Thanks for reading the October 2025 issue of This Awful Awesome Life. I hope you use the link for the recipe for Stuffed Banana Peppers in Tomato Sauce in our “Twelve Months of Fruit.” Previous issues of This Awful Awesome Life are available to read on our website.
Go to www.thisawfulawesomelife.com and start scrolling or you can enter specific search criteria.
Our November issue addresses Men’s Health, Indigenous Peoples of the United States, and Veteran’s Day. Will you or a loved one be growing a moustache for Movember?
We’ll also be celebrating World Kindness Day on November 13.
I’m not sure what my November short story and my poem will be about, but I’m considering fall themes.
We have some crucial elections in a few states, so do your homework before you go to the polls. Follow campaign finances. Are billionaires buying candidates? Are you happy with grocery prices, inflation, unemployment figures, immigration reform, freedom of speech issues, global relations, and the treatment of our most vulnerable (disabled veterans, children, seniors, and people with chronic health issues including mental health issues) or do we need to change direction as a country? Voter apathy is a real threat to democracy. Voting in every election matters. Help prevent gerrymandering by electing officials who will protect everyone’s right and ability to vote in fair elections.. Voting isn’t just a right; it’s also a sacred responsibility.
Orlando Bartro and I will be back with more interesting articles for you.
Our featured author with a November birthday will be Margaret Atwood (11/18/1939)
We’re moving some of our regular features around to shake things up a bit and keep you on your toes. I’m also hoping to expand our Artist Page to feature more talented creatives. Some people manage to elevate their work to the level of an artform, and we want to support their efforts.
I’ll have more streaming and reading recommendations. “What’s in a Word?” will be back but we’ll be alternating some of our content. We’ll continue the monthly quizzes to exercise our brains, and we’ll continue reviewing books.
For the time being, I’m holding off on a new subscription-based Patreon account featuring short stories and chapter installments of my books as I write them. I also hoped to provide opportunities for book discussions and narrations of short stories. It’s something I want to do, but pesky life keeps getting in the way. When and if this happens, it will remain separated from our online magazine which will always be free and available to everyone. I’m considering the Patreon option because traditional and Indy publishing have changed so drastically in recent years. Now that AI has entered the equation, more changes are coming.
Stay safe. Stay well. You are important, and you are loved.
All my best,
Fran
Answers to the “What Grows There Quiz?”
1. Peas, seeds for cooking oils, dry beans, dry peas Iowa
2. Rice, spinach, peanuts, pears Texas
3. Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, lettuce Alaska
4. Tomatoes, maple syrup Ohio
5. Oats, sunflowers/seeds South Dakota
6. Sugar beets, hay, barley, dry edible beans Wyoming
7. Plantains, coffee, bananas, sweet potatoes Puerto Rico
8. Apples, mushrooms, peaches, grapes, oats Pennsylvania
9. Tomatoes, melons, pumpkins, beans Indiana
10. Apples, Maple syrup, leafy greens, hay, squash New Hampshire
11. Chile Peppers, peanuts, pecans New Mexico
12. Peanuts, hay Alabama
13. Tomatoes, snap beans, pumpkins Tennessee
14. Cranberries, maple syrup, apples, squash/pumpkins, sweet corn Massachusetts
15. Grapes, almonds, pistachios, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, citrus fruits California
16. Sweet corn, potatoes, lettuce. apples, tomatoes Rhode Island
17. Peanuts, pecans, peaches, blueberries Georgia
18. Apples, honey, maple syrup Vermont
19. Dry edible beans (kidney, pinto, navy, red, black turtle, pink and Cranberry) North Dakota
20. Potatoes, melons, beans, spinach Maryland
21. Alfalfa, potatoes, onions, garlic Nevada
22. Apples, watermelon Delaware
23. Potatoes, hazel nuts, grapes, mint, onions, berries Oregon
24. Tart cherries, seed oils, apricots, peaches, apples, sweet corn, pumpkins
Utah
25. Lettuce, alfalfa, melons Arizona
26. Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries, melons, pumpkins North Carolina
27. Cranberries, tart cherries, apples, pumpkins, carrots, snap beans, green peas Wisconsin
28. Potatoes, barley, hay Colorado
29. Potatoes, sugar beets, oats Minnesota
30. Peanuts, watermelon, cantaloupes South Carolina
31. Rice (#1 in the nation), grain sorghum Arkansas
32. Potatoes, apples, cherries, grapes, pears, raspberries Washington
33. Oranges, other citrus fruits, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries Florida
34. Peanuts, seed oils, sorghum, oats, pears Oklahoma
35. Macadamias, sugar cane, coffee, taro, bananas, pineapples Hawaii
36. Apples, peaches, grapes, pumpkins, potatoes Virginia
37. Potatoes, sunflowers/seeds Kansas
38. Rice, grain sorghum Missouri
39. Potatoes, apples, tart cherries, sweet corn, maple syrup New York
40. Potatoes, peppermint, sugar beets, apples, peaches, cherries Idaho
41. Sweet potatoes, sugar cane, rice Louisianna
42. Potatoes, sorghum, sugar beets, edible dry beans Nebraska
43. Apples, maple syrup, hay Connecticut
44. Pumpkins, seed oils, dry beans, dry peas Illinois
45. Potatoes, wild blueberries, apples, maple syrup Maine
46. Lentils, chickpeas, dry peas, sugar beets, alfalfa Montana
47. Bell peppers, tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, sweet potatoes New Jersey
48. Potatoes, blueberries, grapes, cherries, peaches, apples, sugar beets Michigan
49. Sweet potatoes, peanuts, pears Mississippi
50. Apples, hay, peaches, leafy greens, peppers West Virginia
51. Hay, hemp, canola, tomatoes, potatoes, apples Kentucky