A week ago I was in a horrible reading slump and nothing was interesting or holding my attention. Then the postal service got on board and delivered some books that I had ordered from The Book Depository in the UK. One of the books was Ida Cook's republished memoir Safe Passage, originally published as We Followed Our Stars. It drop-kicked me out of my slump. It fascinated me and reminded me that when one puts their mind to something the simplest deeds can yield the biggest results.

In an attempt to assist me with this series of pumpkin posts, TW put a couple of savory pumpkin dishes on the menu for this week. I'm sure they'll be fine but as much as love pumpkin, I don't necessarily love pumpkin as a main dish or even as an appetizer. I think I might have to make an exception for pumpkin samosas. I love samosas and these look really really good.

Photo by Ezster On Saturday, I attended BlogHer Boston.  It was better than eating chocolate!  The networking was fabulous - meeting many new bloggers in the Boston area as well as seeing long-time blogher buddies and of course, Jory, Lisa, and Elisa.  The sessions were fantastic.   BlogHer always inspires me and this one did not fail.  And judging by reading some of the blog posts from other attendees, like Liz Davis and Candelaria Silva, I am not alone.

Want a one-serving fruit pie cup with honey baked right into the crust? Then we must be fellow Pushing Daisies fans -- so I assume you saw the first episode this season, in which Chuck the beekeeper's bees all die due to errant pesticides!

It's not easy to be an American Jewish expat in Austria and if, like me, the gods that determine your fate put you in a small town, an additional layer of complication descends on your life abroad. Understanding Austrian politics is difficult if you happen to share color, religion, or basic values with your neighbors, but if you don't, Austria becomes even more frustrating and inscrutable.

Recently, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson posted a guest blog here, in which she talked about energy policy as it impacts her state, Missouri. Feedback from that post indicated that a lot of BlogHers are looking for more information about the energy policy being advocated by the McCain-Palin ticket.

I loathe Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Don't get me wrong - the idea of promoting breast health is fantastic. I am in a high risk category for breast cancer. When she was 33 years old, my mother noticed pus oozing out of her left nipple. She immediately went to the doctor, and a biopsy indicated that it was breast cancer. With a five year old and an 10 month old at home, my mom was rushed into surgery for a radical mastectomy. This saved her life, and she has been cancer-free for almost thirty years now. I want all women to have the same success rate as my mom, but what October has turned into is a free-for-all profit center for corporations that exploit women's fears and often even sell products that contain cancer causing chemicals.

There's change in the air for the first wave of mommybloggers.  They don't complain about their kids much anymore. In fact, they don't write about their kids as much as they used to.  Have they lost interest?  Lost their edge?  Or are their kids just old enough to read?

The news that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her husband have ties to the secessionist  Alaska Independence Party has sparked derision from her critics and provoked tons of questions.

When I moved to the suburbs of Illinois, I did not expect to find so many homes decorated for Halloween. Every time we go out to eat or to run an errand, I turn down a different street, just to see what's down it, and every time we find house after house after house decorated for Halloween.

Race continues to be a factor in the presidential campaign this year and in recent weeks has been raised as an issue in ways that have led observers to analyze the issue through historical lenses. Nicholas Kristof, in an Op-Ed in the New York Times noted that there was a "push to 'otherize' Obama." Kristof describes some of the forms this otherization is taking:

You won't find her on Fortune's list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business but Blythe Masters may go down in history as the woman who is responsible for the 2008 collapse of global financial markets. You can't get more powerful than that.