The First Day of September

And suddenly, September is here. I was out late last night, visiting a friend, and came home as the clock was striking midnight, and August slipped away.

I love September. To me, it is the coming of autumn, that back-to-school feeling, the promise of leaves to come falling and whirling from the trees like confetti in the air. Cosy comfort food and hot chocolate, hot water bottles and pumpkins and conkers and acorns....and all things lovely.

For the first time in a long time, we woke up when our bodies were ready, rather than when the alarm went off. It was blissful. Over the first cup of tea for the day, Carl suggested a trip to Hylands park. It is a short drive away, and one of my favourite places to walk. As it was the first Sunday of the month, the Farmers Market was on which made it even nicer. I bought a book of parlour games from the second hand bookstall there, and then we took a gentle walk down to the lake, stopping to lay under a tree for a bit, and look up at the branches silhouetted against the sky. The first little hints of the coming autumn were there to be seen - scattered green acorns on the ground.

After our walk, we drove to the nearby farm shop to buy the first of the new season apples. We came home with bags of Katy and Festival, and the biggest Bramley I have ever seen. I love the farm shop. We used to go more regularly when we lived a little bit closer, but we have been starting to go a bit more often. This is the perfect time of year to start shopping there, as the apples start to appear, and the big bins are filled with corn-on-the-cob and pointed cabbages.

Then home, to a pot of tea and a blackcurrant flapjack. I used the vintage cup and saucer I brought back from Aldeburgh this year. The saucer is an elongated shape, so the cup sits on one side, with space for your biscuit on the other. We drank our tea while we watched 'The Moving Finger' which is a Miss Marple mystery - and we watched the older version, filmed in the 80s, rather than the newer one.

While I sipped tea and watched Miss Marple, I wound all of the wool in my stash into balls, which was very therapeutic, and all the balls are now sitting in a wicker basket, along with the two crochet blankets I am making. There is the ripple stitch sea-coloured blanket which I have not done any work on for some time, and then the giant granny square blanket in different shades of green which I have started more recently.

Tarragon pork for dinner, and then a bath with the new issue of The Simple Things magazine, lit by candles.

Now, sitting in the dimly-lit living room, with a pile of print-outs about September and autumn from Brocante Home, that I have collected over the years. Making plans for hazelnut being my signature autumn flavour this year, and looking forward to cosying up our home when I have finally finished the big declutter.

All that I have left to do now is the Narnia (our walk-in-wardrobe-closet), the storage boxes under our bed, and the bookshelves. I am still enjoying the process, but starting to be very, very ready to be finished. I am at that point where it feels like I have come so, so far, but still have a fair way to go. I think the flat will look done when the Narnia and under the bed are finished, but I am looking forward to a proper sort out of the bookshelves. I am going to leave it for last, as I am looking forward to our home looking finished.

A gentle start to a September, full of plans for new books to read, a special wedding, a trip to the Aldeburgh Food Festival, and starting to plan for Christmas.