Blogtober 2023 :: Day 23

Blogtober Day 23 :: Monday

Another slow, quiet, pottering sort of a day for me as I slowly try and find my way back from the "emotional jetlag". I wore my hand knit socks and boots for the first time this season and enjoyed having that cosy-toes feeling all day.

It's peek hydrangea time right now - I know they flower through the summer but I much prefer the richness of them in autumn. The one shown here is across the road in my neighbours front garden and it's an absolutely gorgeous shade of pinky red. The colours really caught my eye this morning - do you remember me designing and making my Hydrangea blanket in 2017?

More floral colour caught my attention today, these wonderful little orange violas sitting outside the supermarket as I went to put the trolley back. It's not often you see orange violas, the colour was so vibrant and now I really wish I'd scooped a few pots up and dashed back into the shop to buy them. Maybe they'll still be there next time I go.

It's been a truly grey and murky day with very low light levels - this is honestly the worst kind of weather for me to cope with. I h-a-t-e  when the sky feels like it's pressing down on the landscape and my hill view disappears. I've not really wanted to be outside much today which is very unusual for me, the murk was not speaking nicely to me at all.

I spotted these very visually appealing little pumpkins in the supermarket, and I loitered around them for a while fighting the strong urge to buy them all and bring them home. I honestly wanted to adopt them, give them all a loving home where they could become part of the family. I had to force myself to walk away and concentrate on my actual shopping list.

When I got home, the cutey-patooty pumpkins were still on my mind so it seemed like the perfect time to get down on my hands and knees and enter into the under-eaves cupboard in the Attic where my seasonal guff boxes live.

Ahhh, that's better.....reunited with my tribe of crochet pumpkins once more, and no more thoughts of spending £10 to adopt a gang of real ones.

I made these pumpkins back in 2017 {Pumpkin Patch blog post} and they make me stupidly happy each year when I unpack them and get all autumnal.

Murky grey weather was actually the perfect kind of weather for carrying out some Seasonal faffery today. I cleared off my mantel and gave it a hefty spritz with some cleaner and a microfibre cloth, it was oh-so-very-dusty. 

I know you've seen these little cross stitch canvas pictures before, I've made four of them in total for each of the seasons and I love doing the swap over. Goodbye summer..........

.....and hellooooooo autumn!! These kits were designed by Cotton & Twine, I really love their cross stitch designs.

I made a little flat lay of the contents in my Autumn box - so many hand made treasures from past years which still make me so happy. Did you spot the new toadstool that I showed you on Day 6?

This card is also a new addition, it was sent to me by my Aunt on my birthday, isn't it delightful? I absolutely love it - it's an illustration by printmaker Kate Heiss, and you can can see more of her gorgeous work on her website ((here)).

A closer look at my collection of autumnal cuteness ready to adorn my mantel. The owls and the toadstool hoop are both past Craftpod makes, you can read more about the making of them ((here)).

Ahhhhh.....my beloved Autumn Garland.....what a joy it was to unpack it this afternoon. I love love love love love this thing!

I had a wonderful time creating my autumn mantel, quietly arranging and rearranging all the bits and bobs until I felt satisfied with how it looks.

And then to celebrate, I lit the fire and enjoyed a cup of tea with my feet up.

A nurturing kind of day, and exactly the kind of self-care I needed.

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Comments

[Beverley Farrow]

What an inspirational post Lucy, Thankyou 🍂 I equally love your ‘usual routine, nothing much happened today’ posts, they are just so honest and help the rest of us to remember that those days are ‘normal’. And there is always a little gem in there that reminds us that even the seemingly mundane days have something to celebrate. On the dark grey days I love to look at your colourful blogs and patterns - never underestimate how much joy you bring Lucy 💕

[Beverley]

Love your Autumn mantel display. It is really cheery.
Glad that you found somewhere that sounds so lovely for your dad and which allows you a little time to recharge yourself. Take care x

[CJ]

Gorgeous autumn decorations, that little striped father is utterly beautiful and I am always a fan of all things toadstool. I would have been tempted by the little pumpkins as well, especially that stripey one. One year, I grew the tiniest pumpkins, around three inches in diameter, from a plant that just popped up. They were stripey like that, I adored them and dotted them everywhere. CJ xx

[Autumn]

I have just gotten out my Halloween decorations- and in a few days, I'll switch them out for Thanksgiving decorations! There is something so relaxing and cozy about decorating for the seasons.

[Elizabeth]

Your mantel looks wonderful! I remember so many of those pieces and your posts whist making them. They're like old friends and it is nice to see them back out in the limelight. The brick fireplace is the perfect foil for all those warm autumn colors too. Your neighbor's hydrangea is just stunning -- love, love, love that color! Isn't it nice to just relax and play for awhile?

[Angel]

Hello Lucy! I haven't been commenting this month m
as my head has been too full of stressful stuff. I can assure you though that I have been diligently and quietly following along with what has been happening in your world! I look forward to your blog every day and I quietly wish and hope that October was miraculously extended until at least Christmas so that I could selfishly keep looking forward to your daily blogs! 🤣

So so sorry to hear about your Dad Lucy. It makes me sad thinking about it as I remember only too well what it was like when my mum was in the same situation. I'm glad that you're feeling a little better now that he is in care. Still hard I know. Doesn't life deliver some cruel blows.

Your excitement about unpacking your autumnal bits and pieces just leaps off the screen to me. I don't celebrate the seasons like you anymore. I want to, I just haven't found the time to make anything, so I'm living vicariously through you. When my kids were young we used to have an autumn table and at Easter we used to have an Easter egg tree where we used to hang their painted egg! 😍 I used to love it but for some reason I never carried on the traditions in my adult life.

Incidentally, going back to one of your earlier posts, we don't have rock here in NZ but I knew about it as so many English people that I know that have emigrated here would often reminisce about going to the seaside and buying rock! 😊

Thinking of you and hope you feel more refreshed and recovered from these last few weeks of emotional upset when you wake this morning ❤️🤗

[Kim]

Good to see you are taking care of yourself, the aging parent journey is so rough. Personally I can't believe your resilience - I would have given Blogtober the old heave ho this year if I were going through what you are with your Dad. I'm sure he will be very well cared for by the people who are professional and expert. Take care

[Julia]

I'm not a fan of murky, grey weather either. It sounds like you made the most of it though and had a rather cozy day. I love your crochet pumpkins and the autumn garland is so pretty and festive! Self-care is so important and I'm glad you took some time for yourself today. Thank you for posting for Blogtober. I've enjoyed visiting here each and every day. Your blog is always such a delightful one!

[Charlotte]

What a beautiful, colourful, cosy, pottering day; we should all have one occasionally. No, often! I love your beautiful autumn decorations, bright and uplifting without the subtle pressure of the Christmas ones to come... If you are tempted to buy and roast the squash (as I was, last week), the mid orange and plain silvery ones are delicious and full of flavour, the pretty striped green and yellow one was disappointingly tasteless - good for decoration! Cx

[Sue]

I've been posting the local journal in our village this morning and there are so many different coloured pumpkins on the doorsteps, they are really lovely. Lots of scary Halloween decorations to. I love your autumn display, I you continue to have some restful restorative days.

[Donna S]

I love a bit of faffery too! Love your mantel displays. I do the same in my lounge bay window. This weekend my granddaughter and I did our Halloween display. I love lights, especially now the darkness descends! We had the same skies down south today.

[Sally Spragg]

Gorgeous! Just the sort of day you needed!xx

[Sue Wheeldon]

I worry about myself sometimes - why do I want a 'Nature Table' at my advanced age?! Why do I have conkers and sweet chestnuts as part of my display?
Why do some of my neighbours have pristine homes where nobody appears to live when I am surrounded by stuff and am never more than inches away from a ball of yarn and a crochet hook?
My granddaughter ( now 12, Lucy) has just spent the most lovely weekend with me so I could (wrongly) make her the excuse! I sometimes think I'm wired wrongly!!😂

[Veronica Howard]

Brilliant photos and so pleased you are looking after yourself self care is necessary. Love your autumn bits and pieces and garland. Thank you for the beautiful pictures yesterday

[Teresa Ford]

Your autumn display look absolutely lovely it's time for you to relax and put your feet up and cosy up by the fire. You have gone through so much over the last couple of weeks. Please take care of your own health