The Autumnal Christmas Chronicles Preamble - Thread 2 further ramblings

[HannahDefoesChristmasHamper]

Hope nobody minds me starting anew thread as old one nearly full

Will pop some links in 🍂🍁

Yes I noticed that on the video. I've not started reading yet but I think it's probably natural at his stage in life, if you're a thoughtful, introspective person, to be quite reflective and with it, melancholic at times. The span of life ahead of you is certainly going to be shorter than what's behind you, whatever may be yet to come.

I think all memoirs are, by their very nature, melancholic. Trying to capture a rose-tinted (or Madeleine-scented) memory can easily tip you over into wistful nostalgia - even if your present day surroundings are as delightful as Nigel’s.

Yes that's very true too. There will be loss involved, no matter how gilded one's life is.

Nature has sprinkled her annual gift under the birch trees on my road. I think these do well under silver birch and enjoy seeing them emerge annually.

(If only the loss of that particular moment and the memories encapsulated within it. You can think back to it, of course, but you cannot ever be there again. The realisation - over and over throughout one's life - that you can never go back, is part of the bittersweet nature of the human experience)

That's beautiful @Bimblesalong.

The Welsh word Hiraeth resonates well with that feeling. More than a longing for home, a yearning for a place set in its time.

just adding another fave insta account here - I may have mentioned it before but today’s photo is particularly VN. Princeletdrift

Lovely photos @Bimblesalong.

@Bimblesalong what a fab photo - I long for a huge farmhouse kitchen with pantry off but don't think it's in my future!
I think it was mentioned on the last thread but I'm really enjoying Nadiya's new series - Cook One, Eat Twice. It looks like it was filmed in spring/summer but a lot of the recipes are very autmny (especially when it's awful outside) so going to add them to the list to try............

@Bimblesalong I look at that insta account and absolutely love it. It totally smacks of Nigel. I love these muted colours and also hearing of Nigel's limed walls. However... I attacked my kitchen last night in a fit of frustration and pulled out every chipped plate, old mug and mismatched bowl. Then, before I could change my mind, I gave away my old coffee machine and box fulls of mis matched mugs (gladly received by NHS worker neighbours for their staff rooms) I have now gone crazy and ordered a load of Le Creuset Rainbow crockery as I couldn't decide what colour I preferred. I'm now going to order the bright yellow coffee machine I've been coveting for over a year.

It really is Not At All Nigel.

I love this! It would definitely cheer me up to open my kitchen cupboards to all of the colours on a gloomy day.

That crockery literally had your name on it @RainbowZebraWarrior 🌈

Maybe Not At All Nigel, @RainbowZebraWarrior , but absolutely gorgeous, and you’ll really enjoy using them, and your new coffee machine after waiting so long. Sometimes you just have to go for it!

I think it's very Nigel to invest in crockery you love @RainbowZebraWarrior. Nigel loves a well honed mug or a spoon that's just right for him. And whilst he might not personally go for the brights (more fool him, I love them) he would have great respect for the idea of it.

Our garden is suddenly full of mushrooms and odd fungus growing under the trees. I've been out in the garden today putting in the last of the bulbs and some perennials I got in the sale at the garden centre-they can settle down nicely over winter and be ready to go next spring. Warm here interspersed with sharp cool showers. I've made chicken and chilli soup for dinner and my own sour dough bread so feeling very wholesome.

Love the crockery, zebra. NVN, but a delight to see on a wet, miserable, dull day.

Your day in the garden sounds lovely @piscofrisco. I got some fabulous reduced perennials for my mum’s border last week. Absolutely tipping it down all day in Paris today - I haven’t ventured out at all except to the greengrocers at the foot of our building (very healthy as that’s my first stop for emergency supplies). I cosied up in the kitchen and made lentil soup (inspired by so many mentions on here 🙏) and then a coffee and walnut loaf - though had to substitute macadamias for walnuts as that was what I had in.

Love the rainbow bits, what a lovely treat! I actually know someone who is in a family of 5 and they have 5 rainbow le creuset bits, and each person has their own colour!

@RainbowZebraWarrior I have crockery envy! And a yellow coffee machine 💛

does anyone have any links to second hand copies of the book please?

You can sometimes find used copies on eBay or Amazon. 🙂

There's a few on vinted. One is £5.

I was supposed to work from home today but due to technical issues, I couldn't log in remotely. So I had to head into the office after all. I was feeling sorry for myself and treated myself to his new book. Enjoyed a read over my lunch break. I was surprised to discover how many countries he's visited - he's very well travelled. Love his descriptions of the assorted dishes he has sampled, in some very exotic locations, although I think I'll pass on the sheep brain. It's less of a memoir and more of a scattering of memories of places and ingredients and meals. I think it will be a nice book to dip in and out of, in the future. He's so passionate about food. I mean, I know he's a chef, so it obviously goes with the territory, but it comes across so strongly in this book.

Gorgeous mushroom photos @Bimblesalong - very Autumnal.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I love your new crockery and hope it brings you so much joy. I bet you can't wait for it to arrive - I love the idea of you pouncing on the boxes and admiring your new crockery. The colour may be a bit bright for Nigel's taste, but I think he places a lot of value in the things that he uses - a candle or a notebook or whatever. So I think he'd appreciate the pleasure you'll get from using your new mugs and bowls and plates. And they will (hopefully) last you many years.

Your cake looks fab @LillianGish.

@Bimblesalong I love your fungi pictures!

I seem to have spent the last few days rushing here, there and everywhere, mainly due to work. Wednesdays though are Art Days. I go to an art group run by Mind and I love it. I find painting so soothing and relaxing. In a former life I was a primary teacher specialising in children with behavioural difficulties. I must have done every possible training course on mindfulness and although I desperately wanted it to work, I never really got it and could never settle and be mindful. Then when I left teaching, I started painting and suddenly, there I was being mindful!

An autumnal painting that is being exhibited in a local arts centre at the moment.

That’s lovely @Confusedmeanderings I was a senco in a former life and when not on medical leave work self employed in a related field independently.

a small diversion from VN, but hopefully bringing VN good feelings. I had clinic today for feedback from my latest operation. This time they say that they have cleared all of the cancer and that the very draconian operation I had was absolutely necessary due to the position of it. So no more operations! (Fingers crossed). Chemo to commence soon, not fun but the next section of my journey out of this bother.

this community of little pockets of joy is a daily godsend to me and others. 🍁🍄