Attic24

Full Tilt Autumn

We are full tilt into the autumn season now and there is so much to love about it. This past week the weather has been cold and still, and the stillness was the biggest surprise after the high winds we experienced the week before. At first I couldn't quite place what felt different, but gradually I realised it was simply that there was no wind whipping the trees and mussing up my hair. It felt like a quiet sort of relief, the kind you don't know you need until it happens.

As is usual for me at this time of year, I find myself enchanted by the colours in nature and every day there are moments when I can't quite believe how beautiful it all is. It's an intense feeling and very distracting - J often says that I rudely interrupt our conversations because my attention is suddenly caught by some fallen leaves or the way a cloud looks as if it is lit up from the inside (I wish I'd been able to capture the cloud-light in a photograph, it was magnificent, and really did stop me in my tracks and bring a halt to the conversation).

We haven't been anywhere this week, so all my photos come from my walks around the town, either on my way to do something or meet someone, or sometimes just walking around for the pure pleasure of it.

 I know I'm very lucky to have some pretty scenic places to stroll within a few minutes of my front door, and I appreciate it very much. Mind you, even when I lived in very un-inspiring urban environments I still used to walk for pleasure - for most of my adult life, heading out for a walk has been my go-to solution when I need to clear my head, think things through, unwind, or just feel grounded in the moment. I think a simple walk around the local neighbourhood is a highly underrated pastime for pleasure, but also for mental health benefits.

The tourist season is beginning to slow down now that half term is over, although we do get visitors all year round here. In summer the canal is very busy with holiday rental boats coming and going, but now in early November there are mainly day-trip boats on the move.

Along certain parts of the canal the boats don't move at all as they are permanent moorings. Some of them are lived on all year round, and others like the one above are used like summer holiday cottages and get put to rest in the colder weather.

These photos were taken in the mid afternoon one day last week, Thursday I think it was. The weather was bright and clear and like I mentioned earlier there wasn't a wisp of wind in the air.

The still air and bright skies made for the most beautiful reflections in the water, I was absolutely enthralled by them. I've no idea why I find reflections in water so pleasing to look at, but I could honestly stand and stare for ages getting lost in the visual perfection of them.

J and I are still doing our early morning walks and on Friday we had the first frost of the season. It was certainly "crisp" out there at 6.45am, and I was glad I'd put on an extra fleece layer. It was very beautiful though, especially in the park where the grass was frosted to a pale minty green....

....and the fallen leaves were edged with delicate ice crystals.

Our woodland walks are now a weekend treat because it's too dark to walk amongst the trees during the week when we head out so early. 

With only walking this way once a week the seasonal changes are really noticeable, and it's a lovely feeling to observe nature doing her magnificent thing. I am very in tune with the seasonal rhythms of the year and always feel a sense of comfort when I see that all is on track and as it should be. Early November, Autumn is in full swing and all is well.

These woodland photos are from yesterday, J and I walked reasonably early for a Saturday (it was about 8.30am I think) so it was blissfully quiet along the leafy pathways. Strolling in the woods before pootling into town to buy groceries from the butcher, bakery and the market is such a wonderfully weekendish thing and I can't tell you how much I love it. Every single Saturday I get a little jolt of happiness when I realise that this is my life, and I get to do this every single weekend. I just can't seem to get over the happy surprise of it somehow. I think this must be a true definition of contentment, when you keep getting surprised by the routines of life and feeling delighted that they belong to you.

⇈ OK, I'm documenting this as an Autumn-in-full-tilt moment, because honestly it's just too good not to share. Some of you may recall that J and I recently started enjoying a coffee together a couple mornings a week in the teensy little coffee shop at the bottom of our street, it's the one with the William Morris wallpaper. Well, alongside the most yummy coffee they also sell a modest selection of sweet treats, and have recently introduced these traditional Portuguese tarts - "pastel de nata". I've eaten them in Portugal before but never here in England, and J had never tried them so I felt it was my duty to introduce him to the delight of them. Have you ever eaten one? Oh. My. Word. They are utterly delicious in every way, the perfect amount of sweetness and flaky pastryness, and they go ridiculously well with a cup of strong coffee. We are addicted, honestly.

I seem to be all about routine at the moment, and I'm really enjoying all the ordinary, repeating, familiar comforts that make up my weeks. And pastel de nata is a very, very welcome addition.

The little posy of geraniums is just about still going on my table, but they are well past their best and I'll need to think about buying in some fresh seasonal flowers this week. Last year I fell a bit in love with some tiny little yellow button chrysanths, do you remember them? I might see if I can find something similar tomorrow when I'm out and about.

I made a batch of fresh soup on Saturday, again this has become another of my weekly routines which grounds me and feeds my sense of domestic contentment. This week I made carrot and coriander and it was sooooo good. I toasted some pumpkin seeds to add to the top because I've been trying to add seeds into my diet every day for the healthy fats. They added a perfect little crunch and I'll definitely do them again as a soup topper.

In creative news, I've been thoroughly enjoying having woolly socks on my feet every day this week as it's been so cold and it inspired me to knit some more of my Cool Kaffe socks. I can't wait to actually have these beautiful stripes on my feet, so I'll try and get the heels turned this week if I can.

Thanks as always for the lovely, lovely comments you wrote about my Harbour blanket, thank you! I'm really enjoying crocheting this blanket ahead of my CAL, it has a very special rhythm to it which makes for some of the most relaxing crochet I've ever done. I can't wait to share more with you, especially more of the photos from my coastal jaunt earlier in the year. Such happy memories.

Well, I think that's about all my seasonal banter for now, I hope you're enjoying the autumn if you're on this side of the globe, and if you're down under, then I truly hope that Spring is bringing you joy.

Right now it's already starting to get dark (it's 4.30pm) and I'm going to go and light the fire and get on with making the dinner. We're having a roast today, for the first time in a long while and I'm really excited for it - we've got a stuffed pheasant parcel wrapped in bacon which we bought from the local game man who comes to the market. It's very Autumnal fodder I think you'll agree - can't wait!

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Attic24 CAL Number Eight

Ever since I learnt to crochet my first wobbly granny square in the summer of 2007, I knew that I would be a blanket maker. I had my heart set on making a granny square blanket for my two Little People to snuggle under (they were aged 3 and 4 at the time) and I've been crocheting blankets ever since. I absolutely loved making blankets right from the start, and whenever a blanket was finished I would always feel a deep sense of loss followed by an immediate itch to start a new one. I quickly learnt that it was futile to ignore the lure of yet another blanket project and allowed myself to just do what my heart wanted, and my heart always wanted another blanket on my hook. I became addicted, and now here we are fourteen years later and that craving has never left me.

My first blanket Crochet-A-Long (CAL) came seven years later in the autumn of 2014. I had fallen in love with the wonderful colours of Stylecraft Special DK and decided to create a striped blanket that I would share on my blog in weekly instalments. It wasn't a new concept by any means, but I'd never actually followed a CAL myself and didn't really have much idea about running one either. I just thought that I could design and publish a free pattern, tell folks which colours they needed, then give out fifteen stripes per week until the blanket was complete. I'd already begun working with the wonderful people at Wool Warehouse, so it was a natural decision for us to create yarn packs which contained the fifteen colours I'd selected for my first CAL blanket.

What I hadn't bargained for at the time was the huge amount of excitement that would come my way from the world wide crocheting community, WOW, I remember being so, so thrilled when people actually started buying the yarn packs and following along to make their weekly stripes! It was an amazing feeling, knowing that I was inspiring people to find joy in making blankets in beautiful colours, and the wonderful sense of belonging that wraps around you like a warm hug when you create alongside so many other like minded souls. 

This year I'll be leading the way with my eighth blanket CAL, and it's safe to say I'm more than a little bit excited about it! Before I tell you all about the latest stripes on my hook, I thought it would be fun to look back at the previous seven blankets and the colour inspiration behind each one - I wonder if you will recognise them all?

♥ BLANKET CAL #1 {2014} COSY STRIPE ♥

This blanket was inspired by the colours of Autumn - leaves, seeds, berries and flowers. It was the first time that I'd created a colour palette with a definite "theme" and all my subsequent CAL projects have been inspired by the seasonal landscape or by nature.

You can read more about the inspiration behind the Cosy colour palette in this post ((here))

♥ BLANKET CAL #2 {2015} SUNNY LOG CABIN ♥

This colour palette was inspired by my love of the summer season and the colourful flowers I always have growing in my back yard pots. I designed a large square blanket for this CAL, made up of 16 colourful log cabin blocks - it's one of my all time favourite designs, and you can see more of it in this post ((here)).

As well as the large log cabin blanket, I also crocheted the same Sunny colours into a vibrant granny stripe blanket. You can read more about it ((here)).

♥ BLANKET CAL #3 {2017} MOORLAND ♥

For this CAL I changed the timing and moved it from the pre-Christmas period into the start of the New Year. I love the idea of having something to look forward to in the darkest of our winter months, and ever since then my annual CAL's have always run through January and February.

The Moorland blanket was inspired by the colours of the moors close to where I live in August when the heather is in full bloom. It was the first time I'd designed a blanket as a "colour story" where the stripes are ordered to mimic the colours seen when viewing the landscape. You can read more about the colour inspiration in this post ((here)).

♥ BLANKET CAL #4 {2018} WOODLAND ♥

Another autumn inspired colour palette, this time it was my woodland walks which provided a rich source of inspiration. I designed this blanket as a companion to the Moorland, so another colour story sequence which takes you on a walk through the trees.

Lots more photos about my inspiration ((here)).

♥ BLANKET CAL #5 {2019} SWEET PEA ♥

My fifth CAL blanket proved extremely popular, and I have to say this floral inspired colour palette really is incredibly pretty. You can see lots more photos in this post ((here))

As well as the mixed stripe Sweet Pea blanket, for the first time I created an alternative colour order. This is where the same fifteen shades were arranged to create a colourwash effect, and it's something that really sparked a lot of interest at the time. I've since created colourwash stripe orders for many of my blanket kits - there is something very pleasing about seeing a colour palette ordered in this way.

♥ BLANKET CAL #6 {2020} DAHLIA ♥

Similar to the Sweet Pea, I created two versions of the vibrant floral inspired Dahlia blanket - a mixed stripe and a colourwash.

You can see lots more inspiration photos ((here)) - dahlias are soooo photogenic!

♥ BLANKET CAL #7 {2021} MEADOW ♥

A very pretty summery colour palette inspired by the wild flower meadow very close to my home. The meadow became a very special place for me during the lockdown months in 2020, and I adore this colour palette. You can see more of the inspiration photos ((here)).

Actually this crochet along only finished eight months ago because it ran throughout January and February of this year, but I was working on the colour palette and design ideas way back in the summer of 2020. Generally speaking, by the time I'm chatting to you about a new CAL, I've already been obsessing over it for many, many months. And when I say obsessing I really do mean it - I put a tremendous amount of heart and soul into all my blankets as they are inspired by places or things that I have a deep emotional connection to. I take hundreds of photos which feed my initial ideas through a lengthy design process, and this means that my colour palettes are always the end result of a huge amount of pondering and creative faffery. Can you tell?!! I wouldn't have it any other way, I'm passionate about creating colour palettes that tell a story and bring joy into the finished blanket.

Anyhow - back to the present day, and being that we are now in November you may have guessed that it's almost time for my next CAL yarn pack to be released into the world.....oh, I may be just a teensy bit excited to share this with you.....!

Are you ready to see what has been floating my boat since May this year?

Some of you may have already guessed from the little peeks of the ripply blanket on my hook just lately, but let me tell you more.

My next blanket is inspired by the coast, specifically the gorgeous colours of fishing boats against the calming blues of sea and sky.....

........this is the HARBOUR blanket, and I'll be releasing the pattern and colour instalments at the start of 2022. All these photos were taken earlier this year in May when I took a short jolly to the North Yorkshire coast to photograph some of my favourite places. I've had the idea to make a harbour inspired blanket for a few years now, as I have so many happy memories of holidays spent in Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay and Staithes on the Yorkshire coast. And of course my childhood home in Dorset and the harbours at West Bay and Lyme Regis have often featured in my blog over the years so you know how much I love these places.

Boaty colours are bright aren't they?! I love the jaunty, jolly holiday feel of these colours, and when they are set against a palette of cool blues, they really do harmonise beautifully. As well as a mixed stripe I've also created a colourwash version and I'll be chatting more about this when the yarn packs launch in twelve days time.

As you can see I've designed a new ripple pattern to gently blend this colour palette into a really beautiful and joyful blanket. This is an incredibly soothing and easy ripple to work and is perfect for beginners, or for those of you who like to immerse yourself in some easy therapeutic hooky rows. I can't wait to share more with you in January.

As in previous years, yarn packs will be on sale in my shop at Wool Warehouse very soon so that there will be plenty of time for you to get your yarn sorted if you wish to join in with the CAL in the New Year. I'll also publish a list of the colours so that you can check your stash or shop local if you want to. The launch date for the Harbour yarn packs is Tuesday 16th November, and we usually aim to have everything go live at 8am - put the date in your diaries! The packs will contain 15 balls of Stylecraft Special DK (my usual thing) and Wool Warehouse will ship worldwide. Did you know that my yarn packs get sent out to more than a hundred countries around the world, isn't that amazing? We truly are a world wide community, and I'm so, so thankful for it.

Right, I think that's about all for now - on the 16th November I'll have a lot more photos to share when I introduce the Harbour blanket to you in all it's colourful glory. I can't wait!

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Blogtober 2021 :: Review

In early November last year after my first ever attempt at Blogtober, I decided to write a review post to chat about my experience of taking part in a whole month of daily blogging. It was a really enjoyable post to put together, and I got a lot of satisfaction from looking back through all my photos and creating a visual overview of the month. You can read my 2020 blogtober review ((here)). I had so many comments after that post (131 of you wrote to me) that I guessed you enjoyed it and and hopefully you'll enjoy this year's offering just as much. I spent this afternoon looking back through my photos and creating some collages to share, so it's been a whole lot of creative fun for me too.

October will always have a little bit of a celebratory flavour because it's my birthday month, and I turned 53 this year.

We also had a much needed week-long break from school towards the end of the month, and there was Halloween to celebrate too.

Looking back through my photos today I realised that October was a much busier month than usual with quite a few outings and day trips. I really enjoyed every single jaunt that we made out of town, and realised (not for the first time) that I positively thrive when I'm out and about. Even if we are visiting familiar places, there's still a certain level of anticipation and excitement when there are walks and picnics and lots of lovely photogenic vistas to lift my spirits.

We walked at Bolton Abbey on Day 3.

On Day 11 we drove to the west Lancashire coast to spend a few sunny hours by the sea.

Day 9 was an exciting train journey to visit Newcastle university with Little Lady and it was wonderful to see and experience a completely new city.

I had the pleasure of Christine's company on a gloriously sunny Day 21 and we visited RHS Harlow Carr which was absolutely magnificent. Looking back at the post I wrote on that day fills me with joy, oh the colours were something else! Such a lovely day, and I know the memories will stay with me for a long time.

The most out of the ordinary thing I did in October was to travel south to Dorset to spend some time with my Dad. After my holiday back in August, I made a promise to myself that I would try and visit every season, and I'm so, so glad that I made an Autumn jaunt happen. I think I've mentioned before that my Dad has aged quite a lot since the start of the pandemic and without being morbid about it, I do really feel that I need to make the most of the time we have left together - who knows how long we have? With any luck it'll be many, many years, but something in my heart tells me not to take any of this time for granted.

I had a really lovely time in Dorset, but to be perfectly honest it was a major challenge to carry on with Blogtober each day while I was away. I mean, I took loads of photos so always had plenty of things to share but it was the extreme end-of-day tiredness that was the hardest thing for me. I'm telling you, the air down there is potent and makes me sooooooooo sleepy! Anyhow, reading back through my Dorset posts I'm so happy that I have my memories preserved for the future. You can find my Dorset Blogtobers here, here, here and here. 

Creatively, October was a really good month and I found a lot of comfort and happiness in designing and making. I worked on an idea for a new mandala based on the Yuletide blanket stitch pattern and I love love love the results.

You can find the blog post on Day 7....

....and the tutorial and pattern can be found ((here)).

October was also a month where I dusted off my knitting skills, specifically the joy of knitting a pair of gloriously stripy socks. I treated myself to this lush Regia yarn, the colours expertly put together by Kaffe Fassett, and cast on on Day 13.

I tend to knit in short bursts as and when the mood takes me, so progress can be a bit on the slow, stop-starting side. By the end of October I'd managed to knit one and a half legs (I knit both socks at the same time) and with any luck I'll have them on my feet by the end of this month.

Throughout Blogtober I showed some snippets here and there of my other main project of the moment which you can see in the above photo. I actually did a LOT of crochet throughout the month and am absolutely beside myself with the feelings I have for the colour palette and these delicious little ripples. So. Much. JOY!!

I'm going to be writing more about it to share with you tomorrow (the 4th) so I'm really looking forward to that. It's been hard not to blab about it allll the time, since I first began working on the design ideas back in May.

Aside from the daytrips and holidays, the celebrations and creative endeavours, Blogtober is mostly all about the ordinary every day stuff. It's about sharing daily routines and capturing the little snippets of life that spark inspiration and emotion. Confession :: it's actually a pretty tough challenge in terms of the space it takes up inside ones head! When I'm blogging every day it's constantly on my mind and I find myself writing sentences in my head and searching for visual inspiration pretty much all the time. But my goodness, it's worth it. SO, so worth it. All those thoughts, emotions, ideas and inspirations are like food for my soul and I absolutely love the process of allowing them to eventually filter out into the world via my Attic window.

Daily blogging is a constant reminder to practice gratitude, and to really open your eyes and see the world around you. It's an opportunity to search out the things that bring happiness, to train your eye to see and appreciate a moment in time that will make a good photograph or tell an honest story. Using photos and words to capture all those memories and experiences that flow through each day is such a rewarding thing to do, and even after all these years I still absolutely love it.

Blogging daily life also provides a beautiful snapshot of the season, and year after year it's fascinating to see the rhythms of nature play out as the months pass.

A lot of my photos during Blogtober captured the early days of Autumn and the seasonal changes happening in my local neighbourhood. Each month of the year has it's own "flavour" and I find it fascinating to see how the light and colours change as the year passes.

I also enjoyed sharing many snippets of daily home life too, although I did often worry that the sameyness might get a bit repetitive. October was definitely a month of home comforts - blogging by candlelight and the warmth of the fire, hand knitted woolly socks on my feet and on my needles. Mugs of milky coffee and bowls of nourishing home made soup. Cosying up under layers of blankets, and enjoying the comfort of having the kitty close by. Fresh flowers are a constant here in the Attic and October gave me colourful shop bought blooms as well as little posies of back yard flowers. There was baking and of course there was crochet, there is rarely a time when I don't have any hooky going on!

So that about sums up Blogtober 2021, it's been a good month, hasn't it? I know from the hundreds of comments I've received here and on Facebook that you've enjoyed your daily visits, and I'm so thankful for your company. Thank you for being here with me as I jaunt through my days.

I thought it would be fun to share this years stats with you, just as I did last year.....

Number of daily blogs completed : 31  (yay for one hundred percent attendance)

Total number of photographs shared : 350 (out of 442 taken in total)

Total number of beautiful comments : 1,049 (thank you so very much)

Total number of blog views : 884,848 (ooo, that's a lot of eyeballs)

Total number of words written by me : 27,276 (yes, I added them all up, took me aaaages)

Will I do it again next year? : oh yes indeedy, #blogtober2022 is already on my to-do list.

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ps huge gratitude also for these wonderful bloggers who took part in Blogtober 2021 alongside me :

Christine at Winwick Mum

CJ at Above the River

Barbara and Coastal Ripples

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♥ Three Things ♥

♥ Three things that have made me feel heart-skippy happy today...♥

♥ Thing # 1 :: on my table ♥

♥ A little glass bottle of raindrippy geraniums rescued from their very soggy back yard pots.

I popped out in the drizzle this morning to put some recycling into the bin and was so happy to see my geraniums still bravely flowering despite the wet and wild weather we've had this past week. I decided to snip a few stems to bring indoors as I'm not really getting to appreciate them very much outside. Oh, they are such a delight! Like a breathe of summer air, they are cheering up my table and my heart.

♥ Thing # 2 :: on the sofa ♥

♥ A contented sleepy kitty, enjoying the warmth rising from the radiator that's on the wall behind the back of the sofa.

She's been happy today because I felt so cold this afternoon that I switched the heating on and I lit the fire too. Such indulgence, but I hate it when my bones feel chilled. I'm sure she was silently thanking me with her eyes closed, sweet thing that she is.

♥ Thing # 3 :: on my needles ♥

♥ Gloriously happy stripes turning slowly but surely into wonderfully cosy socks.

I'm really, really enjoying this Kaffe Fassett sock yarn, the colours and the changing stripes are just lovely. I was sat in my favourite place right next to the hearth earlier and my hands had reached that perfect temperature where the stitches seem to fly. I love it when that happens and the stripes almost seem to make themselves. J made me a cup of tea and I felt like the luckiest person being able to spend a wet Monday afternoon doing just as I pleased.

I hope you've had a great day, and that you've had some moments that have made your heart skip a beat.

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ps : I created this "3Things" category for my blog many years ago but it's not often that I remember to create this kind of simple gratitude post. You can find all of my past 3-things posts by clicking on the category tag in my left hand side bar, it does make for an uplifting bit of browsing if you need to fill a little time x

 

 

 

Blogtober 2021 :: Day 31

Well I thoroughly enjoyed having an extra hour at my disposal this morning, it was much appreciated and allowed me to have a super slow start to the day. I got up much later than usual and made myself a chocolate dusted coffee to take back to bed, relishing the pleasure of taking my sweet time with it all. It'll be all change again tomorrow, my alarm will be set for 6am and J and I will be out walking, but I think that made todays slow start feel even more luxurious. 

I had a craving for pancakes this morning, so I made myself a plate of easy oat pancakes topped with lots of fresh fruit (recipe on my blog ((here)) and they really hit the spot.

I ate my breakfast by candlelight as even though it was around 10.30 the heavy grey skies and pouring rain made the house very dark and gloomy. I'm trying not to let the low light levels affect my mood, it takes a conscious effort to embrace the candle light and fairy lights and not feel disheartened by the lack of natural daylight. So far I feel like I'm doing OK, and candles are most definitely helping.

I had to pop out to the shops this morning to pick up some ingredients for a curry that J decided he wanted to make. We realised earlier that Little B wouldn't be here for dinner as he'd been invited to a birthday party, so we took the opportunity to make a curry with a bit more spice in it than usual. The rain had eased up in the late morning and I was happy to get outside for some fresh air. There is a row of terraced houses I walk past that all have really well kept front gardens, and at this time of year the foliage is beautiful.

After a stormy night there were plenty of leaves on the ground, and I never tire of seeing the bright autumnal colours under my feet as I walk.

Similar to yesterday, the early afternoon gifted us with a break in the weather and we went from grey and wet to blue and sunny in what felt like the blink of an eye. I was pottering around catching up with laundry, accounts and emails, and all of a sudden J asks "shall we go for a walk?" Without a moments hesitation I dropped everything and pulled my boots on ready to go, I'm like a dog, ready to walk at a seconds notice, always eager to be out and about.

We walked through the park and it was unexpectedly glorious, so fresh and bright and very perfectly autumnal.

The wild weather from last night has brought down a lot of the leaves already - I remember from last year that it doesn't take much change in the weather for the trees to give up and let loose with allllllll their leaves. I expect the branches will be completely bare in a week or two.

We walked around some of our favourite streets, admiring gardens and enjoying the huge mature trees that grow along a certain long, hilly residential road that we like. The houses are all individually designed and quite substantial and have lovely gardens....I dream that one day we might perhaps leave our very modest tall thin terrace and live somewhere with breathing space around it and possibly a tree or two. I'd like that very much.

While I was away last week, Little Lady sent me a photo of some shortbread biscuits she baked with Little B and I was a little bit heartbroken that they went ahead and did it without me. I bought the biscuit kit a few weeks back, something for Hallowe'en that I thought would be fun for us to do.......awww, I don't know, I just got really choked up that I was not needed. Of course I'm super happy that she wanted to do it so much, and not only that but she said that BOTH of her brothers helped decorate with icing - wwwwwhaaaaat????? The 19 year old Big Teen got an icing pen and made bones on a biscuit??? Reeeeally? I was absolutely incredulous, but she swears that it was so.

This is the one that he made apparently, I am still in shock to be honest.

OK, hands up who remembers the incident with the  Silver Balls??? ELeVeN years ago my friends.....eleven years ago!! And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, the blog post about that unforgettable incident is ((here)). It's a shocker.

It occurred to me yesterday that maybe Little Lady is finding comfort in doing the things that she used to love as a child, because first the biscuit baking and then came some colouring. She printed this design last night and coloured it all in and said she enjoyed it and found it therapeutic - I suspect that part of it was nostalgic comfort, but a bigger part of it was procrastination because she was supposed to be revising for a maths and a physics test.

Talking of nostalgia, today saw the both of us sat at the dining table carving out our pumpkins, and it was a lot of fun. I managed to find a white ghost pumpkin at the supermarket for Little Lady to carve out a simple ghost design, and I settled on a spooky face for my larger one. 

I love the magic that happens when darkness falls and the candles are lit inside. No matter how wonky or basic the design, carved pumpkin lanterns always look so, so good in the dark. We had the usual small army of visitors knocking at the door, so much excitement amongst the younger residents of our streets.

And just like that, the month of October has come to an end. It's felt like quite a long month to me, and I really do mean that in a good way. The best of ways, actually. I feel like my days have been full, and even the slow, routine days of nothing in particular have had many moments that were worthy of writing about and capturing on my camera to share with you. I'll be putting together a Blogtober Review as I enjoyed doing it last year, so there's that to look forward to.

So many of you have told me in comments here, and on my Facebook page that you'll be sad when Blogtober ends, and so I'm going to try and be here as much as I can through November. I've enjoyed chatting with you very, very much this past month, thank you for your most excellent company.

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Blogtober 2021 :: Day 30

This is my fifth Saturday of Blogtober 2021 (previous ones are here, here, here and here) and I woke up to the sound of rain pattering heavily against the window. For a smidge of time I thought I was still in Dorset, but I gradually worked out where I was and that I didn't have to rush to get up as it was Saturday. I drifted back to sleep for a little while longer in that particularly delicious warmth of a soundly slept in bed. Crikey, I had such a good nights sleep last night, I really was bone tired by the time I walked in the front door last night at 9.30pm after nearly ten hours spent on the move.

I'm really glad to be home but it does take a little bit of readjustment after a break away. I've spent quite a bit of today doing chores - my usual weekend jobs, but also all the little things that slip through the net when I'm away and J is left in charge. My friend CJ calls it "re-entry" when you come back home after a holiday, and I totally get that - there is an element of bracing oneself to deal with the bumpy landing.

So today's market delights included the above spectacular vegetable, and I'm sorry the photo doesn't really do it justice because it was a beauty. I say was because it's all gone now, J and I ate the whole thing between us in one sitting. To be fair it was quite a small one (it's a Romanesco in case you didn't recognise it, a cross between a cauliflower and broccoli in terms of flavour). I broke it up into the prettiest of dainty florets, massaged them in a little olive oil, seasoned generously and baked in a hot oven for about 30 minutes. They come out lightly charred, a little bit sweet and utterly moreish, and we ate it with a veggie curry and sticky rice.

This morning the weather was nasty, it was cold and wet and our visit to the market was a bit of an endurance. Breakfast in the café afterwards was a much cosier and enjoyable affair and it felt good to be back in my familiar weekend groove.

This afternoon the rainy skies all of a sudden cleared and there was actual sunshine for a short while. I asked the fam if they fancied coming with me for a walk in the woods, but both Little People were still in pjs and taking it easy and couldn't be persuaded so it was just J and me.

 

It was very picturesque in the woodland, the sun makes such a huge difference to the colours and overall ambience and I hadn't realised quite how much I've missed it of late. 

You can see how quickly the leaves are changing now.......

....the autumn colours are sweeping through the treetops.....

....and the ground is carpeted with them too.

It was lovely to be out amongst it all, and we timed it just right because by the time we were walking back up our street the sun had disappeared and it was raining again. 

The kitty is pleased to have me home, in fact when I walked up to my front door last night she was sat on the doormat waiting for me which made my heart swell somewhat. She is such a contradiction, at times ridiculously feisty and difficult, and yet she really does seem to need us close by at all times. She's been sleeping all afternoon, shifting from the chair (pictured above with my new blanket) to the cushion beside the fire which currently has my cashmerino granny square blanket on it.

I really desperately want to tell you more about the new blanket, and once Blogtober has come to a close I'll have a little bit more headspace to chat to you about it. I'm excited!

A few people have asked me recently about the Yuletide Garland which I started back in September using left over scraps of yarn from making my Yuletide blanket. I'll get back to working on the patterns for it next week once the Little Peeps return to school, and I'll share progress on it as I go. There will be free patterns for you eventually so that you can choose to make either a garland or a little Yuletide wreath perhaps? Ivy, eucalyptus, holly and orange slices, with maybe a few little golden stars thrown in for good measure. I think it's going to be cute, and a lovely project to work on in the run up to Advent.

Ahhh, I'm sorry if I haven't sounded like my usual bright and breezy self today, I'm suddenly so, so tired my lovelies. It's 8.30pm and I think I'm going to head up to bed for an early night. The very thought of my bed is so insanely appealing that I now can't think about anything else other than sinking my head into my plump feather pillows. 

The clocks go back tonight, so we'll all enjoy an extra hour in bed and the timing of it couldn't be better. Night night, I'll see you all again tomorrow with some pumpkin related content I expect.

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Blogtober 2021 :: Day 29

My last morning in Dorset and I decided to treat my Dad and Lady B not only to morning coffee but breakfast as well, and they seemed truly delighted by the prospect when I put it to them. My destination of choice was an independent bistro called The Green Yard Café which I'd heard good things about, and I can tell you that it was wonderful. First up, just feast your eyes on my cappuccino - isn't it the most luxurious cup of morning coffee you ever did see? 

I mean, look!! Real chocolate sprinkles!! I was quite beside myself with delight, as you would expect. Breakfast was a huge success and my Dad surprised me by following my lead and ordering the poached eggs and avocado on sourdough which is always my favourite go-to brunch choice. It was delicious, and the whole outing felt relaxed and easy which I was thankful for.

After breakfast was done and dusted, I had a few hours before I needed to head off to catch my train so I squeezed in a little bit of hooky before making my way homewards via the coast for one last quick sea fix.

It was so beautiful at the beach this morning, sunny and bright with a wild wind blowing.

The waves were magnificent, woweeeee, they just took my breathe away. 

I didn't have much time, just ten minutes or so, but it was long enough to sit down in the sunshine for a short while and breathe it all in. Ahhhhh, I shall miss the sea air very much.

I picked up a pebble to pop in my pocket for good luck, said goodbye to the sea until next time, and mentally prepared myself for the long day of travel back North.

I'm always glad to have my crochet with me when I travel, and this new ripple blanket is really, really, really making me extremely happy indeed. It's such a joy and the combination of jaunty bright colours with this easy, rhythmic pattern is pure hooky pleasure. I'll be telling you more about this blanket next week, I can't wait to show you the inspiration behind it.

Right now it's dark outside and I'm jollying along on the rails somewhere in the middle of the country. This is the very first time I've blogged on a train, it's a bit wobbly but I'm enjoying the fact that I can chat to you while I'm speeding along. I'm currently thinking about the brown paper bag tucked in my rucksack which contains something yummy and sweet purchased from Leakers bakery this morning. Oh yeah, a treat from the bakery, what a lovely thing to look forward to.

Thank you as always for joining me on my adventures, and for the lovely comments you've written on my posts this week. I hope you've enjoyed jaunting with me along the Dorset coast, it's been a fun time and I've loved sharing it with you.

I'll be back tomorrow with my penultimate Blogtober post, it's gone by quickly don't you think? 

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Blogtober 2021 :: Day 28

My third morning waking up in Dorset and once again the skies were very heavy and grey. I told myself that so long as it wasn't raining, then breezy overcast days are perfectly fitting for the end of October and grey skies certainly don't make or break the day like rain does.

Breakfast with my Dad was comical because he served up his usual toast, eggs and smoked salmon combo but somehow completely forgot the eggs. And by that I mean that he totally forgot to even cook them, wondering why the toast looked a bit different with just the bits of smoked salmon on the top. Yeah.....cognitive and memory issues in abundance here, and I don't mind telling you I am more than a little worried. Anyhow - let's not dwell on that.

We went out for morning coffee and I took us to the Bull Hotel which describes itself as "boutique splendour", well yes it is rather posh in there so I tried to appear as if I go to splendour-laden establishments allllll the time. My Dad however was most put out by the splendiferous poshness and declared straight away that he didn't like it one bit (too snooty, he said). I, on the other hand really did like it very much. There were fresh flowers on the table, and lots of Liz Somerville prints lining the walls, so I was instantly convinced that I could be very happy sitting here for my morning caffeine fix. The coffee was really excellent, and definitely my favourite so far this week. It was so good in fact that I had two. 

Our plans for today involved a bus ride along the coast....

.....and at 2.30pm we arrived in Lyme Regis - happy days!! 

I absolutely love love love Lyme Regis, and I have a lot of good memories from my younger years spent working and socialising with friends here. We hopped off the bus at the very bottom of town and began a leisurely stroll along the promenade....

....stopping as I always do to admire the stunning houses. The tall stone house in the photo above is called Sundial House and is now a  very pricey holiday let, although I remember when it was lived in by a family I knew at one time.

It was surprisingly busy in Lyme Regis today, I guess because it's half term and there are a lot of extra visitors in the area. At the end of the promenade we made our way around the harbour....

....and because it was rather wild and windy this afternoon we parked my Dad on a sheltered bench and Lady B and I walked onwards around the famous Cobb Wall.

The Cobb is a very historic structure built in the 13th century to provide protection for the boats in the harbour. You can see an aerial view of it ((here)) to get the measure of it. You can see in the photo above that you can walk along the top of the wall, or on the lower stretch and as it was so blustery we chose to keep to the lower part.

It was exhilarating when we reached the very end because the waves were crashing right up against the rocks and Lady B and I both enjoyed an unexpected cold, salty shower. I do really enjoy having a face full of seaspray on occasion, I love to lick my lips later on and taste the salt still there.

Once we returned and collected my Dad we decided unanimously that after the bench sitting and cold sea shower that we really needed a spell in a cosy pub. Right down on the seafront there are a couple of very old pubs that haven't really changed much over the years - we chose the one that we used to drink in many years ago with family friends of ours who lived in Lyme. It was cosy and atmospheric, and we enjoyed our drinks and a bit of a respite from the elements.

It was 4pm by the time we decided to slowly head back along the promenade and as you can see the daylight was already beginning to fade.

I decided that I couldn't come to Lyme without walking on the beach, so I left my Dad and Lady B strolling slowly along the promenade and ran on down to crunch along the pebbles for a bit.

It was a wild afternoon, the wind whipping my hair and causing the waves to rise in great swells. I do love the sea when it's wild, there is a palpable energy in the air when the waves are large and loud and crashing onto the shore.

I ran right down to the waters edge and stood for a little while drinking it all in.

Honestly I didn't really want to leave, but then again I never do want to leave the sea behind. 

I snapped a quick selfie of my happy windswept self before turning my back on the sea and heading up the hill. I know it's a bit of a silly photo and I look all fuzzy and soft-focus but it wasn't intentional, it's just because my camera lens got a bit salty I think.

Ahhhh, the view down the high street to the sea never gets old, I do have such a soft spot for this little seaside town. We had a long wait for our bus home as the one we were waiting for broke down and it was an hour before the next one came along. So we stood looking at the above view for rather longer than we had hoped, pretty much until it got dark and we could barely see the sea. It was a lovely, lovely day though, and I shall treasure this time I've spent with my Dad. It was good to see him happy and enjoying being out and about, I think he usually spends his days in a very quiet and sedentary way so my visit brought about a few days of complete change for him which I hope has done some good. 

I travel back to the North tomorrow afternoon and I feel ready to return. I've loved my time here this week, but I'm ready to be home with J and the Little Peeps again, I've missed them actually.

So for now I shall say goodnight and leave you with this wonderful Liz Somerville print of the Cobb at Lyme Regis. I do so love her work.

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Blogtober 2021 :: Day 27

This was the view from my position sitting in bed this morning with a steaming mug of tea in my hand, and it's a view I am very familiar with as I grew up seeing it every day from this same bedroom as a child. This house where I grew up is rented and is on an estate owned by a housing association which provides affordable housing for low income families. As a child growing up here, I have to say it wasn't an easy place to live - unfortunately there was a lot of stigma attached to low income housing back then and I used to get teased about it at school. Yes, we were a very poor family in terms of money and what we owned, but just look at that view! Even as a child I appreciated it (I even painted it in watercolour once), and I'm happy to have lived my childhood years here despite the teasing.

So this morning I set out to walk the mile into town so that I could go and have my Dad's breakfast offering at 10am. He is very particular about timing and routines which is a new thing that has come about since the pandemic. He is quite obsessed with his watch and about doing the same things at exactly the same time each day, so I try my best to fit in with what he likes to do when I'm here. I snapped a quick picture of Bridget's Market as I walked passed - it's quite rare these days for towns to still have an old fashioned greengrocers and I'm so happy to see that Bridget's is still thriving. Once upon a time I worked a summer season for Bridget out in the countryside where some of the produce is grown. It was arduous work because my main job was to pick mushrooms in the dark and musty mushroom sheds, and there was a  lot of back breaking bending involved I seem to remember. I also remember a whole day spent planting hundreds of baby leek plants in a huuuuuge field, again with the bending, it was honestly some of the hardest physical work I've ever done.

My morning coffee was enjoyed at Aroma Café and it was a first time visit for me here. It's a really cosy little place with a lovely atmosphere....

....and my frothy coffee went down a treat.

Today we had an outing planned, and I was thankful that the weather stayed mild and dry, even if it was very grey all day.

We went to Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens - if you've been following my Dorset holiday tales over the years then you will know this is a favourite place for J and I to visit in the summer with the Little People but I don't think I've ever been in the Autumn before. And my Dad and Lady B told me it's been many years since they visited so I was really happy to treat them. We enjoyed a lovely stroll around the place in the early afternoon, it was quiet, calming and peaceful.

There wasn't an awful lot of floral action, but I took a few photos of blooms that caught my eye....

....and although I wished there had been more, it was still lovely to enjoy what was there.

I was surprised that there wasn't more autumn colour in the foliage - the above two leaves were pretty much the only colour that I came across, so it was very different to my experience last week at Harlow Carr.

I still enjoyed the greenery though, it was certainly very tranquil and serene and a pleasure to walk slowly around the meandering pathways. 

Right at the very end of our visit the sun came out for just a few minutes and what a difference it made in that moment. The grasses and foliage were suddenly transformed and everything looked golden and full of life. It was so lovely.

Despite the lack of sun, the weather was very mild - my weather app said 16 degrees for today which I think is pretty warm for the end of October. It was warm enough to sit outside in the lovely courtyard garden at Abbotsbury gardens...

...and I enjoyed the most delicious slice of carrot cake with a decaff coffee. My goodness it was good, I had to really stop myself from going into scoff mode and inhaling that cake in two seconds flat.

The journey between Abbotsbury and Bridport is around 9 miles and is very scenic as it winds its way over the hills alongside the famous Chesil Beach. As you drive out of Abbotsbury the road is very steep, and right at the top of the hill there is a viewing point where you can stop the car to admire the view. On a good weather day it is absolutely stunning, and even on a dull grey weather day like today, it was still pretty great. Can you see the big clump of trees right in the middle of the above photo? That is Abbotsbury Gardens where we walked today - it's spread over twenty acres, and I just discovered today how old it is. Would you like to know? It was created in 1765, can you believe that?? I nearly fell off the bench when I read that little bit of info, it's more than 250 years old...wow. Sometimes things like that just blow my mind.

Also in the above photo, just above the trees of Abbotsbury Gardens you can just about make out St Catherine's Chapel perched on top of the hill there. This is another ancient place that we've visited a lot over the years - let me see if I can find it in a blog post for you...here you go....Spring 2013. I know we've been back since then but there are some good photos of the chapel in my 2013 blog post.

This morning after I'd had my coffee I dragged Lady B into one of my favourite shops in Bridport - Cilla & Camilla. I really enjoyed browsing and I have to tell you that shop smells sooooo good! I bought myself a card by an artist called Liz Somerville who's work I fell in love with a few years ago. I discovered her by chance on Instagram and her prints are mostly of the Dorset landscape and coastline that I know and love so much. This image is called "On Sculpted Hill" and shows the chapel on the hill and the trees of Abbotsbury gardens in the foreground. I really like it and think I'm going to frame it and hang it in the Attic to add to the gazillions of memories that I hold of this little patch of planet Earth.

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Blogtober 2021 :: Day 26

I slept so well last night, the kind of deep sleep that comes after a day of travelling when you are weary right down to your bones. I woke at 6.30am when it was still dark and went downstairs in the oh-so-quiet house to make myself a big mug of tea to bring back to bed. I sat and sipped my tea and waited for the daylight to creep in - this bedroom is east facing and at the top of a hill so on clear mornings the sunrise over the surrounding landscape is wonderful. Today though, it was cloudy and grey and there was a deliciously damp, fresh smell in the air so I guessed it must have rained a little in the night.

I set off to walk the mile into town around 9.30, a route that is so very familiar to me I could probably do it with my eyes closed. I snapped the photo above to show you the roses here - right now they are laden with fat red hips but in the summer those hips were pink roses. They were scented too, and I cannot tell you how amazing the scent was on a warm summers evening, I shall never forget it.

Walking down through Bridport town and it all felt and looked reassuringly familiar. Some things inevitably change over time but much has stayed the same since I was a child. There is a great variety of independent shops and cafés and it's so nice to see these little businesses thriving.

This is the window of Leakers Bakery which has been here as long as I can remember - the bakery is over one hundred years old, isn't that amazing? I think before I leave I'm going to treat myself to something from those baskets, and I'll be sure to share it with you.

My Dad made me my breakfast, he has the exact same thing every single morning and seems to like feeding it to me too - a slice of seeded toast topped with scrambled egg and smoked salmon. It was really yummy, and surprisingly filling. I had an idea that while I'm here I'm going to take my Dad and Lady B out for coffee each morning, we're going to visit a different café each time. I know, I'm full of good ideas. My Dad doesn't especially like cafés (he's more of a pub man) but he shuffled along with me this morning and I think he enjoyed it, but he looked very uncomfortable perched on the trendy metal vintage bar stool. I'll hopefully find somewhere more comfy for him tomorrow. I had my usual cappuccino and it was extremely good I have to say - thank you Soulshine Café for the delicious caffeine fix.

I also want to give a little wave and a shout out to the lovely Carole who I bumped into this morning - a crocheter and knitter who reads my blog and recognised me as I was on way to Soulshine. Sometimes I do come across people who look at me as if they know me and as if they want to say something, but then they walk on by - it's an absolute delight when that look of recognition turns into a conversation. So if you do ever see me wandering about the place, do please stop me and say hello!!

After our coffee outing it was high time for me to get my sea fix, my goodness I was fairly desperate for it. We drove the short few miles down to West Bay which always delivers the biggest dose of nostalgia for me. I have so many fond memories of this place, from times when I was very young and on holiday here, through my teenage years living here, then all the many, many summers that I've visited as an adult, and as a Mummy with the Littln's. Quite simply it is home, and my heart and soul are always tripping over themselves with happiness when I'm here.

As you can see, I didn't get my wished for blue skies, it was grey and chilly with gulls screeching and the wind blowing and I absolutely loved it. We walked around the harbour....

.....then all the way along the promenade to the very end. It was really windy along here, the kind that whips your hair into a knot and steals your breathe away.

The tide was high and the sea was pretty rough as it crashed into the rocks...

...the sound and salty tang of it was absolutely fantastic. 

I could have stood here watching the waves for ages, but somewhere along the way we'd lost my Dad and so we needed to retrace our steps and see where he had got to. I think he'd started to feel the cold and had retreated to a bench inside a little shelter to wait for us - we did eventually find him so all was well.

I didn't spend long on the beach because of the Dad-in-the-Shelter situation. He told me not to hurry but I felt bad with him sitting there with his woolly hat pulled right down and his hands rammed into his pockets all huddled into himself.

It was so so good to have my feet on the pebbles for a short while though, grounded to the place that's home to my soul. Breathing out, feeling the ease of it right down to my toes.

Back around the harbour again....

....loving the fishing boats bobbing about in the water, the bright colours and jolly jauntiness of them really appealing to me.

We'd conveniently parked the car right outside the pub.....

....so we decided to take the weight off our feet for a while and get rid of the chill in our bones with a quick afternoon tipple. I treated my Dad to his favourite whiskey which he likes to drink with a splash of hot water, and I enjoyed a cheeky little glass of chilled white wine. It was just a really lovely end to the afternoon I have to say. My Dad is now very, very slow on his feet and doesn't really like walking around all that much, so I was ever so glad that he agreed to come to the sea with us as often times he just refuses. Happy days.

When we got back to Lady B's, I helped her get started on a new crochet blanket. And when I say helped, I mean I made that long wiggly chain and worked a couple of ripply stripes to get the blanket off the starting blocks. She's using up a stash of yarn left over from making other blankets so it's going to be very colourfully eclectic shall we say! I taught Lady B to crochet many years ago so that she could have something to occupy her hands when she was giving up smoking. Now many blankets later she is still a very proud non smoker and a happy hooker. 

Right my lovelies, it's time for me to settle down and get some shut eye now, I hope you've enjoyed my photos and blurb today and I'll be back tomorrow with more....see you then.

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