Five on Friday on Saturday: September Doings

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

fluttering from the autumn tree."

EMILY BRONTË

We've had some lovely autumnal days where the sun was warm and the air was crisp. The last couple of days, however, have been grey and bitter with sharp winds from the northwest.

Autumn in all her moods unpacks... leaves are turning yellow... birds are gathering for long flights south... late roses bloom outside my window. It's a favourite time of year and a favourite combination of those warm yet crisply refreshing days. It's true what the Argentinian poet Jorge Luis Borges once said, "There is no day without its moment of paradise."  I find it especially so in Autumn.

Here is a little Five on Friday post... a little late but C'est la vie!

One: Mom's Move

The week went by in a blur. Everything was finally packed on Monday, moving day was Tuesday, and the last couple of days we worked to get everything unpacked and in place so Mom could settle, and nest, without having to sort through boxes and bins. There are still pictures to hang, but there's no hurry for that. She is already loving her new place—what's not to love about big windows and a room with a view that overlooks the garden, benches, and a glider swing for afternoon reveries, not to mention a greenhouse for keen 'resident' gardeners to work away in. My great joy is that Mom is now closer to where I live...a hop, skip, and jump across the street which makes visiting and helping so much easier.

Two: September Reading

I enjoyed gathering a few favourite books that I look

forward to reading this month. All are cozy and gentle reads.

  

September (novel)

by Rosamunde Pilcher

The Fortnight in September (novel)

by R.C. Sherriff

Autumn Anthology (National Trust, UK)

by Melissa Harrison et al.

The Country Commonplace Book

(Autumn Section)

by Miranda Mills

Anne of Windy Poplars (novel)

by L.M. Montgomery

Sense and Sensibility (novel)

by Jane Austen

Victoria Magazine September issues

(from late 1980s to current)

Three: Pork Chops, Apples & Onions

I found a lovely recipe on the Martha Stewart site some years ago using apples and onions with pork chops. It has been an autumn favourite ever since. The mix of apples and onions on top the braised chops is simply delicious. Mashed potatoes are a great side dish. Simply braise chops until golden brown (10 minutes), slice apples, onions and sauté them (eight minutes), finish cooking everything for another 15 minutes or so. You'll find the recipe HERE. (Sorry, no pics, I ate my supper before I remembered to take photos.)

Four: Seasonal Quotes

"She could not stay in the garden. The hollyhocks

and the asters and the late roses all seemed to be

waiting for something to happen. It was one of those

still, shiny autumn days, when everything does

seem to be waiting."

EDITH NESBIT, from The Railway Children, 1905

*

"Welcome to you rich Autumn days,

Ere comes the cold, leaf-picking wind."

W.H. DAVIES, from the poem Rich Days

I love that turn of phrase "cold, leaf-picking wind." 

To read the entire poem, click HERE.

*

"Winter is an etching,

spring a water color, summer an oil painting,

and autumn a mosaic of them all."

STANLEY HOROWITZ

*

"Oh, the joy of that lovely light that slants

into the house at this time of year."

BL

Five: Autumn Leaves

Found this leaf early one morning on our walk. It seemed almost translucent in the grass following a light rain in the wee hours. If you like that old 1940s song "Autumn Leaves" you can listen HERE. It's a lovely, melancholy piece which seems perfect for this time of year.

❦

On that note, I'm wishing you a beautiful day,

Brenda

Photos:

Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life