Wet And Windy Day

Autumn has arrived kicking and screaming.  The wind howls round the house and whines across the top of the chimney pots.  The rain batters against the back door, the trees moan and creak and their leaves and branches fall to the ground in carpets of  autumnal shades.  This is my favourite time of year.  Snug and warm in our little house; lamps glowing and curtains drawn tightly against the black night.  All is well in my world.

November brings colder weather, dark evenings and winter woollies.  I begin to dig out old recipes and cook and bake to keep my family full and warm.  I love it.  In the summer I don't do that much cooking as we mainly eat salads and light meals, but the change in season makes me want to start cooking wholesome food and fill the tins with heavy cake and spicy biscuits.  Halloween came and went this week.  I must confess to an absolute intense dislike of Halloween.  I think little children going out with their parents all dressed up and excited is lovely, but when teenage 'children' use it as an excuse to cause trouble, upset people, throw eggs and generally be unpleasant, that is a different matter altogether.  So Halloween is not something we celebrate in our house and we don't get bothered by anyone knocking at the door as no one would bother to come all this way in the first place.  The best thing about Halloween for us is the pumpkins.

 While the rain lashed down outside, we were snug in our little kitchen making roast pumpkin soup and ginger cake.  I used to make ginger cake in my bread machine until it gave up the ghost.  So, for the first time in years I made one in the oven.  I found a lovely recipe in my Farmhouse Kitchen Cookbook (had that for ever) and away I went.  I love making cakes that match the season and it was the perfect day for something that would stick to our ribs and keep us full for a long time.

Later on the sun came out to play, so Pea and I took the opportunity to plant up some pots for a spot of autumn and winter colour.

I know they don't look much now but hopefully, with vigilant deadheading, they will give us fresh little faces to admire and cheer the dark days for months to come.  We pushed some dwarf iris bulbs in the compost too, so that will be something to look forward to in March when the violas have exhausted themselves and gone to seed.  Even though the wind blew with a definite chill to it and our hands were blue and numb with cold, it was absolutely wonderful to be planting and trying to make the garden look pretty.  I have missed gardening and growing so much and I suspect that my now dormant passion will re-emerge with renewed vigour once the days begin to lengthen and we are heading towards the lighter part of the year again.

In the mean time, we have things like this to keep the smiles on our faces.  This gorgeous male pheasant spent some time in our garden the other afternoon as the light was fading.  There are a million male and female pheasants in the field opposite the house and along the lanes and surrounding areas.  I love having them about and feel very privileged if they choose to wander into our garden.  They can stay as long as they like and we get to enjoy their beautiful autumn colours.

We are now at the end of half-term and can honestly say it has been a lovely holiday.  It came at exactly the right time for us as we were all exhausted and a bit run down after moving house.  My alarm goes off every day at 7am and I force myself out of bed and on with the day, as do we all.  But half-term gave me the chance to be a bit lazy and stay in bed a while longer.  H1 and I let the dogs out in our pyjamas and then I settled down in the lounge with my cup of tea and lazed some more.  Bliss, and just what was needed.  We have been busy but not going mad.  Plenty of time has been spent in front of the telly (by the boys largely) and the house is coming together nicely.  The addition of a lamp in the hallway and light shades in the bedrooms helps it to feel homely.

We finally made it over to the mainland to see my brother, his wife, their little girl and new baby boy this week.  It is the first time I have seen him and he was in my arms having a cuddle before mum and the children even got through the door!  He is the most gorgeous bundle of baby and he smells yummy and feels lovely to hold.  Wow, I love babies, but would NOT want to have another of my own.  It's amazing though how those feeling all come flooding back when you hold a tiny baby again.  He is scrumptious and so quiet and calm.  Not in the least like any of mine were, nor as his dad was when he was a baby, although he is like that as a grown man.  I have to say that, he may read this.  We had a lovely day with them all.  Their pretty cottage is full of love and warmth and all the things of family life.  I love it.

But reality is knocking on the door again and soon it will be time for school and routine.  Booo!  Still, only six weeks til they break up for....CHRISTMAS!!!  And that's another story.

I hope you are keeping safe and warm this autumn.  Thank you for reading.  xxx