I always feel slightly uncomfortable with the word ritual...it has a ring of witchcraft about it! Until I find a better word for it, I use it to describe a lovely thing, in the manner of Puttery Treats at www.brocantehome.co.uk (think embroidering initials on tea towels, setting up a breakfast porridge tray and such scrumptious things) that I do regularly, and usually at the same kind of time.
I don't do them forever though, or the shine wears off. Sometimes it is good to retire one, even if it is just for a month or two or three, so there is time and room for a new one. The change of the seasons is perfect for this. One of my little rituals that I have started doing is to go round our little flat at about quarter past seven or thereabouts, and turn out all the lights, except for one. The one that I leave on is the lamp on my writing desk in the corner of our living room. Then I light candles all around the rest of the room. I could light them in the other rooms in the flat too, but I worry about leaving them unattended. I do have them at the ready though. There is a Yankee Candle in a jar by the pretty mirror on my dressing table, and a whole row of votive candle holders along the side of the bath. That way, when dear Carl comes home from work, he comes into a softly lit happy home. There is something magical about the flickering of candlelight, and it feels so good to have a break from just electrical lighting.
Other little things that I want to do for autumn, but more in the puttery treat line than rituals are to hang my autumn wreath on our door, and to buy some cinnamon syrup for coffee. The lovely Vintage Kitten visited from her scrumptious blog at www.thevintagekitten.blogspot.com to share her wonderful tip of using cloves and candles together- check the comments on my previous posts to read it! Thanks VK! I shall definitely be trying that. Whilst I was in town today, I bought some thick tights from Marks and Sparks in a dusky purple shade. I love that the name of the colour is Damson. So much more evocative than just 'purple'. I plan to wear them with a jumper in the same shade, a black skirt and black ballet pumps. I saw some wonderful ballet pumps in Dorothy Perkins this morning- they had pompoms on the toes- but alas they did not have them in my size. I would really like a pair though!
I will leave you with dusky thoughts of autumn leaves and cinnamon coffee and the scent of cloves wafting across a candle-bright room. I hope you are having a scrumptious evening!
2 comments:
I love your ideas! I like changing our home a bit with the seasons too, and autumn is my favourite season. I haven't done anything yet, but soon I'll change our summer sheer curtains to heavier, darker ones...cover our wood floors with an area rug and basically nest, getting ready for the colder weather. I have quite a bit of fake autumn-coloured foliage that I use to decorate the house with. Can't wait to get it all out!
Chris in Canada
So glad you are back!..love your autumal rituals and thank you for sharing..your practices inspire me to keep up my own rituals or/and start new ones. I've never embroidered tea towels but I may give that a try. I'm much into rubberstamping and card making, but picked up some felt and embroidery floss recently with an eye to do emboridery again--haven't done for years. I like the idea of using a craft to embellish a practical item. Would you share some information on how you do your tea towels?
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