Sunday 19th September - Another week...

 It's been a funny old week, but I think it is often like that at the beginning of Autumn, when Summer seems reluctant to end, and yet the sun rise is later, dusk is earlier.

I can remember as a youngster shivering along to school wearing Summer uniform in the morning, and sweltering home in the afternoon as the sun had burned through the Autumnal mist and brought Summer back. Or, even worse, mooching along comfortably in winter uniform and sweating home wearing coat, felt hat and brown knitted gloves (it was that kind of school - blazer and straw hat and white cotton gloves in the summer, and woe betide you if you were not wearing hat and gloves.)

The air has seemed somehow 'thick', or maybe 'dense' might be a better word. I have been beavering away at my step count, but on a couple of days I have struggled to motivate myself. Today, for example, it is well into the afternoon and I've only notched up 550 steps from pottering about house, and I've already promised myself that I can have a Sabbath Rest today. At least I have found a way of switching off those pesky 'motivational messages' that kept popping up all the time.

The Book Club choice for last month, as I think I have mentioned, was 'Precious Bane' by Mary Webb. In another frame of mind I might have read it, but I gave up three pages in, unable to plough through the admittedly beautiful but archaic language. Instead I have been reading several books in the 'light romantic style', all reprints of popular novels of 60 or more years ago.   

I think 'Business as Usual', recommended by a friend, was the most successful of this bunch, and enjoyed it very much. 

I may be ready for something meatier, or maybe not. I have started this one, by the same author as the 'Shardlake' series. There's a sense of foreboding -  I have a horrible feeling things will come to a sticky end for several people and only a quarter of the way through... 

 I didn't go to this month's Book Club meeting as we are now meeting indoors again after a year of zooms and a couple of 'in the garden' meetings. This month's book is by Graham Norton, called 'A Keeper'. According to the 'blurb' is it 'creepy, atmospheric, and impossible to put down'. 

Maybe I'll read a few Mary Stewarts first and build up to it?

The 100 day dress challenge continues; I'm still not bored with wearing the same dress, I've still not had to wash it as it still looks and smells clean. This is only day 16 - so far, so good.

One bonus is that I scroll past all the advertisements from favourite companies without a qualm - no point looking, because I won't be wearing anything different for another twelve weeks!  

Sunday 8th August - Autumn

 No really. And knowing that the first day of Autumn in the medieval calendar is 7th August, makes me feel a whole lot better about putting on socks and shoes instead of going barefoot, and wearing a scarf, or, today, a fleece.

It makes sense - Harvest is an 'Autumn' sort of thing, and really gets going in August.

All my good resolutions about going for walks have been washed away in the rain this past week. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. I've walked round the garden and eaten a couple of runner beans from the top of the plants, having carefully inspected them for slug trails and wildlife first.

We seem to have sorted out the cat's problems to some extent. My little water feature was unceremoniously emptied out into the thick laurel hedge at the bottom of the garden, water, algae, rocks, sticky water and all. We suspect that it may have been the source of the parasites that McCavity has been harbouring. And we have bought some dry biscuit food called 'Meowing Heads' to supplement they ordinary cat food. 

I've been getting used to my new sketchbook. I watch tutorials on youtube (they have to be short, and I have to like the sound of the voice over)

Having watched 'how to draw trees in pen and ink' I had a go at following the same general idea in coloured pencil and watercolour. It's all practice for when we go on holiday.

Holiday? Where? When? Oh, somewhere, sometime, in the future...

Monday 21st September - Summer again

 Sort of Summer. 

I have a selection of 'not yet ready for the wash, but not laundry-fresh' garments lying around, as I start the day dressed for Autumn, remove layers in tne middle of the day for Summer, and then replace said layers in the evenings. 

Long or short sleeves? Or three-quarter? One layer or two? Socks - to wear, or not to wear, that is the question. I'm sitting in the garden to concoct this post, wearing a jersey top which wasn't warm enough earlier, and I'm now rolling up the sleeves and removing the scarf that was keeping my neck warm. And I have just removed my socks - they were clean on this morning so don't worry, they don't 'niff'.

I got out my Summer nightdress again last week, wore it once, and it has gone into the laundry basket. But I was too warm last night in my new winter nightdress...

My new nightdresses are very pleasing. I bought them from Land's End, as my old Land's end ones (at least 7 years 'hard wear') are overdue for retirement. I refuse to pay full price; £40 for a plain nightdress seems to be extravagant, and for a while I thought I was going to have to settle for candy-floss pink - but I DO NOT WEAR PINK, even when I am asleep. 

Then I found these; (that's not me - my hair is growing, but not that long and, sadly, not quite so brown)

and I no longer worry about having to get dressed in time for the first zoom piano lesson in the morning at 8am. Who would ever know - unless they also shop at Land's End... it's tempting to buy some more as they make pretty nifty dresses and fit well.

It looks as though another 'lockdown' and more 'shielding' is on the horizon. Well, so be it. I'm getting myself accustomed to the idea that it is going to be six months and more before we start getting clear of this virus. That means March - or shall we just say Easter? We, for one, are not panic-buying a Christmas turkey and filling up valuable freezer space which could be used to store loo rolls and bread flour, even if that means we will have to make do with a papier mache turkey (constructed from defrosted loo rolls and served with bread sauce) - even if The Turkey is what Christmas Is All About. At least we will be going in to lockdown with our on-line shopping all sorted out - last time we were sourcing food from here there and everywhere, and at times it was a little anxiety-making.

I shall also place an order for garden seeds in the next few days - not being able to get hold of seeds for the garden was a bit of a downer. I managed to find a couple of sunflower seeds at the bottom of the seed tin, but I would have loved to grow more.

Pictures - I am two days behind at the moment - three if I don't do one for today after finishing this post. 

I titled this post 'Summer Again'. Too true - I have just moved to sit in the shade (and unrolled my sleeves and put my socks back on... it's all very confusing... and we will have to carry on watering the garden for a bit longer. Sitting here, I can see the length of the sunny border still flowering in full technicolour. Very pleasing. 

   

Tuesday 1st September - Beginning of Autumn

 Today is one of the dates in the year which marks the ending of a season and the beginning of another. 

Meteorological Autumn starts today and end on 30th November

Astronomical Autumn starts from the DSeptember equinox, which I had always thought was on the 21st, but apparently it wanders between the 21st and the 24th, and is on the 22nd this year. Winter will start, astronomically speaking, on 21st December (how come that hasn't wandered off course by a day? No, don't tell me, I'm not absolutely burning with curiousoity at the moment. Maybe I'll look into this another day.)

Autumn term for the local schools starts on 3rd September around here. I am so, so glad that I have retired from teaching in schools - there is absolutely no mithering about whether I should or should not go in. And I am planning to zoom teach this term. I'll tell you one thing, though, I haven't had a single chest infection since February - normally I would reckon to have had several, and be due another three weeks after the start of term. Now there's something to consider.

We have allowed the first stranger into our house since March - the engineer came to service the oxygen machine that I hitch myself up to at night. Himself watched as the engineer did his stuff, making mental notes of everything that was touched in the process so it could all be gone over with anti-bac spray afterwards. 

It was also the day of the last hospital appointment for the year as far as I know. Zoom again, and another new consultant. No change - carry on being Very Careful and do everything I can to avoid catching The Virus as the consequences would be 'problematical' - my word, not hers, but we both knew what I meant. So I will be staying in my gilded cage, apart from carefully considered excursions, for some time yet.

I'm carrying on with my artistic efforts. I started a new sketch book with proper water-colour paper in it today. Here's Hanuman, one of two Balinese figures that my parents had for - well, I don't know how many years. Forty-five, perhaps? They are in our garden now, having lived on front door steps, balconies and various gardens over the years. 

Other pictures; (working backwards)

I'm also getting stuck into piano playing again. It's been a while - I think that I had been doing so much piano teaching for so long that I had got rather 'piano-ed out', but it's coming back again. 

 

Wednesday 13th November - so far, so good

A lovely clear, bright Autumn morning, although it is clouding over a bit now.

The roads are still very green, very gold - the nests of the rookery are just becoming visible now that the oak trees have lost some leaves.

I slept well all last night - hope you did too?

My godmother has cleaned us out of money notes and coins - we are her bankers! She writes us a cheque, and we hand over the lolly. So himself will have to amble round to the corner shop and buy someting diddy (bar of chocolate, I expect!) with a five pound note in order to feed any hungry car park machines.

You see - today, our news is all little trivial events. What a lovely change.

I'll go and teach a classroom of young and fidgety guitarists in a minute, come home and do some piano teaching. All very calm and normal.

And I'm only slightly twitchy that my godmother's phone has been engaged for the last hour... She has probably not put it back in the cradle. If she needs us, she can still ring us. Or press the red button on her wrist if there is a real problem. Or I can ring the neighbour later this afternoon if it is still engaged...

More breathing? More tea? What a good idea... 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3343868/Tea-soothes-a-troubled-mind-say-scientists.html

Saturday 9th November - Catching up

Catching up on what?

Teaching - 8 piano pupils this morning - because of car malfunction and then half term I haven't seen most of them for a whole 28 days - I counted up the days because one lad had practised the piano every day, scout's honour, which means 7 stickers on my tally chart to add to the previous 5. Since the incentive scheme I run means they get a prize for 10 stickers, he will get first pick of the IKEA finger puppets, the current reward;

It is quite a challenge to find prizes that are cheap enough that I don't mind buying them while exciting enough to be considered acceptable by discerning children.

I feel a bit guilty that one family of three siblings have no idea that I am running this scheme; their mother insists on them all practising every day (which is why the 5-year-old is taking Grade 1 next week, the 8-year-old passed Grade 2 last term and the 10-year-old is already working towards her Grade 4 next term) so they would be hoovering up prizes every couple of weeks. Luckily they will work for stickers - not fussy what sort so long as there are stickers.

I came home from teaching through the kind of autumnal rain which is direct, cold, and uncompromising. The autumn colours are still glorious - beech trees are the stars at the moment. The sycamores lost nearly all their leaves when there were a couple of stormy days last week. Once back, we stayed in for the rest of the day.

I've now got to catch up on paperwork, and also send the next set of emails-to-parents cancelling a day's teaching, as, on balance, we need to visit my godmother again in the next few days. Just to keep things going. The next few months are looking to be the most disorganised ever. Which is saying something.

Oh, and the other thing that is catching up with me as opposed to me catching up with it is the definite beginnings of a sore throat and cold. Which I intend to treat by staying in bed tomorrow; I was supposed to be 'sidesperson' at church (handing out hymnbooks and directing the traffic when it is time to receive Communion) but have managed to get someone else to do it for me. And that will be a time for me to catch up on my sleep too.

Friday 9th November - And the wall came a-tumbling down...

The Berlin Wall started to come down in November 1989. Remember where you were then? I was in a hotel on a training course - can't remember where. We all stood around in the bar, watching the television n astonishment.

Mstislav Rostropovitch went there on the 9th November (the Wall, not my hotel) and played the Bach Sarabande in D minor from the cello suites Here's the whole suite, and here's an extract from the suite, filmed at the Wall on That Day.

I wonder if yesterday's drum lesson was lacking sparkle because I was slowly succumbing to an Autumn lurgy? I have cancelled this evening's drumming workshop because I am now feeling completely  stupidified. I was quite proud of myself for driving home without any mishap.

Oh, but the trees are glorious now. The benefit of driving to this school is going along lanes with beech trees, all now a wonderful bronze brown. There is a occasional blaze of bright red maple or a flame-yellow tree - would that be a birch? But the leaves are often quite big. It was gusty and rainy this morning, and the leaves were tumbling along our road as though pursed. It always reminds me of the record cover from the recording of Peer Gynt when I was a child;
 



I remember how the violence of the storm came out of the picture.

I have been practising standing on one leg while I brush my teeth. Standing on one leg is supposed to be good for strengthening your 'core'. When I was younger we didn't have 'cores'. I change over from one leg to the other when the toothbrush beeps, every 30 seconds, which is just about when I am beginning to lose my balance. It is quite complex, to consider balancing, moving the toothbrush along your teeth, and trying not to dribble toothpaste all at one time.

From the BBC 'Trust Me I'm A Doctor site;

You get a sense of just how good your sense of balance really is by attempting to balance on one foot with your eyes closed: Bend one knee and lift the foot — if you’re right-handed, stand on your left leg and lift the right foot; you don’t need to lift it high – about 6 inches off the floor.

Do this with a hand very near something ready to steady yourself in case you fall!

The chart below shows how long you should be able to keep this up for, without falling over or having to put your foot down 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2BKKFygWQXwRHQRb3v0czGy/how-can-i-improve-my-balance-and-core-strength

I thought this chart was lacking in challenge at first sight, then I noticed the words I have highlighted...with your eyes closed... I suspect that will make all the difference.

I shan't try it until I have stopped feeling stupified by this cold.

Oh well, I did give it a go just now. HE looked at me as though I was mad. It is unexpectedly tricky to begin with. Neither of us managed even 4 seconds to begin with!

Saturday 3rd November - For Now I Am Winter

That's the name of today's music by Olafur Arnalds, a young Icelandic composer. It is odd. And haunting. And wintery.

It was a cold day today - The final morning of music teaching happened, and went well. The offsprings are here for the weekend, for various social gatherings and car-related activities.

The collection of them was rather less simple than usual - in the course of which we criss-crossed the Autumn countryside. I was very happy to enjoy the views of fields and trees in glorious colour. I was more than ready for 'lunch' when we finally arrived at Nymans' Gardens at 3pm - the last coffe (and loo-stop, come to think of it) had been a long time before.

We all four had large home-made sausage rolls, which had chunks of dried apricot and apple incorporated into the sausagemeat. That is an excellent idea, and one I shall copy.

The offsprings had a quick walk around the gardens in the gathering gloaming, we investigated the shop.

Now we are all back home. They are providing supper, and we are sitting back and letting them get on with it.

Excellent.

I should be practising the hymns for tomorrow. The organist that I share the Sunday with is more than happy to play 'Fight The Good Fight', and top and tail the service with organ voluntaries. (Although our organ only has two manual, thank heavens...) That leaves me with the singy-songy ones which I know have played in the past, but I'm not too certain if they are still in my fingers. Practice would be a good idea.

Wednesday 27th September - Sunflowers

The first lot, grown from seed a hundred years ago in the Spring, were eaten by slugs, but the second lot are making a brave attempt to flower;

By the time I got round to planting them out, their roots were matted together, so I just thrust the tray of earth into a tub which is full of daffodil bulbs, added some more earth and a support and hoped for the best. I might try a similar method of ignorance and brutal neglect next year. It worked much better than the tender loving car that the first seedlings received.

This white Japanese anenome is very important to me. It was given to me by a friend several years ago, and again, suffers from annual neglect. Well, Chris was a stubborn lady, hardy, self-sufficient, and full of admirable qualities, and this flower which, turns up long after the common pink anenomes are over, is constant and reliable in spite of my own forgetfulness. Like Chris. She died at the beginning of the year, and I miss her dearly. 

What about these roses? Himself "dead-headed" them - ie chopped them back by quite a length - in late Summer, and here they are again! (The "downstairs" cat is pretending not to notice the camera; note the artfully casual arrangement of paws and tail) 

These last few days have been suddenly sunny and warm. Yesterday I sat out in the car park at Nymans Gardens to eat my packed lunch. The thought of the enclosed staff room on such a beautiful day was so unattractive. "Forest-Bathing" has become "a thing"; apparently there is scientific evidence to show that spending time in woodland has all kinds of health benefits; the quote below is from wikipedia. Apparently pine forests are best, because of breathing in  

volatile substances, called phytoncides (wood essential oils), which are antimicrobial volatile organic compounds derived from trees, such as α-Pinene and limonene.

Forest bathing is the practice of taking a short, leisurely visit to a forest for health benefits. The practice originated in Japan where it is called shinrin-yoku (森林浴) in Japanese (it is also called sēnlínyù (森林浴) in Mandarin and sanlimyok (산림욕) in Korean).

Shinrin Yoku Samurai Spain 侍

Studies in Japan have measured changes in immune markers and stress hormones in people who regularly walked in specific forests in Japan. In addition, people with diabetes but not taking insulin found substantial benefits by lowering blood glucose levels.

I may yet give it a bit of a go - in sunny weather...

Sunday 10th September - Socks

Today I am wearing socks for the first time since Summer started.

I did wear socks for a few days in Northern Ireland, but that is a chillier country. As in 'Northern'.

Sunday 14th November - Random Thoughts

When I got up this morning, I noticed that the oak trees behind our house still have a lot of green leaves left on them, along with the brown and gold.
Seen through patterned glass in the bathroom window, it looked like some kind of abstract impressionist, abstract painting. Later, once the sun was higher in the sky, the illusion vanished.

A bright sunny day in Autumn is one of my favourite kinds of day. Like today.

This year we didn't go to any Remembrance Parades, Church Services or anything like that. Which is not to say that I didn't do any remembering.

Friday 4th November - Proper Post for the day

If I had managed to remember to do a post on time yesterday, it might have gone like this...

What a contrast from one week to the next...

Last Friday we were still in Canada. The weather had turned; there had been a frost, with Real Ice on the puddles and Real Frost on the cars. However, the sun came out, and we went for a glorious walk in Beamer Conservation Area; easy walking through woods along paths carpeted with fallen leaves. Every so often I would get a scent of some kind of foliage, or maybe flower; I have no idea what it was, but it was exactly like the smell you get from some kinds of real, old-fashioned pot-pourri.

What we should have looked at properly on the way in. 

View across  Grimsby and Lake Ontario to Toronto. If this picture had been better, you would be able to see Toronto looking like some kind of science fiction city; the road going directly into the distance it pointing straight at the CNN Tower .

I don't think that is land you can see across the lake in the far distance, but clouds. 

The sun was bright, the birds were singing, the sky was blue, the views were amazing. Sadly, none of us had looked at the "welcome board" on the way in, and though were were fairly sure that we would get back to the start if we continued along the path, we weren't certain enough to risk it.

So we turned round and went back the way we came. Next stop, a food court to pick up some bread for lunch. Hey! Tescos and Sainsburys! You've a long way to go to understand the Canadian idea of cake decoration! Especially for Halloween!

Home, for lunch, at 4pm! Where had the day gone?


Contrast this Friday... a tedious drive through rain and drizzle to get to the dentist. BB is unwell at the moment - sore throat and temperature - so decided to stay at home. It wasn't all bad though... last time I went to the dentist it turned out into a protracted root canal filling repair and replacement crown. This time all was well and I only had to endure a ruthless descaling and polishing.

September?? Today is October 16th

I've just opened this blog for the first time in ages....

where did September go?

The shed looks like this now:

Two coats of wood treatment, applied in the blazing sun have transformed it. The snails haven't found the lettuces in the window box yet.

the agapanthus are dying back;

from how they were back in the Summer

Autumn is properly here.

Although no-one seems to have told the Love-in-a-mist,

or the Nemesia that escaped from a patio tub last Summer and seeded itself in a crack by the front door.

September disappeared in a flurry of activity; the start of term is always hectic, and it took me about three weeks to get the various schedules sorted out for school classes, school piano teaching and my own piano teaching at home. That used up a huge amount of patience and mental gear changing, and I still haven't dared write it in my diary in ink.

Another great project was getting the house and garden respectable for visiting relations. Little things, like at last fitting locks to the bathroom and loo door. We took them off 28 years ago when the children were toddlers, but now they are properly grown up it's probably okay to reinstate the locks. The only problem is that I am totally out of the habit of using them... luckily there were no "incidents" while our visitors were with us!

We had a terrific week while out cousins were here. It was term-time, so I was working, but managed to join in several trips at the weekend. During the week, BB took them round various local sights and wonders, and in the evening we caught up on all the news.

Now it's mid-October. Just ten weeks until the end of term, eleven weeks until Christmas, twelve weeks until 2017. Now that's something to think about.

Sunday 1st November 2015 - November

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness".... dunno about the fruitfulness but it sure was misty all today.

Have you read the whole poem?

Here it is.... in facsimile... from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Autumn






You can read the whole thing if you go to the Wikipedia page. And the meaning, themes, structure, and everything else.

There's nothing "fruitful" left in our garden. This year our harvest was mainly apples (now in the freezer) and chillis.

"Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them,..."

No, think not of the songs of Spring. It's going to be Christmas Carols for the rest of the year. 

Wednesday 19th November 2014 - Whacky Wednesday

So, what shall I post today?

Shall I wax all rhapsodical about driving along country roads through showers of autumnal leaves fluttering down from the sky like giant moths, landing wetly on my windscreen before slipstreaming to the side of the road? This is one of my favouurite times of year for driving from school to school. When it isn't raining, of course.

Or comment on how the leaves have all finally come off a great oak tree, revealing the deserted nests of the rookery that last spring were each home to a rook, all bobbing up and down, incubating eggs and feeding nestlings?

Or whinge about singing "Jingle Bells" about thirty times this afternoon at the top of my voice while teaching three back-to-back classes of ukuleles to switch between C, G and F chords?

Oh, here, why don't you have a go? The chords are
CCCC CCC;
FFCC GGG; (hey!)
CCCC CCC;
FFCC GGC: (hey!)

Tuesday 11th November - Spring?

I was walking back home  from a local school this afternoon after a tough afternoon's teaching.

Progress along the road was slow; I was weighed down by paperwork, work books, teaching files, ukulele, and all the clutter and impedimenta that a teacher lugs around. samba whistle, three identity badges, diary, phone, notebook, water bottle, pens, blu-tac, memory stick, head phones. The only bit of weight saved was my mp3 player - where did I leave that, I wonder?

Anyway, this slow progress was why I noticed the beech hedge beside part of the footway;

this picture is a bit fuzzy, but among the golden brown autumnal leaves were all these tiny pale green new, spring leaves. I've never seen that before.

Saturday 1st November - Spring? Summer?

Walking home in a bit of a hurry this lunchtime, I spotted a rhododendron in flower

and also a hydrangea.

In November.

Earlier this morning I noticed that there were still flowers on a neighbour's lavender hedge.

In November.


Weird or what?

Thursday December 5th - Pale winter morning

8 am

Opened the curtains just now to a pale blue/ dove grey/ rose pink/ golden clear sky, grass, trees, hedges white with frost.

Beautiful. The leaves on the huge oak trees at the bottom of the garden are such an amazing russet colour.

This is the kind of winter weather that I love - well, to be truthful, I love Looking at from the warmth of indoors. Not so keen on being out in it - cold feet, cold nose, cold fingers.