October has always been very significant for me. It is a month when the year is starting to noticably come to an end. The life that was once so vivid all around us is now starting to wane, and prepare for the long, hard winter ahead. I love Autumn, the colours of the falling leaves, the cool evenings and the horse-chestnuts on the ground amongst the fallen leaves. It is the last little push before the end of the year, before everything goes into hibernation. Luckily for us, this October has been incredibly mild, albeit damp. I have loved getting out and doing, taking photographs of every colour, hues fantastic.

I took the mutt out for a walk the other day, it had been raining on and off all day. There had been rainbows from every direction at various points through the day. Just as we set foot outside the door, the rain started again. It poured the more we walked. But undeterred by this (and, at this point, rather enjoying myself) we carried on and went for a long walk around the fields behind our house. Although it was raining, the sun was still brightly shining, creating the most otherworldly atmosphere. I looked above me, only to see the most beautiful, clear and enormous rainbow. I stood in awe at the sight, as the dog continued to run around my feet. After a few minutes, two paler rainbows one outside and one inside the main rainbow appeared, it was magical. Although by then I was soaked, the dog was soaked, and my feet were sinking, I was rooted to the spot for what felt like forever. It was as if time itself stopped. I followed the arc of the rainbow, with my eyes, to its end, which was amazingly hovering over the top of our house. I knew then, that I was home.

Funnily enough, the last time I saw as many rainbows, was in October 2002 - I managed a whopping 20 (there were more but I couldn't keep track of so many) on one single car-journey lasting only 30 minutes. I had never seen so many in my life, and I knew then, that what I had witnessed was incredibly special. It signalled the start of something new, which coincidentally, happened around the same time.


[A rainbow from a window]

Last month's post was all about getting out into our gardens and making the most of the nice weather, harvesting the wonderous fruits that we have laboured over all summer. This month in our garden there have been the tomatoes, sweetcorn and peas (the purple sprouting broccoli is still there, just not quite flowering yet). The blackberries from the prickly stems invading our privet hedge, and the hawthorn berries making a terrific backdrop to Autumn in all her golden glory. But this really does beg the question, what on earth does one do with a mountainous glut of mostly-ripe tomatoes? The answer... when life hands you tomatoes, make chutney (or soup, or bolognaise, the list is endless)! Which is what I have set about doing twice this year. This was my first ever chutney-making session, and it went very well. Chutney is incredibly easy to make, there are lots of recipes to suit many tastes. The only labourious task is chopping up the fruit and vegetables and keeping an eye on it over the 3-odd hours it takes to simmer! It looks like I might get the chance to make some more chutney, too, as there are still many green tomatoes on the vine outside. They are best brought in now, as any frost could damage them. To ripen, either leave next to a banana, or in a brown paper bag in a room-temperature setting and keep checking on them.

Preserving vegetables in some sort of liquid (usually vinegar) is a great way to deal with a glut of almost any home-grown veg. But there are also many other ways of keeping fruit and veg well into winter and sometimes longer without resorting to vinegar. Depending on the fruit/veg at hand, there are many ways to do this. People who knew well about food preservation were the Shakers, who grew wonderous fruit and vegetables, but also lived in the days before fridges and freezers. Root vegetables are particularly easy to keep over winter if there is a glut. Carrots, for instance, can be stored in between layers of sand, potatoes can be wrapped in layers of newspaper and stored in a dark, cool, dry place (such as a dry garage or cellar) until required. The same can be said for apples and pears, although if you have many apples, especially cookers, I recommend making as many apple pies, studels, jams and chutneys as is humanly possible just for the sheer enjoyment of such a beautiful fruit. Onions are easy to keep, once pulled from the ground, they should be left somewhere (preferrably in the sun) to dry, where they can then be gathered and their stalks tied together to form those gorgeous onion 'strings' commonly seen in quaint old French marketplaces. So you needn't feel that you and your family must eat nothing but potatoes and runner beans forever more. Stored well, these vegetables will keep you fed through the worst of the winter - and help you to cut down on your grocery bills, too!

Don't forget that jams, chutneys, and preserved fruit and veg make wonderful xmas pressies too! It makes a gift all the more yummy if a friend has grown and made the ingredients herself. Apricots or cherries in brandy, stored in a Kilner-type jar, with some xmassy fabric on top, tied with a bow - how splendid. I know a good few of my friends and relatives will be getting some of our divine chutney for xmas (but with enough kept back for us, of course)!

In the garden this month:

• Help your soil: Dig it over well, pulling up any weeds, especially grass, as these will take hold over the winter months. Give it a good organic feed, and let it rest. The digging will expose any wickies and let the frosts kill them completely organically.

• Mow the lawn for the last time, depending on the weather that we have. Set the cutting height on your machine to give it a low-ish cut, but don't go too low! If, from then on, the weather remains cold, leave it at that. If we have a warm spell, it may need cutting again. Don't forget to fertilise it, but don't use pesticides, as the acid in them kills our beloved garden helper - the worm. A little chalk lime can do wonders.

• Now is a great time to attend to your compost heap for the last time this year. If it is looking dry, you'll need to water it, and perhaps add some Garotta (not too much) which is an organic way to speed up the rotting process - cover with a piece of old carpet and leave. Don't cover it too well, as hedgehogs, field mice and Limax Maximus' (a good slug) all rely on the warmth of the compost heap to survive the cold winter months.

You can tell it's Autumn, not only is it in the air every night, carried on the scent of wood smoke, but it is in the trees, the grasses, the sky and the ether. There are also pomegranates, which are just one of the most heavenly fruits, teamed with Egremont Russet apples, with their brown paper-like skin and scintillating aroma that makes them my favourite apple. Not to mention the leaves all over the place, and the rain that is currently pattering on the windowpane. There is not a better time in the world to be sat in my newly-created 'Creative Haven', watching the rain fall with either a sewing needle or knitting needle in my hand.


[Pomegranates]

This whole season reminds me so much of a poem by William Blake called 'The Tiger', which seems to go well with this time of year. Not for any religious reasons, but just because it is a beautiful poem.

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

It has come to that time of year again, time to compile the list of the people who will be getting one this year. I have a little address-book which I keep all the names and addresses in, that gets added to sporadically. But seeing as I now have a good few 'Interweb' friends who are included in the list, I am going to open it up a bit. So, if you'd like an Xmas card from lil ol' me, let me know!

I can be reached at vintagepretty -at- gmail -dot- com (just remove -'s and spaces)

On the car-journey home from my little outing into our local town, I had a little epiphany of sorts. I felt incredibly happy, I knew I was going home, to my home, to the house I love to pieces and to a happy little girl (our dog). I had spent an enjoyable hour in town, chatting (or being chatted to) a lady in Help the Aged, and browsed the small market being held in the town square. Despite the gloomy damp weather and grey skies, I wore my favourite perfume, wrapped myself up in a wonderful scarf (given to me by a dear friend in America) and made use of a handbag that I made yesterday (albeit a little on the basic side!). I smiled at just about everyone, especially those who looked like they could do with someone smiling at them. It never fails to make someone feel better. I inadvertantly did some xmas shopping, too and managed to find Amber's present completely by chance! On the way home, just as I was feeling completely happy, on the horizon I could see the sun breaking through the damp grey clouds.

Now the sun is intermittently showing itself through the clouds, I am going to wrap up, and snuggle on the sofa to watch a program about allotments whilst my counterpart Amber, does the same in her neck of the woods! After that, who knows? I have been writing alot of late, most of which doesn't get posted, but it feels very cathartic indeed. Writing for the soul, what is better than that?

I have every intention of getting some photography done, the Autumnal colours are so beautiful here. I'm also feeling rather creative, I am still knitting (when I have the time, in between everything else that has been going on lately), and crocheting. I'd like to do some embroidery, something that I don't have much experience with, but with the help of a really detailed book on all things knitting/embroidery/crochet related, I think I'll have some fun learning!

The back bedroom, which was previously used as the 'computer room' was changed a couple of weeks ago into a proper bedroom. It has a sofa bed and thus is now a dual purpose room. The light in there is good pretty much all day, thanks to a big window, and in the afternoon/evening it basks in a warm radiance. So, the back bedroom is now my creative haven. My old Singer sewing machine has taken up residence in there, along with my crafting fabrics, quilting materials and crochet stuff. Admittedly, it does have lilac carpet, but that was there before us! I plan on painting the walls a buttercream colour, and adding some artwork to liven the place up a bit. I am quite 'arts-and-crafts-movement' inspired, so if one could have William Morris wallpaper, then I'd would, but I don't think that's going to happen! So I'll settle for some Pre-Raphelite art on the walls. Everyone needs some Edmund Blair-Leighton and Lizzie Sidall on their walls!


The dog was taken to the vets for her annual booster vaccination, despite there being a rather large, rather manic spotty dalmatian sitting a few feet away from us, the dog responded rather well. She is such a changed character from when we first got her. Which is all good, she has mellowed out alot too. Although I'm sure she'll always remain a complete puppy, I'm sure it's the Alsatian in her.

Righty-o, I'm off to sort my little 'creative haven' out, and then maybe a trip out to take some photos on my very old, but very good 35mm SLR.

If it is wet, soggy, damp, dismal and you've had simply the worst week!

Monday: Pipes at the back of the washing machine had been dripping for a while, we couldn't get a plumber until Monday, but by then a whole army of slugs have made their home in our kitchen, because of the dampness. I kid you not, there were slug-slime trails all over the floors. The cupboard under the sink was one of the worst places effected, housing a good few slugs. I spent the entire day scrubbing anything that might've come into contact with said slugs. Plumber comes, fixes the pipes, but forgets to reconnect the outlet hose on the back of the washing machine. So when it got used, the kitchen floor got a good ol' covering of sudsy water to boot. The dog vomited, on the one-year anniversary of us getting her.

Tuesday: Was a really really long day, it went on forever, and it wasn't helped in the slightest by watching Groundhog Day. It rains like cats and dogs, Fiancé takes the dog out for a walk, when she lunges for another dog, breaks free from her collar and runs after said dog. Fiancé loses the torch (it was pitch black at the time) and also his engagement ring (we both had engagement rings when we first got engaged) which he was devastated about. He comes back, after getting the dog on the lead again, then goes out to look for the ring and the torch in the pouring rain. He can't find either object. In the evening, I felt unwell (with the same 24-hour bug Fiancé had last week), went to bed at 7pm for a 12 hour sleep. I never wake up feeling refreshed, but i did the next day.

Wednesday: Rain, rain and more rain. It pours. After cleaning out the cupboard to find another cupboard affected by slugs, and scrubbing everything with bleachy water until my hands ached (I ran out of rubber gloves at a vital point), I was left with a dining room full of stuff that should be housed in our tiny kitchen, but can't because i won't put anything more in those cupboards. Fiancé comes home, we both feel 'bleh', and we chat and hug on the sofa until he breaks the news to me that because the programming team are behind on their work (he works as a computer programmer, but his team isn't the one that is behind), the whole company is being made to do at least 10 hours unpaid overtime. Which will put him up to 48 hours a week, and mean that 2 nights a week he'll be working until 9pm at night, and also 4 hours on Saturday. After that little bombshell cue me crying for an hour or so, blubbing into the phone to my mother, and then having 2 more blubs before going to our local supermarket in the dark and rain, because the fluorescent lighting might make me feel better. Either that or the fact they stock custard and Jaffa Cakes (cakey/biscuity, chocolatey, orangey and yummy, for any Americans). I did manage to not cry in the supermarket, although once the flood gates have been opened, there is no remedy. So, after many hours of feeling pants, I went to bed.

Thursday: It is raining, less so, and is supposed to stop. I'm not holding my breath. Thursday is usually my decadent day, my day for going out and spending small amounts of money in charity shops, in our local town. Unfortunately, due to 'the fear', I decided to not push my non-existent luck. Instead, I decided to concentrate on getting the house ready for a visit from my mother on Friday.

Friday: Things seem much better. The sun is shining, and I had my mother coming up to stay for the weekend. The Fiancé managed to find the torch he lost at the same time as the ring, but still no sign of the ring. He marked the general place, so that he could spend time looking later. I went out, around midday, and to my utter surprise, I found the ring! I was brimming, smiling from ear to ear. Talk about needle in a haystack, though! My mother arrived, and we spent many hours out shopping, drinking lots of tea and eating cakes. Wonderful.

Saturday: Today has been such a wonderful day. We all went out to a local town, had yet more tea and cakes (a thoroughly British institution, one which I could not do without!) and got some early Xmas shopping done. I am about to start preparing food for our dinner tonight, and all seems rather rosier now than it did a couple of days ago!

I have had a truly splendid weekend with my friend Amber and her husband who came up on Friday and spent a very enjoyable two days here with us. The Friday was spent frantically trying to make the house perfect for their visit. Needless to say, we had a fabulous time (and a slightly decadent one hehe) and can't wait to see them again!

Yesterday was slightly less wonderful. The pipes at the back of the washing machine had sprung at least one leak, which we'd known about for a while, but had been unable to get a plumber out to see it (apparently, plumbers don't like using telephones...). We managed to finally get a plumber, and just in time too, as the leaking has gone from 'mid-drip' to 'steady trickle'. Thus soaking the floor, damaging plaster and making the cupboard under the sink damp (joy). He came, fixed, and went. Fingers crossed, all seems well.

On a positive note, we've had our gorgeous dog for one year yesterday. She was a rescue, whom we got from a dog shelter just before The Fiancé got a new job over a hundred miles away! When we got her she was underweight, frightened senseless of everyone (including us) and constantly ill. Now she is fit and healthy, and although she doesn't love new people and definitely not dogs, she is 100% part of the family. So i have been spoiling her, giving her extra treats (she is one of those dogs who whatever you give them to eat, will not put on weight - it's the lurcher in her!) and lots of cuddles on her 'birthday' :)

I have learned to crochet this weekend too, thanks to Amber (who also sorted out a knitting mistake i'd made on the FIL's scarf!). Lots of things to keep me occupied, until next weekend when my mother is coming up for a visit - and also to keep me going through the long winter days (and nights). Both scarves are coming along, too. Although mine is on the back-burner at the moment, partly because i want to get the FIL's done, and partly because i am not Vishnu and therefore do not posess more than two arms!

Now back to the mundane household-y things that need doing in the...um... house.


[Amber did some serious crochet teaching, we did this one together]


[My first attempt, all doubles and trebles]

What a weekend i've had. It has been a funny one. I was just about to go upstairs to bed yesterday when i realised that i couldn't find my car keys. Thus panic ensued, and poor Fiancé and myself bickering at each other whilst tearing the house apart. It got to midnight and we were too tired to continue looking, so we called it a night and went to bed. Unfortunately, it wasn't to sleep, we both tossed and turned during the night worrying about where the keys could've got to. After a fitful night we got up and continued looking, and looking and looking. In the end, they were found to great relief (and lots of tears of joy)... I had put them down on thursday, on top of the washing machine, which had been on at the time and had shaken them towards the back. Phew. It leaves you feeling a) like a complete plonker and b) very very relieved.

We also went out for our gorgeous ritual saturday browsing day. Not far this time, though, as i was still worried about the keys (i worry too much). But we did manage to get a rather lovely bargain from a local charity shop... A bakelite cutlery set. Now, i love bakelite. Don't ask me why, but it has a nicer feel to it than plastic. Something more substantial. The best bit was, it was only £2.79! The box is shabby, but it's not the box that i'm going to be using ;-)


[Bargain!]

The library was another stop on our journey to take back some books, and this time we rented a DVD. The film was 'De-Lovely' which i have really wanted to see for a long time, but hadn't got around to. We're still waiting to watch it, hopefully tomorrow. I heart Cole Porter... You Do Something To Me, anyone?

After a brief rest, it was out yet again to the Swedish world that is Ikea as we needed another chair for the dining room (yay, flatpack). We also picked up a couple of xmas decorations, heavenly candles and a wonderful wicker chest which i've been wanting for ages. It is perfect for keeping things in by the sofa, knitting wool, jumpers, sewing equiptment etc. So, with the exception of the car key incident it has been a useful (if a little bit stressful) day. It is only 9.30pm, but i'm off to bed - i couldn't be any sleepier if i tried! Night night.