Sitting on our front porch listening to the first rain splatting on the leaves of the ash trees surrounding our house; sipping the creamiest, perfect latte Dave made with the espresso maker resurrected from a Craigslist find; long walks through our Portland neighborhood, zigzagging across streets on warmer days to find the shadiest path; pulling out the Dutch oven to make berry and plum preserves for spreading on Dave’s biscuits and scones; and, with the onset of cooler weather, preparing my yearly roasting of 100 pounds or so of legendary Astiana sauce tomatoes that will hopefully carry us through until spring comes again.

I’ve more-or-less taken this past summer off from writing, not through any grand design or intention, but after twenty years of at-least-weekly posting I must have needed a break. With the turning of the leaves outside and waking up under a cozy comforter in the morning, it feels like time to get back at it, so expect these monthly bulletins to again start finding their way into your in-boxes, with recipes, interviews, travel tips and some exciting new features on the way. (Subscribe here.)

If you’re moved to support this effort, there’s a Good Stuff NW Patreon subscription starting at just $5 a month. To those who have already chosen to subscribe, my heartfelt gratitude…and as always, all the content will continue to be free to access for everyone, everywhere.

A last reminder: Remember to check to make sure you’re registered to vote, and ask everyone you know to do the same. Our democracy literally depends on it.

Thanks for reading!

Kathleen Bauer