The Autumn Tag

Engie of Musings From Neville’s Navel tagged me in this lovely Autumn tag to answer some Autumn-related questions.

I feel partially rather ignorant on some of these questions, mainly due to my lack of experience with pumpkin-related activities. But let’s give it a crack, eh!

The smell of pumpkin guts or rotting leaves?

Leaves! They are so atmospheric that it’s hard not to like them. Like, rotting leaves sounds horrible, but it’s actually nature’s way of laying the foundations for more plants. Apart from slippy leaves in broken boots (most of my shoes are broken) down a hill into town, I love the additional colours the spray of leaves brings.

Sweet or salty pumpkin seeds?

Um, I like sweet pumpkin seeds, like honey-roasted packet seeds, but I’m also a fan of the salted or plain pumpkin seeds you can get. If I had to choose one for eternity, I’d go with salty. Sweet is too moreish for anyone’s good.

Storebought or pumpkin patch pumpkins?

I’ve never had/seen pumpkins from a patch. So, whilst I’m all for natural rearing and using products in their straight-earth form, I think storebought is the only way for me here in England.

Wool or knit sweaters?

Hmm, well seeing as wool in its purest form makes me itch, I’m going to go for knitted sweaters. At home, we currently have most of a crocheted blanket, and I imagine a crochet sweater would feel similar – it’s all about the technique and the chunkiness of the wool you use. But sweaters, and jumpers, I’m still not really a fan of. Cardigans and hoodies for me.

Go to a Halloween party or explore haunted places?

Hallowe’en parties, oh yeah. There’s something a lot more casual about dressing up and playing games at a friend’s than exploring haunted and potential dangerous places. I wouldn’t say no… You just asked me to choose one or the other.

Apple pie or pumpkin pie?

Ooh—both? Haha. I probably would swindle you out of a slice of both!

If I had to choose one for right now, it would be pumpkin. Pumpkin pie is not a huge thing in the UK/where I live (we don’t seem to have great access to pumpkin puree or pumpkins in general, so it seems) so I don’t get to have it very much at all, even around the Hallowe’en/Thanksgiving time. But that crunch of crust and semi-sweet fruit filling! Yum!

On that note, a member of the Harry Potter society made pumpkin pasties one year after Quidditch training and they were so good. I can’t tell you if I’d tasted pumpkin before then, but I credit those pasties with starting my love of pumpkin as a fruit flavour.

Still, silent nights or rainy, windblown nights?

I think both have an indescribable beauty. I will always sleep better on nights where the trees are not thrashing against the windows, but there’s excitement in rainy, windblown nights because something actually happens. Still nights are just decked in that chill that makes you want to hide.

Witches or ghosts?

As, like, real creatures? Or as fictional entities? Ah, well, I do like a sweet ghost story where the ghost is only trying to find their way to the afterlife or trying to help or dead by mistake… Or something. But witches have a greater dynamic scope when it comes to writing. You know? Magic is, essentially, boundless (which is why it can be frustrating at times).

I’ve been a fan for years of the show Charmed, which is urban fantasy about three witch sisters trying to stop warlocks, demons, and the occasional whitelighter, take over the world. They get up to many hi-jinks in San Francisco and are a very fetching cast. Think of it as matured Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Yes, I went there. I recently started watching Buffy, and I can’t stand that she’s a schoolgirl. Give me witches struggling to balance jobs, love affairs, and sudden witchcraft any day!

Raking leaves or climbing trees?

Climbing trees. Let me refer you back to the slippy, soggy leaves from question one. It’s all right to look at them, but spending my hours raking them up into piles that are just going to get wind-blown anyway? No thank you! On the other hand, I’ve always been a climbing trees girl, just because it’s so much fun to go up and explore.

Ouija boards or ghost stories around a campfire?

As I’m a Catholic, I believe it’s disrespectful of the dead for me to use a Ouija board. I believe there’s something akin to spirits out there, too, whatever that would entail. Ghost stories are fun when they’re stories, and they’re also fascinating when they suggest something more about the world.

October or November?

I’m going to pick October since it’s closer to September, and in September in England, it’s still pretty warm/mild. I am a summer girl at heart, so I dread every month that puts the Northern hemisphere closer to winter.

Black cats or owls?

Cats! Cats are wonderful, complex creatures. I love the grace of owls, too, but cats will always trump when it comes to any creature comparison.

Fireplace or candlelight?

Candlelight is more romantic, especially this time of the year when the days are still pretty long, and When I think of winter fireplaces, I think of the festive season, or at least December snow. When we’re in October, it’s candlelight that I favour.

Monster movies or their classic novels?

Ooh, tricky. Depends how much time I have on my hands and what I’m feeling like. Late evenings with the crow lamp on and the curtains shut? Monster movies. (In fact, The Husband has a penchant for finding the Dracula-esque movies on tv at the moment.)

Mid-morning in bed or on the train into town? I’ll pick a novel to stick my nose into. I love the style of classic novels—to the point that I wish my style were more honed to be like the classics than a sloppy in between that tries to be literary & commercial simultaneously—but sometimes they require more brain power/spoons than my self allows in the evenings.

Carving or painting pumpkins?

I don’t think I’m totally qualified to answer this question, seeing as I’ve carved pumpkins once and painted them never. It’s never been a thing my household did, so my first experience of actually handling a winter season (not necessarily Hallowe’en) pumpkin was when I went to uni and my hall did a pumpkin carving night. I liked it. Would I do it again? Maybe when I’d have to space to put out pumpkins.

Since I’ve been away from the blogosphere for a bit, I don’t think it’s fair for me to tag people I’ve not really interacted with for a while. But if you are inspired by my post to chat about the weirdest of seasons (at least, according to British weather), please do tag me and I’ll pop along to yours. 🙂

Blessings,

Alexandrina