October 2012

Mmmmmmmm, a bowl of steaming hot porridge with sultanas, chopped banana and a generous drizzle of golden syrup. That was my lunch today, I had such a terrific craving for it at lunch time and it was absolutely delicious, so cosy and warming, real comfort food on a cold, rainy day.

The light levels have been so, so low here this week, with heavy grey skies and intermittent rain. At the weekend our clocks went back an hour, so no more Summer Time and such an early close-of-the-curtains in the evening now too. Our lamps are working hard, both in the early morning and throughout the evening, and I have a makeover in mind for our old, plain cream Ikea job there. I'm thinking something decopatchy to match my dining table lampshade, but with extra crochet and button trim pizazz. I am also thinking about a stripy crochet wrap-around for the stick bit of the lamp, ha! It's gonna be a bit whacky! I can see it very clearly in my Minds Eye, so watch this space....

The blankets are working hard too, their workload goes hand in hand with the lamps. Which reminds me, I really must get round to finishing off the ripple. It just needs a bit of a border putting in place but I've been procrastinating over it and doing other things instead. It bothers me that it's over a year since I started it, and yet it hasn't had it's moment of ta-dah glory yet cos of the missing border thingy. So slack of me I know. Soon though.

One thing about this time of year that I really love is the way that the Little People come back to their indoor pursuits. The bad weather and dark evenings force them to play more indoors, and although this suits Little Lady very nicely, the boys struggle a little. But it's been a really nice thing about summer's end (for me anyway), and I've been encouraging all sorts of creative pursuits. Colouring books have come out, new sketch pads and pens have been purchased, spirograph has been given a whirl and recently the hama beads have been rediscovered. One very happy Mumma here, as I love to watch my Little Peeps busy with their creative fingers.

The Very Large Tub of Lego has been back in action too, much to Little B's delight. He's still a bit young to really build with the small lego, but he's not bothered so long as he can somehow be included. As you can see, he just tends to jig around on the periphery making lots of excited chatter, but it seems to keep him very happy. He is also very accomplished at Lego Demolition, and will dismantle a carefully built vehicle with alarming dexterity. All good fun.

Crochet is not in any way a seasonal pursuit for me as you well know, but I do really have a major crush with blanket making at this time of year. It just fits the Autumn season so perfectly, especially if there is a crackling fire nearby and a hot mug of tea to hand. I am still working slowly on my Granny Patchwork blanket, fitting a few squares in whenever I get chance. The funny thing is that I started this blanket as a way of de-stashing my Stylecraft leftovers, and of course the inevitbale has happened and I am running out of the stuff. Ahhh, shame, it looks like I shall have to restock in order to complete the de-stash project, does this count as a success or a failure?!

I am still wholeheartedly addicted to my monthly magazines, and have been enjoying the Autumn editions very much. Usually I find they get me down a little with all the brown and all the indoorsy stuff, but I am finding them inspiring and cosy this year. I particularly enjoyed Sarah Raven's write up about tulips in the November issue of Country Living...I am very inspired to try this exact planting scheme of hers in some big pots.

I've been thoroughly enjoying my little garden posies throughout October, such a sweet and colourful reminder of Summer. Sometimes I have them on the dining table, sometimes, beside my bed and sometimes (like now) in the bathroom. Wherever they end up, they bring so much joy to a room, even though the ink bottle is only small and the snips of flowers very modest.

This picture was taken a few weeks ago, the Prosecco cork a sweet reminder of a 4pm Friday celebration with friends when The Results were through. Very happy to report that Little Man passed the 11+ exam and will be heading to an extremely well respected boys grammar school next September. Happiness and utter relief all round. Silly 11+ system.

October often feels like a transitional month, with one light foot still in Summer camp, and one woolly-socked foot in Autumn camp. We did have a couple spells of bright sunny weather in October, although the memory of them is buried under the general damp mist and rain that hung around for much of the month. I stopped hanging out my laundry to dry in September when the window-fitting men dismantled my washing line, but my neighbours across the back street are still hanging theirs. The view of my elderly neighbours pyjamas and underpants is an oddly comforting sight, although I'm not sure I should really admit to that. A laundry-filed washing line just speaks of cosy domesticity, and I always delight in seeing it.

The colours of Autumn are very evident in my neighbourhood now.

Our walk to school has become a leafy affair, and on dry days we delight in much kicking and shuffling through piles of fallen leaves. I often think that when you are a parent of small children, it's quite wonderful to suddenly find you can legitimately do all these things again...running and jumping through leaves, splashing in puddles, singing as you walk, balancing along low walls. Little B has re-introduced this simple, physical fun back into my daily life which I am rather grateful for.

We are so, so lucky living here in that we have a really beautiful piece of woodland just a stones throw from the town centre. It's owned and managed by the Woodland Trust and offers a really wonderful reflection of the seasons. I think my favourite time to walk here is in May when the wild garlic is in full bloom, but October comes a close second. Many of the trees here are beech trees, and their coppery golden leaves at this time of year are beautiful.

We walked in the woods a few Sundays ago, a lovely family walk on a sunny morning. Little B absolutely loved it, striding out in his new wellies, enjoying the outdoors and his favourite pursuit of poking a stick into muddy puddles. I took some lovely photographs on this day, I'll share them with you sometime soon before the memory is lost.

I am declaring October to be the official Month of Cheese. Since returning from France, I've had a renewed love of cheese and have been eating it often at lunch time with a bit of crusty bread and butter. I am back with the English cheeses though (on the left is Five Counties, on the right is Wensleydale with apricots), but I think I need to be more adventurous with my Cheese Appreciation lunches. Tomorrow I am going to go and search out some gooey French cheese to remind me of my week away.

Been trying to counterbalance the Month of Cheese with some healthy snacking, especially as my jeans are only just do-uppable at the moment. I do need to shed a bit of excess weight that has accumulated during the course of this year, but darn it, it is baking season now (as well as the cheese thingy) so not sure if I am capable of any dieting malarkey till nearer springtime.

October has also brought about my seasonal candle obsession too, like the lamps and the blankets it's a natural reaction to the lowering light levels at this time of year. I love candles, they never fail to make me feel all sort of cosy and mmmmmmmmm.

Autumn love extends to my faithful hot water bottle, brought out of it's summer sleep sometime last month and now pressed into nightly service down by my feet. I cannot bare to have cold feet in bed, they keep me awake and make me fidget, but I don't like to be too overly hot in bed either (electric blankets are not for me). I love my hot water bottle ritual. Yeah, it's the cosy-mmmmm thing for sure.

Halloween yesterday, did you celebrate it where you live? We do, in a fairly low key way that involves a few spiders and some suitable chocolates. Oh, and definitely always a pumpkin too.....

....I wish I was showing you a picturesque pile of pumpkins on an organic farm or something, but have to admit that this is just the local supermarket. Still glorious though, aren't they?

J actually took it upon himself to purchase the pumpkin a few days in advance of halloween, and he chose a very sweet little specimen for us. He said he picked it cos of the shape and smooth skin (good, good) but the diminutive size of it seemed to have escaped him. I had a little laugh when he got it out of the bag, he was a tad offended I think. But still, we had a family pow-wow over the design, and I set to work.......

....very pleased. Scary but fun. I am not one of those Mums who can leave it to the offspring I am afraid. I did allow them to carry out a little bit of scraping-out (and in Little B's case, some experimental tasting of the seeds), but the carving fun was mine-all-mine.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo spooky! We had a fun but rather wet trick-or-treat outing around our neighbourhood last night, but it was really good. We taught Little B to say "Hap-py Hall-weeeeeen!" and he delighted all the houses we visited. Sweet, sweet boy (he was dressed as a skeleton this year), he is impossibly cute.

Octobers Attic view has seen Summer depart and Autumn arrive.

The moorland is wearing it's parched, dry grass look, and the bracken which covers the side of the hill has now turned brown.

Definitely Autumnal.....

....but the beautiful light at this time of year helps make up for the browness.

So that's October then, all done and dusted and behind us for another year. I'm hoping that November will be a gentle month of homely pursuits as my nesting instinct has finally kicked in (a little late this year, it's usually a September thing for me). So I shall be donning my apron and getting down to some serious housekeeping during these next few weeks. I expect that I will feel a pressing need to tell you all about it. Bet you can't wait.

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Comments

[Clare]

My heart leaps up when I behold,
Some washing on the line

I am so pleased to hear I'm not the only one who feels this way!

[Karen]

Hi Lucy, I love your blog, it's fab!
Where do you manage to buy such lovely buttons and beads?

[Dawn]

I sincerely hope I'll never lose my pleasure in kicking through piles of leaves, and searching out the crunchy ones to jump on. I introduced a 23 year old friend to this pleasure only a few weeks ago.. How can someone reach their 20's without crunching leaves?!

[Mel]

I thought the same as Rachell. Sue over at The Quince Tree had forewarned us about the programme and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Seeing your canal in moving colour made me smile.

[Rachell]

Watching a prog called Food in England on bbc4 and Skipton features including a grammar school's headmasters daughter who wrote a history of food book. Fascinating. I wonder if this is your son's future school...?

[Em]

Hi Lucy

I was just wondering if you are going to post your Bower Bird pattern before christmas? I would like to make a pair of lovebirds for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary on Dec 22nd.

Thanks for your years of inspiration,
Em
(Yarnoholic)

[Vee]

http://crochet-plaisir.over-blog.com/article-coussin-granny-et-son-pas-a-pas-en-images-au-crochet-106538672.html look at this!!

[Lorena]

Wow , you have been busy!
Regards!
Lorena

[Adrianne]

Aww, looks all war and cosy again. I saw you bought tulip bulbs. Did you know that one of our princesses (sister of our queeen) is named Irene and that Irene means Peace. peaceful>

Just wanted you to know.

Love your work (still)

Best wishes,
Adrianne

www.pieterpeuter.nl
www.teenyweenydesign.etsy.com

[Amanda Thornton]

love these autumn photos! The moorland is gorgeous, even if it is wearing a brown coat ;)

here is my recent blog post, featuring my current knit and some pumpkin spice bread: http://www.thorntonjournal.blogspot.com/2012/11/im-morning-person-now.html

[Gniewka Racimirowa]

I love your photos - so much color, so optymistic :)

[Kay G.]

Lucy,
I just did a link to you on my last post.
I was because of your photo of the CHEESES!
Also, I wanted to tell you that I really wish I had your hot water bottle with the polka dots!

[Angela-Southern U.S.A.]

Lovely post,as usual. Still in that transitional stage here,warm,then nippy and back.Gathering the last items from the garden,sweet potatoes and fruit, apples, persimmons,trading for walnuts and pecans.Raking leaves,washing windows,still hangin laundry,for now.Congrats to L.M.and the jack o'lanturn looks great,mine like to do the carving themselves(posted some pics of Halloween decor,witches lair,Flickr)Trying to stay out of all the candy...so hard! ;) Yes,looking forward to the "tah-da" on your ripple.OH!and the cheese looks de-vine!Let's not discuss housekeeping!..so much to catch up on...a mothers work is never done.Have a good one!

[Gillian]

Lovely post - I like how much you celebrate the little things. I adore this time of year. Despite training for a run I have gained some weight but cannot think of dieting in the run up to Christmas - that is wrong, surely?? It can wait to new year! xx

[GretchenCantoni]

Our Halloween trick or treating will be done this Sunday (tomorrow for me) as Sandy upset a few things. It will be early from 4-6 so the children have some light. I must admit I don't quite understand the British school system. Ours is fairly straight forward and the kids go pre-k, Kindergarten, 1st thru 6 grades and then to middle school which is either 6 to 8, or 7to9. Then onto High School 9thru12 and onto college if they choose to do so. Mine are all out of school and onto their own lives now. Whew!! Those homework days are long!!! Bless you!!!

[Lexi]

I love this post - all these beautiful Autumnal colours! Well done to your little one on the results, too.

[Fiona]

What a lovely look back at your month. I've so enjoyed reading it and looking at all the lovely pictures. I feel that my Autumn hasn't really happened this year as I am the size of a house and feel very restricted in all that I do so it's lovely to read about other people's activities. Well done to little man on the 11+ pass. We have the grammar school system in our area too(S teaches at a Grammar in fact) so we will have to deal with the dreaded exams too at some point in the future although no doubt it will have changed by the time F and no.2 get to that stage. Looking forward to hearing about your housekeeping activities in November. Fiona x

[Joyce Stewart]

Lucy, lovely posts recently (but aren't they all -yes!) - just wanted to send my congratulations to Little Man (not so little now really) on his passing the 11+.
Honestly there is so much hoo ha about this exam. Over here in Northern Ireland the children will be doing the exam this month and the results don't come out until February I think. Our two boys both did it and passed. The younger boy went to primary school here and they didn't prepare the children for it normally as they just progressed to the secondary school. So the Head of the primary school took it upon himself to prepare our son as we wanted him to attend Grammar School. There are the two opinions on this. My own opinion on the 11+ is this. How are our children going to cope with other situations in life which need stress to be dealt with if they cannot learn at an early age to cope with 'exams' in any form. Life is an exam every day LOL!! It prepares them for GCSE's and A-Levels and all sorts of situations in front of them in the years to come. In some ways children are too much mollycodled....I'll probably not be popular for saying all of this but it is my humble opinion.
Best wishes to you all...it is very good news indeed.

[Janette]

Lovely to continue reading your delightful blog Lucy. Blanket making is a must this time of the year - I agree! However I'm nearing the end of making myself something for once, a luxurious crochet scarf in a bobble stitch called 'Blackberry Salad Stitch' in a light mossy green to go with a coat. Can't quite believe how well it has come out! " books that I absolutely adore - and you may too, are both by Good Housekeeping. 1. Crochet Designs - An illustrated pocket guide to over 80 beautiful patterns 2. Crochet - An illustrated pocket guide to over 90 beautiful patterns. They sound virtually similar titles but are different, trust me! Janette

[Elisa]

Wow I am sooooooooo behind with my blog reading, it seems you had a magical time in France and I loved your Birdie Ta-Da it was delish!! Great photos I felt like I had taken a trip with you to Provence.

A lovely October posting too, great to see your wintery goodies and I too adore porridge with a drizzle of honey...but I am going to try the addition of banana sound scrummy.

My crocheting is coming along well, well let's be honest I am totally addicted to it....granny blankets for the little lady's bed and dolly pram are the current projects....looking forward to keeping up with you through the chilly days...{{{hugs}}} Elisa x

[val]

just reading this post made me feel all warm and cozy and ready for bed. The only problem is that it is only 10 am here and I've work to do!

[Becky Ganzhorn]

Only just found your blog today, charming. I love your colors and sensibilities. Congrats for your son.
Whenever i read about, see or hang laundry out, i am reminded of a rich little book by Kathleen Norris: The Quotidian Mysteries. If you haven't read it, i recommend it to you... Joy in the simple routines of daily life.
So glad to have found your gentle, lovely blog.
Now, to read your earlier posts... Peace, b

[bellaboo]

Pumpkins,colourful blankets,porridge and candles...what a lovely Autumny post!

Love my hottie too!

Bellaboo x

[Vane]

I love your blog so much. Always i come back here. Thanks for the colors, thanks for the light, thanks for the crochet, thanks for the moments... thanks from the heart.

[Marilyn]

Lovely post from your breakfast at lunch to a view of Autumn from the attic. I am wanting to explore cheese more also, in fact have been looking for a good Wensleydale. Oh yes, we did celebrate Halloween with goblins and witches at our door for candy.