Thursday, November 3, 2022

It's Fall Y'all

[Well, I didn't get this published before October ended. Let's just time travel real quick.] October is the best month if you live in the mid-Atlantic. There are still leaves on the trees, which gradually change color, peaking toward the end of the month. The temperatures are pleasant enough that everyone goes outside. And I mean EVERYONE. People who usually spend their lives in climate-controlled comfort emerge and take up all the parking spots everywhere. Nothing ruins a beautiful fall day by people trying to enjoy a beautiful fall day. Something in my nature rails against anything we are "supposed" to do at certain times of the year, so I find myself exaggeratedly rolling my eyes at pumpkin patches, apple cider donuts, fall festivals, boots and plaid, and pumpkin spice anything. It's not that I don't like those things. It's just that I wish I could do them in private, during the off season. So if anyone opens up a mid-January pumpkin patch, I'll be there! (We went to the beach in February this year and drove home in a snowstorm. It was great.)

Don't even get me started on Christmas. It's a whole month (at least) of spending money and obligation. Why can't we go see light displays in February when there is nothing happening and we're all tired of winter? I know Christmas is a favorite time of year for a lot of people so I'll just go grinch over in the corner.

October also meant the end of the flower season. I could have gone on longer, but I did not do a good job staking my dahlias. They are still blooming, but they all flopped over so the stems are growing in random directions. Next year I'll know better! I was pretty happy to stop, though, and take a rest. All my free time has been consumed with flowers for the past six months, and I'm ready to sit on the couch or work on other projects.


At the beginning of the month I had my annual trip with some friends. We treat this as a creative retreat, and everyone brings their own projects. My two friends are writers so they tapped away on their projects. I did some painting, cross-stitch, knitting, and reading. The house we booked was right on the water (an inlet off the Potomac River), and had kayaks and all sorts of fun things. Unfortunately this was also the weekend that a hurricane worked its way up the coast and rained for 5 solid days. We didn't get to do any hiking or outdoor stuff, but we did visit a giant antique store twice.







That's the river above - looks like an ocean, right? It was rainy and windy as I walked on the beach, collecting rocks. All was not lost since we had the chance to get cozy with blankets and a fake fire and a show about botched plastic surgery. Best of all, I was with two other grown women who clean up after themselves and don't whine constantly! We ate salad and drank tea. Who could ask for more?



I spent many hours this month rebuilding my raised bed garden. I originally built it in 2016, and I used non-pressure treated wood because I was growing vegetables and didn't want them exposed to harmful chemicals (it's difficult to find actual research on if this is a valid concern or not). Over the years the wood completely rotted out and the garden started falling apart. I took the whole thing apart and rebuilt it from scratch using pressure treated boards now that I've switched to growing flowers. Hopefully it lasts a long time because this process was exhausting. I could barely walk the next day.


Recent Books

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata was all I had hoped The Maid would be, but wasn't. Keiko is in her 30s and has worked in a convenience store for her whole adult life. She loves her job, but is pressured by friends and family to get a "real" job and find a husband. It's a short and charming book and can be read in a few hours. Highly recommend.


The Marriage Portrait was my first fiction read by Maggie O'Farrell, and it blew me away. It may be my favorite fiction book of the year. I can see how the writing style would be annoying for some people: it's quite wordy and descriptive. But it works! O'Farrell's sense of pacing is phenomenal. The first two chapters left me breathless. The book takes place in the 1500s and focuses on the first year of marriage between Lucrezia de Medici and Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara. I knew very little about this time period which turned out to be super scandalous and murderey. If you're a historical fiction fan, I also highly recommend this one.


I'm on a roll with good books! I knew that The Bullet That Missed would be good since I've read the previous two books in this series. I wasn't super engaged in the mystery in this one, but that didn't matter to me because the writing is so funny. For those who have read the series, Bogdan is my favorite character. I'm trying to think of who would be the best actor to play him if they make a show of these books. (Just looked it up - Steven Spielberg bought the rights!)

Thank you to everyone who reads and comments. (Thank you even if you don't comment! I'm happy to have you.) I love keeping up with all of your blogs too, so know I am there even if I don't have the time to leave comments. Long live blogging!

16 comments:

  1. Oooh I just put that Convenience Store book on my hold list!

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  2. Your trip away sounds perfect, even with the rain. I'm glad you were able to enjoy it! Your raised garden is so pretty and I love the shape. All three of your books are on my TBR and you make them sound so good!!

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    1. Thanks! There were so many sheets of graph paper and so many pinterest pins when I first designed the garden - I've been happy with it for 6 years now!

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  3. I so hear you on the over the top nature of Christmas, Halloween is a small affair here in the UK and is easy to miss. I too would love to opt out of it all.

    Your creative retreat sounds so wonderful, I would love to do something like that, maybe I should.....

    Your beds look great I hope they last a little longer this time.

    I love Maggie O'Farrell I haven't read this one yet but am looking forward to it.

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    1. I think if Christmas was less commercial I would enjoy it more. You should definitely do a creative retreat, it's a great re-set!

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  4. Coming here from Elisabeth's blog to ask if you might consider posting about your Christmas spreadsheet! I LOVE a good spreadsheet and would be delighted to use one to make the Christmas season operate more smoothly. :-)

    Also, your creative retreat sounds so wonderful. What a great idea!

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    1. Ha! Sure, I can do that. It's not a super fancy spreadsheet, but it works!

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  5. Your raised garden bed looks amazing :) Have you watched Homegrown on HBO? That show (like your blog) fills me with raised garden bed envy!

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    1. I hadn't heard of that show, but now I must watch it! I mean, turning backyards into functional farms... I don't know if they could get much closer to what I'm doing!

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  6. Our wooden raised veg beds had to be replaced last year and my hubby used large buiding blocks instead. It was hard work but they are permanent and with the added advantage of giving me somewhere wide enough to sit on.
    Raising a glass to you and all other blogging friends- Long live the blogging world xx
    (Beverley from Meandmysmallcorner)

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    1. That is a great idea, you will never have to replace your garden beds again!

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  7. I love reading your posts because you GET IT when it comes to the whole flower farming thing -- the all-consuming nature of it, the beauty, the exhaustion, the total readiness for it all to be over at the end of the season... And what a beautiful season you had! I've loved following you here and on IG and seeing what you've produced. Also, it's been fun for me to see you share your painting and photography; I totally love it. Long live old school blogging!

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    1. This is Torrie from To Love and To Learn, btw. Silly commenting form didn't want to let me log into my Google account.

      www.toloveandtolearn.com

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    2. I've loved reading your blog too for the same reason! I'm still not done yet - I have to plant bulbs and dig dahlias. And then it's only a few months until seed starting beginnings!

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  8. I have loved all of the Maggie O'Farrell books I read until her last one - Hamnet. So I was afraid to read The Marriage Portrait and have a repeat experience but you are the 2nd person who has raved about it recently so I should give it a shot. Regarding your comment about Christmas and how so much gets shoved into a short period of time, I convinced my group of girlfriends that instead of doing a 'favorite things' exchange in December, we should do it in February when we don't have anything to do and could use a little surge of joy in our lives and they were onboard!

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    1. I haven't read Hamnet, but I think The Marriage Portrait is written in the same style. I can definitely see how it would be a love/hate situation. That is an AMAZING idea about a gift exchange in February. I am going to suggest that to my friends too!

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