September: Five on Friday and Guest Blogging on InScribe

"Ah, September! You are the doorway to

the season that awakens my soul..."

PEGGY TONEY HORTON

It's been a busy week. And the weather has held up. Except we had a few heavy smoke days so we stayed indoors for a couple of them. Which gave me a chance to read Ann Cleeves's first Vera mystery The Crow Trap which was published in 1999. It was one of my library book sale finds. I enjoyed reading the book after having watched most of the Vera episodes on television. The actors play out in my head as I follow the story on paper. Brenda Blethyn looms large as life as she drinks tea and calls people "Pet" while going about her business of finding a killer. I learned a lot more about Vera from reading the novel. There is so much that film doesn't or can't catch. I'm glad I read it.

Along with the turn of the calendar page, the season turned as well. We had lovely summer days the last week of August, but this week there has been a definite bite in the air. I wasn't venturing around in shorts and sleeveless tee-shirts, but I spotted one young woman waiting for the school bus the other morning who looked like she might have wished for a wee jacket. What we will do at 16 to look cool.

I hope you enjoy today's Five on Friday edition. Thank you for stopping by! xo   

One. The season is changing

While it's officially still summer, around here autumn leaves are falling (I've had fun crunching in a few tiny piles along the roadside). The nights are getting cooler, and the daytime temperatures have a crispness in the air even though you can still feel the real warmth of the sun on your back. To mark the coming changes, I pulled out my copy of Autumn, An anthology for the changing seasons, edited by Melissa Harrison and copied out a few lines that say what I feel too: 

"Autumn is an adventure, a season of transformation, and a time to prepare for the long winter ahead. It is a thousand leaves falling to the ground and nourishing the soil beneath; it is . . . refreshing winds that sweep the haze of summer away; it is the calm before the storm. More than that, though, autumn is a celebration of senses, of new experiences for your eyes, ears, tongue, skin and nose; it rouses your consciousness after the calming effects of summer. Autumn isn't the season of decay or death, but one of wealth and renewal. It is the changing landscape; the subtle anticipation of winter. Autumn is to be enjoyed. Autumn is bold bursts of colour that leap from every corner of the landscape; it is golden yellow, fiery red, bright orange, and rich chocolate brown, and a faded green that reminds us of summer."

From the essay by Louise Baker, 2016

Two. How cute is this?

A dear friend gave me this sweet teapot box which is the perfect size for tucking in favourite samples of tea. Or, in this case, a baggie of dried ginger root strips for brewing in a teapot. The ginger was so fragrant when I opened the box.

Three. My friend Barry

Barry was my best friend when I was a little girl not yet in school. I should also tell you that Barry was invisible, and only I could see him. I have no idea how I came to have such a friend, but I know the name came from an actual boy who visited with his family at our neighbour's house. We must have met them.

To this day, I still have one vivid picture in my mind's eye of me walking outside with my arm draped around Barry's shoulder. I have no idea what we chatted about, but we were best buddies. I never told anyone about my new friend. My mom told me of the time when she went to sit down at the kitchen table and I yelled, "You can't sit there. Barry is sitting there." I think Mom realized I needed a playmate. Hmmm, maybe that's when my little sister came along.

I'm sharing this with you today because Barry came to visit the other day out of the blue (only in my memory, of course). I think he looked pretty much as he did 64 or 65 years ago. He hadn't aged in my mind's eye. But I do wonder what this now grown man must look like in real life today.

Four. Loving this

bouquet of flowers that sits on the dining room table.

Five. Guest blogging elsewhere

I am guest blogging on InScribe today "One Unfinished Project: Starting Again". I'm chatting about picking up a memoir I started writing several years ago but never finished. I'd love for you to join me over THERE.

❦

Wishing you a beautiful day,

Brenda

Photo credits:

(Top) Image by ... from Pixabay

(Autumn) Image by ... from Pixabay

(Paper Teapot) by Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

(Little girl) Image by Hai Nguyen from Pixabay

(Bouquet) by Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

(Computer) Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay

My Blogging Schedule:

I post on Fridays