But wait, there's more!

With my last plum crisp and last purple grape juice a couple of weeks ago, I figured I'd be done making things from freshly grown fruit. But then I decided that I wanted to try white grape juice, since we still had some green grapes left, even though the purple were all gone. It was a little tricky getting the grapes, since they were harder to reach, but I got a fair amount. I expected the juice to be a yellowish color, as store-bought white grape juice is. And it came out...

 pink??

And then the dregs of the juice were purpler! I assure you, there were only green grapes in the batch. Unless a few purple ones snuck in, but even if they did, there could have been no more than five.

I don't like this "white" grape juice as much as the purple. The Concord grapes give it a nice kick, but this one is lacking.

Also, our neighbors have an apple tree, and its branches hang over into our yard. Seventy-five percent of the apples have worms (in a good year), so the apples aren't good for plain eating. But if you cut them up, you can use them. I made an apple crisp. It was OK.

This week I saw a wizard walking down the road. He was wearing a brown robe and had long hair and a long, bushy, graying beard. He was waving a wooden staff around. I know he was a wizard because it's too late for Comic Con but too early for Halloween. But I didn't know wizards got large cups of soda from gas stations!

(Speaking of large cups of soda--I don't usually judge people for what they eat. But if you go to the gas station every day and get a large soda all the time, I will judge you. You have been warned.)

Last month I determined that I was having a hard time focusing during scripture study, so I began writing summaries of each chapter I read. Yesterday was Ezekiel 40: "A brass man measures a building."

In case you couldn't tell, it wasn't a super eventful week.

***

However, this week marks the return of pumpkinundation roundup, when there is an inundation of everything pumpkin spice, caramel apple, and candy corn! I've been documenting the things I've had so far. Sometimes I wonder if this fad is going to fizzle out, but it doesn't appear to be going anywhere soon. I'll take it. Not because I'm in love with pumpkin spice per se, but because I'm in love with seasonal things in general.

When they say "pumpkin spice," it means one of three things: (1) actual pumpkin and spices, (2) spices (or spicy flavoring) and some vague pumpkin flavoring, and (3) only spices. This last one is most pointless to me, because pumpkin spice without the pumpkin is exactly the same as gingerbread spice without the molasses, or carrot cake spice without the carrots and cream cheese frosting. Those items that actually have pumpkin in them are by far the best.

This year, I will be assigning ratings to the things I review. I will also put pictures before each paragraph of what I'm reviewing, rather than after. These ratings are entirely subjective and are based on taste, level of pumpkin, and overall experience.

 I have a confession about these Jet-Puffed Jumbo Caramel Apple Marshmallows. September 15 is my arbitrary date for starting eating these things, but I cheated and ate them on Labor Day, September 5. My family was planning on roasting marshmallows and having smores, so I got these for that. But it wasn't 100 percent cheating, because I would have used regular marshmallows if I were completely cheating. I think it's funny that the actual marshmallows look more like caramel apples than the picture of the marshmallows.

 Last year I had candy corn and pumpkin spice marshmallows. These were the best of all three, because they actually taste like what they're supposed to. The candy corn ones don't taste like anything, and the pumpkin spice ones taste like ginger. These have a fake caramel apple taste, but it's definitely caramel apple. Plus, their size is perfect for roasting and smores; the other flavors are too small. (However, these are probably too big for hot chocolate.) 4/5.

 So I actually bought this Extra Pumpkin Spice Gum in January, because it was on clearance and I didn't see it last fall. But I can have gum anytime. Who knows, maybe they won't even sell it this year. They don't really taste like pumpkin or spices. They almost have a buttery flavor. They're OK, but I like fruity or minty gum better. 2/5.

 I love Quaker Life, so I was excited to try this Pumpkin Spice Life. I could live off of Cinnamon Life. But this is no Cinnamon Life. They have a flavor of spices, though I can't pick what ones, but I didn't note any pumpkin to it. It's not as flavorful as Cinnamon Life, but it has less sugar; it's about equal to the other flavors. I'd get it again, but mainly because it's Life, not because it's pumpkin. 3/5.

 One of the few seasonal things in the vending machines at work is the Dunford Bakers Calley's Favorites Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie. It's exactly what you'd expect in such a cookie. 4/5.

 I reviewed these Fiber One Pumpkin Bars last year, and we happened to have some in the house this year. They're actually pretty good. 4/5.

 I'm not a fan of plain Cheerios but I like their flavored varieties. I don't eat them often, though, because I don't find them very filling. These Pumpkin Spice Cheerios actually use pumpkin, which automatically makes them better. Even though they're cold cereal, there's something warm and comforting about them.

 They also leave a nice milk in the bowl. Way better than plain Cheerios. 4/5.

 I went to the state fair and got this Cinnamon Candy Apple. We usually have caramel apples, but sometimes I've seen pictures of candy apples and wanted to try one. I mean, they're in the "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" scene of Mary Poppins. I understand now why I'd never had them. It was really just hard candy on an apple, so it was hard to eat. I worried about hurting my teeth, and then my teeth kept sliding around on the smooth surface. I had some very similar candy strawberries in Taiwan fourteen years ago, but at least strawberries are soft. You know those cheap hard candy cinnamon disks? It was like having one of those on an apple. 2/5.

 I also got this pumpkin fudge at the fair. It's a good thing I'm counting calories, because I could eat this whole block in one sitting. 5/5.

 I got a whole box of Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bars, although I think they were intended as a display box. Since they're an outdoorsy item, I had to do something outdoorsy when I ate it. You guessed it, I ran up North Canyon. I actually went a little past Rudy's Flat, up a trail I'd never been on before. (It wasn't great for running.) Sorry the picture's not good; I thought I took another one but apparently I didn't. I know some people hate Clif Bars, but I kind of like them. The pumpkin pie ones are one of their stronger offerings. 4/5.

 The third cereal I tried this week was Kellogg's Special K Pumpkin Spice Crunch. They are just Special K flakes with fake yogurt-covered, spicy clusters. The clusters tasted fake, but they were tasty. Unfortunately, there weren't many of them. The cereal would have benefited from more clusters. There's really nothing pumpkin about these. 3/5.

 I had to try Pumpkin Donut and Apple Crisp Laffy Taffy. At first I thought it was a weird concept: these aren't flavored like pumpkin, they're flavored like something pumpkin flavored. But then I realized that these are a kid's candy, and all kids like donuts, but they might not like pumpkin spice or even pumpkin pie. The pumpkin donut ones are a little weird, because I expect Laffy Taffys to be fruity. But once you realize they don't need to be fruity, they're good. (I remember having vanilla ones as a kid, back when they were still squares in wax paper wrappers. They didn't stick to wrappers then.) The apple crisp ones taste a little more fruity. 3/5.

I had these belVita Pumpkin Spice biscuits last year, and they were good enough for me to get again this year. But they're not as good as I remembered. They're not very pumpkiny, but they're good on their own. They're very dry, best eaten with milk. 3/5.

And believe it or not, I had all of these things while still remaining in my calorie budget!