Let's Talk with Maggie Toussaint
Let’s Talk with Maggie Toussaint
October 7, 2021
I Heart October
By Maggie Toussaint
I’ve always liked October, even when summer was my favorite season. The tenth month of the year comes with its own special scents and a vibrant color palette that is stunning. Others must agree with me because many schedule trips to watch the leaves turn.
Though I grew up on the coast and returned to the coast much later, I lived in northern climes for 27 years, in a state where there were more than two seasons (summer and almost summer). While there I had my first ever experience of jumping in piles of fragrant, vibrant leaves. I love the crunch of the freshly fallen leaves, the distinct shapes, and the warmth of the pile.
Immersion in fallen leaves reminds me of the thrill of a little kid hideout, a place where grownups aren’t allowed. In leaf-mode, I can indulge myself in the sensory experience of leaves and not worry about schedules or appointments or other concerns.
October is often the month I have my first hot apple cider of the season, my first hot chocolate. It’s the only month of the year where eating candy is guilt-free.
I also love the clothing choices for October. It’s finally cool enough to pull out turtlenecks, flannel shirts, and fleeces. My family teases me that if clothing only came in fleece I’d be happy as a clam. They’re right!
Now that I’m back in the deep South, October is when the sultry heat of summer fades to milder temps that dial back the biting insects to a manageable level. I enjoy neighborhood walks again, and there’s homemade soup—yum!
This October DOGGONE IT, a paranormal mystery in my Dreamwalker Mystery series, is bargain priced at $0.99 at all online vendors.
This book features my psychic sleuth, Baxley Powell, a haunted house, and the coolest ghost dog ever. The underlying premise of “mishaps when a film crew comes to town” was inspired by the surge of movies filmed in our area over the last ten years or so. Check it out HERE.
For a chance to win any digital or print book (only US mail address eligible for print book) in the 7-book paranormal series I wrote, the Dreamwalker Mysteries, share what you love about October.
While you’re here, please click over to Enter Our Giveaway, which runs from October 1-18. Happy Fall, Y’all!
Posted in Let's Talk, with Maggie Toussaint • Tags: 99 cent sale, BLB Discussion, Doggone It, I Heart October, Let's Talk, Maggie Toussaint | 43 Comments
Oh, I love October! The chill in the air puts pep in your step. The apple picking. The incredible colors of the leaves. Decorating for Halloween (which is our anniversary). Kids in costumes. The very best month!
Hi Kathy! October is also my anniversary month. It’s odd how I had almost no appreciation for October as a kid, other than the grand prize of all the candy you can eat on Halloween. But truthfully, I had some anxiety about my costume every year as a kid. Mom got tired of us cutting up her pillowcases to be ghosts, we didn’t have any cardboard laying around. I guess I could’ve gone as a shrimp net, but they were coated in tar. Anyway, I’m glad to be on the other side of the candy basket now. Thanks for stopping by.
I love October, too, but it’s not quite the same in South Florida. The first year I was here, I put out hand-carved jack o’ lanterns for Halloween. To my dismay, they dissolved into a soupy mess well before the 31st! So, plastic JOLs from then on. I have recently gone on a plaid shirt kick, myself, though cotton not flannel because of the temps (we’re still in the high 80s here). I do miss my sweaters!!
I also live in a warmer climate now. However, thanks to air conditioning and northeasters, I find myself reaching for a flannel shirt (or a fleece) anytime it gets the slightest bit nippy. I have a hard time with sweaters, though I am still a sucker for sweaters on clearance, because, you know, one day I might need them
October is my birthday month, so I’m a big fan! Here on the west coast of Florida, we look forward to a change in the temperature. It goes from Africa hot to merely somewhat hot. The cooler mornings and evenings mean that our walks are longer and more enjoyable.
Happy Birthday Month, Cheryl! We have pretty close to the same seasons here in coastal GA: summer and almost summer. Now that the temps drop below 80s at night, walks in the day are much easier to tolerate. I’m with you on avoiding extreme heat!
October is a Goldilocks month. Not too hot, not too cold. Just Right! Although, that was the case when I lived in NJ. Waiting to see if it’s Just Right in TN. We’re surrounded by mountains, and I’m hoping for some spectacular leaf-peeping.
I hope you love falls in Nashville, Lois. I think you are in for a treat!
I live in Southeast Texas where it’s hot and steamy, so I love that October brings cooler temps.
I hear you, Brenda. Cool is definitely better after a long steamy summer.
I love Fall for it’s cooler weather after dealing with a hot Summer in Chicago. I love the leaves changing colors on the trees and going to the pumpkin patch with my grandsons. Thanks for your great generosity.
HI May, I used to adore going to the pumpkin patch with my kids. I live too far from my grands to go with them, but maybe one day that will change! Enjoy the season!
October is still hot and humid here in Central Florida, although the daily rains have abated somewhat. I put out my fall decorations and look forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving. One of these days, a cold front will sweep down and our weather pattern will change. So will the clocks, and it will be darker earlier in the evening. It’s a pleasant season and pumpkin time.
I enjoy pumpkins too. I had pumpkin soup not too long ago and was pleasantly surprised that I liked it. It feels like we’ve had a lot of heat and humidity this summer and I am very much looking forward to some cooling down as well.
To me October is fall with the leaves turning color and falling. If cold enough we start a fire in our fireplace and have some hot chocolate. Great time to get some reading done.
I’m sad that I no longer have a fireplace, but I get to go over to my sister’s house and enjoy hers! There’s nothing like a crackling fire on the hearth to get a cozy feeling!
YEY NOT TOO HOT OR TOO COLD!
Yep. It’s just right!
Love the Beautiful colors and the cooler tempts!
Fall is a treasure, for sure, Sarah. I love those things too!
I love October because the leaves start to change colors and there’s a crispness to the air. I love going to the pumpkin patch, although we don’t do that so much anymore now that our daughter is grown. I love watching Halloween movies – not the scary ones! I love Hocus Pocus and Halloween Town…those are more my speed!
HI Renee! Sounds like we have so much in common. I like the Halloween movies that aren’t too scary as well. Fall is such a treat!
I love the changing of the leaves and all the craft fairs.
I miss craft fairs! We have some local vendor stuff on 2nd Saturday, but nothing like the craft fairs I remember from my young adulthood. I always feel like I’ve discovered new colors every autumn! It never gets old.
I’m with you, Maggie! I love pumpkin spice everything, dragging out the crock pot to make soup again, and wearing long sleeves for a change. October in Nebraska means embracing the clothing laters. When I go to work early in the morning, it might be 45 but by noon it’s 75. We have 80 degrees one day and snow later in the week then back up again. Usually I keep a jacket and umbrella in my car to be prepared for anything.
I’m laughing out loud because I have a lightweight windbreaker in my car right now that can serve as jacket or umbrella. It’s good to be prepared! I love cozy fabrics and curling up in blankets. And yum for pumpkin spice!
Here on the west coast, October is the underestimated month. The tourists are leaving because kids are back in school and they think the weather won’t be that great. The reality is that we have some gorgeous days in October. Of course, there are always those exceptions like today where it’s actually raining!
We are having a rainy/stormy day today as well on our side of the country. Just makes me want to hunker down and I have errands that need running. Enjoy that stunning October weather once the sun comes back out!
October is usually fabulous.. Family🐾 drive to the mountains to see the wonderful explosion of colors in the mountains. We normally enjoy walking thru the small towns to grab a snack & maybe look for fun unique Christmas🎄 gifts. Only, later in the Carolinas the last few years the weather has been weird & not very accommodating. This year it’s much too wet & continues to rain for the mountains. It is also very very warm in the high80s then cold at night🤔. So lucky to live in an era with air conditioning & furnaces. This year husband is having several surgeries, so we will be home for quite a while. He is getting a new shoulder & knee replacement .. Ouch.
Enjoy October!
I wish your husband well with his surgeries. I hear you about the heat and the rain this year. We’ve had an oversupply of both. I’m also very glad for air conditioning! Here’s hoping for cool, dry, and crisp days to round out October!
Lots of things to love about October! I love the cooler weather, changing color of the leaves, fall festivals, pumpkin spice goodies and my teenage daughter and I have birthdays in October. (My daughter is tomorrow and I was yesterday.) My daughter loves Halloween and has started decorating in September and is still going strong.
Happy Belated Birthday, Cherie! I know what you mean about decorating for Halloween. A few places around here have super elaborate displays and accompanying sound tracks. It is very over the top but in a fun way. Hope your October and birthday remain bright!
I have lots of good October memories. The high school marching band would practice long hours for the football games. I never much cared for football itself, but loved to hear the bracing music which somehow fits the crisp sunny afternoons. Invigorating hikes in the woods, where the leaves are turning such vibrant colors. Especially the sugar maples, with their promise of sweet sap to be boiled into syrup in the late winter. I was never a particularly successful students, but I always planned to be, and in October, that goal still seemed possible for this year. Crisp apples, apple cider and the windfalls or bruised ones to be made into apple brown betty and pie.
I always had that same excited feeling from a marching band. It was infectious! Maples are one of my fav autumn leaves-their golds and oranges are so stunning. We had a place in our Maryland town that made fresh apple cider and it was so amazing. Have never had anything like if since. Thanks for sharing those memories, Kathleen!
Here in Mississippi, it means hopefully cooler weather and less humidity! It’s still A/C weather though!
I hear you, Martha. We’ve been steaming all summer over here in coastal GA too. Ready for some milder temps.
I love October because of family birthday get togethers. I love to see Halloween decorations as we drive through town.
Those Halloween decorations are fun, aren’t they? One year I saw that one of my cousins had tied a witch and broom on her oak tree. It wasn’t an image of them flying as I expected, but a splat into a tree. An accident wouldn’t be funny, ever, but it tickled me in that given this person’s character, she had selected this decoration. Thanks for stopping by, Leslie.
October is such a great month. I love the changing colors of the leaves, sitting around the fire pit with friends, apple cider, warm days and cool nights. I love going to Salem MA to people watch, going to all of the great Witch shops, and going to the Peabody Essex Museum. My favorite thing about October is celebrating Samhain (Halloween). There are amazing Witch’s Balls and rituals in Salem. It’s also the time to honor our passed loved ones and our ancestors. To celebrate the Witch’s New Year and to focus on what we want to bring into the new year.
Sounds like a truly immersive experience. Happy Halloween and Samhain to you!
I love the cooler temperatures, the colors of the leaves, and apple cider.
Those are some of my favs too. I don’t know why I don’t think of apple cider any other time of year, but it smells like October, doesn’t it?
AND THE WINNER OF THE DRAWING, AS SELECTED BY RANDOM.ORG IS KATHLEEN ROCKWOOD! Congratulations, Kathleen. Please get in touch with me within the coming week to claim your prize!