Week 45

Saffy under a blanket time; morning dew; the kitchen curtain

Hello! Every week, as many of you know, we together create this post, a celebration of the tiny and grand things that made the previous week, well….the previous week. It is a collective mark in the sand - we were here! - and a way of tracking the seasons. I don’t know if it was because of the amazing confluence of dark and sparkly and magical energy that is All Hallowtide, but I particularly loved the comments you all contributed last week. Many had a kind of a closing down feel, lots of endings and darkness, but revelling in it too, which I do love. I spent so many years convincing myself I hated winter, and now I’m not sure that I do.

Some themes from your comments this week: leaves OBVIOUSLY; lots of spooky films under blankets with candles, of which I approve; and a subtle but definite creeping in of…Christmas! Our very first hints of it here. So far very low-key…just a single string of sparkly lights, some satsumas in the shops, one cup of mulled wine…but it may as well be Mariah singing ‘It’s Time!!!’

Speaking of which…I can’t help but wonder if you have considered slipping a beautiful little hardbacked almanac into your loved ones’ stockings? One filled with everything they need to know about the year ahead? Oh, you have? You’ll find that in the links here…

To business! Here are those dark and sparkly and hugely atmospheric comments from your Week 44:

Wind blowing the leaves from the silver birches like confetti

A first ever trick or treat walk with our little one, who couldn't believe people just give you sweets

Overwhelmed by autumn colour in a Japanese Garden

Making soul cakes with my daughter and tucking in before they had cooled

The promenade at high tide with huge waves crashing over the sea wall

Halloween with friends eating steak pie and watching horror movies

The amethyst, elegant chandeliers of wisteria over our porch (New Zealand)

Walking in warm winter sun with my daughter home on uni reading week

A string of festive lights creating a magical glow in the lounge

Preparing for our bonfire night party: pie, parkin and treacle toffee

Watching the moon undergoing a lunar eclipse floating across a cloud scudded sky between rainstorms, like a shadow-bitten ghost ship

Placing a candle and a glass of red wine by a photo of my Dad to honour his spirit at Samhain

Trick or treating in the rain, my little witch and wizard hanging onto their hats

Preserving quince in syrup and making quince and hazelnut mincemeat

Half term time with the teen - watching trashy halloween horror movies under blankets by candlelight

A quiet moment to celebrate Samhain with an angel guided meditation to remember our ancestors & lost loved ones - close by as the veil is thin

A rare day of low autumn sun on the Antrim coast - waves crashing on the white cliffed beach, hopeful, hardy surfers bobbing, an endless sky

Hornbeam tree now wearing only its underskirts, bare topped

Veils of rain each day seeping into the earth and losing the light. Lighting fires to bring back the flame of life in the evening

A nip of port before bed. Cold ears peeping out of the covers in the morning

Horse chestnut trees in the road have some completely bare branches. Ad they will be the first to go green in the spring

Autumn trees in Freiburg and the Schwarzwald really showing off their colours now - jewel reds, vibrant yellows, a myriad of browns, pale coral pinks, sunset orange

The first mulled wine of the year

The pavements paper mache-d in red and gold leaves

Geese flying overhead, honking their goodbyes

The first satsumas arriving in the shops

Dark gold sunlight in between very heavy showers

Receiving a gift of the last apples from the garden.

Curled up with my daughter on the settee under cozy woollen blankets, fire blazing and plenty of candles, watching spooky movies and drinking baked apple tea, whilst the rain is driving against the windows

The earth's tilt now bringing the setting sun into full view from the house, which will continue throughout the dark months

See what I mean? I love it.

Here’s my Week 45:

Saffy under a blanket

This is now a traditional pic here, I think. Our gorgeously silly dog with the Mutley underbite isn’t keen on fireworks, so as last year this was our fireworks night. We watched ‘Dog TV’ on YouTube for a bit, which is rabbits gently hopping, cats playing, and occasional wolves loping. They loved the wolves loping best of all. Saffy feeling the call of the wild...

Morning dew

When it hasn’t been raining, there has been beautiful morning dew on the common

The kitchen curtain

The curtain rail broke at the end of last winter and it’s taken us until now - and the insistent blast of cold air creeping across the wooden floors and chilling our feet - to get it up again, and to hang the lovely thick velvet curtain that stops all that nonsense. My daughter said ‘why does it suddenly feel like Christmas in here?’ and she’s right, it does. Cosy.

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That’s it from me. Please leave your comments below and we’ll do it all over again next Friday. What has been particularly ‘this week’ about the week just past?