My, but autumn can be lovely

 

This past week astronomical autumn began and it came in with all its beauty and splendour. The weakening sun shone its best and the skies were blue. It was perfect weather for gardening, washing drying and walking. It was also chilly enough to need sweaters, snuggly socks and hot chocolates - basically perfect autumn weather.

In the garden I managed to get the lawns mown and tidy up. Just a little more is needed and my little garden will be ready for winter. At the moment it is still happily flowering. 

There are still lots of bees in the garden too which is good to see. They seem to be enjoying the last of the blooms on the hardy plumbago.

There are so many garden spiders about too. They always seem to wait until autumn and then make so many public appearances all around my garden and on my walks. I love to see their webs, so skilfully made. Garden spiders are another of the joys of autumn.

You may remember that last week I said that I might order a squirrel feeder for Mrs Tufty as she was eating the birds out of house and home emptying their feeders. Well it was ordered and arrived on Tuesday. I set it up and then wondered how I would teach the squirrels to use it. I needn't have worried, if there's food they will work it out.

As you can tell with that almost empty feeder, two of the squirrels have worked out how it works and are happily munching away and burying some treats for their less active time in winter. One, however, isn't the smartest fluffy in the drey and spends ages nosing and pushing up the perspex front (that slides out for cleaning) so that he can get underneath to the nuts! Sometimes he just totally gives up and the birds still miss out.

So that is what has been happening in the garden. In the kitchen it has been a busy baking week. Chilly weather encourages me to bake. I loved autumn at home because the house always smelled of my Mum's baking, maybe that's what kicks me off in autumn. This week I have made another sourdough loaf and focaccia and some apple flapjacks were made. Somewhere I went a bit wrong with the apple flapjacks, maybe added too much water stewing the apples, and they were a little soggy underneath but, as my Mum would tell you, they tasted okay and sometimes edible is the best you're going to get.

I mostly stuck to tried and trusted meals this week but, as Aldi are getting their winter squash in, I did make some pumpkin soup which went down well and there was some left to freeze for another day

Next week is a freezer week. I often cook meals for four when it's just my husband and I and when they've built up we have a freezer week. There are soups, pies, tuna fishcakes and stews in there so there will be nothing to tell you about in my kitchen next week because I'm having a lazy week.

Book news. 

This week I finished Chocolat by Joanne Harris.

This book has been in my pile for years. I picked it up at Broadhursts when someone recommended it but somehow I never quite started it. For years I have missed a treat, I absolutely loved it. I must say though that I have never drunk so much hot chocolate in one week, that book certainly starts you craving. I have now started Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe which I admit to struggling a bit with. Seriously though, I know it was written in the early 1700s but who writes books without chapters? I'm never sure where to finish for the evening. I'm hoping that when he gets shipwrecked it becomes more exciting, at the moment I'm really not feeling it but I'll keep on keeping on and see how it goes.

Craft news I've finally finished hat one. Hat two has been requested with a pom pom. Fingerless mitts are done so then it will just be the snoods to make. I really am getting rather slow at knitting these days.

Well, that's this week's activities. I hope you all have a lovely new week xx

Eventually The Sun Shines Through

Well this has been a funny old week. Lots of rain, some things to be sorted that I really didn't want to, lots of dreadful things in the news, lots of rain and lots of dark, gloomy days. You know me with dark, gloomy days and I'm the same with dark, gloomy issues. So my mood took a sizeable dip and I had to step back from social media and news stories because I couldn't cope. I needed head reset time, this usually involves walks in nature but the rain just didn't stop this week so indoors it was.

I did manage one walk in the rain - to the library, books can be a good mood lifter I find, and then I walked on to pick up some craft things to make an autumn garland to brighten the room. Some fairy lights were added and that's it at the top of this blog. A little brightness to lift dark days.

As for this week in nature, well it wasn't really gardening weather so it was a case of watching through the window, lots of birds coming and going, including two pesky magpies who have been coming to steal Mrs Tufty's nuts. Mrs Tufty just stares at me through the window plaintively in the hope of a refill.

At my cousin's the wily old fox was waiting to greet me again.

I am always delighted to see just one but she tells me there are four or five out most nights, waiting for the neighbours to feed them.

Garden plan this coming week is 1) to buy a squirrel feeder to keep the magpies away from the monkey nuts, 2) to plant those autumn bulbs 3) to bring indoors the rest of the tomatoes to ripen 4) mow the lawns and tidy.

So how about cooking and baking this week? Well, I just managed to bake another sourdough loaf and then a wholemeal loaf in the breadmaker, no cakes I'm afraid. I made a new soup - cauliflower and walnut, which was tasty and much needed on a chilly day. I tried a new recipe for kimchi tacos too.

They were quite a hit and I will try them again.

The plan for next week is to bake another sourdough loaf, some focaccia and some apple flapjacks. I hope to try out a new soup and a new pasta dish too. I'll let you know how they go.

Book news is that I finished Ian Rankin's The Falls which was just super. I do love his Rebus books though I rarely get close to solving them till near the end. This one was really meaty with some historical references that set me off on some of my own research. I have now started Joanne Harris's Chocolat. It seems to have been in my TBR pile forever, I can't believe that it has taken me this long to begin it. I am really enjoying it though.

As Saturday's planned outing was washed out by torrential rain we visited the Walker Art Gallery to see the John Moores Painting Prize exhibition. It is free to visit and is so worth it, some amazing artworks on display. A wonderful way to spend a rainy day. We loved it.

My SAD lamp has been much needed this week and I frequently forgot to use it. Astronomical autumn begins tomorrow and there will be darker and more gloomy days ahead so I need to prepare for them and use it regularly. I know I'm not fun to be around when my SAD kicks in so I need to be ahead with my absorption of light.

Today, as you can see, it has not been needed. The blue skies have returned and the sun is shining. Eventually the sun always shines through, be it after bad weather days or bad life times. We all need to trust and believe that, even on the gloomiest of days. I hope some of this has been interesting. Wishing you all a wonderful new week, I hope that the sun shines for you xxx

Time For Cosiness, But Don't Forget Nature

 

This past week we seem to have well and truly left summer behind. It has been so much colder and so much wetter. The house has seemed darker and gloomier without the summer sun. I've accepted that summer is gone for another year and have got out my case of autumn/winter clothes and packed away the lighter ones. If we suddenly get some returning warm days I have t-shirts. I also have my blanket ready to snuggle on the sofa and new batteries for my fairy lights to cheer the house. Hot chocolate and chai latte mixes are being bought and I have begun to use my SAD lamp. My winter SAD hasn't kicked in yet but I think it's best to get ahead. I need to get out on some nature walks too now to soak up the vitamin D and remember to appreciate all that autumn has to offer. Sometimes it's easy to forget the beauty that's out there when the weather turns.

So how has this last week gone? Well, when the rain wasn't falling I managed to get the front garden tidied, more shrubs cut back and the beds weeded. It's generally looking a lot happier, There are still a few summer blooms out there and my cotoneaster (which some people use as a filler but I love) is at its autumnal best.

If you remember last week I was giving up on the tomatoes ripening but, if there is something I should have learned by now, gardening takes time and this week lots began to ripen. I had eight in a salad (my husband doesn't like them so more for me) and I'm looking forward to these ones being ready soon.

Elsewhere in the garden, Mrs Tufty has started coming more often, obviously stocking up for winter when she will slow down a little. Unfortunately the magpies have noticed where the monkey nuts go and are beginning to steal quite a few before she gets them. I may need to buy a squirrel feeder. The robin has obviously realised that it is autumn and is now a daily visitor for his lunch/dinner.

We have no other new visitors to the garden yet but I have heard the first of the overwintering geese flying above us to Martin Mere.

Plan for this coming week is to get out there and spend a little more time readying the garden for winter and planting some spring bulbs. I'm also hoping to gather the runner beans and some more tomatoes.

In the kitchen, the cold weather has set me baking and preparing for colder days. I made the first sourdough loaf of the year this week.

I also made a rosemary and raisin loaf,  some apple & sultana scones, an apple & raisin loaf (a bit soggy in the middle, would never pass Bake Off!) and some Paddington Bear Marmalade cakes. 

As it's getting colder the kitchen plans for this week are to bake another sourdough loaf, make a wholemeal loaf for sandwiches and start winter stews with dumplings. I'm going to try a new soup too - cauliflower and walnut cream. I may try some apple flapjacks if I have time, it all depends on the weather. If it's fine - I'll garden, if it rains - I'll bake.

Book news is that I finished Jenny Colgan's Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe. I absolutely loved it. A light hearted romance with lots of super cake recipes to try. I've now started Ian Rankin's The Falls. I really enjoy Rebus mysteries and am thoroughly enjoying this one

So that's this week's news. I hope some of it was interesting for you and I wish you all have a lovely new week xx

Is Autumn Rushing Forward?

So autumn seems to be hastening on (not as much as in the photo though, that was taken last year). So many trees are already turning golden/brown and quite a few are shedding their leaves already. I was beginning to think that autumn was coming earlier with climate change. Then I read a Guardian article about how it is a false autumn. Apparently because of four heatwaves this summer the trees are under stress and are shedding their leaves early and so much is out of sync, nature wise. So climate change, yes, early autumn, no.

So how has this week gone?

Nature spotting - I went to visit my cousin and, as I stepped from the car, a beautiful fox appeared from behind it, obviously hoping that I would have food.

The garden has started getting busier with birds coming to feed - bluetits, great tits, blackbirds, goldfinches, magpies, feral pigeons. Soon I shall be expecting the collared doves, woodpigeons and starlings back.

The squirrels have been coming regularly. Mrs Tufty more regularly than usual but I notice that she has teats now so obviously has a family to feed. When she sees me through the window she has taken to standing on her back legs in a pleading manner and doesn't run when I go out, just waits for the monkey nuts. 

So this week I need to clean out the bird feeders again to protect them from bird flu, get a new mealworm feeder and buy extra sunflower hearts, peanuts and mealworms to fill them - oh and more monkey nuts for the squirrel families.

In the kitchen this week I have made some ciabattas and French country bread for the freezer for busier autumn/winter days. I haven't baked much else as I have been busy catching up with family and friends who were neglected over the busy summer. In the coming week I'll hopefully get the first sourdough loaf baked (the starter should be ready to use by Tuesday). Then the plan is to bake some focaccia to go with soup and to attempt an Italian rosemary and raisin loaf to go with soft cheeses.

For sweet baking I am still using up the apples from the trees so, assuming I have time, I hope to make apple and sultana scones, apple tea loaf cake and stew some apples for pies and crumbles later in the year. The freezer may well be full then, we'll see.

I always like to try new recipes so this week I'm going to try a cannellini beans and greens soup. Should be some to freeze too.

A new autumn dinner recipe to try this week will be mushroom, leek and chestnut pie. Just right for these cold evenings.

In the garden this week I have mostly been tidying - lawn mowing, cutting back trees, shrubs and died back summer plants such as monbretia in the back garden. Weather permitting I'll carry on with that this coming week, trimming and weeding the front garden and raking up some of the falling leaves. I may get some spring bulbs planted too. The runner beans are mostly ready so I shall pick them and we can have those with a meal sometime. Only three tomatoes have ripened so far, the rest remain green. I shall give them another week and then I shall concede defeat and look for some green tomato recipes.

Book wise this week I have finished King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard. I enjoyed the adventure a lot more than I would have expected but I did struggle with the superior colonial mindset and demonstrations of hunting prowess. I do remember lecturers at university saying that some books had to be read as 'of their time'. This was definitely one of them and some of the attitudes would have gone unnoticed reading them in Victorian times I'm sure and it would be considered a fine adventure novel.

I have now begun a light romance book - Jenny Colgan's Meet me at the Cupcake Cafe which I am enjoying immensely.

Well that's this week's nature, cooking, gardening and book news. I hope I haven't bored you. I'll let you know next week how I get on with my plans. I hope you all have a wonderful week xx

The Year Is Hastening On

 

My goodness summer passed quickly this year and it was so busy. We had two graduations, lots of visits from the children and friends (including a wonderful week with my best friend), there's been house clearing, flat moving and there have been stays in hospital and visits to walk ins. Our daughter got engaged and started her first teaching job (schools go back in August in Scotland) and our youngest started the year in Industry part of their degree in another part of the country. It has been non stop. Unfortunately in all this chaos the garden has mostly been just ticking over and is in need of some real TLC.

So when meteorological autumn begins tomorrow the pace will begin to slow and that is much needed. Though I did promise a lot of people that we would meet up for lunch/coffee/walks once the busy summer passed so maybe not quite so quiet.

So what are my autumn plans?

1) I let my sourdough starter go so it's time to set a new one going. The bread is always welcome with cold weather soups.

2) The gardens will be trimmed back, tidied and the last of the fences painted before winter hopefully.

3) I will start regular nature walks. I need the exercise.

4) Apple pies, parkin and muffins will be baked then, later in the season, Christmas cake and pudding made.

5) I will get my knitting needles back out as I have promised two young ladies in Scotland hat, scarf and gloves sets before the really cold weather sets in

6) I will try some new autumn recipes to keep meals interesting. I may even be adventurous and buy one of these air fryers everyone is talking about and experiment with that.

7) I will take some time to slow down, wear snuggly sweaters and socks and sit under a cosy blanket with a hot drink and read exciting new books.

8) As the days get darker and gloomier I shall put up more fairy lights and candles and bring light into my home.

9) I have written the first of my feel good lists of activities so that I can try to get on top of my Winter SAD before it kicks in but I have my SAD lamp and I will try to get out walking and soak up as much daylight as I can.

So, in a nutshell, I intend to soak up the best of autumn and try to celebrate the slow, snuggly pace, and just make some time for me.

Well this is a little late

 

First of all, apologies for the lateness of this end of April blog. My excuse is tiredness and being a little poorly last week. Anyway here it finally is.

My decision at the beginning of the year was to try to live in the moment. This has been serving me well. Sometimes, however, it is not always possible. There are times when we have to fit around other people. April was one of those months. We had so many visitors and so many places booked for us to visit that our feet barely touched the ground. It has been both wonderful and exhausting. We have visited lovely places both locally and the length of the country from Devon to Edinburgh.

So what have I learned this month? Firstly, that I love my family and friends and think that the tiredness was worth all the travel for the time spent together. Secondly, that I'm not a spring chicken any more and I have to learn to pace myself. In future if I have one busy weekend I shall take the next weekend off before I have another busy one. Thirdly, as I learned during the pandemic, I am part hermit. I need my quiet time and that is okay, it is part of me - and part of living in the moment for me is finding moments to just be, to rest my head and do nothing. I will be sure to allocate alone time in future, it is needed. For me too much rushing from one thing and one conversation to another is too much, sometimes I have to just be.

We are each of us different some need to be constantly surrounded by people and out all the time but some of us need lots of quiet hibernation time too. Both are valid. What is important in life is to find out who you were meant to be and to be that person. As my Mum would tell you, the people who really matter will accept you for who you are, even if that is different to them.

So what about May? Well I intend to take a few weeks to just be quiet and antisocial to reset my head, then I will maybe join in with some of the exciting events of the month. I've already missed May Day/Beltane/International Workers' Day. I missed the Dawn Chorus and Beating the Bounds yesterday - which was also Orthodox Easter (I'm happy to share your chocolate if you are celebrating). 

So what is to come?

9th May   Ascension Day - I may buy some white and yellow flowers for my porch and redecorate it in a white and yellow theme. Today is also Europe Day a day for celebrating peace and unity in Europe. I may add the flag of Europe to my porch display.

12th May  International Nurses Day - Florence Nightingale's birthday and a day to  remember all the wonderful nurses around the world.  

Today is also National Children's Day in the UK a day to focus on the importance of a healthy childhood and protecting the rights of children. Plenty to think about in our country where some children go to school hungry. Even if a foodbank donation is all I can do today I will do that.

19th May  Whit Sunday - I always remember my mother telling me that, as children, she and my aunt were always bought new clothes for Whit Sunday. I may treat myself to a new dress for church this year.

20th May    World Bee Day - to raise the importance of our pollinators and to ensure our gardens are bee friendly. Today I may plant extra bee lavender, they seem to like that.

26th May  Towel Day - for those of us who love Douglas Adams (thank you for getting me into University Mr Adams) today is a day for openly carrying your towel around all day because as every Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fan knows you Don't Panic and you always carry a towel.

29th May - National Biscuit Day - I may try a new biscuit recipe today

So, as you see, there is plenty to keep me busy in May, if that's what I choose, but I will also find time to rest and just be me. There is a time for everything and, as I am learning this year, which it is will be decided on the day.

How Goes the Reprogramming?

Goodness we are at the end of March already (a few days early I know but we have so many visitors coming this weekend that the blog will have to be a little premature this month), spring has sprung - look at the tulips and daffodils, not the rain hitting the window! All is well with the world.

You may remember that at the start of the year I decided that I would attempt to destress myself and try to live one day at a time and not always be worrying about tomorrow. So, how is that going? On the whole pretty well. Some outing plans have gone awry but we just re-planned the day and had fun anyway. We've had visits from and to family and friends and they have always brought a smile to my face.

So is it all tickety-boo, and have I become worry free? Of course not, I'm still human after all. In the middle of the month a relative was rushed to hospital and remained seriously ill for a while. No worry Janet stopped even attempting to be no worry. Once I got over the initial shock I did tell myself that there was nothing I could do apart from be here. Illness really is something you have to take one day at a time. Of course I didn't stay that calm about it and the stress did start to build up and, despite pottering about as usual, I started to get rather angsty about many things, a lot of them things that I didn't need to be angsty about. Just as I was starting to get really stressed, thanks to our wonderful NHS, the relative turned a corner and began to pick up and continues to improve, I'm pleased to say.

To help reset my head my wonderful husband took me on a day trip to my most magical of places - Haworth, home of my beloved Bronte sisters. We had a super day, the Parsonage displays were as good as always and we even got to wear hats!

Of course from the Parsonage we carried on to Heptonstall to visit Sylvia Plath's grave and the ruins of the old church of St Thomas a Becket which I can just wander round for ages. Two places that for some reason always make me feel peaceful and contemplative.

So, a little better news and a visit to two of my favourite places and my head was resetting. It was time to get back on track and look for the best part of each day, and there are so many good parts of each day. I have a lovely family, wonderful friends, a roof over my head, food to eat and a pretty little garden and that is just to start.

Soon we move into April, such a pretty month and my head reprogramming continues. I shall keep taking one day at a time and see what comes. So what is happening in April that I can possibly dip into when the days come round?

1st April - Easter Monday and a chance to relax with family and enjoy the Bank Holiday - guess who'll be reading?

As it's also April Fools Day it might be a good day to research some famous fools.

9th April - Eid al-Fitr - the Islamic celebration of the end of Ramadan - a good day to bake and give it to neighbours.

10th April - Tonight there is a brief close approach of the Moon and Jupiter, starting in the West at about 20:30 so a good time to do a little sky gazing.

14th April - St Tiburtius' Day - this is the day when cuckoos traditionally start singing so will be a super day for a nature walk.

22nd April - Passover begins - maybe time for me to learn a little more about this celebration. It's a long time since, at college, we went to a Passover meal as part of our studies.

23rd April - St George's Day - time for me to learn a little more about St George and why he became our patron saint. Maybe a god day to bake a nice cake too.

23rd April is also the start of the Asparagus season so this is a good time to find some new asparagus recipes.

As the days get lighter this month is also a good time to take some pleasant walks, visit family and friends more and spend a little more time in the garden. But let's not plan too much - I'll decide on the day!

Now all that is left for me to do is wish a Very Happy Easter to those who celebrate xxx