To have end of summer blues

[spanieleyes22]

Just that really! I know it's not totally over and we have this bank hol weekend. Just feeling really low at the thoughts of back to school and bad weather and rain and being miserable!! Anyone else.

I prefer my micathermic heater, which puts heat out front and back. It's not cheery looking (far from it), but it's cosy which is more important, and it's right in front of me.

We have a wood burner but hardly use it due to environmental and health impact. But fairy lights, lamps and candles can create a similar vibe. I live in Scotland and our winters are very dark but we always have candles burning at breakfast and dinner (basically the only times of the day we are at home during the week anyway) which makes the lack of light a lot easier.

Easy, just spend 6 (or 8) months in Australia 😂
26 degrees in Sydney yesterday. The jasmine is starting to flower and spring is in the air 😁

@ForGreyKoala Ooh they look good. I have the fake fire in the living room but a small electric heater in my bedroom, might get one of these to replace that

Mine is in the living room. My unheated bedroom is like a fridge, but my bed is super cosy - and winter doesn't last long here (NZ).

Yup, I'm dreading the onset of winter. You can feel the signs of autumn, huge downpour today, and I'm already thinking about when do I start wearing the thermal leggings/tops again (and I was wearing them until May this year).

Same here. I hate the school routine. My eldest DD doesn’t like school and both DDs tend to get ill quite a lot through the winter. I also feel like we haven’t had much of a Summer again this year.

I agree it went by in a flash. We have another little heatwave coming though if you're in the SE x

@Disturbia81 I'm getting two of these! I'm buying one and DS is treating himself too! Thanks OP I think they look just the bill, actually quite stosh

DS is having one in his bedroom which is quite big, draughty as hell, the windows are atrocious and get wet on the inside, but ironically room boils in Summer

And one for the living room to add some cheer. Reassured by the reviews on Amazon. I just want to create an air of comfort to make coming in from outside a more appealing prospect. As I said, not only are the radiators bland as hell, they are about as appealing and comfortless on a wet, freezing dark afternoon as watching cream wall paper dry (They're also in bloody inconvenient places, two on the one wall long enough for a sofa for e.g.)

If I can't have the real thing😢 then some faux fire will have to do and the elegant original stove design of these are suitably convincing to my brain to be enticing! Thanks!

Yes but real fires are a pain in the..... i am not looking forward to all the log buying, storing and lugging shenanigans and it's expensive.

It’s going to be a nice couple of weeks - enjoy fellow summer lovers!!!

I'm not going to argue with you - I don't actually have a real fire myself. However, they really are the best for heating, and you can heat the whole house with them. I have friends with them, and they quite enjoy the stacking of wood, and lots of people here have friends on farms to provide the wood. My neighbour even sells it so if I did have a fire it would be easy for me. They are also great when the electricity goes, as it used to here when we had snow (gas is not widely used where I live). However, we hardly ever see snow now (sob).

This is my last summer hols so it has been a bit bittersweet. After 4 children and 26yrs of schools and back to school Septembers my youngest daughter goes into Y11 next week. She will finish after her exams next June and that will be that! She'll still be in college but that always feels different. We're on holiday this week but I'm looking forward not to be tied to school holiday prices in the coming years. A couple more years and she'll be either out of education or at Uni.

I love the newness of the back to school feeling in September but I've always felt sad at leaving the relaxing days with no structure and no worries about children needing to be somewhere at a set time. I worked term time when mine were primary age and those were wonderful summer hols even though we only could afford day trips.

Summer started late this year but it has been a nice August where I am. Usually it stays nice until mid October and then Autumn weather really becomes noticeable. I'm not keen on November once clocks go back as it is just cold, wet and dark. December hasn't been great since mum died and the children are too grown up for it to be magical. I quite like Jan. It is a quiet month and I find it relaxing. By Feb, March I'm desperate for the spring weather to arrive.

As long as there’s a guarantee of no big fat spiders I’ll be there! 😅

@Waytoomanycoasters our firepit is a summer item for camping. It goes away for the winter other than a brief appearance on bonfire night.

It's a great item for summer isn't it!! I assumed we'd use ours most in the summer but it comes into its own in the Autumn/Winter. We have outdoor dinner nights, often with friends. Bring anything that can be cooked over the firepit or on the bbq, warm layers etc. Honestly some of my favourite evenings of the year and they're usually between October and early April! <3

DH hates eating outside, sitting outside in the evenings or when it's cold so we very rarely sit outside in the evening. We lose the sun at 6 in our back garden, but sometimes sit outside the front in the early evening and have a glass of wine before dinner.

@Waytoomanycoasters I may have a new autumn blues busting activity!

@DysonSphere Aww nice one, you won't regret it! It's the first thing I switch on when I get home, lovely glowing embers with moving flames and warm air blowing out, very cosy.

I thought of you all earlier this week - we had a really blustery day and after school I took the kids blackberry picking. The fields were full
of hay bales and there was a real chill in the air. We came home and made soup and crumble. It was all absolutely lovely.

I am still missing the summer holidays to an extent but settling into this next phase of the year.

I’m bloody loving this weather right now!

There's quite a split right now. The South East is several degrees warmer than where I am.