Christmas lights.

We've been into town to see the Christmas lights, stopping off for some sustenance at the turros stall (with a Nutella dip - health food!) before wandering through the gardens. Although cold, there was no snow, other than the soap bubble 'snow' that our grandson enjoyed.

Sugar rush behaviour in the Christmas bauble!

There was a Christmas tree for Kiv lit in the Ukranian national colours.

And a little moon in competition.

Leaded light.

We are steadily working through the jobs to be done in the house, those things that were never considered when we agreed to buy! The landing window faces north, is leaded and single skinned. Also, when we studied it closely, it is has become slightly bowed. Call in the experts! We have, apparently, 'caught it in time.' We've been told that leaded windows have a life span of about a hundred years before they start to deteriorate and need re-leading. Our house was built in 1928 so we've bitten the bullet and yesterday the window was removed and taken away to be made into a triple sandwich that will keep the window safe and also hopefully make a big difference to the warmth of the house.

We were interested to hear about the particular features of our window, that the glass colour is hard to find these days, and the bulls eye panes are very sought after and expensive.

We have been invited to visit the works when our windows are on the bench to see how the releading is done. I've warned them that we shall come mob-handed because all the family will be interested to see what is involved.

The temporary replacement is not a pretty sight!

Last shout

It's the last shout of colour in the garden now, once the maple leaves have dropped we shall be sunk into deep shadow until next year. All the leaves have fallen from the beauty berry but the berries remain and are a striking shot of purple. I had never seen this plant before moving here but now I see them advertised all over the place.

The sun, when it chooses to shine, is low in the sky and hidden behind the neighbouring trees. It lights up odd patches in the rooms but I have to accept that the joy of living amongst mature trees is tempered by the fact that the house is dark!

I've been up in the attic tidying my planchest, trying to put work done and projects to do in to some sort of order. It is slow work because I keep discovering things that I'd forgotten about. There are some grainy old photos from my student days and they prompt me to wonder what my fellow students have done in the many years since then. A bit of googling ahead!

Where are they now?!

(Although I know all about one of them, because, Reader, I married him!)

Time to light the stove!

No sooner have we finished the autumn fun of halloween and bonfire night than the shops are hammering us with all things Christmas. Can't they wait until December? (Father Christmas has already filled all his slots at the place our grandson saw him last year!) The rooted Christmas tree that I bought last December is waiting outside in it's pot. It has been cossetted all year and has grown a little but it is never going to give me the problem of becoming too big to fit in the room, as was the case with the one that we left at our previous home. The weather is feeling more wintery now, it's definitely time to light the stove.

The trees are looking lovely, their structure showing beneath the leaves that still cling to the branches. There is a lot of leaf sweeping already done and plenty more to follow! As I add to the compost heap each day it looks almost full, but it quickly sinks. I only have the one bin here and therefore no means of turning it so I think it will take quite a bit longer to rot down.

Winter colour.

The maple leaves are a great cheer-up no matter how dark and dank the day.

And it is very dark and damp!

Bonfire night.

We woke to sunshine and I thought it would be good to go to the beach and collect some of the seaweed that had been washed up by the storm. Many people, like us, were making the most of the lovely weather to stroll along the seafront, A number of people came up to talk to me as I was bagging the seaweed. They wanted to know why I was collecting it. Sometimes I feel that I was born into the wrong century, but perhaps it's just as well that I'm in the 21st century and have avoided the ducking stool! I looked more like a bag lady than a wise woman pulling my spoils up to the car.

In the afternoon I made some gingerbread men - and women - for bonfire night.

The fun started as soon as it was dark. Fortified with hot dogs, onion rings, sweet potato fries, homemade fudge, buns and biscuits we sat around the fire pit and ooed and aaad to the fireworks. (I'm still of the opinion that it's hard to beat a good sparkler!)

When you have a six year old for company it's magical!

Wet, wet, wet.

Autumn has arrived and the leaves are changing colour. I don't think that we are in for a great display this year because heavy rain and strong winds mean that many of the leaves have been blown from the trees and now lie sodden on the ground. I go out raking and sweeping when the rain stops for a short while and the sun breaks through. The collected leaves go on the compost heap, which is swelling dramatically. We walked by the seafront yesterday for a short while. Large amounts of seaweed have been thrown onto the beach by the storm and I intend to go back and collect some to add to the compost heap. There were also many shellfish stranded on the beach. Do people collect these to eat? As a life-long landlubber I have no idea.

My Halloween pumpkin may not have been spooky but the toadstools that have emerged around the garden due to the excessive rainfall are certainly spooking me a little. Slimy, unpleasant-looking growths.