Growing up, autumn meant sunny days and chilly nights, bright fall foliage, newly-sharpened pencils, and a certain tang to the air that was just filled with promise. It was a time of new beginnings, just before winter set in and forced us all to cozy up for short days and long, cold nights. Where I now live, autumn means one thing: rain. After Niek and I bought our current house, September held a certain dread as we tried to keep ahead of the rain’s damage – it can rain so hard and so often that the ground around the house literally washes away. We’ve wakened to actual pits in the front and back yard where only the evening before there was dirt, sand, and paving stones, and have had to call in for partial truckloads of sand to replace what was lost. Just from rain! I know there are other parts of the world that suffer much worse from heavy seasonal rains, but I have to admit that I feel more than just a tad sorry for my loss of gorgeous foliage and crisp, sunny days. Here’s this week’s pictorial weather forecast. Sigh.
But like cold Maine winters force everyone inside for cozy pastimes, so does this autumn rain. Arden’s recently become very interested in books and I snapped a few pictures of him going through one of his new magnetic board books. You can stick the magnet onto the illustration to make something new – it was very popular on the plane trip, and continues to be a favorite now that we are home.
Of course this sort of weather also brings out the comfort foods. Tonight we’ll be enjoying garlic smashed potatoes with lemon-pepper fish and a salad. We had chili earlier in the week, to everyone’s satisfaction. What sort of recipes do you trot out for the change in season?
Most of all, the dreary weather means finding extra delight in cross stitching. Yesterday I completed my Prairie Schooler exchange and also worked a bit further on the new design shown in the previous post. The eyelet alphabet is soothing work to do. Today I’ll put the last stitches on my Blackbird Designs exchange so I can make a trip to the post office and get everything sent out at once.
Here’s hoping that you and yours are enjoying whatever Mother Nature is bringing your way!
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