Tuesday 4~ The "Ber" Months

 

The "Ber" Months

There are just 3 weeks left until the "ber" months begin. September, October, November and
December. Fall/Autumn begins in September and ends in December.


Autumn begins in September and it is called that until leaves begin to fall and then it's called "fall".
Sept means 7, Octo means 8, Novo is 9 and Deca is 10 but the numbers are off since the calendar was changed long ago from 10 months to 12.
Ber is an adjectival suffix from latin meaning month.
Let's discuss it.

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we ask just 4 questions each week to encourage blogging and enjoying the ideas and work of fellow bloggers.


1. What foods make you think of the autumn months ahead?

Mostly things like chili and soups and stews, and apple pie and pumpkin pie, and s'mores cooked on a campfire outside.

Hot dogs are always better cooked on an outdoor campfire too, especially with family or friend gathered around.

I tend to do more baking in the fall as well, because it makes the house smell so good and feel so cozy. (And in the summertime baking heats up the house too much).

2. Are there any songs you associate with the fall month?

"Shine on, shine on Harvest Moon, up in the sky!" I remember my Dad and Mom singing that song to each other.  I wrote about this in THIS POST HERE several years ago. Many of you may have already seen that before, but it's a fun trip down memory lane.  Also "See You In September".   Remember?

3. Are you looking forward to the ber months at all? Why?

Oh yes! When you live in Florida, all summer long the only thing that keeps you going is looking forward to the cooler days of fall! Our fall is not as dramatic as it is up north, but it is such a blessed reprieve from the high humidity and ultra hot days that we celebrate every day that the temperatures don't rise above 80 degrees! LOL. Fall is my favorite season, not only because I was born in September, but because I just seem to come alive again after the long hot summer. 

 

Normally we take a trip to the mountains in the fall and stay in a Airbnb cabin with our kids. But this year I don't think we are going to be able to go. I am disappointed in a way, but then again, sometimes traveling and being away for a week can be exhausting, not to mention expensive. So for now, we have decided not to take our annual trip. But you never know. Sometimes we change our minds at the last minute. Time will tell.  I will miss having views like this...

I guess I'll just have to be content with these views here from my own backyard:

That's really not so bad! Even if the pond is still dry! LOL.

Philippians 4:11 NKJV

11 "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content..."

4. School in New Jersey always begins after Labor Day and before that I would have dreams of going to school in my pajamas! Did anything simiar happen to you? Did you dread going back to school or were you happy and excited?

I don't remember being overly anxious about going back to school. Mostly I couldn't wait to get back to seeing my friends every day, and the beginning of football season and all of the fun fall activities.  The only anxiety I remember having was trying to find some new clothes and shoes that fit to start out the new school year.  I was the youngest of four children, and we didn't have a lot of money and so we really didn't get a lot of new stuff, but usually we tried to have at least one new outfit to wear the first day of school. After that I either had to sew my own new clothes or wear my sister's hand me downs, but she ended up being much shorter than me and so once I began growing taller I could no longer wear any of her clothes,  so I had to have some new things.  And of course, back then, girls wore dresses to school...no slacks or t-shirts. We had to dress nicely. To answer the question, I was usually happy and excited to get back to school. 

HERE's a link to a former post I wrote about 'the ber months".

And HERE's a fun post about autumn from Pamela's Victorian Cottage.

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I am also thinking about how nice it will be when we get back to our normal routines at church for the fall and winter.  Choir practice will start back up the week after Labor Day, and so will our Ladies' Bible Study. I have missed those activities and gatherings with others over the summer. Although it's nice to have a little break from it for a while, it's just like when I looked forward to getting back to school to see all my friends, I kind of feel the same way about these activities.  Yes, I do see all the same people at our regular church services on Sunday, but it's just not quite the same as being together in a smaller group. There are some different groups that meet over the summer, but I have not been able to participate in them due to circumstances beyond my control.   I truly miss the more personal connection with other ladies in particular that we have at Bible Study...and I also miss singing in the choir and helping to lead the congregation in worship with our music. It will be nice to get back together again.

Psalm 37:3-5 NKJV

"3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass."

Meanwhile, since we are still in August...we have some things to look forward to this month.  This coming Sunday (16th) will be our 57th wedding anniversary!  We don't have any specific plans yet to celebrate, but we usually try to go out to lunch at a favorite restaurant sometime the week of our anniversary.  And then our son Benton will celebrate his 55th birthday later this month! That's pretty hard for me to believe...I will soon have a son who qualifies as a "senior citizen". LOL. Where did the time go?   We do have plans to meet up with our extended Florida family on August 22nd at a restaurant that is mutually convenient in distance for all of us for lunch. We have a LOT of family birthdays and anniversaries in August, so we usually try to get together sometime during the month to celebrate everyone together. That's always a fun time to look forward to.

I didn't specify anything in particular today that I am "happy" about for my August happiness challenge, but suffice it to say, I am happy about all of the above that I've written. I thank the Lord for so many wonderful blessings...and especially the gift of family and friends. God has been very gracious and kind and I am truly grateful.  Amen.