Wednesday 13 September 2017

Autumn Lamentations . . .



In the other gardens,
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires,
See the smoke trail.

Pleasant summer over,
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall.
~Robert Louis Stevenson 


It seems in an awful hurry to get here this year.  The temperatures have definitely dropped and the wind is blowing rain against the windows this morning.  Everything has a definitive autumnal feel to it.  Today I am embracing Autumn . . . despite the rain and wind, there is so much more to love about this time of year than there is to mourn! 

  

Yes to dancing leaves!  Skittering across the pavement, they make a joyful sound as they flounce here and there and whirl and twirl, skating upon the very music of the air. I love the changing colours of the leaves.  I first noticed them beginning to change about the time I noticed the days getting decidedly shorter and now it is unmistakable.  The change is upon us.  I think that the Horse Chestnut trees are the first to really show it. 


They blaze along the roadway down to the main road which leads to the retail park . . . . the green prickly shells of their fruit beginning to split and shed the conkors to the ground.  They are a child's delight, although I think that Health and Safety have now banned the playing of conkers on school grounds and mores the pity.  I cannot ever recall anyone being blinded or truly hurt by the playing of conkers, but then again, I might have lived too sheltered a life?  I don't know . . . 


Landeelou has a lovely fall printable collection available to grace your walls and mantles.  Tis the season for Thankfulness for our good harvests and many blessings.  I, in particular, am thankful for our Autumn Church Conference which will be broadcast at the end of this month.  I so love the feeling of togetherness and anticipation that attends it. It is nice to feel a part of something large and to hear our leaders speak to us.  I can't wait to hear what they have to say! 


This is definitely the season of orange . . .  mums and  crysanthemums abound in their bright coats, and sunflowers blaze . . . orange pumpkins and squashes lay ripening in the fields and all the corn is gathered in.  Over here they call wheat corn, which seemed quite odd to me when I first arrived, surely corn is corn after all . . .  but it's not, not here at any rate. What was always corn to me, is called sweet corn . . . . and corn is wheat.   

Down at the Manor she had a dedicated crysanthemum and dahlia garden.  The blooms were gorgeously magnificent.  Every colour under the sun . . .  but I confess I am partial to the reds and golds.  They sing the song of my autumn loving heart  . . . 


I think they are the most magnificent of flowers . . .  they don't just bloom . . .  they seem to burst, like fireworks . . . so beautiful  . . . 

  

Out come the cardigans and wool socks.  Warmer coats get aired and dry cleaned, we start thinking about putting the flannel sheets back onto the beds and filling the gas cannisters . . .  I want to get in more candles.  There is something so very comforting about a room lit by nothing but candles and lanterns . . .  fairy lights . . . flickering fires in the hearth and the smells attendant upon such things  . . . I bought apples the other day. Two bags . . .  I am craving applesauce and apple cake and . . .  apple pies and crumbles.  Todd saw them and his eyes lit up.  Could it be he suggested that an apple pie was in his future?  Dare he hope?  I said he might well do, although in all truth he has gone on and waxed so poetically through the years about the magnificence of his mother's apple pies that I do think mine could never ever hold a candle to them  . . . 

But that is no reason not to try.
I suppose
...

 

I love the colour of this nail varnish . . . its kind of a brownish, orangy red.  Cinnamon!  I think it is the colour of cinnamon and autumn is such a cinnamon coloured season.  I am going to look for some of this colour.  I hope that I can find it.  We have to go out today to pick up a few things and I am going to ask Todd to take me to Boots and see . . .  but I also saw the cutest little pumpkin votive holder on Instagram this morning that was calling to me.  I may need to go and look for one of those also  . . .   

Can you tell I am feeling it!
This autumn air is getting
into my soul!


This is the candle votive holder I saw, on The Pink Rose Fairy on Instagram.  You need to follow her.  How could you not follow someone with a name like that.  Everything cottagy  . . .  right up my cottage loving alley . . .  She got it at Homesense.  I don't think they have Homesense over here . . .  but I might be able to find something similar . . .  oh, I do dream on don't I?

and in the meantime, yesterday I made
a batch of Roasted Root Vegetable Soup.
and it was very,
very, good.

Recipe to follow soon.


Its almost time to canoodle.   Warm lap robes.  Fire blazing.  Hot cocoa.  Sappy films.  I love this time of year.  I really do.  The light changes.  The evenings begin to draw in and we get to turn the lamps on . . . there is something very homey about having the lamps on  . . . you don't get the same feeling from having them on in July or August that you get from having them on in September . . . 

You really don't.

  

And yesterday as I was pottering about in the kitchen, I had the back door cracked open a little bit and I could hear the children from the elementary school down the way playing in the school yard.  Oh, there is something so lovely about listening to children at play.  It is such a cheerful sound.  When we were in Kent, we also had a school just down the hill from us that afforded me that beautiful sound each day during the school year.  I quite missed that song during the school holidays.

  I hope that I always live within the sound 
of school yard music
... 


I have fruit cakes on my mind  . . .  I think I need to bake one.  Todd really loves fruit cake and I have not made one in ever such a long time.  I won't make a Christmas one . . .  just a normal ordinary day kind of a fruit cake.  Maybe a boiled raisin cake. He will love that.  It might take his mind off of apple pies . . . 


Oh that I had those last pair of shoes . . . 

I don't have the kind of feet for those kinds of shoes now  . . .  my feet are stubby and swollen and flat and full of bunions and things.  I don't think that I have ever had pretty, want to show them to the world . . . feet.  That is probably one of the reasons I have never had a pedicure.  Don't want to show my feet to anyone.  But I would love that scarf . . . I think I need to get knitting, but first  . . . 

I have to sort the craft room.
Sigh.
...

Any voluteers?

hah!

  

I was talking on the telephone to my friend Tina yesterday and lamenting on how much I would love to be going on long walks this time of year.  Not in the wind and rain of course, but on an Indian Summer kind of a day.  I think that the next sunny day we have we are going to take ourselves up to the Horseshoe pass and have lunch . . .  just let the cobwebs be blown from my mind.  Take in the scenery of the Welsh Valleys below . . . just be together and away from here.  I cannot believe that we let the whole summer pass and went . . . . NO . . .  WHERE!  We had such plans, but not to worry.

Autumn is here and it is a time for
new beginnings
...

According to F Scott Fitzgerald that is!
and who am I to argue with 
a
literary genius!


The magic hour is chiming . . .

 

Its here and I'm wearing it and it's gorgeous.
I feel engaged all over again.
Its lovely.
For time and all eternity.
♥♥♥ 

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .  


.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~\。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★

 *.˛.°Summer ends, and Autumn comes, 
and he who would have it otherwise 
would have high tide always and 
a full moon every night; and thus 
he would never know the rhythms 
that are at the heart of life. 
~Hal Borland  •。★★ 。* 。.° * 。 

Spiritual Enlightenment


 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Autumn Pork Chop Dinner.  Deliciously perfectly sized just for two people and in all truth you could downsize it to one, or upsize it for more.  Layers of cabbage, potato, green beans, topped with a chop and oven simmered in apple juice until tender, and then topped with buttered crumbs and browned.  What's not to like??

Have a blissfilled Wednesday!  Don't forget!


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═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ 


And I do too!





7 comments:

  1. Morning Marie, trying to post earlier today..I don't know what it is about a day but it seems to pass so quickly that I seem to be thinking of bed time, not long after I'm up ...or so it seems. Thank you for reminding me of all the nice things Autumn brings us, I'm afraid I so dislike winter that Autumn reminds me winter is on its way ! Daft I know, there are some nice things in every season, I to love the wonderful Autumn colours and as I look out my window I can agree with the horse chestnut being first to show its colours there is a beauty I can see blowing in the wind this morning...what a wild night it has been, I can see a couple of rubbish bins have been blown along from the two end houses ! Thankfully mine has stayed put, although my bedroom window blew open during the night, thankfully I never heard it and it has something on it that only allows it to,open so far..... Hope you manage to get a drive out to see some of the lovely colours....but don't forget you did have a holiday away this year to lovely Scotland !!!......We restart our bible studies with our minister this afternoon, I left a message on a few members Facebook page to urge them to come along, so I wait in anticipation to see how many arrive at 2ok....have a lovely day yourself with Todd and lovely Mitzie Xxxx

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  2. Good morning Marie from my own computer. I decided to try it this morning and it worked. I am a happy and thankful girl. Yesterday was one of the hardest days for me ever. Mum has pushed me so hard and doesn't see what people are doing etc and is so hard on everyone.

    Miss Mia has settled into the house I think. Miss Beth is so bonded with Mia that she wants to be here all the time. So we are already juggling visits etc. Most spectacularly Miss Pip, 6 days post delivery, is back into her pre pregnancy jeans.

    I especially love your quote about the leaves. That is pretty rare here and oh so special. I am really happy that I have had a few days of winter in the UK and Europe. Because winter has pretty much skipped this year. Although is quite cool here today and I am determined to enjoy it. I love to here children play. WE have 6 schools in the area. One school is three schools combined. It makes a lot of pressure to keep children safe but the pay off can be some of the happiest sounds.

    God bless us all.

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  3. Hi Marie. What a lovely post, I love Autumn too. We have candles all year round, they just make everything cosier. For the spring and summer we get tea lights from Wilkinsons. They're about £3 for 100 and they last about three and a half hours. When the nights are longer we get them from Inspirations. They have ones that last 8 hours, can't remember how much they are now. Have you ever been to Inspirations in Bromborough? If not I am going to take you when they put their Christmas stock out, you will love it!!!

    And yes, I volunteer!! I love housework but I love de-cluttering even more. You have been warned, I'm ruthless!!

    I'm actually doing the flat from top to bottom this week as Ive got all the family coming round on Saturday to celebrate my 60th. Its not my birthday till the following Saturday but we will be away then. I'll have Sunday to get the flat back to normal and Monday to pack as we're leaving early Tuesday morning.

    Your ring looks lovely, hope you get your nail varnish. Lot's of love xxx

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  4. There are so many lovely things to like about Autumn as there are with all the seasons, but saying goodbye to summer is always difficult for me. I'll miss all these lovely days of warmth and light. Particularly the sunshine. We get so many dark and gloomy days ! It's nice the leaves do turn such brilliant colors before they fall. Hope you do get a chance to go out and enjoy a warm fall day and view them. Have a wonderful Wednesday !

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  5. Wow, those flowers are beautiful Marie! I love the dark vibrant colors too! It seems like the leaves are prettier this year. I put out only a few decorations, bc the walls have to be painted. I don't like to paint but I love the results afterwards.

    I love listening to the kids playing and singing too, but not screaming. There's one little girl that likes to scream and they don't correct her! It's not good bc you never know if she's hurt or not.
    I use to love listening to the twins when they were younger. Desi and I would listen in the hallway and peek in their bedroom trying to be quiet. I never thought to tape them.

    I love ur ring and also love that nail polish! I need to polish my nails again. This color reminds me of my first car I bought. The only brand new car I owned! The color was burnt orange.

    If I lived near you, I would definitely come to ur house and organize ur craft room.

    Big hugs and prayers!

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  7. Oh my dear friend, you brought fall right into my home this day just with our words and photos. Our temperatures are starting to drop so it is coming. For my sweet husband it's football in the air time. For me it is Hallmark movies and hot chocolate. I do love this season and it brings so many memories and just that nostalgia feeling. I'm going to get my hubby to get my fall deocrations down tomorrow.
    We only have two weeks left on our mission as of today and we have a lot to do. I'm having a lot of the bitter sweet type of feeling as we complete this wonderful experperience. I know you can relate to that.
    Love you much! Hugs~!

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