Saturday 29 September 2012

Septembers' Simple Pleasures

Hello Lovelies ,
the final two weeks of September seem to have flown by and I have pictures I haven't had chance to share yet.
Looking at these pictures of the simple things that caught my eye this month makes me happy . It's great having adventures and goals like the "great north run" but one of the many things the lovely people of  blogland have done is help me really notice and appreciate  special things in ordinary days. 

Early in the month we went on our  annual visit to a pretty village with a pond in the middle ...........


It's such a lovely spot to wander around . With pretty cottages and even a farmyard........




We visit for the scarecrow weekend, there are loads of wonderful scarecrows to see. Many very impressive and high tech, but this simple display appealed most to me........

It's a Beatrix Potter Scarecrow. I love the little creatures , especially Mrs Tiggywinkle the hedgehog and her babies :0)

That same sunny weekend we visited the park . The weather was so warm and still. I enjoyed simply sitting on a bench and watching people wandering along or sitting quietly reading........


It was wonderful to relax and soak up  the late afternoon rays . Whilst I was taking the picture above  a little leaf must have fluttered down from the trees and landed on my spotty summer dress. A reminder I should make the most of warm days like this because Autumn was just around the corner.......I'm trying to love Autumn , it is very beautiful but I know it means goodbye to long days and another summer..........




The next couple of pictures are from Sunday Dinner earlier in the month.
Maybe I should explain . I love Alicia's pictures....all of them are wonderful . Her home is  beautiful , her pets are so cute and she is such an amazing photographer. I took this picture after reading this blog post .....trying to copy her style :0)

It's Yorkshire pudding batter . I liked the bubbles and creamy yellow colour.........


My Yorkshires are a bit hit and miss but the boys are kind and say they still taste great , even when thy turn out a bit flat.
On this occasion they rose beautifully . I'm not a very enthusiastic cook but I'm getting better and it's a wonderful simple pleasure serving up a homemade meal everyone enjoys.......





This picture is the sky at 5.40pm last Saturday evening....the Autumn Equinox. The sun was shining through a thin veil of cloud......the sky reminded my of Mother of Pearl........




So we enter the half of the year when the nights are longer than the days, not so bad if the days are sunny but hard to love when it rains. This Wednesday was one of those dark wet days so I spent much of it in a warm kitchen.
Making my own soup is something new . I gathered some sad looking veg from the back of the fridge


Chopped and put them in my slow cooker with stock, tinned tomatoes, chilli powder and seasoning . It bubbled away all day and for the last hour I added some tinned mixed beans and some rice. The potatoes broke down to thicken the soup and in the end it was a very hearty chunky soup...almost a veg stew......healthy, frugal , simple food. I froze lots of individual servings and took one to work for lunch the next day.....it was yummy.

Something I do love is simple baking , so while the soup did its thing I popped on the oven and cozied up in my little kitchen making oaty cookies and flapjack for after school treats and packed lunches.........


Now the days are getting shorter my alarm goes off while it's still dark .....gosh I do struggle with that . But at least the rush hour journey to work is still light and the stationary traffic gives me the opportunity to look at the Autumn landscape.........

                        The trees are still green but the fields are shades of brown.


This is a bit of a mixed bag post isn't it .
Next up another simple pleasure ........books , or more specifically Childrens books. I love reading to the boys at bedtime ....though they are getting a bit old , while they will put up with me I will carry on . In fact I love reading older childrens books.....It's much more interesting than re-reading a Favorite Thomas the Tank engine story night after night :0)
I have just finished reading Swallows and Amazons.....a wonderful book I didn't read as a child but have enjoyed reading to my boys . It's fabulously descriptive and gentle.

The book in this picture is from my own childhood and recently rediscovered in the loft........


 

Poetry is such a simple pleasure and re-reading some of the  verses in this book has been a really gentle and enjoyable . In fact there are lots of poems in this book that are suitable for the not so young. I will share a   timely one here ...........


September
There are twelve months throughout the year,
From January to December -
And the primest month of all the twelve
Is the merry month of September!
Then Apples so red
Hang overhead,
And nuts ripe-brown
Come showering down
In the bountiful days of September

There are flowers enough in the summer-time,
More flowers than I can remember -
But none with the purple gold and red
That dye the flowers of September
The gorgeous flowers of September! 
And the sun looks through
A clearer blue
And the moon at night
Sheds a clearer light
On the beautiful flowers of September
                                                                                                 Mary Howitt

My own garden still has a few blooms so I gathered these yesterday to pop on my mantle . Maybe flowers are my favourite simple pleasure of all :0)
Phew , that turned into a long, wordy post. Well done if you stuck with it !
Jacquie x

29 comments:

  1. I love autumn. Crisp fall air, the leaves changing color, the clear blue skies. :~)

    What a great book of poetry! I wonder if it is still in print?

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  2. Better drowned than duffers, if not duffers won't drown. Love Swallows & Amazons. :)

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  3. Beautiful post Jacquie! So delightfully autumnal.
    Victoria xx

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  4. Swallows and Amazons and the rest of the Arthur Ransomes were my number 1 favourite books as a child.... home made soup is the best! As Anna says: "Better drowned than duffers, if not duffers won't drown" is one of the few literary quotes that I can remember!!

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  5. Great post.I loved it.I have got that poetry book well,I did have.The other weekend I went up in the loft and brought down all my poetry and story collection books(from when I was a Mum and also an infant teacher) and they are now at my daughters and my grandchildren are loving them.Emily who is 7 is loving the poetry books because she can read them herself.

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  6. Maybe it was long and wordy but it was worth every moment you spent on it. Beautiful words and gorgeous pictures.
    hugs,
    Meredith

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  7. lovely posting ;0) wonderful photographs x such beauty in your landscape ;0)
    September has come and almost gone so quickly~ my little girl turns 6 on the first of october, where did those years go???!!!! way too quickly!

    xx

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  8. Sunny autumn days are lovely but the wet ones are trying.

    Luckily today its been one of those sunny ones :) Washing has dried on the line and MrVV & I have been out for the day together to celebrate our Anniversary.

    As ever gorgeous photos - the simple things like pudding batter can look so stunning :)

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  9. oh my, I love that crocheted apple, do you know where I can find a pattern for such ??
    thanks

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  10. lovely post, I'm feeling a bit like I want these last few sunny days to continue! Struggling with the whole darker mornings and evenings thing!! Love your photos. x

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  11. We are polar opposites!! I love fall and winter. I get a sense of "cozy"
    I love the short days. I grab my yarn, hook and watch a movie, ahhhhhh my soul is at peace. Before going to bed I suggle down with my kindle and read. In the morning I ready myself for work and start the cycle again

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  12. Thanks for posting, Jacquie! The words and the images you shared gathered together impressions of this season of the year and this season of your life in a lovely way that warms my heart with appreciation for life and the beauty around us. xx from Gracie

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  13. Well worth sticking with. You've taken some lovely pictures. Can't believe it's almost October, September was gone in a flash!
    Ellie
    x

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  14. LOL - I still read to my nearly 12 year old son! We've been through Swallows and Amazons and out the other end. The problem is we're now reading, enjoying and discussing books I read when I was his age!

    And I love autumn - much more relaxing than summer!

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  15. Just HAD to share your BP scarecrow with 'Friends of Susan Branch (FOSB)' ... it is so charming! Thanks for posting <3

    Sharon in Alabama, USA <3

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  16. I had that book! I wonder where it is now, I'm sure I kept it. I think it was this book that used to make me wonder who Anon was and why he'd written so many poems, haha!
    Love the photo of the equinox sky, really beautiful.

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  17. Beautiful pictures and post, thankyou for sharing

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  18. I love posts that have a little bit of everything, so enjoyable to read and know what others have been up to. I had a chuckle about your soup. I call soup like that dead vegetable soup which I'm in the habit of making frequently in winter. They always taste wonderful.
    Enjoy your week ahead,
    Anne xx

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  19. Jacquie,

    Breathtaking beauty all around, you have quite the eye, and your beauteous and melodious tone truly allows us all to be right there with you; as you so eloquently share every delicious moment. I thank you for giving this truly amazing gift of you to us, and I know I am always going to be so very eager to join you in the experience.

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  20. you live in a beautiful area. A little bit of everything makes your blog so great :)

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  21. Jacquie, I loved the mix of this post.

    Thank you so much for taking us along on your afternoon stroll. I would love to have such interesting places nearby. Your sitting by the stream is somewhat akin to my often finding a bench near the Lake in Central Park.

    And those autumn cooking and baking pictures are inspirational. I just might have to get some soup going this afternoon!

    xo

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  22. Just catching up here. And this is a lovely mixed bag of a post. I missed your GNR report. I am in awe of you runners! (My son competes in the Chester Marathon this Sunday.)

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  23. Fantastic, beautiful flowers and that sky.... Oh and I love the crocheted apple too! It all feels so lovely and homey and rather....English. I love it.

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  24. ...and I thought I could chat!!! but I love your long mixed up chatty posts - they are delightful and so are the photos. I could just eat one of those Oaty cookies - they are on my list of bakes to try along with getting out my slow cooker again and making your 'yummy' veggie soup / stew. Autumn is certainly upon us.

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  25. Your photos are amazing Please Please! can you let me know what camera you have used. I love the clean, bright images you have taken.....xx

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    1. Hi , I use a Canon IXUS 80s. It's a couple of years old now but i love it's colourful images and Macro pictures.
      Jacquie x

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  26. i love that house....beautiful place..

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  27. I loved this post, gorgeous photos!

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