Autumn

Above: The sycamore at the bottom of the garden looking a bit sad.

Let me preface this by saying that I do not particularly like the dark half of the year. I am quite literally a summer child as I was born during the longest days of midsummer. Once the summer solstice has passed I start to feel anxious about the coming darker months, which is a bit silly I admit as there’s still July and August to go, though in August I can feel the approaching autumn and it gives me the willies. The clocks have just gone back to GMT which means that it is dark by teatime and I hate it. It is a little lighter in the morning when I get up but in a couple of weeks it’ll be dark then too. I do know though, that from the clocks going back it is only 8 weeks to the winter solstice and the days will start to draw out again and I cling onto this fact like it’s a life raft.

I do like the idea of autumn, the changing colours of the leaves, the crisp mornings and all of that but, sadly, where I am currently it is just grey, wet and a bit bleak. Still, I do have to get through it and I would rather do it cheerfully (with gritted teeth maybe) than by wallowing in despair. I have my high strength vitamin D this year which I am hoping will be helpful and there are the bright lights and delicious foods of the festive season to look forward to (mostly the foods though, let’s be real here).

Above: We do get some interesting sunsets at this time of year though (when the clouds clear).

That was quite a long preface actually, I need to crack on.

The weather has been a bit all over the place, there was a dry spell but that has been replaced by almost constant rain. There was a named storm a week or so ago which nearly finished off the leaves on the sycamore at the bottom of the garden. One more good gust and it’ll be as bald as a badger.

Above: The garden path being swallowed up by leaves. I have since cleared these up btw.

A few plants I have do come into their own at this time of year, the dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) has bright red stems which almost glow in the wet weather. I saw a bee on the ivy yesterday but by the time I’d grabbed my phone to get a picture it had gone. Google tells me it was an ivy bee which are an autumnal species. My fuchsia is covered in flowers weirdly; it was bought as an annual plant about four/five years ago and is still going strong. Also there is some cracking moss growing, that’s probably to do with all the rain.

Above L-R: Moss growing on a brick; dogwood stems; ivy "flowers".

Above: Fuchsia in October.

I have purchased a few little treats because why not? CultPens were having a 5 for 4 across most of their inks so I grabbed a couple (well five obviously) including the delightfully seasonal Pumpkin Shimmer. It is bright orange and has a gold sheen to it which unfortunately didn’t come through in the photo I took. I’ve filled up my favourite pen with it. I have added to my collection of 1970s smoked glassware with a beautiful water jug and three glasses. I am okay with there only being the three glasses as I have quite a few already, I tend to buy them whenever I see them on eBay. I saw this cute little memo pad in T.K.Maxx and as a lifelong Snoopy fan I had to get it. As an aside has anybody else been disappointed by T.K.Maxx's Hallowe'en offerings this past couple of years?

Above L-R: Shimmery ink; 1970s glassware; Snoopy memo pad, too cute.

Above: My favourite ink pen, (it's a Benu Briolette with a medium nib.)

I’ve also added to my collection of second-hand knitting books, this pile was the first of a two-part order there’s also a couple of Kaffe Fassett books. I can’t believe how obsessed I am with Kaffe Fassett as I wear 98% black clothes (the other 2% is the white stripes on my black and white striped shirt). But his coat patterns are fantastic and I desperately want to knit the Romeo and Juliet coat in dark colours. I am currently knitting the Lauren jumper by Elizabeth Lavold, it’s coming along but it’s in moss stitch and boy is that some slow work.

Above: Second hand knitting books, I have become obsessed with old Rowan books and Kaffe Fassett.

Above: Current work in progress, it's knit side-to-side in moss stitch. Yarn is Yarnsmiths Pebble Haze it is a DK cotton/acrylic blend.

I have finished off a pair of spooky pyjama bottoms which I cut out a year ago (it might be two if I’m being honest), I confused myself over the pockets and put it into hibernation. The problem was largely that I was sewing on an overlocker because I didn’t think my sewing machine could cope with the stretch fabric. I have since discovered all the stretch stitches that it can do and I cracked on and finished them. They are sooo comfy, and having a leg cuff means that they don’t ride up, I love them. I’m going to make a daytime pyjama from some stretch velour stuff that I have stashed.

Above: Super comfy jimjams! Pattern is Simplicity S9020

I have started cooking a bit more, I tend to live on salads in the warmer months but they won’t do for this time of year. I had a crack at a lentil soup last night, I’m never sure whether or not I like lentils. I like the idea of them but they can taste a bit muddy sometimes. Anyway this soup was delicious, couldn’t believe how good it was, that’s definitely going to be a winter staple I think. I had it with the cheesy bread as seen in the summer catch up post post.

Above L-R: Egg fried rice with vegetables and prawns; everyday brownies (I call them everyday because they use store cupboard ingredients. I thought they'd be a bit rubbish just using cocoa and no block chocolate but they are delicious); lentil soup.

I have also made some mincemeat for the festive mince pies, it’s ridiculously easy to make and I much prefer it to shop bought, it’s much less sweet and I put orange zest and juice in to lift it a bit.

Above: Mincemeat! Cannot wait to make mince pies with it.

I have some things to say about Instagram but I think that can be another post as this one is getting quite long so I’ll just chuck in a couple more photos to finish this off.

Above: This wee bugger had made its web right across the path, luckily I saw it from the back door and didn't walk through it and spend the rest of the day wearing a spider.

Above: Rainbows! One of my favourite things to see. Left is a morning one from the front of the house and right is an afternoon one from the back.

Above: The robin who has still not quite figured out how to use a seed feeder.

Above: Amazing sunset.

Above: I'll leave you with one of my favourite photos from the past month. It was raining but the sun was shining and it was lighting up the raindrops. This is taken from my back door.