Sweet peas, honey bees & daisies

If I type this very quietly maybe nobody will notice that I'm not behind my sewing machine, beavering away. I promised myself a sewing day but I Just wanted to say that I hope you are all having some of this beautiful sunshine today. Sun shining from the moment I sprang out of bed (well 'sprang' not really the word, since I seem to have broken yet another toe!), all day long and I even managed to eat my lunch in the garden too.




You could almost be forgiven for thinking it was summer - the summer that never was... There is of course the whiff of Autumn in the air and we have woken up this week to seamists, the whiff of changing seasons in the air and holly trees bedecked in frosty jewelled cobwebs.



So when days like these come along, you have to seize them and enjoy. Almost as much as I am enjoying these lovely posters that we have recently added to our Emporium - let the sunshine in indeed!
Enjoy your week.
PS Holiday photos have been uploaded! And some time between now and Christmas at this rate I'm going to share them with you. Here's a clue - we went on a mission....

Changing colours

Well there's no stopping the seasons once they set their mind to it. Last night I collected Little Sister from her dance class. Two weeks earlier we enjoyed a leisurely stroll back up the hill in golden sunshine, as we climbed the hundred or so steps to our home we watched the shafts of gentle sunlight stream through the turning leaves on the trees above our heads. A fortnight later and last night we dashed up the hill, huddled under an umbrella, the only light coming from the old victorian streetlamps that lit our way. Not only was it cold and wet, it was DARK! That happened quickly didn't it?!



So whilst the days are shortening the evenings lengthen and our daily routines slowly change too. I do love walking outside in the evening, wrapped up warm enjoying the little vignettes of daily life coming from windows, fires burning, people snuggled on the sofa or in the kitchen preparing something warm for supper. I love the view from Big Sister's window at night, an entire hillside of shimmering light, rows of houses banked up towards the sea - how little that view has changed across the years.



However what I really love about the evenings at this time of year is drawing the curtains on the outside and enjoying the cosiness of home. Of course in the mornngs when the shock of a frost or chill hits you as you open the front door, the temptation to stay put can be a tad too overwhelming. But what comes hand in hand with all these changes?



Different clothes, different colours and different textures. I love dressing for this time of year. Our coat hooks in the hall seem to be permanently laden with a variety of scarves, hats, bags and coats. The pinks and greens that I love so much in the summer, deepen in the Autumn. Whilst I can't always afford a new coat, I can always find a scarf or brooch to mix in with what I've got.



This little babushka brooch I found at the car boot a couple of weeks ago and she seems to look so much better on colder days than on the very hot day I found her.



My old ragged bag that I made years ago comes out religiously every year for a little outing around now. She looks great against a dark green coat I have and a bright hat - well I won't tell you how many woolly hats we girls have in this house, I think Big Sister breeds them in her bedroom.



When I was little whenever my Aunt would visit she would bring an old tin of brooches for me to play with. At this time of year I always think of her, perhaps the magpie in me comes from her.



So last night when we were scurrying back from the dance class what made it a little better was this lovely old umbrella that I found in a junk shop the other week. It is so pretty and feminine and flouncy. It has however been kidnapped by Big sister who promises faithfully that she will not lose it at school, leave it behind in the science lab, drama studio or art room, I fear its days are numbered ...

Golden Days

This past week or so has just been wonderful hasn't it, beautiful blue skies, golden sunshine and a warmth that has been lacking for months. To lift your head and feel the heat of the sun smiling down on your face, to close your eyes and yet still sense the orange warmth that seems to reflect all around us, has been uplifting, energising and makes us thankful for these last few truly golden days of late Summer.



Even without the truly abysmal summer that we have just had, there is a sense of the specialness of these days, of one season spilling into another, of things running their natural course. We have been out walking on the Downs and really, really enjoying the moment. Impromptu picnics on top of the hillsides, wondering at the change in colours, grasses that were just a while back lush and green, now bleached by the sun, ready to move on and slip into the gentleness of Autumn.



Did anybody see the harvest moon last week? It was beautiful. You can smell the onset of Autumn now in the mornings, it is so exciting. I do love summer but it so often brings with it so much promise and hope and leaves us feeling cheated. At least with Autumn you know where you are. As the door on Summer closes and we catch glimpses of our Autumn, we know that with or without the sunshine, the leaves will colour and fall, the air will smell excitingly of change and any sunshine that comes our way will be golden.




Last week I walked through the park to the dreaded dental appointment and pinched myself for not taking my camera, the gardens were just beautiful, rows of dahlias, late summer blooms holding their heads high to the sunshine, whilst under the trees the squirrels were busy and through the bushes the bees and butterflies got on with their daily business.



We had friends over this weekend to celebrate my birthday. I picked the last roses from the garden to put on our table, Little Sister spent the day on the hammock reading, the cats slowly melted in the sun, our friends arrived early evening sunkissed from their walk on the Downs, and we ended the evening cheeks flushed from laughing, wine and the warmth of the fire blazing in the living room. As we opened the door to say goodbye to them, the chill of the air that greeted us reminded us that change was on its way, and it's exciting.

Sunday walking in the woods

It was such a beautiful day yesterday - warm, crisp and bright and so miserable today - grey, wet and, well, Monday morningish! At this time of year you realise that you have to seize every opportunity to be outside that comes your way. So yesterday late morning we decided to grab a football, put on some old shoes and head for the woods. Here's a photo of my youngest outside our house waiting for her older sister to join her. As you can see it's quite a big house, the heating and window cleaning bills are a nightmare .... Sorry, couldn't resist it, of course this is not our house but I wouldn't mind spending the odd week or so living in this setting and grandeur! Built in the 1720s this house, Stanmer House, sits in a huge landscaped park with woods and farmland. I bet this house has seen the odd Jane Austen moment or two.
Stanmer Park is one of our favourite places for a walk in the autumn, winter months and we've been coming for years ever since my oldest was a toddler. In the grounds is an entire village that was completely private and hidden away until 1947 when the city bought it.


Anyway after the obligatory game of footie, climbing of trees etc off into the woods we went. Lots of photos here to show you just how beautiful it is.



The colours of Autumn are beginning to show



and the sun is still high enough to cast dappled rays amongst the trees and heighten the turning shades of the leaves.



Delicate, intricate seed heads are forming



and hidden treasures like this winter cyclamen are waiting to be found



and in corners of the woods leaves are turning chocolatey brown.



It was great to spend hours amongst the trees and climbing the hills, Sometimes it is just too easy to take all of this for granted and there are times like yesterday when I realise what a special time of year this is.