Farewell To Summer... A Big Fat List of Good Things

Farewell to Summer

A Big Fat List of Good Things
There's a mustard stain on my white linen shirt,

a hole in the toe of my espadrilles.  

The jewel tones of the garden have been bleached to pastel 
and all of the robins have flown.  

 Yesterday I bought a candle that smells like autumn.   I’ve loosened my hair from its three month knot and I’ve opened up all of the windows.  Edward has that familiar autumnal spring in his step once more.  We are saying farewell to summer.

Here’s a list for the transition of summer to fall.

Such an invigorating time of year, don’t you agree?

1.  Arthur and George

While watching Poldark this summer I chanced to see a preview of the upcoming BBC production of Arthur and George.  An adaptation of the novel by Julian Barnes, Arthur and George was quite a sensation when it was published in 2006.  Trouble is, I missed it.  So I grabbed it up and took it to the beach with me earlier this month and could not put it down.  Do yourself a favour…. if you’ve not read Arthur and George, do it now!  Before it shows up on Masterpiece Theatre later this fall.  Martin Clunes is going to be pitch perfect as Arthur.

Find the book HERE.  
If you're lucky enough to find a hardback, it has a gorgeous cover.

Also, for an eerie, spooky, midnight read... try THIS BOOK.
And for a delightful love story... try THIS ONE.

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2.  Brioche Knitting

Late in the spring I happened to come across this pattern and my heart did a back flip.  I had to learn to make this.  Little did I know at the time, I was looking at a two-colour brioche scarf, a knitting technique of which I knew nothing.  So I set about learning. I sat by the beach (see the photo at the top....the perfect place to learn)  and knitted and ripped, knitted and ripped.   Two Colour brioche is a complicated stitch, there’s no denying, and I probably invented some brand new bad words during my learning phase.  But when the penny drops, so to speak, it’s fairly simple and really a lot of fun to do.  I’ve completed four Brioche scarves this summer.  
Here’s Edward modeling the second one!

The best book on Brioche is THIS ONE.

Try it!

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3.  Beans!

Everyone knows that beans are good. 

 High in protein, something that’s essential for energy and good health.

 And a tasty, welcome alternative to meat.

  I came across this recipe this summer and tried it. 

 Delicious! 

 And it smells so good while it’s cooking. 

 The perfect dish for fall.

Find the recipe HERE.

Note:  I only used fresh beans here.  Fresh garlic, instead of powdered, too. And not as much bacon as the recipe calls for. 

4.  The Picture of August.

I couldn’t resist posting this photograph.

  Taken during the Dog Days of August when it was so sweltering outside,

 afternoon walks were excruciating.  

Edward dozing on my foot.  

Lazy, contented, and daydreaming of snow.  

The very picture of August.

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5.  London Scarf

For those of us who love London…

this scarf seems perfect for every single day of autumn.

Find it HERE
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6.  Birthdays

So many of my friends have birthdays in summer.

This video is for them.

Words to remember because life is so short.

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7.  Skirt

I’m kinda crazy for this skirt.

With a black sweater?

It satisfies by Bloomsbury longings a bit.

Find it HERE
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8.  Back to School

Despite the fact that I believe that school should begin promptly on September 1st, just like it does at Hogwarts, the children in my neighbourhood have been back in school for a month now.  No matter, my longing for school supplies never kicks in till September, but when it does… pencils and pens, notebooks and journals… I’m a sucker for all of these.  

Love these little notebooks for a bit of whimsy on an ordinary day….

Find them HERE

and love these gorgeous pencils….

Find them HERE.

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9.  The Poetry of Trees

Edward and I are so fortunate to live beneath these tall trees.  I fill the house with fresh flowers every week but I can never match the beauty they provide every day, just outside my windows.  The myriad of greens of springtime, the emeralds of summer.  The elegant minimalism of winter.  And soon, very soon, the dazzling colours of fall.  Alive, always changing, they are old friends who surround us with beauty.  Their branches hold songbirds and owls, the wind plays symphonies when it rushes through their leaves.  On a dark, windy night last week, when a full fat moon painted fingers of shadow on the floor of my screened porch, I read this poem.  And understood.

The Country of the Trees 

by Mary Oliver
 from her book Blue Horses

There is no king in their country

and there is no queen

and there are no princes vying for power, 

inventing corruption.

Just as with us many children are born

and some will live and some will die and the country

will continue.

The weather will always be important.

And there will always be room for the weak, the violets

and the bloodroot.

When it is cold they will be given blankets of leaves.

When it is hot they will be given shade.

And not out of guilt, neither for a year-end deduction

but maybe for the cheer of their colors, their

small flower faces.

They are not like us.

Some will perish to become houses or barns, 

fences and bridges.

Others will endure past the counting of years.

And none will ever speak a single word of complaint, 

as though language, after all, 

did not work well enough, was only an early stage.

Neither do they ever have any questions to the gods -

which one is the real one, and what is the plan.

As though they have been told everything already, 

and are content.

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10.  Another Journey

I’m heading back to my favorite place on the planet.

Follow the journey on Instagram, HERE

I’ll be in touch!