#WriterWednesday Interview with Patrick MacPhee
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I’d like to welcome Patrick MacPhee to the blog for a fall #WriterWednesday.
A few of your favorite fall traditions: Definitely Canadian Thanksgiving – we enjoy the usual homemade pies (from scratch). For the longest time, we would take the kids to one of the local farms and do the whole farm thing (tracker rides, ball crawls, corn maze).
Something autumn-related that you’ll never do again: I had a hard time thinking about this one. A lot of the fun outdoor activities aren’t being done too much, given that the kids are much older now. However, who’s to say those activities won’t ever happen again if some grandkids come around…
Favorite fall treat: Homemade apple pie from scratch.
A fall treat that makes you gag: Pumpkin pie. I personally can’t stand the spongy texture. Reminds me of cheesecake.
Something you only do in the fall: As a teacher, fall always has that particular “school is starting” energy. Technically, the year may start in January, but for most of my life, the true start to the year has been September.
Something you’d never do in the fall season: Water park. Just don’t do it. Those tickets are on sale for a reason.
Favorite fall smell: The savory smell of a woodfire stove, especially those first few times on those crisp autumn nights where the sky is that rich azure.
Something that makes you hold your nose: We live in a rural area and sometimes the farmers apply some fertilizer to their fields. I tell myself that the smell means food and fertility, but it can be pungent sometimes. Only lasts a day or two depending on which way the wind is blowing.
Best fall memory: Walking with my wife and kids and the dogs through a valley filled with trees blazing in fall colors.
Something you’d rather forget: It seems like October is a time when someone is always getting sick. We’ve lost enough vitamin D by then that more often than not, someone is bedridden for a few days.
A tradition you share with others: We get into Halloween. Our neighborhood is like a Hollywood version of trick-or-treat. We’re talking hundreds of kids milling about in waves. They get dropped off, too. Just recently, we had over 250 kids (a slow year).
A tradition that can be retired: Ice Skating on frozen ponds and rivers is probably one I can do without. It always sounds better than it ends up being.
Best thing you ever cooked/baked in autumn: I can bake a pretty good hashbrown casserole. Lots of potatoes, cheese, and plenty of garlic and other spices. It’s always a hit at the dinner table.
Your worst kitchen disaster:
I’ve been baking pizza from scratch since the lockdowns. One day, I thought “let’s try calzones”. I also decided to brush some olive oil on it to give it a bit of a glazed/burnished effect. Yeah, not a good idea. Some of the oil dripped to the bottom of the oven and decided it was hot enough to start burning. The calzones weren’t too bad. A bit… smoky.
Funniest pumpkin-carving story: I don’t know about funniest, but I once managed to carve the Star Trek symbol with a “42” inside of it. Actually turned out pretty good and it wasn’t from a pattern.
Your worst pumpkin-carving story: One time, I had some pumpkins for my class, but we had a miscommunication about who was supposed to bring the carving utensils. It got a little messy that day.
Favorite pumpkin spice item: Coffee.
Something that should never be pumpkin-spiced flavored: Gum. It didn’t work for me.
Best Halloween costume ever: I went as Kakashi Hatake once to my school. I was running the anime club at the time, and had a lot of kids coming over for selfies with “Kakashi Sensei”. I bought a Hidden Leaf shinobi top, but the rest was homemade. I got a white wig and styled it with Level 10 “like cement” hair gel, but what sealed the deal was the sharingon contact lenses.
Worst Halloween costume disaster: I remember being very young and going as E.T. but I had trouble seeing out of the costume and kept falling over.
About Patrick:
Patrick teachers high school English and creative writing in Ontario, Canada. When he’s not writing, you’ll often find him playing video and board games with his wife and two children or going for walks with his two golden retrievers.
Let’s Be Social:
Twitter/X: @macphee225
Instagram: @macphee225
Website: http://Patrickmacphee.com
