Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 21, 2019

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 21, 2019 

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WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side by Deanne Davis

“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, 
zucchini bread and pumpkin pie.”

Jim Davis/Garfield

 “When is the first day of Fall? Silly! Everyone knows 
it’s when Starbucks starts serving Pumpkin Spice 
Lattes.”

The first day of Fall this year is Monday, September 
23rd. However, as I just left the Cheesecake Factory 
and am still tasting my first piece of Pumpkin 
Cheesecake, and my house is filled with pumpkins of 
all sorts, I think I kind of pushed it and Fall started 
for me around the middle of August. Trader Joe’s has 
bins of the most amazing and unusual pumpkins, 
boxes of Pumpkin Pancake Mix, Pumpkin Spice 
Coffee, Pumpkin butter and even Pumpkin Spice 
Potato Chips. I got a big ceramic pumpkin at our 
local Safeway store and it stands guard outside my 
front door. 

Yes, friends and neighbors, It’s Fall, even though the 
weather is not cooperating by dropping down into 
cooler – let’s get out those sweaters – temperatures. 
I found myself singing “September Song” by Kurt 
Weill and Anderson Maxwell a day or so ago, which 
is kind of a melancholy song:

“Oh, it’s a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn’t got time for the waiting game
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September, November
And these few precious days I’ll spend with you
These precious days I’ll spend with you.”

Here’s a much happier September fact: National 
Grandparents’ Day is also celebrated in September on 
the first Sunday after the first Monday of the month. 
I, being a grandparent, got an absolutely fabulous 
card from granddaughter, Emily, delivered through 
the U.S. Mail! I quote:

“Happy Grandparents Day. I hope you have the best 
Grandparents Day ever. I have made lots of memories 
with you and wish to make more. I love you tons and 
I always will.” She made this card at school and I can’t 
think of anything that could make me any happier. If 
you’re a grandparent, I hope you got a greeting from 
one of your grandchildren. My friend, folksinger, 
Rosalie Sorrels, now residing in heaven, playing her 
guitar and singing her songs there instead of here, used 
to say, “The reason grandparents and grandchildren 
get along so well is that they have the same common 
enemy!” That’s kind of an exaggeration, but it’s funny 
and always got a laugh for her.

The best thing you can do to celebrate Fall is to make 
yourself some pumpkin bread. I got this recipe from 
my sister-in-law, who lives in Florida. She makes tons 
of it for friends, neighbors and Mah Jong buddies and 
shared it with me. I’ve made it for years and think it’s 
the best recipe anywhere.

Pat’s Pumpkin Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat two loaf 
pans (those foil ones are dandy) with cooking spray.

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 15 oz. can solid pack pumpkin

Put all that in your electric mixer and blend till it’s 
totally combined. Set aside.

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon (generous)

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. baking soda

. tsp. salt

. tsp. baking powder

Mix all that together then add to the pumpkin 
mixture, mixing till it’s totally combined. Add a 
handful of dried cranberries, a Granny Smith apple 
cut in chunks, raisins, nuts (I like pecans for pumpkin 
bread). Divide between the loaf pans and bake till a 
tester inserted in the center comes out clean. About 
an hour or so. Transfer to racks to cool and remove 
from pans. Wrap in foil or cling-wrap. This bread 
freezes beautifully, too. You can double this recipe, 
which makes about 5 loaf pans, or you can make a 
whole bunch of small loaves and consider yourself 
ahead of the game if you’re a Christmas baker. Your 
house will smell divine and people will beat a path to 
your kitchen to ask when they can have some.

“Sunrises & Sunflowers Speak Hope” 

is a great gift for yourself or someone you love! 

Look for it on my book page: Amazon.com: Deanne 
Davis 

Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! Take a 
look! Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@
playwrightdd

 “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter”

is also available on my Amazon book page.


This is just a friendly reminder 
to our past participants that 
registration for this year’s 
Scarecrow Festi-val Contest is 
due by Monday, September 16th! 
(Please disregard this reminder if 
you have already submitted your 
information online.)

If you are planning to participate this year, please be sure to fill out the contest registration form online, 
and include your Scarecrow’s name and backstory using the following link:

https://www.creativeartsgroup.org/scarecrow-festival/contest/

· More important dates…

· September 7 – September 20 – Pick up your ID tag at Creative Arts Group during office hours, 
M-F: 10-5pm, Sat. 10-2pm. 

September 21 – All Scarecrows must be in place with ID tags visible. Creative Arts Group photogra-
phers will take pictures on September 21. If your scarecrow is not in place with it’s ID tag at this time, 
you will need to submit your own vertically oriented photo to scarecrow@creativeartsgroup.org. This 
may delay your scarecrow’s web page.

· October 1 – Online map and printed Map/Ballots will be available; web pages and Facebook page 
will be live.

Creative Arts Group Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/creativeartsgroup.sierramadre/

 Your scarecrow’s web page can be found on your ID Tag, as well as at https://www.creativeartsgroup.
org/scarecrow-festival

· October 1 – Voting begins

· October 4 – Kickoff Party, 7:00pm at Creative Arts Group

· October 15 – Voting ends at noon.

· October 19 – Awards Announced on CreativeArtsGroup.org, our Facebook page and the Mt. 
Views News

For more information, please visit www.creativeartsgroup.org/scarecrow-festival

COMMUNITY LOUNGE

KATIE Tse....This and That


My mom is de-junking their 
bathroom. That’s a very admirable thing 
to do, de-junking. Me, I just embrace 
the mess.

Now whenever I go down to visit, 
she’s got a box of stuff to run by me. To 
see if I want anything before it makes its 
way to the Women’s Assistance League, 
or whatever charity she donates lightly 
used toiletries to.

It’s often an exercise in futility, her 
holding up items and me saying, “Nope. Thanks, though.”

She’ll sigh and drop it back in the box.

“Too bad there’s no community lounge, like at school,” I 
tell her.

I work at a school, and since time immemorial people 
have been dumping unwanted things in the teachers’ lounge. Just leave it on a table, come back later that 
afternoon, and it will be gone. So convenient.

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” she agrees.

It really would. I don’t think my mom and I are the only ones who’d appreciate a communal dump spot. I’m 
not talking about trash. I’m talking about honestly still-useful items you just don’t want to keep.

Of course there’s Good Will and the Vietnam Vets, but wouldn’t it be even easier if you didn’t have to drive 
there during business hours or make an appointment? Or sort your stuff?

My vision is a table, similar to the one at the Women’s Club, that would be accessible 24/7. The only 
difference would be that you could bring food items and toiletries in addition to home goods. Heck, people 
could even bring produce if they wanted.

Another difference would be that the stuff wouldn’t have to be re-sold. Everything left on the table would 
be fair game for whoever wanted it. A kind of graveyard for unsuccessful miracle creams, body-transforming 
exercise equipment, and celebrity-endorsed cosmetics. Hope may disappoint, but it sure does springs eternal. 

Or you could look at it as an ever-changing treasure trove of free stuff. Like Easter egg hunting all year 
round. One man’s miss-spent trip to the Amazon shopping cart is another’s find of the month. Win-win for 
everyone!

Just imagine all the cool goodies to be found the day after Christmas. A local goldmine. That’s assuming, 
of course, that the people who gave you that stuff don’t live in town. That could be embarrassing.

There’s a whole code of re-gifting etiquette one must follow in order to stay couth and Kosher. I wrote an 
article on it once, years ago. But who knows, maybe it’s time for a refresher. Halloween, the unofficial kick-off 
of the holiday season will be here before we know it. And Christmas following soon after that. Get your boxes 
ready.

*This possibly isn’t the best article to plug my book, talking about de-junking your life and all, but check out 
my novel, “A Year at Apex!” It’s got humor, romance, the human condition, and public education. Paperback 
and ebook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

 
Walter Cailleteau, DVM Free Exam!
927 N. Michillinda Ave. For New Clients 
Pasadena, CA 91107 Bring this coupon to save! 
(626) 351-8863
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com