Monday, October 14, 2019

The Simple Woman's Daybook: October Edition

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

“I suppose I will die never knowing
what pumpkin pie tastes like
when you have room for it.”
ROBERT BRAULT


Today is Thanksgiving Monday here in Canada. Although Monday is the 'official' day, Canadians tend to celebrate the holiday any day over the long weekend. We had our family get together on Saturday so today is quiet in our household. Turkey, gravy and stuffing, not to mention pumpkin pie with whipped cream, are just savoury memories now. And yes, we have wondered what pumpkin pie tastes like when we have room for it. We beg off saying, Oh I couldn't eat another bite, and then we polish off that slice the hostess sets in front of us. hehe

Since it's still a holiday around here, rather than chatter on forever as is my usual wont, I'm taking to heart the 'simple' in the title and aim to keep this October edition sweet and simple. Hope you enjoy. 



FOR TODAY

Looking out my window... a mix of snow and rain, grey on grey,
dripping leaves in weepy masses.

I am thinking... thoughts of gratitude as I count my many blessings
on this Thanksgiving Day.

I am thankful... for a day to sit, read a book,
watch a movie, think quiet thoughts.

One of my favorite things... being cozy inside when the weather is inclement.
Especially knowing a special treat awaits for teatime later on.

I am wearing... black leggings, black sleeveless top, silver bracelets, Body Shoppe's
'British Rose' eau de toilette, Revlon's 'Softsilver Rose' lipstick.

"Hand me my purse, darling. A girl can't
read that sort of thing without her lipstick." 
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S

I am creating... a temporary mess in my study as I tackle, sort, and tidy
some unruly shelves and drawers. 

I watched, and loved... the very moving 2015 biographical drama film
Woman in Gold about Maria Altmann, the elderly Jewish woman
(portrayed by actress Helen Mirren) who tried to reclaim family possessions
seized by the Nazis during WWII, including the famous portrait
of Maria's Aunt Adele: Gustave Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I". 

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Love, love, LOVED this book. Gentle, wistful, humorous.
One review said it's a book for firesides or long train rides. Oh yes!
Or, sitting in the autumn sunshine in a sunny spot in one's living room.


Slow reading... Autumn, An anthology for the changing seasons,
edited by Melissa Harrison. A delightful collection of poetry and essays
old and new filled with evocative word pictures that takes this reader
through the season of rich scents and colourful patterns.

I am hoping... to get my house in order over the next couple of weeks
so that I can enter the Christmas season without
any unfinished business hanging over my head.

I found... a lovely article about Susan Branch from the MV Times by Alison Armstrong.
It's entitled "From Scratch: The Way of Susan Branch". If you are a fan
of Susan's, you will enjoy reading this recently published piece.

“That’s the whole point of creativity —
you have to make it up.”
SUSAN BRANCH

In the garden... our resident bluejays are busy. Peanuts mound up in tiny piles around
the yard as these industrious birds stash their cache under autumn leaves.

In the kitchen... onions, celery, dried bread cubes, and seasoning sit
on the counter waiting to be transformed into a savoury batch
of stuffing for two -- our way of extending the festive celebration.

Shared Quote... from somewhere on my Facebook page, author unknown:

"There are three months
left in this decade.
I think you should go for it." 

That really jumps out at me. It never even crossed my mind
until I read those lines that we're shortly closing out
the 2010s and opening the 2020s. Oh my! Is there something
we need to get done before then? I think we should go for it, don't you?

A moment from my day...

* * *

Wishing you a glimpses of heaven in unexpected places.

Hugs,
Brenda
xox


PS.
I've linked to the October Edition of Simple Woman's Daybook here.



21 comments:

  1. I may be a little late to the party, but Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

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  2. Your first quote made me laugh out loud. Truer words have never been spoken:) And yet, a nice piece of pumpkin pie never goes amiss! I have a vague recollection of seeing 'Woman in Gold' some time ago. It was very moving. I am putting it on my list to find and watch again. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  3. Wishing you a glimpse of heaven as well, dear Brenda. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Lovely post, as always. Blessings for a truly lovely week are wished for you. Susan

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  4. Oh that three-month quote is a bit startling. The other thing that is a bit startling is that there is snow in you world. In my philosophy, snow in October is obscene. I have a feeling that you are more accepting. Glad that you had a fine Thanksgiving.

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  5. I just love reading your posts, I truly could almost smell the rainy day weather. I agree about the pumpkin pie...is there ever room? It's hard to imagine that we are already on, 2020's doorstep, it seems like 2000 was just yesterday to me! Sounds like your Thanksgiving was perfect!

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  6. Loved both your beginning and ending quotes! The first made me smile and nod in agreement; the second gave me a start! Why had this not occurred to me? It's a little sobering, isn't it? Not because I expect any great changes as we roll into another decade (although, who really knows? We've had our share this year!) . . . but because time just keeps flying by so quickly and it feels as if we just began the 2010's!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you, Brenda! A long holiday weekend is nice, especially when you're able to celebrate and then still have a little time for puttering and pondering.

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  7. Pumpkin pie isnt something that we eat much here. Pumpkins are mostly used for cutting out designs and putting a candle in.
    Another decade is almost over....I hadnt given that a thought! The tears go by too quickly.

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  8. Your Thanksgiving sounds restful. The food must have been wonderful. I am looking forward to the coming Christmas season. It is always such a happy time. I enjoyed that quote by Susan Branch about creativity. Very true! God bless!

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  9. Brenda such a lovely post...wow it never crossed my mind either that we were crossing into a new decade soon. Just goes to show time stops for no one even if we are not keeping track. :)! Have a super day. Hugs

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  10. 🍁 HAPPY THANKSGIVING 🍁

    I had a good chuckle at the quote from HOLLY GOLIGHTLY!

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  11. A lovely glimpse of life out your way. I just completed a similar post on this quiet drizzly day. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
    We really enjoyed The Woman in Gold, too, and I just finished a book by Jojo Moyes "The Girl You Left Behind" which is also about a painting. And I'm so glad you loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - one of my very favourite books!

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  12. I so enjoy these type of posts. I've been wanting to blog again and finally am doing that as well as visiting some bloggy friends. I also want to say how much your blog meant to me this summer while my husband was in the hospital for bypass surgery. Your posts here and on Facebook were such a beautiful and comforting read while I sat in a chair beside his bed in a place where even though we were thankful to be, was far from beautiful and homey. Thank you for writing from your heart.

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  13. Glad to hear that you had a great Thanksgiving, Brenda.

    Today, I busted out my winter jacket for the first time. Bring on the cozy winter wear!

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  14. Love this post, Bren. Your writing, as always is beautiful, but this was especially dear to me. Happy to hear you enjoyed your Thanksgiving. I am one of those strange folks who looks forward to winter, but I still have the garden to finish putting to bed. Always enjoy hearing of the books you are reading. Happy autumn days to you, my friend.

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  15. Happy late Thanksgiving. Loved your blog especailly your pictures. I followed you here from The Simple Womans Daybook. I hope to visit it again and hope you might find time to stop by my blog too. I am trying to blog again but it is hard to get started again.

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  16. I'm glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. You know, I never thought of it until you mentioned it; this decade is almost over. Yikes! Seems the older we get, the faster time flies. Well, I am immensely happy that Hubby and I got our basement cleaned out. I had been after him the past three years and finally we did it. A wonderful feeling of accomplishment nearing the end of this decade! Our Thanksgiving meal we took in a restaurant because I was too tired to cook after all the cleanup. I did however bake up some desserts which my family enjoyed back here at home. I believe my niece told me about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. She loved it. Another delightful post, Brenda. Have a beautiful weekend. Hugs...Sandi

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  17. Happy Thanksgiving to you! I wish we would take up the Canadian tradition of an October Thanksgiving here in the states. It's such a lovely holiday and I would like that extra month to enjoy the celebration of fall and harvest. For us it marks the start of the Christmas holidays. I love the quotes you included in your daybook -- Holly Golightly's especially. Woman in Gold was such a good movie. Love Helen Mirren.

    The photo with the flower dusted with snow is beautiful.

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  18. Just catching up on my blog reading...loved this post. The word pictures you create make it seem almost possible to jump right in to the post and enjoy everything right along with you. I hope you enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving...my favorite holiday!

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  19. I loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society as well. And to think that the author waited her whole life to write it and didn't live to see it published, it is sad and sweet and so in keeping with the spirit of the book. The movie wasn't as good, IMO.
    Amalia
    xo

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To My Beautiful Readers,

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. ~ Franz Peter Schubert

Thank you so much for leaving your 'footprint' here in my comment box. I do appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts today.

Brenda xo