Thursday, September 6, 2012

Happy New Year


Happy New Year
Without passport or suitcase I took a flight of fancy to Edinburgh on the last night of August, but I found the Hogmanay revelers tucked up in their beds. The Royal Mile was empty, each wet cobblestone wearing a golden reflection of the low hanging moon.  On I travelled to New York City’s Times Square where the streets were all silent - no countdown, no whistles, no horns.  No fireworks filled the skies over Rio.  No Auld Lang Syne rang out in St. Paul.  The world has several months to wait till the light of the next new year dawns at their door, but for me, that morning has come. 

 I may be planting my flag on a lonely hill, but my new year starts with the turning of the calendar page from August to September.  Always gracious enough to give me a week or so before that first delicious cool morning, September reserves a few still hot, humid days, just time enough to get my house ready to celebrate the arrival of autumn.   I use these days up with relish, sweeping the last of summer from my house with a vengeance.   The last week has found me cleaning hardwood floors and vacuuming behind tufted chairs.  I have washed majolica teapots, sets of Scottish transferware china, and a bust of an Egyptian princess that presides over my bedroom from the top of newly polished mahogany wardrobe.  I have fluffed down pillows and laundered the linen. Oiled leather chairs, dusted hundreds of books and a myriad of picture frames.  Purged the pantry and restored the refrigerator to a model of shiny organization.  I have pinned new butterflies to the stuffed lion’s mane and cleaned all the reverse painted lampshades.  Edward’s bed looks showroom new.  The Songwriter was enlisted to thoroughly scour the mudroom, a task he took on without complaint... at least none I could hear whenever I passed by, and now.... at last... we are ready.  

Ready to open every window on that first crisp morning when the air rushes in like laughter, carrying the fragrance of wood smoke and pine.  Ready to bake bread and cook pancakes.  Ready to bury my neck in a red turtleneck sweater, to throw a tartan blanket on top of my bed.  Ready to plan Halloween decorations and Thanksgiving dinners. Ready make presents for Christmas.  I want to see Edward and Apple bounce through the garden like puppies, at last released from the heat of the summertime months.  I want to read fat books, make apple pies and drink cider.  I want to forget all about air-conditioning and breathe the fresh air in every room.  
I am ready to open the windows. 
I am ready for a brand new year.
How about you?



39 comments:

  1. Totally ready!! I've been sitting inside the house for three months...Iowa is hotter than Florida! I'm ready to go home to the sea and all that wonderful salt air.

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  2. I am totally in agreeance, bring on the New Year. Complete with wood smoke and pine!

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  3. Hello Pamela:
    We must confess that we are clinging on to the last vestiges of Summer. We have revelled in its heat and travelled near and far in a year like no other and so, we are not ready to let go just yet!

    And yet, the nip in the air in the mornings is giving us the same message that you so beautifully make here. Linen and cotton, tee shirts and sandals still make for easy dressing.......no, the wool and the boots must wait!

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  4. Oh yes, Pamela, I am ready too. If you pop over to my blog today you will see that I too am rejoicing in the start of September.

    How I adore your stuffed lion and his mane full of butterflies.

    I feel the need to clean as September comes too - and have purged my fridge today before restocking it for friends coming for the weekend.

    Happy September to you.

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  5. Pamela,

    I could not have conveyed my feelings as well as you have an in such a spirited way, but YES, a resounding YES! I am ready for Fall! The falling leaves, the crisp air, the special Spirit that begins to invade one and all with the knowledge that the crisp Fall air will soon bring the winter winds and the Christmas spirit.

    I have been home bound for the Summer, simply too hot to do anything but run from air conditioned house to car and then back.

    Thank you for so eloquently saying what so many of us feel!

    Have a wonderful day! Elizabeth

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  6. We are definitely ready for a New Year and hopefully in a New Place !
    Windows were open yesterday, today is cold and raining,. We look forward to Spring and warmer weather and long walks all over town.

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  7. Is it because we are both Arians as I have always felt the same 'excitement' about September......

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  8. A most glorious month, and it is time to bid farewell to summer's heat and haze and welcome some crispness to life. I'm with you Pamela, - Happy New Year!

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  9. Pamela,
    As one blogger so aptly stated, cashmere and pumpkin weather is on the way...and it doesn't have to be cashmere to make me happy. I love fall/winter and the rituals and clothes that make me feel cozy during these upcoming months. I'm ready.
    Karen

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  10. I need to adopt your attitude.
    I have the "back to school boogey blues"
    as my brother would say. I'm not in school
    but I still get those blues as one shifts from
    the more relaxed summer days to the intense
    get-everything-done fall/winter
    school-time days.

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  11. That hill is not so lonely, my flag is planted there also, except I think of October as my new year. I'm perfectly willing to begin it in September this year after reading how you have already done your fall housecleaning. I don't know how you make it sound so much fun but you do. You inspire me to start mine.

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  12. Hello Pamela

    You have been very busy preparing for Autumn, a beautiful season. I am still enjoying summer and the flowers as they are at their very best.
    I am sure Apple and Edward love the cooler climate
    Helen xx

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  13. I ache for a string of curtain-blowing days like the one in your illustration...

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  14. I feel EXACTLY the same!
    HAPPY NEW YEAR, Pamela & Edward & Apple & Songwriter!!

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  15. Yes, I love this time of the year. I feel refreshed and recharged and filled with excitement about the fall and the upcoming holidays! Hello September!

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  16. No nip in the air here, as yet.

    You make deep cleaning sound positively wonderful, or at least you make the results sound well worth the process.

    Love the lion head! When I read that I was a bit befuddled, then I saw the picture.

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  17. Yes Pamela so very ready. Like you, my best friend celebrates September as the beginning of the New Year. She buys herself a new journal, new pencils and a new (blank) calendar.
    This beginning of the winding-down phase of the year opens my heart to reflection - a welcoming time for centering myself and recharging. Welcome Autumn...come on down!

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  18. On this side of the ball we are leaving behind the cool fresh morning air and dewy green grass. The heat of each day increases and the humidity has begun to climb and it will not be long before damp sticky foot prints are printed on the tiles. The garden will dry up and become dusty as will we. Breath the delicious cool air and think of us in Queensland.

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  19. Pamela - I really owe you a love letter. Your blog is an oasis in my day...a kindred spirit.. We are still battling heat and humidity here in Ohio, but the trees are starting to turn. I too consider this the beginning of the year. xxxooo

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  20. You really are a woman after my own heart! I live for Autumn. Yes, the other seasons all have their own lovely aspects but Autumn is when the magic happens. At least for me. And actually, that my honey feels the same is one of the very first things that he and I bonded over. Although we don't have such a dramatic shift here in Provence, there is still the dramatic light and the blessing of cool air to look forward to--I can't wait!
    Merci for this inspiring post.
    xo,
    Heather

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  21. A joyful post and I am celebrating the coming of Autumn with you.

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  22. I like the idea of New Year in September, it's what schools and colleges do after all! Edinburgh at Hogmanay is, in my opinion, much over-rated, September is much nicer!

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  23. Ah, September - a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils! A great Nora Ephron line from "You've Got Mail."

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  24. A very happy new year to your gang Pamela, we am so "with you" on this one.

    When I was still in school I especially loved the new school year - bored always, by the end of summer & eager school to begin again. The smell of fall, for new shoes, notebooks & pencil cases (I particularly loved my sliding top wooden number), for the beautiful autumn colours which are spectacular here in Nova Scotia.

    Hooray for September - special kisses + hugs to Apple & Edward from Miss Winnie Dixon & Samuel

    & xoxo from me, Susan

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  25. i was ready for my favorite season ... autumn ...
    (even love the name) at the end of may!
    we have had nothing but triple digit heat here all summer long, day after sweltering day.
    it' september 5 and our temp has still stayed in the 100's for days now. i guess with no end in sight.
    i say enough already!!!!
    happy lovely autumn new year to you and all of us!
    love,
    tammy j

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  26. For the first 30 years of my life, my year began with the new school year. After high school came university, but for me it was in night school - 9 years for a BA, and another 3 years for an MPH. I have no trouble at all with your concept of the new year beginning in September.

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  27. Oh so ready Pamela (not that I have been doing all of the housecleaning that you have accomplished!

    Yes to the swirling autumn leaves, cool crisp weather, sweaters and more sweaters!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  28. Gosh, I'm sick over this lovely post - I'm going to miss it all...............I'm sitting here in San Francisco awaiting tomorrow when I fly away to Australia.

    The places I'll be are on the Western coast heading toward the Equator - the daily average temp. will be 90-100, the unrelenting sun will scorch my hat, the dust from the red rocks cover my feet........only the cooler nights when I stand at the polished rail of the deck will bring perhaps a breeze as the ship sails on after sunset. I'll think of home where at last the humidity will be lower, the trees will start changing, and the master of the cottage will replenish the firewood for my return.

    Your home must be sparkling - a wonderful warm feeling to welcome Autumn.
    Hugs - Mary

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  29. I did this too. House cleaning for autumn was envigorating. It will be hot as Hades here until Hallows Eve, but that whisper of promise will be in every dawn. It's such a relief to lungs and spirit to breathe in cool air. It's coming soon.

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  30. I am eagerly awaiting the celebration of the " new year " as soon as we return from the Cape Cod September vacation!! I couln't agree more.....new year begins anew with the fresh clear, cool , brisk air of autumn!!!

    This year is a bit saddened by our little Schnauzer being hospitalized for congestive heart failure. So difficult when our furry friends are suffering!! Pray she has the strength to fight it with all her might!! <3

    Thank you for your wonderful posts!!!

    Warmly,

    Barbara

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  31. Pamela,
    I could not agree more. My Pagan spirit embraces autumn and welcomes it like and old friend. I love everything about it, the colours, the smells, the sounds and the hearty winter food. I can't wait! It was chilly last night, it felt great :-)
    Enjoy!
    Di
    xxxxx

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  32. I could not understand your relevant topic. but i like your way of story telling and pictures.


    ewald struggl

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  33. Yes, I am awaiting that first crisp rush of air, the smell of a smoldering fire, the desire to wear a layer of cashmere....and a scarf at my neck.
    I have a butternut squash ready for soup.....but it is still too hot today.
    pve

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I love to read your comments! Each and every one! Though I'm always reading your comments, I may not respond in the comment section. If you want to write me directly, you may do so at pamela@pamelaterry.net. Thank you for reading!