Autumn is my favorite time of year. The sun isn’t quite as bright (but still there) and one can enjoy the free Vitamin D without getting overheated. There’s less traffic, but we do have to watch out for the school buses that seem to be everywhere, making numerous stops. I guess youngsters of this generation don’t have to walk much farther than the length of their driveway.
I know, I know, we’ve all heard about past generations walking miles to school. I recall my mother telling about going to Friends School (near Windham’s Public Safety Building) and she walked from the farm on Webb Road (probably more than a mile) and short-cut the trip by going through neighbors’ pastures and apple orchards.
Fall is the time for apples, too. We expect the local orchards are attracting many who like to pick their own. It seems almost wasteful to buy apples when, as a child, everyone had a few apple trees and the fruit was there for the taking.
The best month of all (to me) is October – by then, the color of the trees will do battle with the sun to warm the cool corners outside. There’s the last fair of the season to attend, the Fryeburg Fair, which this year is Sept. 29-Oct. 6.
It’s also time for finding the leftover caulking and the caulking gun and sealing up some of the spaces around windows and doors. One last time to hang all the blankets and coverlets outdoors to get all the dust out and the smell of the autumn air will fill the house for a little while when they’re brought inside.
Now is the time to plan for those workshops and self-help seminars about how to stay on your feet and prevent falls; learn a new skill at an adult education class or join a book club at the local library; clean out the desk and gather your financial papers together in anticipation of tax season, application for fuel assistance or other programs when you need to show costs for the last year.
If your cupboard shelves have lots of space, visit your local food pantry and stop worrying about not having enough food on hand. You would be amazed at how the need for this resource has increased in the past few years.
Make sure you have plenty of flashlight batteries and some of those little boxy kind if your radio takes these. The storms of late fall and winter sometimes mean the power will go out. Check out your local dollar store, where you can buy name-brand batteries for $1. While you’re there, check out the flashlights if you can’t find yours. And stock up on spices, packaged snacks (great when you can’t cook) and many other useful items, including greeting cards, two for $1, envelopes, paper and office supplies, bandages, first aid supplies, cosmetics, soap and all kinds of cleaning supplies, toys and some of the stores carry food products – yes, many name brands. These stores remind me of the old 5 & 10 cent stores.
Before the season slips away, visit a local state park or historic site. Seniors get in free for day trips at most places by showing proof of age. Remind yourself when you buy postage stamps to see if they have those “forever” stamps.
Take some of those apples you picked up, got at the food pantry or bought at the supermarket, core them with your old-fashioned potato peeler and put them in a muffin tin. Fill the empty core part with water, a little sugar and cinnamon and bake them until they’re nice and soft. A nice baked apple, a good book and a cozy place outside, out of the breeze – enjoy the autumn sunshine. It’s good for you!
Kay Soldier welcomes reader ideas for column topics of interest to seniors. She can be reached by email at kso48@aol.com, or write to 114 Tandberg Trail, Windham, ME 04062.
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