Pumpkins in Perth

Every one back home is posting about how it's getting colder, quintessential New England autumns and pumpkin picking. In my year of eternal summer, I almost forgot it was October (and time for one of my favorite James Taylor songs!).

It's strange having opposite seasons. I'll find my starting a story, "Last spring..." and correct myself to say "Last April...". And having no autumn is always a little bittersweet. I'm the first one to bundle up to go apple picking or wander the corn maze. There's nothing like the smell of the first crisp, cool autumn night when it's time to put on a sweatshirt and put an extra blanket on the bed. At Maryland, I hunted for an apple orchard and dragged all my dormmates down to the communal kitchen in the basement to patch together an apple pie from scratch (yes we used a nalgene bottle as a rolling pin). In South Carolina, there were no apple orchards within a 2 hour drive, but there was plenty of SEC football and tailgating to be sure that it was Fall. Luckily the apples were just ripening in Connecticut before I left with time to make one American apple pie. And I'm sure a 100 degree Christmas will seem bizarre.

I'm not complaining about missing winter this year. It's going to be 90 in Perth this week :), but that doesn't mean I don't get my share of pumpkin. They LOVE pumpkin here. From the first day I arrived and we talked about pumpkin at lunch, it's everywhere. They eat it plain apparently. It's always in the grocery stores. I assume you cook it like squash? It comes in pieces wrapped in plastic. I guess no one likes it enough to have a whole pumpkin. But they do like it enough to even have organic pumpkin.

There is tons of pumpkin soup. They made it at work for the fundraiser, and there are even different kinds of pumpkin soup!

They had a spicy pumpkin soup too. It wasn't supposed to be two of the same kind :)

At a work even they had pumpkin hummus dip. Savory, a little spice and it was yummy.

October also means that it's my big sister's birthday :) Happy birthday Lindsey!!!