This week

I'm trying really hard to like autumn, but honestly sometimes it's a struggle.  The cold, the damp, the piles of rotting leaves everywhere.  People seem to stop picking up after their dogs.  Do they think there's so much stuff on the ground anyway it doesn't matter?  Makes me VERY cross.

I know some of you live in hot places where autumn is a delicious breath of fresh cool air.  But here I'm closing all the windows and living with piles of damp washing.  I'm missing the warmth and the sunshine and I just don't much like all of the dying plants.  I know it's part of the eternal cycle, and of course an important part, but right now I'm in that adjustment phase.  I do love winter, once everything is cleared away.  The cleansing cold, everything pared down and stark.  Maybe it's the messiness I don't get along with.  I like to pick things up when they drop on the ground, not leave them to rot.  I'll be okay in a week or two when I've acclimatised.

On Monday I dragged the children to the mall to buy a few essential winter things.  It was looking ever so slightly sparkly.

I treated myself to a new bread knife.  I know how to live.

The old one was so blunt that it was a major effort every day to slice the bread.  I always make my own in a bread machine, so a bread knife is something I use all the time.  The old one didn't even scratch my skin when I rubbed it on my hand.  When I pressed my thumb onto the new blade, it sank straight in.  Honestly, it's scarily sharp, it flies through the bread, even the crusty bits.  I've got a cut on my thumb now.  And also a few bruises from falling over in spectacular fashion on the Tesco petrol forecourt on the way home.  One minute I was walking up to the car, the next minute I slipped on some greasy tiles and vanished from view, much to the boys' surprise.

I gave in and bought apples today.  I've been trying to make everyone eat pears from the garden, but they tend to go without instead.  So I gave in and filled up the fruit bowl.  They're all mad apple eaters, this lot won't last long.

I've just dyed a rather blue jumper dark red (Burlesque Red as it happens), and now I have a deep purple jumper.  Much better.  Unfortunately I didn't realise there was a stray beige linen napkin and a pale honey coloured face flannel in the washing machine when I gave it a post-dyeing wash.  So now I have a mauve napkin that doesn't match the others and a face flannel ditto.  Never mind, it's no biggie.  Although it did make me wonder if I should avoid things that stain other things purple, I'm starting to sense a pattern emerging.

I'm enjoying the dark evenings, if not the sodden days.  A good book (recommended by Leanne when I met her in the summer) and a little sparkly knitting.

Okay, autumn might have its good points.  If you can think of any more, please feel free to share.