November Thoughts

My early morning walks continue, although since these photos were taken about a week ago, it's now pretty dark at 7am. I guess we are rapidly coming towards the end of the autumn season now, as the Winter Solstice (the shortest day) is just over four weeks away.

Autumn has been especially charming this year, well, maybe I should say that it's me that's felt charmed more than usual by the season. I don't think November is any different this year to last, but possibly I've got an extra layer of gratitude for it all?

I don't know what exactly it is, but I do know that I'm enjoying it very much.

Not every day is as beautiful as this (I realise that the light makes a big difference to how I experience each day) but there have been some truly breath taking mornings during this past week.

As the leaves continue to fall, the woodland is lightening up again as there is far more visible sky through the treetops. So while it's not too muddy and there is just about enough light, J and I are enjoying a few early walks through the trees again. 

Just lately I've been thinking a lot about the place where I live and call home, and honestly feeling incredibly grateful that I've landed in this lovely little patch of North Yorkshire. This is J's home ground where he spent a portion of his childhood years (he went to school for a while at the same school where our Big Boy went and Little B now goes), but I settled here quickly because I think it's a very similar kind of town to where I grew up in Dorset. Historic rural market towns all have quite a lot in common, and there was never a time where I felt like I didn't belong. 

We moved house to come and live here at the very end of November seventeen years ago, so every year when November rolls around I find myself thinking back to that time. My life was obviously pre-blog back then so I can't go and chase down any written archives from November 2007, but there is a lot about making that move that I remember clearly. The Little People were aged 5 and 3, so top of my priority list was getting them settled into school and nursery. It was a fairly smooth transition for them I think (and J was continuing to work at the same place so his life didn't change too much), but it was definitely the beginning of a brand new life for me. Maybe I had the hardest transition of all, it's quite tricky to start again from scratch as an adult, finding new routines and new friends at the grand old age of thirty nine.

Three and a half months after we moved here to number 24, I started my Attic24 blog in March 2008. It was a way to keep myself busy during the mornings when I was all alone in the house and at a bit of a loss, and was/is a wonderful creative outlet for me to express myself through writing and photography. But more importantly it gifted me an online community of like minded creative souls who immediately felt like good friends. And now here we are...I'm still writing and taking photographs and I'm beyond grateful for your company in my cosy little Attic home on the interwebs.

Before we moved here to Atticland we still lived in North Yorkshire, but over the hills in the city of York. I really like the city and have great memories from the nine years we lived there, and as it's only 43 miles away it's pretty easy to plan return visits.....

....in fact I was there last week! I have a wonderful group of friends still in York, my original Mum-crew who I met twenty two years ago at a post natal group when we were all first time Mums with new babes. We keep in regular contact via a WhatsApp group (I LoVe that app for chatting and keeping in touch), and a meet-up dinner date was arranged which I'd been really looking forward to.

I went over on the train in the afternoon so that I could have some time playing tourist in a city that I know very well. 

It's been many years since I was right in the heart of the city (my friends all live out of the centre) and it was absolutely amazing to see it all again with fresh eyes. York Minster is always a magnificent sight and I walked all the way around it feeling in awe of its sheer size and grandeur. It's reeeeeeally, reeeeeeeallly massive.

I had forgotten just how ancient and quirky York is around the Minster Quarter, where many of the streets and buildings are centuries old.

You can see why it's such a draw for tourists from all over the world, the layers of history run very deep.

I walked down to the market square which hasn't changed at all over the years...

....and stopped to admire the flowers which have always been sold in this spot for as long as I've known.

I found my way through the maze of back streets into the Old Quarter....

....then cut through Coffee Yard snicket.....

....to come out onto Stonegate. This is probably one of the most popular shopping streets in York, with a beautiful and eclectic mix of shops, cafés and pubs. The old building on the right in the photo above is the Punch Bowl pub and has a super long history spanning almost 350 years. Yes, that's an awful lot of years.

On the left in the above photo is another very well know shop on the same street - this is Kaethe Wohlfhrt, a shop dedicated to celebrating  Christmas all year round. You can see in the above photo that the daylight was fading (4pm) and it was time for me to make tracks and go and meet with my lovely friends. We were due to have a meal in a pub that we've regularly visited with our families over the years, a real nostalgia trip.

Before I hopped on the bus I took a quick walk along part of the old city walls, it's a lovely thing to do if you are ever visiting York, and you get to see the city from a different perspective.

A brief 24 hour visit which was great because I was able to stay overnight  - many of my friends have spare bedrooms now that their children are away at University - so it was a lovely time of reminiscing and walking down memory lane with a group of friends who I know very well. 

Life at home has been slow and quiet this past week. When I came home from York I had a few days where I didn't feel all that well, so I slowed myself down and rested during the day when I needed it, and whatever was pulling me down seemed to pass.

We walked at Bolton Abbey on Sunday morning....

....just J, me and Little Lady (Little B has taken on a extra shift at the pub on a Saturday night and said he wanted to stay in bed Sunday morning). It was beautifully quiet when we were there at ten o'clock, and with the river seeming fairly tranquil for a change, J and LL decided to "Do The Stones". Well I can tell you that I absolutely did not do the stones, it didn't even cross my mind for a nanosecond. Nope. No, no, no-no-nooooo. There is a perfectly high, dry, sturdy bridge for crossing over this wide river, and you can bet that my feet were safely on it. They said it was quite scary in the middle bit where the water runs deep because as you can see, the stones are quite small and very close to the surface of the water, and psychologically I think it can mess with your mind a bit. My goodness, no. But also, well done them, relief all round!

Walking back towards the café we were gifted with a very brief but beautiful golden hour of sunshine, oh the woodland was looking exceedingly pretty I have to say. We enjoyed a very lovely frothy coffee and a toasted teacake at the end of our walk, a Sunday morning well spent.

Two hours later I was walking to the supermarket to pick up some food for dinner and the weather had flipped as you can see. No more golden shafts of sunlight, just the steady pitter patter of rain falling on the water. I didn't mind too much, because I had a date to prepare for........

.....a date with my beloved Fireplace. As soon as I walked back in the door all damp and cold and weary, I stripped off my outer layers, got changed into my comfies, powered up the fairy lights, lit the candles and built the fire.

Ahhh, pure bliss, right there. An afternoon of tea drinking and fireside hooky, warm and cosy as the rain continued to fall. It's what November Sundays are made for.

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Comments

[Wendy]

Love York and especially the Christmas shop! So much history in a really small space.

[Nadine G]

C'est formidable de te lire de nouveau et le partage de ton escapade à York. Merci et belle semaine pour toi. Bisous.

[Lizzy Porter]

Beautiful, Lucy. I've been reading your blog for many years now, and have children of a similar age. I love your sharing what's going on in your life as well as your creative journey. Inspiring.

[Angela]

Hi Lucy! I've just caught up on your last few blog posts which are always such a pleasure to read 😍 It was lovely to recap all of the colourful bits and pieces from blogtober! It was also lovely to read a little about yours and Js history and first moving to where you live now. You do seem to live in a beautiful part of the world and have nearly everything at your doorstep!

I have been reading your blog for aaaaaages now. I think I first found you when you were 3 years into your blog but I remember scrolling back through those 3 years to the very beginning and reading from the very start! I've tried reading other blogs but in all honesty I just haven't managed to get "into" them. I love your day to day easy living blogs. I get a sense of comfort out of them and when you blog about your trips away I feel like I've gone with you hahaha! ⛱️🌞 So thank you for keeping up with your blog! I look forward to reading them very much, they've become part of my life. I hope that doesn't sound weird! 🙂

Wishing you all the best and many enjoyable cosy moments during these cooler months xxx😍

[Kathy Kraetsch]

Absolutely beautiful pictures and post! Love it all! We're currently getting hammered with rain and wind here in northern California! Thank you Lucy, for sharing your part of the world with us!

[Patricia A]

Good on you for not doing the stones. :-)
You reminded when we took my sister up what is now called the Sydney Eye. She hung back, well away from the glass enclosed edge. I laughed with her, not at her as I understood her fear of the height as I have it when when my sinuses are full. I was lucky that day and could approach the glassed in wall that is the edge.
I might have done those stones twenty years ago, but not now. I cannot navigate our hall without wobbly from side to side. :-) So those stones are a no-no for me too.
I think I have five minutes to pick up my crochet before it is time to make lunch.

[Kathy]

I love seeing the towns that were highlighted on Downton Abbey. The lifestyle these historical villages are my ideal, but here in the U.S.A. we don't have ancient history. Lucy, your blogs make my heart beat faster. Thank you for all the eork you do to bring this to us!

[Elizabeth]

Yes ma'am, that is exactly what November days are made for! What a lovely post, Lucy. I enjoyed every photo — the light was magical — and very much appreciated the tour of York. Imagine, a place still in use after 350 years. Marvelous! I loved the year-round Christmas shop too. I have a feeling I wouldn't have been able to get out of there with pocketbook intact. Thank you for taking us along on your jaunt to visit old and dear friends. But in the end, after a journey, there's no place like your very own home.

[Sara]

Yet another beautiful blog Lucy.

I love seeing the pictures of Skipton and surrounding area that have visited more times than anywhere else and so happy that next year will be staying for 10 days in the lovely cottage I was in this year.

I have so many places I can't wait to visit, a very special place.

[Lynn]

Beautiful photos! 😍

[Ann S]

I loved reading this latest post. Thank you for all your thoughts. I'm so with you not cossing those stepping stones! I live near Dartmoor and a small group of us walk there every Saturday and I'm not the only one who doesn't like using stepping stones. You are not alone!

[Tineke]

It looks like your introvert scale was overflowing after all that socializing and in need of downtime. I love old towns, lived in many, it is filled with ancient energy. You have written blogs for a long time, with so many words flowing out of your keyboard. You and MissMusterdseed have a way of words and make gorgeous pictures. I love to read you two. Thanks.

[Sue Hockley]

What a lovely post, as always! It's been cold and rainy here in North Dorset this week, although we had a hard frost yesterday and a sprinkling of light snow this morning. I have been stuck indoors all week with a dreadful cough, and your beautiful photos have just brightened me up! Thank you 😊

[Kate]

Just love reading all about your life - it’s a truly joyful read - full of colour and warmth - I’ve just finished my hydrangea blanket and am now starting on my first ever pair of socks sat in front of our fire - bliss!! I will now add York to my list of places to visit. Thank you Lucy

[Brenda]

What a lovely surprise to open the iPad this morning to find myself transported to Yorkshire and a peep into your recent activities. It was a real pick me up to see your appreciation of nature and your photos of York. I loved hearing about the history of where you have lived and how you come to be in Skipton. My husband is from the East Riding and I have visited York but have seen it through fresh eyes looking at your photos and it makes me want to return. Your final photo of your cosy fire and the thought of an afternoon of crochet would be my idea of bliss……now I just need to make it happen! Thank you Lucy.xx

[Brenda]

What a lovely surprise to open the iPad this morning to find myself transported to Yorkshire and a peep into your recent activities. It was a real pick me up to see your appreciation of nature and your photos of York. I loved hearing about the history of where you have lived and how you come to be in Skipton. My husband is from the East Riding and I have visited York but have seen it through fresh eyes looking at your photos and it makes me want to return. Your final photo of your cosy fire and the thought of an afternoon of crochet would be my idea of bliss……now I just need to make it happen! Thank you Lucy.xx

[Deb]

Your picture of the stepping stones made me laugh - my daughter is still scarred by the experience of me freezing halfway across and having to be guided to safety by a very kind but unknown young man to clear the queue mounting behind me while she pretended she’d never met me in her life!!! 🤣🤦‍♀️

[Sarah Davies]

I love York! :)

[Linda]

Thank you Lucy.
I felt like I was with you on your walks and trip to York.
And love your fire. Something I’ve never had in over 50 years of marriage.
But we did get a new fireplace, hearth and fire this summer. It’s an all singing and dancing one with different flame effects. With the lights low it is quite effective. I love it.
I had a very sleepy day yesterday. Not sure why. Catch up I guess.
But I did start my Yuletide blanket. I did the first 20 rounds. Well pleased with that.
Have a good day today Lucy.
Best Wishes Linda x

[Elisa]

How lovely to read this post, I visited both York and Skipton this summer and will cherish the memories of both places. You absolutely live in a beautiful part of the world, Lucy, thanks for continuing to share it with us!

[Michelle Gladwish]

Such a cozy photograph. Thank you for sharing.

[Cherir]

Such a lovely post! We have a cool (for us) rainy day here in Queensland. I have visited York on a number of occasions, but the first time was breathtaking. That was almost 50 years ago. Yorkshire is a beautiful part of the world and we have enjoyed driving and looking around the Dales and quaint little villages.

I love the cosy photo of the fireplace at the end. Nothing more relaxing in cooler climes.

[Linda from Boston]

Thanks for always sharing your adventures. I can travel with you without leaving my couch!!! I’m with you regarding those stones!!! In fact, it scares me just seeing your family on them. One slippery step and you’re toast!!

[Diane]

Once again, thank you Lucy for sharing your days. Your beautiful photographs and lovely words make it feel like you are taking us all along with you. I truly do appreciate all it must take to put together a post like this - but am beyond grateful that you do - each & every time!

[Esther]

What a lovely post! Thank you for creating a cozy, restful corner of the usually-hectic interwebs. Your pictures of York made me unexpectedly happy. I actually lived in York for about a year over 20 years ago when I was a single woman and I loved it - my, did those pictures give me an almost-homesick feeling! I hope to visit again someday. It looks just as quirky and lovely as it did 2 decades ago. Thanks again. It's always a pleasure to visit Attic24!