Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Flannel robes and October chill

It was cold when I woke up this morning! I was so thankful the flannel housecoat had already replaced the snap up house dress I use as a housecoat in warm weather. That flannel felt yummy this morning but it also brought tears to my eyes. Oh, how I missed my Storm Girl... just an overwhelming sense of loss and emptiness without her on a cold warming. She loved snuggling on the flannel after I had sit down to sip coffee and slowly wake up for the day. It has been over a year now since we buried her under the dogwood tree but some days it seems like just yesterday.

October is my favorite month of the year where I am surrounded by favorite colors and flavors. The temperature is cool enough for sweaters without the biting cold that can come with November. Although... the older I get the more I understand my mother's emotions that came with autumn. She tended to get melancholy during this season as it reminded her of those who were no longer with us and the years which she had walked through. Perhaps it is in watching the end of summer life which brought these emotions? I'm not certain. I can't put it into words. But I understand now more than ever.

Dinner is ready to warm up in a couple of hours, the main dish slow cooked while I was treated to a Pumpkin Spice Latte by a very sweet young woman from my church. We sat in overstuffed chairs at Starbucks while we talked about... life. I am her "project" for a nursing class (how illness affects the entire family) and we spent time together yesterday and today. She will go with me to my brief doctor's appointment on Friday, too. By the time we put twenty hours in for her project, we will either be best of friends are stay away from each other at church! She is such a lovely person that I can assure you it will not be the latter.

So, with dinner preps already made... what will I do this evening? I think I'm going to spend time reading. I have so many books already set aside for cooler weather and that doesn't include the stack of library books I must peruse before they need to be returned. I had a notice that White Christmas Pie by Wanda Brunstetter was ready for pickup. My husband loves her books (we tease him about his enjoyment of "Amish Housewife" books but in reality, they bring him peace in his illness and that is a good thing). I'm planning on reading this one when he is finished since it takes place in the Northern Indiana areas we visited last Spring (a month before visiting Amish country in Pennsylvania).

If I had only brought home the book on hold it would have been fine but I found my way to the cookbook aisle and managed to pull about five books off the shelf in a few minutes, all but one cookbooks I've checked out before. I was still becoming very dizzy when looking at anything intensely but I managed to find a lot of reading material in a short time. What can I say... lots of practice? :)

So... I'll pull my spiral notebook out of the cookbook shelves, the one with Recipes 2 written on it in black marker. I'll copy recipes from the two cookbooks I've already checked out numerous times: Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely (from FlyLady fame); Essentially Lilly, a Guide to Colorful Holidays by Lilly Pulitzer (I read one of her other cookbooks and thought it interesting); and a new cookbook called Coming Home with Gooseberry Patch.

Okay, I'm coveting that book. At first I thought it was the same gorgeous book I'd purchased Stephanie for Christmas a few years ago (Get-Togethers With Gooseberry Patch) but it wasn't until I got it home that I saw it was a new hardback Gooseberry Patch book. Both of these cookbooks are not only beautiful but their recipes are great. Be still my heart... coveting is not a good thing!

I'll light a scented candle on the table next to my bed. The table that has two pictures of my mother on it (pictures of my husband and children have homes on both dressers). A teacup and saucer will be nearby... possibly a cat... perhaps a mystery book. All celebrations of October and home.

11 comments:

Musings of A Minister said...

I guess I'm expressing my feminine side, but I absolutely loved your post for today. October is also my favorite month. We moved to Scottsdale from Stockton, Ca. and we enjoyed the different seasons there but I find that October is my favorite month here too. I guess it may be my favorite month wherever I am--I don't know. I share your mother's emotions at this time of the year. We don't have many days in the desert when the sun doesn't shine but when it doesn't, I get kinda sad. I too love books and have a lot of them although when I retired I got rid of about 20 cases of books. Someday I may put pictures of my books and bookshelves on my blog. I want to encourage everybody to read! I loved your description of getting ready for dinner. My wife told me we are having a big salad and she is baking some bread. I love bread but I just came from my three month diabetic checkup so it will be mostly salad for me. You may have noticed I "borrowed" the song on your playlist about grace. And now today, I am going to "borrow" or maybe it's "steal" the beautiful "A Living Prayer."
Stay well!

Anonymous said...

Oh Brenda...please don't ever stop writing! You fill my heart with such peace and contentment!

Reading your blog is like sipping a good cup of tea. You words go down into the soul and warm my very heart!

You are so very dear! Thank you for being you!

Trish...an avid reader

Vee said...

Hmmm, yes, I can almost imagine being there enjoying coffee in the morning with you. You describe it so well.

I'm another whose favorite month is October. I welcome it and will hate to see it go because this season means the worst is yet to come. Still, I hope to wrap myself up in it and drain my October cup dry.

It must be you who has me so enchanted with Amish cookbooks now that I purchased one for my daughter's birthday coming right up. Oh the influence that you have!

Enjoy a wonderfully cozy evening.

Kelli said...

Such a beautiful cozy post, Brenda! It sounds like you are having a lovely October day.
~Kelli

Anita said...

Your dining room looks so inviting! Could we have our tea in there?

nanatrish said...

A very sweet post. You have a gift for writing and it was so evident in this particular post. Atlanta is supposed to be cooler in the morning and I am certainly looking forward to it. I think it's supposed to be in the 40's. Your dining room looks so inviting.

Anonymous said...

Love the picture of postmodern mom.
:)
j.

Sharon Goemaere said...

Wonderful post Brenda...Love~Sharon

nancyr said...

This post is so "visual". It makes me feel relaxed and cozy. I, too, love these October days. Yesterday, I got out the autumn decorations, and hung a Norman Rockwell print of a grandfather-type, carving a pumpkin with a little boy, about ten. His dog is watching the whole process. This print hung on the wall in my "October boy's" room many years ago. My Christopher is now a grown man, but that picture sure brings back memories. There is something about fall that makes one reminisce.
Hope your evening for reading and remembering was wonderful.

Susan B said...

Very nice post, Brenda. I love what you said about your cozy robe. I have a winter robe also.
(I love Pumpkin Spice Latte's too!) Take care.

Anonymous said...

I love to hear about what you are reading. I just ordered some Gooseberry Patch Christmas Books and some books by Wanda Brunstetter whom I had never heard of before from my library. I am sad that I am number 9 on the list for White Christmas Pie. I have some fall themed books right now that I need to set down and go thru tonight and see what I can add to our fall fun. Baking and crafts are so cozy fun in the fall.

Jennie