Autumness

A busy morning embracing autumn and colour

One of SJs micro detail but ultimately unfinished pictures

 Don't know entirely what I am doing with this blog yet- for some reason today it will not allow me to write around the pictures- so it is pictures at the top today- with captions- so that is new..... (for me)

Autumn- I love it- I love the colours-russets/golds and oranges, fiery reds and browns- leaves and conkers, dark evenings and cool mornings- getting out the cardigans and winter clothing, slow cooking and preserving- smells and jars lined up on the window cill.... This year I have had a go at jelly with mixed sucess. One batch got quite over boiled and refused to set- thats the trouble of trying to multitask- have also been trying some new receipes for garden veg and chutneys. I love John Harrisons Preserving Book- simple, to the point and not using exotic ingredients- but some of his chutneys are very 'of the 70s'- very raisin etc- nice but not entirely to our taste.....so am trying new sources to use up the marrows and the beetroot. The salad was the last of our tomato crop- tomatos were quite late for us this year-were a long time in coming and then ready simultaneously- so ended up freezing a lot- which is never the same.....

Am feeling quite upside down at the moment- we seem to have lots of stuff- which I am trying to order and sort, maybe thin out but there is a lot of emotion wrapped up in some of it. Some of the baby stuff and unplayed with toys- I can't quite get my head around whether to save for my sister ( at an undefined time ahead and obviously unknown sex), give to slightly more extended family where at least the sex is known or whether to try to sell and recoup a little something or whether to just donate to charity. I know it is all around trying to accept that our baby days are past- which with my head I know I am there but a tiny minute portion of emotion says ohhhhhhhh. M has his appointment coming up........