Autumn in Full Throttle With Treats

“It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust

of brown sugar and cinnamon.”

SARAH ADDISON, First Frost

as seen on GoodReads

Well, I feel a little put out at Mr. Sun this early morning. It's grey and overcast, and on the day of my dear Mom's 90th birthday too! I wanted it bright and beautiful on her special day. No matter, thankfully there's a yummy Lemon Meringue Cake to look forward to this afternoon—the celebration will carry on, sunshine or no sunshine.

And a Happy Autumn to everyone here in the Northern Hemisphere! It’s been another lovely week, although when we went for our early morning walk the other day, there was a decided sharpness to the wind—let's just say we didn’t dawdle. But it made me feel like hauling out my autumn-themed ribbons and dishes, not to mention the pumpkin tablecloth on the dining table with a still life posing as a table centre.

What do you think about when autumn comes? Some people say autumn is a time of change. That it's a season of decline, transition. (Yes, there is that.) Other people say it's a time for letting go and releasing things that have been a burden. (What a good idea - I'm all for that.) When I think what autumn means to me, I think of this season as a time of new beginnings, like the beginning of a new school year and getting into new projects after the summer. Mostly, having grown up on a farm, autumn for me is harvest time—the gathering in of what was started in the spring of the year—potatoes and carrots, apples and pears and plums, and combining the fields of wheat, barley, flax, and oats.

Here are treats that have come my way this week... I so looked forward to sharing them with you today.

One

"Lace is one of the most beautiful fabrics, you know. All those

holes and gaps, but it's still complete somehow - still lovely."

Anonymous, Goodreads

I have been wanting a lace tablecloth for a while now for my dining room table. I wanted something so the dark wood table could still peek through. I giggled with joy at this gift that came into my life.

It came up on Facebook Marketplace this week, and I was astounded to see it listed for a mere $25. I know the value of something hand crafted, and this crocheted piece is exquisite. It fits a table that seats six. Pristine white, I could see that it had been beautifully cared for. The woman who was selling it said she now has a bigger table and so it was too small. I asked if someone in her family had made it—yes, a friend of her mother's had made it (I think that's how the story went—I was too busy admiring to really listen to her story, for which I now regret).

One day I will show it to you in its full glory...I didn't want to dismantle my autumn setting right now.

Two

"It's hard to find anyone who doesn't like letters.

We feel a thrill when we receive them. One of their

charms is that we can't see what's inside right away;

there's an anticipation in unsealing the mysteries held within."

JUHEE MUN 

This book The Healing Power of Korean Letter Writing was recommended a few weeks ago by my dear friend Barbara on her Small Moments blog. She had taken a break from her blog to read it. It sounded so beguiling, I had to order a copy for myself. At the time, I was told to expect delivery anytime after October 23rd. You can appreciate then why I was so surprised to have it arrive this past Tuesday. It had travelled all the way from a bookshop in Galway, Ireland.

The book itself is a slender volume that fits like poetry into one's hand. The author Juhee Mun is from South Korea and she owns a letter shop called 'geulwoll'. Which is a "native Korean word, a respectful term meaning 'letter'". The book, originally published in Korean, was translated into English by Clare Richards who lives in the UK. The author mentions how she rarely wrote letters, but in her shop she had 'encountered so many letter-devotees' that she searched out books about letter writing. She found two: Eight or Nine Wise Words about Letter-Writing by Lewis Carroll and Simon Garfield's To the Letter. I have read neither so you can guess that I'll be searching those out.

To that list I'd like to add another timeless book about writing letters. I received it as a Christmas gift in the early 1990s titled Gift of a Letter by Alexandra Stoddard. Packed with all manner of quotes and lovely ideas about the whys and wherefores of letter writing, it's a keeper.

Three

This book also arrived on Tuesday, and I was so excited. Anyone who follows Miranda Mills on YouTube knows this is her first book which came out this month. The Country Commonplace Book "is a seasonal touchstone packed full of quotes, book lists, artwork, recipes, and observations on the natural world to keep close at hand and to accompany you throughout the year." excerpt from Description on Amazon

As Miranda has explained, "[C]ommonplace books have been types of journals used to record favorite passages from books or poetry, anecdotes, extracts from letters, proverbs, lists, shared recipes, quotes, prayers, and lyrics, and they have been kept for centuries." Like many of us, she has collected her favourite quotes and passages for years, and it was a dream of hers to take some of her favourites and curate them into a kind of anthology, in this case using material that was about nature and the seasons in the English countryside.

If you click on the title in the first paragraph, the link will take you to a 2-minute video trailer about it. By the time you finish watching, you'll be wanting to add it to your shopping cart (if you haven't done so already).

Four

I took this photo eleven years ago this week—it appeared on my Facebook Memories. It was a delight to see it again after all these years. I still remember that September day when I had met long time friends for lunch. It was so warm we sat out on the patio, and what a lovely time we had.

At some point 'just because' presents were exchanged—none of us have birthdays in September. The little notepad with my name on it is long used up as is the pen. The fabric on the right side is actually a long narrow silky scarf in an 'old letters' motif. I've loved wearing it; it always makes me feel chic. The book Learn by Heart Poetry sits handily nearby on my poetry shelf. As I reach for it right now, it flips opens to page 71 where I find a few lines by Emily Dickinson. They happen to match the season, as if I had planned it. Let me share:

"The Morns Are Meeker Than They Were"

The morns are meeker than they were —

The nuts are getting brown —

The berry's cheek is plumper —

The Rose is out of town.

The Maple wears a gayer scarf —

The field a scarlet gown —

Lest I should seem old fashioned

I'll put a trinket on.

Five

Happy Birthday, to my Best Beloved Mom!

We love, love, love you.

BTW, as I wrap up, the sun has come out.

It must have heard me whining.

Here's to sunshine...and cake...and beautiful Moms.

Life is good.

 ❦

Wishing you all a beautiful week ahead,

Brenda

Photo credits:

Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

(Bottom two) Autumn Bouquet by Kathy Hillacre

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