I've been feeling nostalgic lately. I think it is because of the turning of the seasons. Autumn weather has arrived here at last. Sunshine is more golden and less intense. The days are shorter and cooler. A coat is now a necessity whenever I go out.
Autumn is always an intimate to me. After the go-go outdoor days of Spring and Summer, Autumn is a time to return to life indoors. I find myself thinking about the pleasant idea of being curled up with a good book on the sofa while the stereo plays a CD in the background.
The end-of-year holidays also loom, but are not yet oppressive. Good food and good company are just around the corner.
It evokes childhood memories of the delicious smells of my mother's cooking and quiet, lazy Saturday afternoons.
In particular, it always stirs memories of apple cider and doughnuts. There was this place called "The Mill" not far from where I grew up. I don't know what the heck they did during the rest of the year, but come Fall, they always made fresh cider, sugar and cinnamon doughnuts, and candy apples once the apple harvest came in. It was always a popular field trip destination when I was in grade school. It was fun to see large machines wash and press apples, and see doughnuts get deep fried by the score through a window.
Apple cider was always a seasonal thing at our house. My Dad worked not far from there and would come home about once a year in the Fall with a quart or so of their cider. It was a treat, until you got more of the solids lurking in the bottom of the plastic jug. That jug would eventually be left in the refridgerator door with half an inch of liquid in it... and begin to ferment until it was thrown away. I think that Odwalla makes a cider to match it and drinking cider still takes me back to Autumns long ago.
Their doughnuts were different than most I've ever had. They were cake-like more than anything else... and a little crunchy on the outside. They were only available in plain, with powdered sugar, and with cinnamon. These too had a limited shelf life. They were sold and kept in paper bags and the jostling involved in helping yourself to one inevitably would shake the sugar off the doughnuts. In this world of Dunkin' Donuts and Krisy Kremes, they seemed like a bit of an old fashioned anachronism.
Given uncertainties at work and an approaching national election that threatens to raise my blood pressure, such memories are a confortable refuge.
said drgeek
on 2004-10-19 at 2:21 p.m.
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The Wayback Machine - To Infinity And Beyond
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