Say hello to autumn with persimmon cookies

The change of seasons leaves me spellbound. Stepping outside, I love drinking in the aroma of autumn as I gaze over the grove of young chestnuts and colorful trees beyond. The sky is a brilliant blue, and the weather is crisp enoughforsweatersandjackets.Thelittle boys have even been digging through our box of gloves and wearing them. It’ll be a couple of months until I’m ready for that myself.

One dimension of fall I enjoy is pretty leaves. I’ve never outgrown it. When I wasagirl,mymomwouldhelpusgather and press leaves of orange, red and yellow.

Even now, I still can’t help but stoop to pick up an attractive maple leaf. Today I told the boys I can’t remember ever finding as many pretty leaves as this year. The children are all helping me collect a variety, which are being pressed to hang up in the living room around our plaque with family rules.

The woods behind our house serve well in supplying us with leaves to rake together into piles to romp in. Chuckling, I recall how my brothers and I once took gallon ice cream buckets and put them on our heads as helmets, the handle served as the strap to keep them on. On our hands and knees, we crawled around the giant pile of leaves, bumping into each other, having the time of our life.

A week ago, we had a very unique camping experience with all the church ladies and girls. From the oldest grandma down to the littlest girl, we all made lots of cozy memories. As always, my highlight was sitting around the crackling fire, singing and talking. For our discussion at night, we all shared something we have learned in life. Even the little girls said what they learned.

When Hosanna’s turn came, she sweetly said, “I have learned to know Dad and Mom.” Her innocence touched my heart. Being adopted does add a unique dimension to life. Numerous people related how they have learned to trust in God, no matter what. It was striking to me to think of all 40 of us sitting in a big circle, all have our own journey, and God meets each of us exactly where we are, increasing each of our trust in him. This fall the children have also been impressed with persimmons. In school they often see our non-Amish neighbor picking up persimmons along the road. Last night when I was getting the children ready for bed, one of them informed me that a vehicle drove in. Jesse

2 cups sugar

2 sticks of butter

2 eggs

1 cup persimmon pulp

3 cups flour

1 4 tsp. baking powder

1 4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 4 tsp. nutmeg

1 4 tsp. ginger

1 4 tsp. allspice

1 2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions: scampered over to the window and peered out in the darkness. Out here in the country we don’t have any street lights or even a pole light at our house.

1. Cream together sugar, butter, eggs, and persimmon pulp.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour and spices. After the flour is mixed well with the spices, add to the persimmon mixture.

3. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 16 minutes.

I explained to Jesse that those outside can see in much easier than we can see out. I told him how my brothers would tell me that it makes you look like a monkey when you look out the windows after dark with your hands cupped next to your face so you could see who’s out there.

The motion light on the front porch revealed it was our neighbor who gathers persimmons. He brought us a plate of persimmon pudding and persimmon cookies. My heart was warmed.

When I was a little girl, we children would pick up persimmons and enjoy them right there on the spot, but I never got so much into baking with them. These cookies really were a hit and didn’t have as strong flavor as some persimmon dishes.

If you have access to persimmons, you may wanna try it, and if not, I wish you’d be here to get some fresh persimmon pulp from the country store, only a skip and a hop down the gravel road from here.

Want a burst of early spring color? Plant bulbs now

Most of our autumn gardening time is spent cleaning up and putting plants to bed for the winter, but it can also be a time to be proactive about improving our gardens for next spring. The greatest example of this would be to plant spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips.

Many of us garden impulsively. We can be someplace where there are beautiful gardens, which inspires us to duplicatesomeofthebeautyinourownlandscapes. A great example of this would be the Cincinnati Zoo Blooms event held in April each year. Here you will see over 100,000 blooming tulips along with daffodils and other flowers. Most likely you leave this event mesmerized by the explosion of color. All of the colorful flowers you see at Zoo Blooms are planted in the fall.

Tulips and daffodils are the most popular spring flowering bulbs, but there are others. These flowers need to be planted in the fall to bloom the following spring. Spring-flowering bulbs require a long period of cool temps to process a chemical reaction inside of the plant to produce the blooms.

Tulipsaredefinitelythemostcolorful of all of the spring flowering bulbs. You can find a tulip in almost any color in the rainbow. The problem with tulips – and it is a big one – is they are like candy to deer. Deer grazing your neighborhood will be watching your tulips as they emerge out of the ground. They will be there the day when the flowers open up and they could be gone before you ever see them. When you plant tulips, you will need to have a deer repellent ready to go as the flower buds start to form.

If you want the spring flowers of bulbs but you do not want to have to worry about the deer, plant daffodils. Daffodils are poisonous to deer, and they know it. They won't eat them. With daffodils, however, you are limited to shades of yellow, orange, and white. You are limited with colors, but in return, you will not have to worry about the blooms being eaten. There are a lot of other types of spring-flowering bulbs to choose from. For early spring color, you can plant crocuses or snowdrops. Muscari, also known as grape hyacinths, are low growing and great for creating a colorful border. There are also bulbs you can plant for adding fragrance to your spring landscape. The best are hyacinths. These come in shades of pink, blue, and white.

Be aware that hyacinths will also attract deer. Large growing fritillaria are also great for adding fragrance to the garden. There are also some bulbs that can create interest in the garden with their unusual flowers. Allium produce large, sphere-shaped lavender-colored flowers on tall stalks. Then the most unusual of all, are the "Naked Ladies." Yes, this is the name. Their botanical name is Lycoris. These plants produce foliage in late spring. Then the foliage dies and the plant produces pink flower stalks, without foliage. Hence, the name "Naked Ladies." They bloom in the summer.

Spring-flowering bulbs can give you the opportunity to be very creative. Different bulbs bloom at different times. Even with tulips and daffodils there are different varieties that bloom at different times. Be sure to get a good mix so you can maximize the time you have the colorful blooms.

“The Twilight Zone” Marathon MeTV, beginning at 12 p.m. Ten classic episodes from Rod Serling’s classic 1959-64 sci-fi/fantasy anthology series The Twilight Zone air during this five-hour marathon. “Time Enough at Last,” “Eye of the Beholder,” “To Serve Man,” “It’s a Good Life” and “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” are just some of the fan-favorite installments MeTV has on tap.

The Simpsons

FOX, 8 p.m.

Marge’s (voice of Julie Kavner) new job as a segment producer on Krusty the Clown’s (Dan Castellaneta) daytime talk show turns out to be a nightmare in the new episode “The King of Nice.”

The Equalizer

CBS, 8:30 p.m.

McCall (Queen Latifah) and the team help a widow who claims her dead husband is trying to kill her from beyond the grave in the new episode “Better Off Dead.”

The Great North FOX, 8:30 p.m.

The Tobins and some friends experience cabin fever when they are trapped in the house for days by an ice storm in the new episode “Code Enough Said Adventure.”

Actor Barry Corbin (“One Tree Hill,” “Northern Exposure”) is 82. Bassist C.F. Turner of Bachman-Turner Overdrive is 79. Actor Suzanne Somers is 76. Guitarist Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead is 75. Producer-director David Zucker is 75. Actor MarthaSmith (“Animal House,” “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”) is 70. Actor Andy Kindler (“EverybodyLovesRaymond”)is66.Actordirector Tim Robbins is 64. Guitarist Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) is 63. Singer Bob Mould (Husker Du) is 62. Actor Randy Vasquez (“JAG”) is 61. Bassist Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppersis60.Actor ChristianStolte (“Chicago Fire”) is 60. Actor Terri J. Vaughn (“All of Us,” “The Steve Harvey Show”) is 53. Singer Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips is 53. Rapper B-Rock of B-Rock and the Bizz is 51. Singer Chad Gray of Mudvayne is 51. Actor Paul Sparks (“BoardwalkEmpire”)is51.Actor Kellie Martin (“Christy,”“Life Goes On”) is 47. Singer-songwriter John Mayer is 45. Actor Jeremy Jackson (“Baywatch”) is 42. Actor Caterina Scorsone (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 42. Actor Brea Grant (“Heroes”) is 41.

The Apartment

TCM, 4:15 p.m.

Best Actor Oscar nominee Jack Lemmon and Best Actress nominee Shirley MacLaine star in Oscar-winning director Billy Wilder’s iconic, Best Picture-winning 1960 romantic comedy. Lemmon plays an insurance clerk who, in an attempt to climb the corporate ladder to an executive level, lets his bosses use his apartment for their extramarital affairs, only to eventually fall for the mistress (MacLaine) of his immediate boss (Fred MacMurray). Wilder also won an Oscar for the screenplay he cowrote with his Some Like It Hot collaborator

Bob’s Burgers

FOX, 9 p.m.

At a comet watch party, Bob (voice of H. Jon Benjamin) tries to keep Teddy (Larry Murphy) from going crazy looking for signs from the universe in the new episode “Comet-y of Errors.”

Magpie Murders

Check local station(s) for day/time h New Series!

Based on the bestselling novel written by Anthony Horowitz, the six-part series is a beguiling murder mystery with a resolution that will shock. The story revolves around the character Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville, The Crown), an editor who is given an unfinished manuscript of author Alan Conway’s latest novel but has little idea it will change her life.

Family Guy

FOX, 9:30 p.m.

In the new episode “The Munchurian Candidate,” Lois (voice of Alex Borstein) hypnotizes Peter (Seth MacFarlane) to fulfill her sexual desires.

NCIS: Los Angeles CBS, 10:30 p.m.

The NCIS team mounts a rescue operation for two kidnapped architects who design secure buildings in the new episode “Of Value.”

I.A.L. Diamond, and the film’s outstanding cast also includes Best Supporting Actor nominee Jack Kruschen, Ray Walston, Hope Holiday and Edie Adams.

Bad Boys II (2003, Action) Martin Lawrence, Will Smith VICE, 6 p.m.

I Am Legend (2007, Science fiction) Will Smith, Alice Braga FX, 6 p.m.

Minions (2015, Children) Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm TNT, 6 p.m.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006, Comedy-drama) Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway E!, 6 p.m.

Steel Magnolias (1989, Comedy-drama) Sally Field, Dolly Parton CMT, 6:30 p.m.

Bullitt (1968, Crime drama) Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn TCM, 8 p.m.

Halloween

(2018, Horror) Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer FX, 8 p.m.

Shrek (2001, Children) Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy TNT, 8 p.m.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020, ) James Marsden, Jim Carrey NICK, 8 p.m.

The Wedding Ringer (2015, Comedy) Kevin Hart, Josh Gad BET, 8 p.m.

Furious 7 (2015, Action) Vin Diesel, Paul Walker SYFY, 9 p.m.

Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980, Biography) Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones CMT, 9:30 p.m.

Scarface (1983, Crime drama) Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer BBCA, 10 p.m.

Scream 3 (2000, Horror) David Arquette, Neve Campbell VH1, 10 p.m.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999, Comedy) Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles E!, 11 p.m.

Semi-Pro (2008, Comedy) Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson TBS, 11 p.m.

Superbad (2007, Comedy) Jonah Hill, Michael Cera COMEDY, 11 p.m.

Sleepy Hollow (1999, Horror) Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci PARMT, 11:30 p.m.

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Dear Carolyn: My husband and I are about to spend a week with our daughter and her boyfriend. They’ve lived together foraboutthreeyears.Theboyfriendhada bad year: He had a good, but demanding job, then was apparently diagnosed with anxiety. He quit the job and the anxiety morphed into alcoholism. He is recently out of detox and rehab, but not working and now is looking to start over in a new city. We like him. And we support him in his struggle. But there is no marriage, no kids, no house, and we are old enough to know and worry about the course recovery takes. Namely, two or three relapses before it sticks and lots of human wreckage. I don’t want my kid to be part of the wreckage. As far as I can tell, everyone –his family, his friends, his co-workers, us – has been understanding.

I do not want to blow this, and from everything I’ve read, my only option is sympathy and support. Ugh. I resent the burden this has placed on my daughter.

And, yes, plenty of people have gotten clean and stayed clean. But is the partner always looking over his or her shoulder? So how do I address this? I am not condemning him, but I do not want to let him off the hook. – Anonymous

Anonymous: Yeah, ugh to sympathy and support!!! Where’s a good shaming when you need one. I kid.

Alcoholism and anxiety are significant, complex problems that require ongoing care, yes. No argument there. Recovery typically involves some relapse, yes. And your daughter would have fewer obstacles to leaving if she ended the relationship now, most likely. But do not conflate your valid concerns about the potential for his alcoholism to affect your daughter negatively with any license or duty to punish him for it. You are not the law here

Your role is to trust your daughter to run her own life to her own satisfaction. Because it’s a life we’re talking about here, the way she manages it will involve error. Some of it massive, maybe with at least a temporary cost to her (and even your) quality of life.

That’s why adult members of reasonablyfunctionalfamiliesalsotendtoshare the role of each other’s backups and safety nets – when needed or asked. The help doesn’t flow just from parent to kid, either, but among all competent adults

DEAR ABBY |ABIGAIL VAN BUREN