Autumn in the Garden

Autumn in the Garden

by Henry Van Dyke

When the frosty kiss of Autumn in the dark
Makes its mark
On the flowers, and the misty morning grieves
Over fallen leaves;
Then my olden garden, where the golden soil
Through the toil
Of a hundred years is mellow, rich, and deep,
Whispers in its sleep.
'Mid the crumpled beds of marigold and phlox,
Where the box

Borders with its glossy green the ancient walks,

There's a voice that talks

Of the human hopes that bloomed and withered here
Year by year,--
Dreams of joy, that brightened all the labouring hours,
Fading as the flowers.

Yet the whispered story does not deepen grief;
But relief
For the loneliness of sorrow seems to flow
From the Long-Ago,
When I think of other lives that learned, like mine,
To resign,
And remember that the sadness of the fall

Comes alike to all.

What regrets, what longings for the lost were theirs!

And what prayers
For the silent strength that nerves us to endure
Things we cannot cure!
Pacing up and down the garden where they paced,
I have traced
All their well-worn paths of patience, till I find
Comfort in my mind.

Faint and far away their ancient griefs appear:
Yet how near
Is the tender voice, the careworn, kindly face,
Of the human race!
Let us walk together in the garden, dearest heart,
Not apart!
They who know the sorrows other lives have known
Never walk alone.

Staging the Season

So here's a tour of what's been done so far.

note - this year i did not "plan" my decor; i followed my instincts collecting

this and that, puttering for about 2 weeks (and am still not done) - the common thing seems to be adding orange to my ever present earth tones.

This is what I've got so far for our Front Porch Display. We're still waiting on some fillers for the urns, some gourds or other things - I'll know when I see them. I made the door wreath from dollar store sticks stuck into a bare grapevine wreath frame I already had. We grew the corn (which stayed really dwarfed for some reason) as well as the pumpkins and squash. I found the hanger thingy at goodwill for .50 and the mum at Costco for $10 - i will plant it at the end of October.

Here's how my front foyer ended up looking

orange runner, hanging pumpkins (.50 at dollarstore last year), sparkly orange butterfly on red twigs; candle; leaf jar and sparkly grapes on tray were all around my house (yay)

i love this grouping of misc gold items I already had

Here's some accents in the family room...

bathroom... and kitchen.

Molasses cookies in the jar, and honey roasted cashews in the pumpkin dish.

I also, have a scentsy burner going whenever I'm home (Autumn Sunset); and a few candles here and there, as well as a fully stocked pantry to start baking from. Yes, I love to have it all around me.... little things here and there. I'm feeling good about this season this year, because of my new routine thanks to the boys' school schedule, I've been outside everyday enjoying the weather, and having quiet times and mommy & me times with them that I'm just loving every minute of... love love love it.

Thank You

I'm throwing this out there today.

THANK YOU!

To God and for the universe to hear.

Today I know that I am sitting on a moment.

On this very moment I feel all of my world trying to close in on me and make me grumpy, frustrated and angry.

Or...

I can be grateful, and push past what my little world is trying to give me to embrace something much better that is outside of me.

So, I'm choosing in this moment to be grateful, to NOT let frustration better me. To not be petty, or obsessive, or dramatic.

I'm going to be grateful, and I'm just going to be. I'm going to savour the sunshine, the possibilities in today, and in the hope of the salvation that found me - wretched and at the end of myself in the summer of 1989. Thank you Jesus for that day, and that in moments like these I can remember the joy of my salvation and everything changes.

Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou!

Jesus, you are so much bigger than me - thank you for finding me :)

(and Thank you mom, for telling me about Him, and for being in love with Him and letting me see it)

A New Season

I've said it before in this blog, and I'm likely to say it again and again.

I love fall.

I love the freshness. It is a second New Year, without the pressure. It is for me and my life right now, a new season. I was told today that I looked rested and settled...happy and pretty. What a great thing to be told.... better yet, to actually feel all those things too. How great is that? To have been through a hard time, with all it's dirt and grit and roughness, and to pass through another season which clears it all away... only to be left with a season for celebrating. Celebrating life... with gratitude. It's... perfect.

Last Sunday, day before Labour Day, my sister and her hubby hosted a great big, fun, fun, FUN party at their country home. Pot Luck yumminess, pork skewers on the BBQ, an amazing live band, bonfire, games for everyone, the kids running around enjoying the last of it... It was the best way to end our summer.

It was sweater weather, some even had blankets, but it was perfect for me who for once decided to be chatty cathy and mill around quite a bit catching up with everyone. We watched the sun go down and the sky was glorious, the reds and oranges melting into deep purples and blues. The smell of harvest was rich in the crisp air, as was the laughter.

The next day, I let myself be overcome by the " fall nesting frenzy".

For me, it's a process that spans about 2 weeks. It then gets refined again for Canadian Thanksgiving in October, and then again post Halloween into the Holiday Season.

It begins with LISTS - what to purge, what to clean, what to organize. I try to start in my imagination. What atmosphere do I want my home to provide my family this season? Usually it's peace, coziness, calmness, warmth and safety. I'd love my home to be the number one choice for where my family to wants to be. Our little heaven on earth.

So, I began clearing away the lovely summer things, saying goodbye to the summer memories again as each item is cleared... I also use this time to decide weather to change the primary colour of the main living spaces... I learned a trick years back about using neutrals on the main elements like the walls, furniture, etc, and then bringing in colour with the accessories like cushions, drapes, books, etc. I chose the colours that inspire me for fall-winter and spring-summer, and then change them out or combine them as needed. In the summer it's the teal/ turquoise/ whites and also the really fresh greens on whites. The formal living room is usually whites, greys & browns - I love using natural elements like shells, driftwood, stones, feathers, etc.

In the fall-winter I usually switch the blues/ greens with deep reds and plums. I also love using the natural elements in the fall winter, but it's reflective of what I'd find at that time of year: pinecones, twigs, etc. This year I'm working orange into both areas for the fall and haven't decided what to do with the turquoise yet, or for that matter, what I'll do for the holidays. But that's ok, I'm going with the flow this year... letting my heart and creativity guide me. While I love the clean look of the silvers and whites that's is so trendy right now, its just not what my family and I need this year... we need warmth and softness for fall 2010.

To inspire my creativity, I thought I'd create my Autumnal Alphabet and share it:

Allegheny Mountain Memories

Brisk Autumn Breezes

Crunchy Leaves

Drinking tea, hot chocolate or Pumkins Spice Lattes

Empty Field, Full Pantry

Fireside Talks

Gourds

Hay Rides

Inspired Decorating and Cooking

Jars of Preserves

Knit Sweaters

Long Hikes in the Woods

Markets...as in Farmer's Markets

Niagara Parkway - the prettiest fall drive in the area

Oaks, Elms, Maples - October, November and September

Pot Luck Dinners

Quiet Moments

Rich Vibrant Colours Everywhere

Scented Candles

Thanksgiving

Under Starry Skies

Veggies that I grew and Harvested myself

Windy afternoons

Xtra Blankets

Yellow Harvest Moons

Zipping Up the Jackets

I love fall, and I'm in love with my life all over again.

I'm linking this to the Fall Nesting Party, so you can be further inspired the way I have been.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I love fall, every year since having the boys I am loving summer more and more; the extra time with them, the outside time, camping, all of it. This year I even questioned myself if perhaps my new affinity for summer would overtake my lifelong love of fall...

and then the calendar turned...

and all the old familiar loves came rushing back to me...

Autumn is here and my soul rejoices!

I love it when Labour Day comes a bit later, it like getting a whole week of "prep"time and "letting go of summer" time since school in Ontario starts the day after Labour Day.

Because of how hot it has been, my garden is almost done, which is unusual. There is some lettuce, spinach and green beans left and the eggplant which I planted late, as well as a few tomatoes. I had to harvest 3 pumpkins already, but the Indian corn is not ready yet, so the porch display must wait. This is ok with me, one thing at a time I say.

I bought a pumpkin pie candle the other day...and lit it, smells heavenly.

I also pulled out all the recipe books to earmark favourites as I do up our meal plans. though I still will not "cook" heavily until the heat is gone, I want to cook...and bake.

I also feel like pulling out all the warm fuzzy stuff, but that's just ridiculous I know. So the pumpkin candle will have to do for now.

So we're wrapping up the last days of summer vacation, and I'm trying to enjoy it - though it seems the boys really really need to get back into school, so they can have some time APART. I'm really trying to enjoy these last few days...