Slow November

Brrrrrrr, it's cold here in Atticland right now and dare I say it feels more like winter than autumn. We've had some hard frosts and this morning the first teeeeeny little flakes of snow swirled about in the wind.

It's mostly been wet and grey (of course it has, this seems to be the November default setting), but when the sun has decided to pay us a visit it has been glorious.

We walked through the woods on Saturday morning - 9.30 am in the above photos - and this is a surprise because not one but two teenage offspring were with us. It's rare that they are up and about this early on a weekend morning, and truly a very happy occurrence when they both decided to come out with us with no persuasion needed. Ok, yes there was the promise of breakfast in the café after our walk and Saturday market shop, but I do believe they weren't really bribed on this occasion. Totally of their own accord, I swear. 

The treetops are mostly bare now....

...but the wind was bringing down the remaining few leaves in a beautiful swirl of golden colour. I managed to catch one before it hit the ground and closed my eyes to make a wish, because that's a rule that can't be broken. Goodness knows what I must have looked like dancing around under the tree trying to catch a falling leaf, but I was so happy when I managed it. It's way harder than you would think. 

Reflections are still very much my thing, I just can't stop loving them. And trees reflected in water, well that's my second favourite type of reflection (clouds always have the number one spot).

An upside to the bareness of the branches in November is the sudden increase in light levels in the woodland. Usually this spot is very shady and so it's rather lovely to see The Huntress doing  a bit of sunbathing.

Saturday morning market shopping was great as always, and my best buy were hands down these kiwi fruits. You maybe can't tell the scale from the photo but they are petite, and my goodness the flavour was huge!!!! It's the first time I've ever tried red kiwis and they tasted of raspberries and kiwi mixed together - so sweet, I was in fruity heaven with these things. I wish I had bought more, and am keeping all fingers crossed for Wednesday because I shall be racing up into town and hoping to find them again.

No new flowers this week because as predicted my chrysanths are still looking amazingly good considering they are now a week old. I did dither around the fresh flowers in the supermarket today because they had parrot tulips in the reduced price bucket that looked amazing, and I was very tempted. In the end I walked away - but the regret is lingering. Parrot tulips (magenta ones), oh they were a bit special. 

I do have a pot of hyacinth bulbs on my mantel which I bought yesterday, and I'm sooooo so so so happy about it. I love having these in the home, and over the years it has become a favourite November ritual of mine. I still so clearly remember buying my first hyacinths for this house, November 2008. Fifteen years ago. 15. Fif-teen. WOW. Sometimes my blogging history blows my mind to pieces. I don't know the colour - pink or blue - so it's a bit like waiting for a Gender Reveal party to happen. I shall keep you posted.

A new cheap and cheerful little candle on my mantel, also a result of the weekend supermarket shop. The scent is Spiced Apple and Berry and it is delightful I have to say.

I also took delivery of some new wax melts from the Botanical Candle Company - I've gone for the scent named "Half Light" which is absolute perfection for this time of year.

The blurb (because I do love a good bit of descriptive blurb)>>

Half Light was made to bring back memories of a childhood spent studding oranges with cloves in the run-up to Christmas. The gentle sweetness of clementine is perfectly balanced by the resinous spice of clove to make a rounded, homely and familiar scent.

As I burn wax melts regularly next to my bed, a while ago I decided to buy some good quality non-toxic tea lights and I can highly recommend them. They are made from rapeseed oil (no paraffin or nasty chemicals) and burn slow and clean, plus they come in clear plastic cups which can be wiped out and popped into the household recycling. They are here on Amazon, if you burn tealights at home and want to switch to a cleaner alternative. And this is the ceramic burner I have, I love it.

I put my Big Blanket on the bed at the weekend too, it was time. Temperatures have been dropping to zero degrees at night, and we are forecast snow showers this week so the weather will remain chilly. This blanket is made from pure wool (it cost an absolute fortune to make), so it has a satisfying weightiness to it which is very comforting when you're pinned underneath it. I've actually slept really well the past few nights so perhaps I just needed to be immobilized a little.

I took this photo of my hill view today as I was walking down the road to the supermarket. I love the hillyness of where I live, it's a constant reminder wherever you are in the town that this is a rural community and the hills are (and always will be) bigger than the buildings.

I was working some more stripes on my Starbright blanket over the weekend, it's the perfect activity when the weather is cold. I really need to get the border pattern together to share, I keep forgetting to do it, especially with all the Sungold activity during this past week. I've been very busy on social media, it takes a lot of my time to keep up with all the platforms (my Facebook page, 3 different Attic24 Facebook groups, plus Instagram) but I do my best not to let it all slip slide. My apologies if you've reached the end of your v's and now want to add the border, I am prioritising that job for this week.

Thank you as always for calling in to read my rambles, I hope you're enjoying these cosy, shortening days as we move towards the Winter Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere. And if you are upsidedown and heading towards summer, do tell me what you've been up to as your season heats up? In fact, lets have a global seasonal weather report in the comments, I'd love that! From me here in the north of England - mostly very cold and wet, with low digit temperatures and showers forecast for this week. Over to you........

 

EDIT >> THANK YOU so much for all the weather and activity reports from all over the world!! It's absolutely wonderful to read about where you all are, thank you!! I've loved the comments on this post so much, and I hope you've enjoyed reading and connecting too xxxx

 

Comments

[Angela]

Hello Lucy!! From someone who lives upside down to you!😅 Oddly enough I've had to put the heater on today! Our spring time here in Auckland, NZ can be a bit funny weather wise. Generally our spring is usually warm but we sometimes get the odd cold day where we've got to wear extra layers etc. At least with the warmer weather I've been able to get out in the garden. I've planted a hydrangea plant and if that grows well this year I'll take cuttings so I can grow a couple more hydrangeas. I've also planted a grape vine, something I've wanted since my childhood! I have fond memories of visiting friends houses as a child, playing outside and rather fervently stuffing my mouth with grapes from their garden! 😍 I also planted two flowering vines which, if I've planted them successfully, should be covered in soft pink flowers over summer! I'd attach a pic if I could, they are the most loveliest of flowering vines with pale pink petals and a deeper pink through the centre. They're called Pandorea Jasminoides Rosea 🌸 Our garden has always been a bit boring, mostly due to lack of time for it so it's been really exciting to finally have time to make a start on it. I'm hoping to gradually get the garden that I want by adding something new to the garden every spring. That's basically what I've been doing these last few days oh and plan for Christmas day too, which is looming fast! 🎄😊

The starbright blanket is looking so lovely! Such a cosy but cheerful vibe to it!! I have never tried red kiwi fruit before! I didn't even realise they were a thing! I'll have to have a hunt around our supermarkets to see if I can find some 😊

Thank you so much for another lovely blog post! I'm sorry I raved on about my garden. I think I'm just a little bit excited by it! It's always so lovely reading about what you've been doing and seeing where you live etc. as well as seeing the progress on the starbright blanket!

Enjoy the cosiness of winter fires and candle light 😍❤️

[Deanna]

Lancaster County, PA: sunny but coooold and ridiculously wiiiiindy today. I’m ready for Spring!!

[Mayme]

Snowy, breezy and cold here in West Michigan, USA

[Camcas]

Southern Australia here- well it WAS 28 and sunny yesterday but today we have thunderstorms.Actually glad because it will fill up our rainwater tanks as we head into summer. We use exclusively self collected rainwater

[Debbi Robertson]

In the Pacific Northwest (Oregon), we're having beautiful, bright blue skies full of brilliant sunshine. A rather unusual wind has been blowing the last couple of days, sending gold and red leaves off the trees and covering the ground. It's chilly: 8c daytime, -2c at night. Time to break out my down comforter!

[Jessica]

We already have snow sticking in Maine! About 2 inches on the ground. Last night was warm enough to rain, but it didn't melt the snow away. Our mountains are bigger than our buildings too 😀 I didn't comment last week, but I loved that you posted a video of your town. That was fun to watch!

[Sue Hockley]

Bit of a mixture here in North Dorset. We've had some sun, some rain and, although it was reasonably mild during the day, it's a bit chilly now.

[Alisa]

Love the pics! In Seattle Washington its currently foggy and cold.

[Norma]

We are having quite typical Spring weather here south of Melbourne, Australia. We've had a few warm days on the high 20s, and lots of rainstorms. It's good though to know the ground and the vegetation is well watered prior to the onset of hot dry weather because it comes together with higher fire risks.
Time to sit & crochet as I can't do any gardening!

[Ali campbell]

My eye was caught by the hyacinth pot. I’ve just bought exactly the same one in my local supermarket and share the same excitement at the annual ritual. The scent is so evocative of Christmas past, as it was my mum’s essential winter treat. Has to be blue for me though. Peek inside the metal pot, there’s a label inside!

[Liz]

It's 6am here on the south coast of Western Australia, and the horrendous wind that has roared non stop for the last week has turned into a gentle breeze. It looks to be a lovely day ahead. Our capital, Perth, has experienced a heatwave along with the wind, which has fuelled several bushfire resulting in home losses. I am glad I live in a cooler part of WA!

[Linda from Boston]

Chilly in Boston proper but not unbearably cold. It IS almost December. But those pine cones and leaves continue to drop!! Keeps my husband busy blowing them into the woods.

[Joelle]

Clear and chilly as the full moon rose here in south Wales. Went for a refreshing (aka bleddy freezing) dip in the sea

[Susan Turner]

Very hot here in Western Australia, in the high 30s already....

[Sue]

Rain all day here in Leicestershire and cold with it.A day for crochet though.

[Penny Crompton]

We are about to come into summer where I live by the sea in southern Australia. We have so far been relatively dry, although some rain overnight with spectacular thunderstorms. Day after day of !9 degrees, very pleasant but the heat will come.

[Autumn]

It is similarly cold and dreary in Central PA now. I am ready for the onset of Winter. Later this week I will be decorating for Christmas and putting all my Fall things away!

[Maypole]

A lovely post as ever.

It was cold,raining and windy this morning here in Northumberland...when my son rang from Australia complaining of horrible 40c heat. I could not cope with that.

[Saskia]

Netherlands, same weather overhere..Love your pictures, everytime so much fun to see

[Marilyn Lynch]

Cold here in Rhode Island, but sunny and bright. I love autumn!