No Assembly Required -

October? 

Impossible!!!

Where has this year gone?

Where have I been you may ask...not far!

Travel far has not been possible due to Bob being tethered to the hospital and cancer center...just a 15 minute drive from home. Our car hardly needs a driver, it knows the way there unaided!!!!

Our only travel has been within North Carolina to visit longtime friends, or other medical facilities. Our hotel stays have been to use up free nights earned before they expire, usually within 25 miles of home as that's where those friends live, and some nights we've checked in downtown where we enjoy an overnight 'staycation' with a nice restaurant meal and a hotel breakfast...a welcome change from cooking for me!

Yes, we certainly do miss 'happy travels' to lovely places, and especially

 miss crossing the pond to my home and family in England and France. 

I'm now a Great Aunt as my niece in France recently had a beautiful 

baby girl - hoping we'll be able to go meet her some day soon.

The arrival of Autumn is probably my favorite time of year. Here in our area many start decorating very early for Halloween. My outdoor decor is now minimal, a knobbly pumpkin on the steps, yellow mums to replace Boston ferns in my porch hanging baskets, an Autumnal flag, and lots of lanterns. No major assembly makes decorating much easier!

As our neighborhood changes with smaller homes being sold and multi-million dollar mansions (the latest build has a sale price of $6,250,000!) replacing them in this now 'hot' area of the city, the Halloween decor changes too. Perhaps you've seen them...........gigantic, larger than life terrifying skeletons clambering out of shrubs or sitting on the porch, spiders in webs stretched across an entire lawn area, huge ghosts flying through the trees.  All very costly. I want to know where the heck will they store those 15 foot tall skeletons the remainder of the year? Perhaps in one of the three car garages which come with those big homes.

A glimpse of my indoor decor. The still much loved older paper pumpkins,

a few new fresh pumpkins from the farm, and Diana the Huntress now

 sports a witch hat. Pardon me Diana!

Wishing you a happy Autumn season.

I''ll try to get back here again soon.

Mary

Halloween Already!

Yes, it's me at long last..........here for a brief post after far too long. 

Bob is post surgery and now receiving chemotherapy, two weeks on one week off, through early next year. Living without a kidney, going back into the hospital yet again - following the surgery hospitalization - due to an infection, and then so many doctor and hospital visits have definitely taken a toll on us.........but we are managing and doing quite well at present.

It's Autumn and we're almost into November. Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend, the clocks go back and the dark evenings arrive earlier.  Another year is quickly coming to an end. Where did it go? How could it pass so quickly? How come I haven't been anywhere new and exciting? Our lives, this year, have revolved around all those health and medical issues. We haven't traveled anywhere!

Today is Halloween. It's almost hot here - 79F will be the high in another hour. We've had no rain for so long that our lawn areas, back and front, are more like scenes from the days of the 'dust bowl' years on the Great Plains in the 1930's. When rain does come we pray it won't be like the storms of Hurricane Helene and Milton when we were almost washed away.

Today our lawn service is reseeding - hopefully we'll see green again come next Spring. Our tree removal people have done a great job this past week pruning, taking down one small tree, and then removing a gigantic 125 foot tall, 200 year old oak threatening to fall on the house due to a rotting base! Sad to see it go but necesssary..........our next door neighbors are happy too.

The kiddies won't require bundling up this evening as they go trick or treating. Hoping they all have fun and stay safe. My decorating for the season has been minimal this time around. Here you get the idea, my plans were bigger, the end result lesser, but I think OK.

In between all the upheaval I recently had a birthday. I really try to stay young in thought and action but have to admit I've struggled somewhat recently. My favorite times have been small, quiet moments where I managed to sit alone away from noise and commotion. These come to mind. . . . . . . . the koi pond in the peaceful hospital garden; knitting in waiting rooms - especially the ones in the Cancer Center that have no television sets; the front porch late afternoon with a cup of tea or a glass of rosé; the gazebo in the back garden, writing little thank you notes to all the dear people who have sent Bob cards and get well greetings, and me gorgeous birthday cards.

Enjoy your Autumn days. Stay well and be happy. 

Aging, snail mail, and keeping the homes fires burning.........

As they say, 'age is just a number.'

Just in case you missed the news, here's proof that I really did turn 80 in October. I received many much-appreciated cards, most arriving just before, a few a day or so late, even some on the actual day. No matter how one tries for the latter option, the postal service here, and now obviously across the pond, is totally unreliable. One should mail a card perhaps a month in advance of a special occasion and write a little note on the back of the envelope, such as "To be opened on......and the date." We won't even go into the postage charges these days - let's just say they are exorbitant, and the more they increase, which now is frequently, the service decreases and a lot of mail sometimes never even shows up. Sending mail with monetary enclosures has become a no-no as many are stolen. I had this happen when mailing a paper money Christmas gift to a young family member in England last year. Today, in a local newspaper story, a man was arrested, and is now imprisoned, after 500 pieces of mail containing over $30,000 in checks, gift cards, money orders etc. all stolen from North Carolina residents' mailboxes and Post Office mail boxes, were found in his home!

This unusual card arrived over a week after my birthday. It came from my family in France and although all international mail now goes by air rather than ship, it took 17 days to cross the pond by plane. Of course any fool knows that transatlantic flight takes less than 9 hours from most European airports. Wherever the card went before and after the flight took up the remainder of the time!  I love this card and the fact that 80 is 13 in Scrabble tiles. . . . . . I'm a teenager again!  

If you burn wood in a stove, or on the hearth as we do, you are probably out searching for firewood during these beautiful early November days. We received our annual delivery, a cord of neatly chopped and split oak and hickory wood, last evening, and this morning Bob headed into the back garden to stack the woodpile for the coming winter. Fortunately we had a little wood remaining from last year and last Saturday evening, being a cool one, we had our first fire of the season. 

Changing over to using the fireplace that sat dormant since springtime when the chimney sweep came, is a bit of a palaver. Bob heads into the attic and brings out the fire screen, heavy metal tools, fire resistant hearth mat. Saved newspapers and fire starters fill the old olive basket on the hearth. Chilled rosé wine of summer is now a memory and a glowing bottle of Malbec is opened, poured and swirled. We clink glasses with a toast to the winter evenings ahead. I think this small annual happening can be classed as a memoir for us. It's part of the coming season where warmth and light in the home is important. It brings thoughts of holidays ahead with family and friends. Sometimes we sit by the fire enjoying the patterns in the flames, with a mug of chocolate, perhaps a bowl of homemade soup. . . . . or another glass of warming wine. 

Still in the throes of autumn here in the southeast, the days are warm and long hours of sunshine strong and extremely bright. Now the earlier sunset of daylight savings time changes the garden colors quickly. The leaves are falling and the canopy of trees is taking on a lighter look. The moon is visible in the early morning sky. Birds are returning to the feeders and bird baths, and squirrels look chubby and healthy in their winter fur coats. Winter months can be bleak. Many loathe the cold days and even colder nights. A blazing, crackling wood fire on the hearth is a way to make those times delightful . . . . . . . along with a hot water bottle perhaps.

But that's another story . . . . . . .another memoir!

. . . . . . . . and here it is, Bob's woodpile completed. 

Looking forward to many warm hearthside nights ahead.

Night light -

Many people are sad at the thought of the winter months ahead. They sigh. They moan. They complain. They wish for springtime, summer, for autumn to stay longer. In all honesty the latter would be fine with me, autumn truly is my favorite season, but the coming of winter fills my thoughts today. 

This morning was cold, our first day since last winter with the temperature hitting freezing right at dawn. At 7AM I opened the front door, walked down the driveway to pick up the paper, breathing in the chill and tasting it. Different.

Now the clocks have changed and the evenings draw in earlier, and I gather the feelings, the woodsmoke fragrance, sounds from rustling trees. Different.  Outside on the fig tree the hanging lanterns turn on at dusk. I'm thankful for modern battery operated candles - placing them in plastic baggies keeps them free from wet conditions. 

I light the candles placed around the house, on the kitchen island, dining room table, sideboard (above) and Welsh dresser. One or two in the living room brighten that area when I knit and watch television, read a book or flip through a magazine. 

The house is small, cozy in winter. Soon the hearth will glow as oak and hickory logs fill the empty hearth, illuminating the bricks and turning them rich and rust colored as the dancing flames shoot high and warm the room. There really is nothing better than a crackling wood fire in wintertime.

How do you stay cozy in winter? Do you embrace the changing weather here in the northern hemisphere? I do feel that as we age cold weather is more difficult to deal with however there are ways to stay snug and safe, especially at home.

A nod to November. . . . .

Thank you for the kind Birthday greetings.

October was such a busy month with a lot happening, 

mostly good, and using up my time. It flew by and now

 today, All Saints' Day, November is upon us along with the 

holiday season ahead. Things will stay hectic I'm sure.

Lakeside Birthday picnic.

Fall brings back frothy coffees!

Halloween was brief with less than handful of costumed 

kiddies at the door last evening - times have changed!

. . . . . and yes, the fig tree is dropping its beautiful leaves, crunchy

and curled, Bob rakes them daily. It was a good year though

and fruit was plentiful and delicious.

Today was a beautiful, colorful start to November

Hoping November will be an enjoyable month for all.

Autumn winners -

First and foremost, as promised, today Bob drew the name of the winner of 

the knitted cowl!  There were 22 comments however a few of you passed 

on wanting your name included for one reason or another, which was fine. 

I'm happy to announce the winner is VEE a long time blogging 

friend at A Haven For Vee.  She is located up north in one of

 my most favorite states, Maine!

Congratulations Vee - I will get started on your choice of cowl (brown)

 asap. I know it will get cold up your way very soon! So listen for the

 click clack of my knitting needles down here in still balmy North Carolina!

I'll get your address later and then let you know when your little gift is

 on the way. . . .arriving before it snows perhaps.

I purchased beautiful freshly harvested butternut squash on the recent 

pumpkin farm visit. Hoping they will be as tasty as the ones from there

 last year - much more flavorful than any bought at the grocery store!

Speaking of cold days and nights ahead, one of our favorite homemade

 soups is roasted butternut squash. . . . . . I'll be in the kitchen later this

 week preparing a batch for supper and the freezer.

Thanks to all of who participated in the drawing for the knitted cowl.

Just so you know, Bob and I decided to draw a second name which we are

 going to keep secret for the time being! Once I finish Vee's cowl I'm sure 

I'll have plenty more long, cold winter evenings for knitting . . . . . so

you may be a winner also!

Enjoy your week - we are having perfect October weather here, 

and especially colorful sunrises . . . . . worth waking early to view.

 

Autumn notes -

Small original oil found at a thrift shop years ago.

I'm so behind with everything - here's a quick catch up of what's happening around us. I'm trying hard not to be sad about not being in England now as planned, but I am so missing seeing my family and friends there. 

With October close I feel Autumn days are here despite not much color in the trees overhead yet. Golden leaves fall silently from the fig tree and Bob gathers them daily. The oaks haven't started dressing for autumn, but cooler nights are here so all will be changing soon. Acorns will rain down, followed by crisp brown leaves requiring several weeks of raking to the curb for the annual collections by the city. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks"............easy to see why.

Today our lawn will be aerated and over-seeded, this will require daily watering as there's no rain in the forecast for at least a week. I cannot help much in the garden as it looks like the pain issue in my hip/thigh/knee, now three weeks with no resolution, is coming from my lower spine.  A doctor visit yesterday will see me having PT soon - I'm in a lot of pain - and perhaps an injection down the road. 

Aging is not pretty. 

While at the doctor's office Bob and I each received a high-dose flu shot, suggested for the elderly, and then made appointments for the #3 Pfizer COVID booster vaccination on October 6th. We will then feel even safer regarding the pandemic, ready to get on with life and enjoy a bit more freedom to roam hopefully.  A beach weekend this fall would be awesome, and we are looking forward to visiting family in Arizona for Thanksgiving.

Snippets of autumn last year.

If you've been wondering about the house next door - it has sold. In fact it sold just a week after the sign went up, and at a really high price! Our neighbor, who just bought the house 11 months ago, but did do a lot of interior renovations, made a great profit. We are sorry to see him go but wish him luck in his new job in Washington, D.C. His moving truck pulled up this morning and is being loaded as I write. Best news is the buyers are a young couple who will be living here. . . . . not flipping the property, not renting it out, or tearing it down thank goodness!

Not much color in the garden to share, however a late blooming cluster

 of hydrangea blossom was a welcome surprise this past weekend.

I'm assisting my granddaughter Jasmin as she prepares to fly to Alaska for a best friend's wedding. Besides being a bridesmaid she is the official photographer which is really rather awkward.  Fortunately her boyfriend is accompanying her and can help with camera equipment - my fingers are crossed they will have safe flights and good weather.

I'm also cat/house sitting again this week as my other neighbor heads to Massachusetts for a funeral. Unfortunately his fridge/freezer died over the weekend and I've been storing food for him. . . . . .do you have any idea how difficult it is now to even find a replacement appliance? Can you imagine some models cannot even be delivered until end of November.......if you're lucky!  COVID has changed so many things in life and there seems no light at the end of the tunnel yet. Businesses, some many years old, continue to close down, others are struggling with lack of employees.

This morning baby bunny was busy in the garden - all grown up now but staying close by, at least for the time being. 

Look at the size of those back paws - no wonder they can make a fast getaway!

   

Happy Autumn days to all.

Waning late summer days. . . . . .

 

This is how late Summer, early Autumn should be! 

A busy weekend flew by.

Perfect weather has arrived at last.

Sleeping with the windows open.

Drinking the last of the rosé wines.

Baking a little sweet thing now and then.

Having company on the front porch.

Granddaughter came for lunch in the gazebo.

Buying fresh, chef-made pasta for a pumpkin sauce.

A cord of firewood delivered then stacked by Bob.

New young neighbors moved in across the street.

Fig leaves falling in the cooler nights - acorns too.

Up early today - baked buttermilk biscuits. 

Taking a country ride this afternoon to shop for pumpkins. 

Blogging has been on the back burner - will catch up with you later!