October Bite...Fall Fun!

Trunk or Treat!!

October is here at last!

Would you be surprised to hear that October is my favorite month of the year?  Naw...me neither!  October is not just Halloween; it's sunny days with a chilly bite in the air.  The month brings with it football games, raking leaves and General Conference Weekend.  I love taking drives up into the mountains, even though the turning leaves are past their prime and have moved down into the valley.

October makes me crave chili and sloppy joes...and doughnuts...the menu from childhood Halloween carnivals at Harrington and Alpine Elementary Schools.  I will always associate these foods with October. 

A week or so ago, I went to the Dutch Oven Cooking Workshop.  It was held on a rainy night at the church picnic pavilion.  It felt a bit like roughing it.  The pavilion was wrapped in tarps to keep the wind and rain at bay.  Bundled in coats and jackets, folks were busily helping put the meals and desserts together in the big iron pots.  It was kind of fun and we learned a lot. Larry Walker is an amusing and informative teacher. The situation reminded me of pioneers on the trail working together to set up camp and prepare a communal meal.  I wondered what it would be like to crawl into a cold tent or wagon box afterward and try to get warm enough to fall asleep.  I liked the spirit of cooperation and fellowship.  If hard times come, I know that my neighbors will work together to help each other get through it.

October Goals...

"When people are able but unwilling to take care of themselves, we are responsible to employ the dictum of the Lord that the idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer."

--Elder Boyd K. Packer

Spiritual Goal:

Watch one more session of General Conference than you normally would.

Provident Living Goal:

Make a goal to read 30 minutes/day to your children or grandchildren.  If you have no children to read to, make a goal to read at least 30 minutes/day just for pleasure.

Storage Goal:

• 50 cans of soup, stew, or chili per person.
• 10 pounds of cheese per person.
• Shaving supplies.
• Dish soap.

72 Hour Kit:

• 4 granola bars per person.
• 2 sticks beef jerky per person.
• 1 package chewing gum per person.
• Hard candies or lollipops...at least 12 per person.  
• Check batteries for lights and radio...replace if needed.
• Conference weekend is good time to update your kit and rotate food items.

Fall Fun...Hobo Party!

The Official Hobo Uniform...

Driving in the canyon with the windows open one sunny afternoon in the fall, I caught the scent of wood smoke and leaves that had been crushed underfoot.  I was transported in memory to my teenage years and an MIA activity one autumn in the canyon.  It was a hobo party at Granite Flats.  We dressed in our raggedy jeans and old flannel shirts.  The leaders had set up camp with a crackling bonfire.  Dutch oven pots of chili bubbled enticingly.  We ate out of tin cans and old pie tins...nothing ever tasted so good!  I don't remember what games we played or anything else... other than the cute boy I sat next to on the way home.  What I do remember was how content I was to be in the mountains and how the wood smoke brought tears to my eyes...happy tears.  I'm sure I am looking back through rosy lenses, but an October day can do that to me.

Hobo Bindles.

A bindle is the stereotypical pack carried by a hobo.

A hobo with a bindle was often called a "Bindlestiff."

I love Wikipedia...lol!

Wouldn't it be fun to have a Hobo Party in the canyon with your children or grandchildren this fall?

Just pack up the dutch oven and dress in your finest raggedy clothing.  Eat chili or hobo stew out of pie tins and make s'mores.  Each child could have their own bindle.  Wrap up individual packets of marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers in a banana and let the child use the stick for roasting his marshmallows.  What better way to spend a sunny October weekend?

Made from real hobos?

Happy October, Sisters