September

September. A month of new beginnings, of pages turning, of shifting seasons and lengthening shadows.

It's also a month of intense workload and tired teenagers as everyone adjusts to new classes, timetables and revision plans after the summer holiday.

September pleasures have been small and simple, an opportunity to pause in between busy days and much needed rain.

There have been pretty walks in favourite places. 

We have picked blackberries and made crumbles. 

Turned the garden crop of redcurrants into jam....

and snuck out for a drink and some tapas to celebrate the end of a busy week.

The garden is starting to wind down now but the pizza oven has been in use and the dahlias prolific.

The long weekend with extra bank holiday was an unexpected pause in a hectic month and offered time to potter gently in the kitchen.

Time to make baked oats with roasted pears for breakfast, and apple cake, blondies, sourdough and slow cooked meals.

We haven't lit the stove yet this autumn but we have begun chopping wood and bringing it indoors in readiness. I'll have to move that monstera soon.

This one continues to drag us out in all weathers, steal slippers and make nests in every bed in the house.

The woods are beautiful at the moment, full of as much green as brown, on the cusp of autumn but not quite ready to commit.

But the landscape is fading and the fields becoming more bare as they are harvested and ploughed. 

September has been a month of busy days, long days, and late nights so these moments of calm, to potter at home and be outside as the seasons change, are so important. I have been reading a lot and have recently finished The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (challenging and excellent), Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (wonderfully enjoyable) and Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson, (gentle and comforting). Now, as always happens at this time of year, I want to read cosy crime and watch repeats of old Miss Marple episodes on Alibi channel. I have picked up a pair of crochet socks which I abandoned last spring and have hopes of starting lots of crochet jumpers. 

And now we are on the edge of October which promises: three more weeks at work, a half term holiday (with a little break to Dorset), a weekend in Leeds to see friends, a pizza and drinks night here with work friends, a manicure, many pumpkin recipes to try, and trips to go and look at local colleges with Bella to decide where to take her A Levels. I can't quite believe we are at this point already, yet here we are. 

Wishing you a happy October, Thank you for being here and reading.