Autumn cools and soothes the body and soul

We are coming up on my favorite time of year.

Autumn is the time to clear our heads and look forward to all of the wonderful events the season brings. Joie de vivre — the joy of living — a French phrase I am quite fond of, is about to spring forth for many of us. Shoo away humidity, pesky bugs and that it-is-too-hot-to-do-anything malaise. I love spring, too, but I also love the coming months that are filled with fun outdoor activities.

Save a seat for me by the fire.

How mundane phrases can fool us

Phrases that might seem mundane that we all use quite often sometimes mean the opposite of what we think they do.

▪  “Pass the buck.” This phrase has nothing to do with money, which I thought it did. It means pass the responsibility to another person as to a person in a poker game whose turn it is to deal the cards.

▪  “Turn over a new leaf” has nothing to do with the foliage on a plant. The phrase comes from one of the pages in a book, probably to turn to a new page when you are through with one you are on.

▪  “Push the envelope” has nothing to do with stationery or mailing a letter. It was originally a term in aviation slang, as in try as best you can.

▪  “Leave someone in the lurch.” This is sort of crazy, but lurch comes from a French game, like backgammon, called Lourche. Maybe the player was inept, and other players left him or her in disgust.

▪  “Flash in the pan” has nothing to do with cooking or panning for gold in a mountain stream. The phrase had to do with the priming of a firearm in old types of guns. The flash was caused by an explosion of gunpowder inside the pan, which was part of a lock in those guns of yore.

Does this sound delicious?

When Christmas is near, and you are in a quandary as to what to buy that silly person who has everything and wants nothing, what do you do?

Well, I have an idea, or rather, several of them.

There are mail-order foods you can order without leaving the house. These tasty edibles come with instructions, recipes and stories about their origin.

The Nonna Box comes with everything you need to cook up a genuine Italian grandmother’s feast. The boxes start at $50 each and even come with wine pairings at nonnabox.com.

If your gift recipient travels the world via the movies, there is a box containing foods from around the globe.

The trytheworld.com site has all sorts of goodies, salts and seasonings they will love. The boxes start at $29 each.

Julia Child would have loved the Bon Appetit Box, which comes from France via San Francisco.

Foods are French and tasty. The boxes at bonappetitbox.com start at $33 for snack boxes.

We can return to Italy for the Eattiamo box which contains a full meal for four people and includes easy-to-follow recipes . The useattiamo.com boxes start at $54 per box.

You might also offer your cooking of a feast as an extra treat. And, of course there are plenty of places in Bluffton where you can purchase a gift certificate. In any case, food is always a welcome treat for anyone.

Election season observation

Does anyone know why we have so many election seasons?

Remember when we went to the polls on one day? It is no wonder people get confused about elections and some don’t even bother to vote.

I have never not voted, but then I have always lived near the polling place. It can be a real hardship for those citizens living in the country without transportation or for those who have to work.

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Autumn cools and soothes the body and soul."