"Keep me walking, October road"*

As promised, I have some fall pictures to show. Oh, and I don't think I knocked on wood hard enough because we've had some really cold fall weather...you can blame me for opening my big fat mouth about how nice the fall weather is in New England!

These are some early fall photos. It's been a weird season so far. It seems there was still so much green and then there was also a lot of bare trees all at the same time. The last few days the color has really kicked into high gear, so I'll try to get some more photos...that is if we don't get too much rain (maybe I'll try crossing my fingers this time instead of knocking on wood!).

*James Taylor

"Like the holy scriptures of the shopping mall"*

I recently attended the Eastern PA SCBWI Fall Philly Conference. My hotel room was in King of Prussia, PA right next to largest shopping mall on the East Coast. This mall is so big that it has been separated into two different buildings, each of which is the size of a regular mall. The inside of the mall is gorgeous (way more posh and much cleaner than the mall near my house...sorry I forgot my camera, so there's no pics), and I even saw a mall cop on a segway. No worries...he was wearing a helmet!

Now I'm not a big shopper, but I wanted to check out the bookstore, which was (of course) as far as it could possibly be from where I entered. I walked all the way through the first building (and I accidentally took the long way), into the second building, and all the way to the far end of the second building. Phew! I like to think I'm in pretty good shape, but I was tired after all that walking.

So on my long walk I passed by a Teavana, which is now where I get all my tea (Black Dragon Pearl tea not only has a really cool name, but it also tastes awesome). I texted my husband about seeing a Teavana (they only have two locations in CT...and none of them are that close to my house...boo). Then texted him about seeing a Pottery Barn because we just bought couches from there and the closest Pottery Barn to our house is about 30 minutes away. (Can you tell from all that texting that I was a bit lonely--maybe a little bored too--all by myself in that big mall?)

As I walked more and more, I jokingly texted the hubby that there were so many stores in the mall that there was probably at least one of every possible store. A little while later, I spotted the Teavana on the floor below me. I though Oh no! How did I walk around the whole mall and miss the one store I was looking for? Then I realized I was in a totally different building from the first Teavana, and this was a whole other Teavana. Wow! There really is at least one of everything in that mall!

I did finally find the Borders and bought a few books to be signed by authors I would be meeting at the conference the next day (more on that to come).

One last thing before I go...Mary Cole of Andrea Brown Literary Agency is hosting a query contest over at her Kidlit website. Good luck to those who enter!

*Green Day

"Had to knock on wood"*

If winter in New England is long and harsh, summer in New England is short and hot, and spring in New England is cool and rainy, then fall in New England may just be the perfect season. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a summer baby and have no problem playing soccer in 90-degree heat, but fall has a certain magical quality about it here in CT.

I love the fresh crispness of the air contrasted with the earthy scent of decay, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the full moon clear in the sky, the spicy sweetness of apple cider, and the bite of a cool breeze on the tip of my nose and ears.

The temperature is pleasant (64 degrees today), the sun is usually shining (except for the October I got married when it poured for a full 13 days, leading right up to my wedding day…if rain on your wedding day is good luck, then I must have the best marriage luck in the world), and there’s plenty of fun fall activities.

I’ve already gone apple picking at Bishop's Orchard, and I plan on making some great pies. Oh, and I got fresh apple-cider doughnuts, which were awesome. I have yet to pick—okay, not so much pick as in harvest, but pick as in select—pumpkins, but that’s definitely on the to-do list. There are also corn mazes, great hiking weather, and all the great fall foliage to check out. Of course, there are all the different haunted activities in the area as well.

Yep, fall is quite wonderful around here (knock on wood because I don’t want to jinx it!).

*The Mighty Mighty Bosstones