together!

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