Leaves are falling

I just love football season!

Not that I care anything about football, mind you. (This apathy means that I don't get to be excited when BYU wins, but I also don't have to be disappointed when they lose.) No, I love football season because of everything else that goes on.

This week it really cooled down. I had to remove my thin blanket and replace it with my quilt. I may trade again, but there's something comforting about lying in a warm bed on a cold day.

Due to the rain and other things, I was only able to go trail running one day this week. Among the foothills I was able to see the beginnings of the changing leaves, which I love. I love that the colored leaves are gradual, unlike springtime blossoms which are much more short lived. I also passed a woman who wasn't cleaning up after her dog. I overcame my passive aggressiveness and said to her, "Please clean up after your dogs." Although perhaps it was still passive aggressive, because I did it as I was running past her in the opposite direction so she couldn't really respond. North Salt Lake recently sent out a newsletter reminding people to clean up after their dogs. If I were in charge of the letters, I would be much less diplomatic and say, "If you don't clean up after your dog, you're an irresponsible jerk who doesn't deserve to own pets!"

I also went to tutor some Tongan youths in Rose Park on Thursday. I helped an eighth-grader label countries in Europe; he decided that Greece looked like Italy, so we were amused when he kept calling it "Little Italy."

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Fall also means that it's time for the first installment of Pumpkinundation Roundup! (Get it? An inundation of pumpkin things?) There's a bit of an inconsistency with the term "pumpkin spice"--sometimes it means pumpkin and spices; sometimes it just means spices (cinnamon, clove, and/or nutmeg and sometimes ginger or allspice).

 This Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax Granola doesn't really count, because it's sold year round. Its only spice is cinnamon, and the only pumpkin is pumpkin seeds. I once really liked this cereal, but then I grew tired of it, and I've never grown untired of it.

 I also had these Planters Pumpkin Spice Almonds. They do use real pumpkin, but you can't really taste it. They're pretty good, but they're basically like most cinnamon almonds.

 The vending machines at work sell these Calley's Favorites Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. They're pretty generic pumpkin cookies, but that's not a bad thing.

 Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini Wheats aren't that impressive. There's no pumpkin in them; it's just spices and annatto color. I don't think they're as good as plain Frosted Mini Wheats. They kind of remind me of candles--not in a bad way, necessarily, that's just what they remind me of.

 Most specially flavored Oreos have Double Stuf creme, but I think the Pumpkin Spice Oreos just have regular proportions. I'm not sure what's in them, as the ingredients list "artificial and natural flavor," which is about as vague as you can possibly get. They're pretty good, but I think they're good because they're Oreos, not because they're pumpkin spice.

 Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts are surprisingly good. They're like the cinnamon and brown sugar ones, but better. And they use real pumpkin! Probably not much of it, but they still use real pumpkin.

 As strange as this may sound, this Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar may be my favorite pumpkin thing from this week. (When I bought it last week, the cashier said, "How could you fall prey to this? It's not even October!") I noted that the packaging, with its icicles and snowflakes, seems a little out of place for this time of year (it's more appropriate for their gingerbread ones). However, after eating it, it makes sense; they are very spicy and taste like Thanksgiving or Christmas, not early fall. They do use real pumpkin (it's a Clif Bar, after all), along with apples and raisins.

 These Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax Granola Bars are sold year round. They're very dry and crunchy, but as long as you know that, they're good. They're like the Nature Valley granola bars in the green wrappers, but better. The pumpkin in these is pumpkin seeds, not pumpkin flesh.

 These Sunbelt Bakery Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars are pretty good but they're not terribly pumpkiny, even though they use pumpkin. They're good as granola bars, though.

 Another flavor that is popular this time of year is caramel apple. I don't know if these Quaker Chewy Caramel Apple Granola Bars are made for Halloween, but that's what I use them for. They're good as granola bars, but not extremely unique.

 I only got the dregs of this Dreyer's Slow Churned Pumpkin Patch Ice Cream because it's being used in another dessert. It uses both pumpkin and spices, and it has less fat than regular ice cream. It's pretty good, although it's hard to go wrong with ice cream. It may be the spiciest ice cream I've ever had, but it's not overwhelming.