almost there

I had some windows open today while I did my work, it was so mild! The dampness didn't matter because I was using the oven. The cats were certainly happy.

The squash pie is in the fridge downstairs, and I made the gratin, too, also in the fridge - squash pie because I also baked some pumpkin cookies. The pie recipe is the same for squash, pumpkin or sweet potato, and I've made all three over the years. The squash has a light, thinner texture, the sweet potato is the most substantial. I like to use dark brown sugar for that one, light brown or maple sugar for the pumpkin pies. 

Half an hour before dark, I finally got a pot, and made it outside to cut those berries. I stuck them in with two dried hydrangea heads and - let's say it looks artistic. I'll soon be looking for evergreens, anyway, since Advent is almost upon us. Just as I was coming back inside, a skein of geese flew right over, dark against the cloudy sky, in formation and honking. They were heading east, but I'm sure they knew what they were doing.

the colors of November

 

autumn things

 I was in the kitchen a lot today, but in the midst of it found time to wash another window - one left! (the dreaded over-the-sink window) and the back door. 

Among my pinterest recipes, a pumpkin molasses quick bread caught my eye, since I'd opened a large can of pumpkin the other day and some was left. Even while mixing it up, I asked myself if I really needed to be trying this recipe, since I have a few favorites I like to make - why try another? It might be a flop. Well, it was good, and I'm glad I made it. 

There's no chocolate in it, even though it's dark. It called for a half cup of molasses; I had about half that, and the other bottles I had were all blackstrap! Why do I have two and a half bottle of blackstrap molasses? But I used it to top off the amount - had to. And it's fine, it's darn good! I didn't bother with the powdered sugar on the top. It's sliced up and in the freezer.

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket
than all the other seasons.

- Jim Bishop

All Hallows

 It was very windy yesterday, and I was watching the oak trees blowing outside the window at work. We don't have oaks on our street. I was noticing how the leaves just dry and turn brown - no pretty color there. 

Anyway, the wind was supposed to pick up overnight and we wondered if the trick-or-treaters would be put off by it. It really picked up sometime after seven fifteen, but we still had more kids than we've ever had since we started keeping track. The last record was 139, back in 2022. 

We always give out candy, even though the exorcists all say there is more demonic activity on this day than any other. We enjoyed going around for free candy when we were young, and it seems hypocritical to refuse any participation now. (I don't remember any of my costumes, and I didn't enjoy going out in the cold - it was always about the chocolate for me!) But it's very disturbing to see how many young people have a fascination with darkness; they're drawn to it, but have no awareness of why, or that they need to acquaint themselves with some accurate knowledge of the supernatural world: that is exists, and is not neutral territory.

But today we had the commemoration of All Saints. 

"All holiness flows from God's holiness. Jesus Christ, God's Only Begotten Son, is the wealth of his house; the Spirit pouring out upon the world through his Death and Resurrection is the stream of God's delight and the source of life. These gifts of God's love are what make human beings holy."

                  

                                                  -  Magnificat, November 2025

"Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy." 

                                           - Leviticus, 19:2

"You therefore are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect."

                                             -  Matthew, 6:48

"Wherefore, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, ...work out your salvation with fear and trembling."

                                                 -  Philippians 2:12

Keep trying! Don't give up. 

October day

There are days which can only happen in October, and today was one of them. What I mean is, golden leafed trees, heavy rain giving an even warmer look to everything. Strong gusts, blowing leaves across the yard, sunny skies showing all the colors.

I recently found the kit lens to my camera, and kept going outside to take pictures. I tried to capture the leaves blowing in the wind, but was always too late. 

But it was mild, it was rainy, it was sunny, it was beautiful. It was October.

farewell to summer

Well, it was pretty cool today and will be freezing tonight, so I guess that's the end of summer. The forecast predicts days in the fifties and sixties. I went out, picked all the red tomatoes, and a pepper. I cut down the three basil plants - one plant will be plenty next year - and sat on the back step in the sun, picking all the leaves off them. I had to dress warmly, but it was lovely. I covered the tomato plants with sheets, since they keep producing. My plant out in the backyard garden had so many of these tiny ones on it, but I didn't cover it - that's enough. But they look like jewels.

It was good just to be outside for a while. I don't make it a priority often enough.

Last week I found a couple of pieces of something near the litter boxes downstairs; I thought the cats were responsible. But it was two pieces of wet wood - a leak!. Rather alarming, so the plumber got called. He came by to have a look, which meant everything had to come out of my closet, so he could get access to the pipes. 

He came this morning to do the work, and the "door" to it needs to stay open for two weeks, to allow the wood to dry out. Of course, Daisy can hardly keep away from it. I don't think she would try to get in there, but it makes me nervous. I'll have to put something in front of the closet door, but not close it entirely.

I'm kind of at a standstill with my sewing, but I did notice how the small scissors match my fabric!

the last days of summer

The nasturtium bloomed. I was wondering if it would.

The other things on the front steps are in the pink family, so I'll have to figure something out. I have a yellow mum; it is the very end of summer; we'll see.

We had a couple of warmer days this week, with some humidity. By evening of that day, even the cats wouldn't eat until I put the air conditioners on. But today we were back to beautiful, and the sunlight had that golden quality. The light that shines between the leaves shimmered on the living room floor - even Daisy noticed. The days are closing in. 

Daisy sleeps in cute positions lately.

These were on different days. But she likes the back of that chair, where she can see outside if the front door is open.

I went out in the garden today and cut all the chives. Now they dry where Daisy can't reach.

It seems like a lot, but they're nice thrown in with scrambled eggs, and they won't last long.

There seems to be only one rabbit left around our property, after so many over the last few years. I have no idea if hawks or owls got some of them, or other predators. I often am running outside near the shrubs where I think some of them lived, chasing away a cat too close to the place. It's terrible. Dianne's fluffy yellow cats come by sometimes, and there's the gray cat who caught the baby bunny a year ago. But there's a third, a dark tabby with legs of a darker fur, and yesterday I caught him going into the bushes where I think they hide - the rabbit was a little way off and the cat didn't see him. I don't think a cat would attack a full-grown rabbit, but I went over there to try and flush him out, and I saw a mound of dried brush, with a hole in the middle of it. A cover for an animal, but I don't know who. I love cats, and I look at Annie and Daisy and know they would also kill for sport. But they're not going to, and these others are roaming around, terrorizing smaller creatures. And I have no idea if the rabbits have just moved on, or what. Why can't they just have peace?

"In God's hand is the soul of every living thing, and the life breath of all mankind."

                                 -  Job 12:10

sweet breeze! thou only, if I guess aright, liftest the feathers of the robin's breast

 That was Coleridge. And oh, a day of cool air, breezing in my window, puffy clouds all over the sky! But I didn't move fast enough to record them before they drifted away. 

I heard some birds fussing in the distance. This always makes me feel bad; maybe there was a hawk around. Oh, for a world where there is none of that! Of course, the blue jays would have to find something else to occupy themselves. They are the ambulance-chasers of the bird world - well, everybody has their place. Poirot always was glad to talk to the busy-bodies of the neighborhood - they often proved helpful.

I grew nasturtium seeds, even though it's getting late. It's such a pretty plant.

I just heard a sound behind me, and there was Annie on my back window with a claw caught in the curtain. She was trying to get unhooked and couldn't, but did she say anything? How long would she have sat there, twisting slowly, slowly in the wind (so to speak)? Daisy is the same way. 

Strange. They do seem to understand the power of communication. Daisy often is telling us she wants food. Annie was really chatty the other day, telling me something. But they haven't made the connection entirely, I guess, especially when they could really use some help! Dolly would have called out, and she did, more than once. 

Well, September is at the door, and I'm looking over my fall clothes. This skirt needs reworking.

It's just not right. I cut off the waistband and picked out the zipper here. I'll sew up that seam where the zip was, turn over the top edge and make a casing for some lightweight elastic. Then I'll see how much I need to take it up - it's too long. 

I've been reading The Jungle Book - it's so charming! This is what the library copy looks like.

late November

 We had plenty of wind yesterday; today, most of the Japanese maple's leaves are down. I was wondering when that would happen.

A few hang on, trembling in the chilly breezes. While I took pictures, Leo came through - he's often coming through.

Something caught his eye.

Then, I guess I caught his eye.

the case of the missing pattern piece, and other things

Not the temperature they predicted, but Monday was sixty-five:  mild, hardly breezy and wonderful for a day off. Now we have finally gotten into the forties for the daytime. Outside, everything is burnished. That's November.

I picked up a biography of Samuel Adams, cousin to our second president, John, and according to British officials of the time, "the most dangerous man in Massachusetts". Considered by Paul Revere, John Hancock and cousin John Adams as their "political father", and called "truly the Man of the Revolution" by Thomas Jefferson; it's a young adult book, but full of information and interestingly written. I really knew very little about him; now I know he failed at every job he undertook. He only seemed good at "talking and writing about the rights and liberties of the people". I love reading about this era.

I have returned to a dress I was planning to sew a year ago; I don't remember what happened. I had started on the bodice, and - ?  So, now I'm ready to attach the skirt part, but I soon realized I hadn't cut them out. Okay, there's plenty of fabric there, so I looked for the pattern piece. All the pieces were there, except for that one - it was nowhere! But, looking at the shapes from the layout examples, I am sure I can just make a guess. There are center seams front and back, so - four pieces, and they're a-line. I just have to figure out how big the tucks should be and how much fabric to allow for them.

My brother had a birthday. I gave him a book of the meditations of Marcus Aurelius. He is liking it, and surprised at how interesting the observations are. 

The Christmas cactus at work is setting buds.

Things are getting more intense in Tolkien's The Two Towers, with Gandalf and Pippin flying away on Shadowfax, his tail flicking in the moonlight. Then he leaped forward, spurning the earth, and was gone like the north wind from the mountains.

"In rough October, earth must disrobe her"

The title is from a poem by Christina Rossetti.

 We had a few warm days this week, and I had the intention to sit at the picnic table at lunchtime - this was at work - but was sidetracked. When I got home I was determined to just sit outside for ten minutes while I could.

I sat on the front step, around sunset. I'd forgotten that white mums turn pink in the cold - at least, some do. And there's the lavender I never planted. 

The next day we had a lot of wind and many leaves came down. 

Things are starting to look bare. 

like the music of a trumpet

 What can be said about a day that's perfect? How can it be described? 

It's been warm and summery, but takes several hours to get up there and then goes down for the night, so not too warm for soup. The sky, so deep and blue. I washed two windows in the balmy warmth. Tonight it will be cool, but not cold. Yes, very perfect.

"The air is cool as an old coin teaspoon, and a faint tang of blue woodsmoke spices the wind. The color of the great sugar maples is so dazzling it seems I must have dreamed it. The maples give forth light, like closer suns. The oaks glow with a garnet fire, and all the thickets blaze with scarlets and pale gold and cinnamon. It is like the music of a trumpet."

                                              -  Gladys Taber

preparation

 October continues in all its beauty, with the past week's temps down into the fifties, which is lovely when it's sunny. But now we're moving into a few days up into the seventies. That will also be lovely, and I can hopefully get the bulk of the windows cleaned.

There was one day last week when I got the Wordle in two tries - when that happens, it's always pure luck.

I have to work tomorrow afternoon, so I prepared a casserole for Sunday dinner, since we had leftovers from Thursday, and I had the time. I peeled and cut up one of the butternut squash I grew - amazing how things grow from seed. The recipe appeared in a magazine we get at the supermarket, and this issue has several things I'd like to make. For this one, I had the squash, I had the kale, the onion, and the exact amount of cooked chicken from the whole one I roasted the other day, after making chicken and tortellini soup Thursday. 

I only had to buy the Swiss cheese. It sure looks good!

The supermarket had a special on packages of Larabars, but not every flavor. I only have liked the peanut butter ones: the plain, and the chocolate chip. But those weren't on sale, so I took a chance and got the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle. Oh, my. They will make an excellent afternoon pick-me-up. 

This morning before rising, I read the chapter on the council of Elrond, in Lord of the Rings. So much wisdom imparted to Frodo and his fellows as they prepare to bear the ring to Mordor:

The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.

                                                               - The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien

suddenly bright

 The swamp maple must have turned brilliant when I was looking the other way.

"Every season has its own glory in New England, for every month has its own separate identity, different personality. October is the dramatic month, everyone knows about autumn in New England."

                                        -  Gladys Taber

October the perfect

I think I must say this every October, but - today was perfect, and I think a day like this, here where I live, only appears in October. Deep blue sky, strong breeze, dry air, beautiful colors in the trees.  Absolutely perfect, and delightful. In the seventies. It was heavenly, and also, the song of the mockingbird in the distance several times throughout the day and out my window in the early morning! It couldn't have been better.

I was asking myself if we don't have perfect days like this in May, maybe? But no. May is a nice month here, when things are getting warmer. But there is a big difference (in my view) in a month where you're getting warm after a cold few months, and a month where you're already nice and warm, coming into a cooler season. A big difference. Not to mention that I prefer the colors of the bright leaves to the flowering trees - sorry, but yes! There can be mud in May, but October is - totally beautiful. 

Unless you're in North Carolina. May God have mercy on them, because the government certainly isn't. 

just some Chat

It was really cool today; overcast all day, with a kind of damp feeling. The temps were in the sixties, so it's not cold, but I was chilly in the house. We haven't had a frost yet, and don't expect one till mid-October, but it feels different, and I'm getting out my more fall-ish clothes by little and little. I can't just get them all out if I don't feel like it's time yet. I have heard that Britain had a frost, and that surprises me, since they have a milder climate than we.

We heard the Great Horned Owl again last night. And then within the hour, I twice heard an animal - I don't know, screeching, screaming, or whatever it was, it didn't sound good. I don't know the sounds of our wild creatures in distress, so it could have been anyone. I don't like to think of it.

I read a little further in The Distant Mirror. It surprised me that there was a push to abolish the mendicant orders right after the Black Plague. My brother didn't find an answer in any of his books, so I appealed to chatgpt.com. This is what they said, and I'm pasting it from their website:

"In the mid-14th century, several factors contributed to a growing critique of mendicant orders, such as the Franciscans and Dominicans. Here are some key reasons:

1. Economic Strain: The mendicant orders relied on alms and donations, and as economic conditions worsened due to events like the Black Death, there was less money to go around. This made their support more contentious.

2. Corruption and Criticism: Some mendicants faced accusations of corruption and failing to live up to their vows of poverty. As their numbers grew, issues like the accumulation of wealth and property arose, leading to disillusionment among both the laity and within the Church.

3. Intellectual Rivalry: The rise of university-educated clergy led to a tension between mendicants and secular clergy. The former were often viewed as more radical or extreme in their interpretations of poverty and spirituality, causing friction with established church authorities.

4. Reform Movements: The 14th century saw various reform movements within the Church aimed at addressing perceived moral and spiritual decay. Some reformers saw mendicants as part of the problem rather than the solution.

5. Political Context: The political landscape of Europe was also shifting, and local governments began to exert more control over religious orders. This often meant limiting the power and influence of mendicants, who were sometimes seen as too independent.

These factors combined to create a climate where the mendicant orders faced increasing scrutiny and calls for reform or even abolition."

Well, it makes sense, especially number one and number five, I think.  The reason I even thought of ChatGPT, was because my brother had asked it a detailed question previously on the beliefs held by the early Church fathers, and it was surprisingly accurate and thorough. So, if you're stumped over anything, give it a try. 

Some leaves are starting to fall.

                                     

the September feeling

 Today, I think fall has really arrived. I've been waiting for that September feeling, and was thinking maybe I'd missed it. 

It's the stillness - well, there may be a breeze, or not, but the stillness is not in the air; it's just a still feeling. If you're paying attention you will notice the buzzing of the insects, but it's in the background, it's the soundtrack to the whole business.

Everything is drier, overgrown and blowsy. The sky is bluer. 

My brother went on a retreat for a couple of days; when he does this, he'll email me photos of his room, and the menus. Parmesan tilapia was something they served. I had some cod, and an idea. I spread Dijon mustard all over the pieces with some dillweed, then sprinkled Parmesan on top. It was very delicious! We had it with mushroom barley soup (also on one of his menus) and steamed broccoli (another menu item). I have fun doing this. Small pleasures.

He told me something shocking today. When he built the shed, which may be twenty years ago, the plywood cost him eighteen dollars a sheet for the larger pieces, and twelve for some that were not so big. He said the same wood now costs - brace yourself - eighty nine dollars. I'm shocked. Plywood.

fall evening outside

When you're comfortable in the house, and you have to step out briefly and you get chilly - it makes you shrink from going out again. But all you need is the proper attire and it becomes a pleasure to go out. 

It was cool today, but still nice out. I hadn't done anything in the fresh air and it would be dark in an hour. I was going to start on the dinner at four, but I put on my wellies and down vest and went outside to prune the rugosa. 

I have to do this late pruning, because the rose bushes are right near the driveway and I know when it snows, the canes will bend over too far, so I have to cut them. Meanwhile, the sun was getting low and things in the back yard were starting to turn coppery.

Then, my brother helped me with the last slats of the not-so-good raised bed and it was so bracing to be out. The sun was going down across the street.

And then I went in and made the soup.

"The yard is full of yellow maple leaves, turning a reluctant brown but not yet disintegrating. They have cooled all night, soaking up rain or dew, and in the early morning warmth they dry out, rustle again, and give off a pleasant fragrance."

                                                               -   Rachel Peden

it's November now

 It actually snowed yesterday! Around lunchtime - we were at work, it was overcast, with rain predicted. Then it turned to snow for about an hour. Later, the sun came out, which wasn't expected any more than the snow was. 

Like somebody flipped a switch when November arrived. 

This morning the ground was very frosty.

And very pretty.

fall colors

 A few nights ago it got down into the thirties. Now, we're having summer again, with four days in a row of the seventies and up to eighty. I'm trying to finish washing the windows while it's nice. 

I can't ignore the beautiful scenes out the window, with everything golden, and leaves gently falling in the sunlight. I notice every change of light, every different window angle - I am always enraptured at the beauty. The reds and oranges are past now; the yellows have taken over.

This is next door - can you believe it? And there's a golden maple in our yard, too.

Fantastic. I had my window open last night and will again - next week will be drastically different, with daytime temps in the fifties and then the forties! Well, it'll be November.

We have a book at the library similar to this one, with Carl Larsson's paintings in it; it's called A Farm. But there are two more, which I obtained through inter-library loan, A Family, and A Home. They are all delightful, as you can imagine. His work makes country life and family life fascinating and very appealing. I'm also going through some older Country Living magazines, tearing out what is saveable. This caught my eye today

In cities, no one is quiet but many are lonely.
In the country, people are quiet
but few are lonely.

- Geoffrey F. Fisher

I don't think Carl Larsson's home was too quiet, with so many children, but it looks just right. 

Meanwhile, I plod along with my sewing; I've cut some of it out, and was looking through my thread to find a match. I hesitated over the facings - I don't like them and would rather make a bodice lining, but I haven't done that with sleeves. It may be nothing, but I told myself not to be so stubborn and just do the facings. 

I was very surprised while cutting that Daisy didn't rush over when she heard the pattern papers rustling. Well, I have to thank God for these small mercies. Meanwhile, I caught her in a comical position today.