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Hello, Pumpkin!

The days are growing shorter and the mornings cooler -- which is as it should be, since autumn officially started last week. And, in celebration of its arrival (however sweltering the afternoons may still be), I'm sharing a fall-themed link list this week filled with several brand new printables. Enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​5 Things to Make this Autumn Better - an abbreviated list for busy families
• ​Autumn Days Word Scramble - try your hand at deciphering these mixed up words
• ​To Everything a Season Coloring Page - for a peek at how I create these pages, click here​
• ​50 Fun Activities for Fall - a free printable bucket list for the cooler weather months
• ​17 Beautiful Pinecone Crafts - pinecones are plentiful this time of year (free art supplies)
• ​Autumn Days Conversation Starters - free printable dinnertime discussion prompts for fall

What I'm reading this week:

After finishing Austin Kleon's Show Your Work last month, I decided to go back and re-read his earlier book, Steal Like an Artist, as well. It's also written in Kleon's distinctive, inimitable style, filled with nuggets of wisdom, thought-provoking illustrations, and plentiful food for creative thought. Also, stay tuned: I just realized Kleon has released a new book in this series, which I'm ordering to read when we're camping out next month.

What we're watching this week:

One of my adult daughters talked me into watching Grave of the Fireflies with her and her siblings last night. It was my first time to see it -- my first time watching Japanese anime of any sort, in fact --although I've been hearing about this particular film from my children for years.

The movie follows the plight of two siblings struggling to survive in war-torn Japan during World War II. One of the children reminded my older kids of their little sister, as she was about that same age the first time they watched it. That coincidence made an already poignant story strike closer to home. Cue the tears.

Thirty years after its debut, Grave of the Fireflies was ranked "The Greatest Animated Film of All Time" by USA Today. It is worth a watch, especially for anyone studying WWII.

Progress on last week's goals:

Ha! What progress? With the exception of volunteering at the fair (which was really more my children's accomplishment than my own -- I only painted the sign), I marked ZERO things off last week's list.

Of course, I did several things NOT listed, including ✅ babysitting a houseful of grandchildren, ✅ running the scoreboard for several volleyball games, ✅ attending a planning meeting for parents of graduating seniors, and ✅ making blackout shades for our bedroom windows so that the street lamp outside will no longer shine in my husband's eyes all night. Still, the majority of items on last week's to-do list will probably remain undone until next month sometime.

Personal goals for this week:

• attend to the mending projects that have been stacking up in my closet
• go to Dallas to visit my mother
• make new syllabi for my co-op classes (we decided to change back to our old Algebra curriculum -- turns out the grass on the other side of the fence wasn't nearly as green as some folks imagined 🤪)
• straighten the house (it's gotten a bit cluttered amid our constant comings and goings lately)

Another poll for you this week:

My mailing list is evidently filled with true friends. Every single person who responded would tell a new acquaintance if she had broccoli in her teeth as soon as discretely possible. Good work, team!

This week's question: What's your favorite thing to do in the fall? Hit reply and let me know!

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