Make no mistake

It's fall and it's beautiful. While today is suitably cold, grey skied and rainy, the weather has been majestic, the colours splendid, and Pittsburgh generally delightful. Makes waiting for the bus a little less tedious for sure.

moony monday

i am not sure if was jamie oliver's mulled wine recipe, the excitement of the tour de france sprint off, or just way too much dessert before bed but i really only managed four hours sleeplat night. yes darling em i thought of you and your weeks on end of sleeplessness. i got up several times after trying to fight it, tried yoga and some warm milk - and ended up curled up on the couch at 2am while matt talked me through the finer points of pelatons and cycling. at six i just got up, dried off my very own bike seat, wrapped my hands up in mittens and cycled in to work. the moon was so big and low and full in the pre dawn sky it was simply breathtaking - or was that just the cold?

mornings

lygon street, empty street sundays, golden tower lighting the early morning cycle to abbotsford.

sunday

a little quieter, not so chilly. a beautiful sunrise. tim and i cheated the morning a little and shared a lift to the farm, a somewhat guilty pleasure driving with the heater on through the empty streets. andy fowler is in town and came by for a coffee around close. i spent the late afternoon on the couch watching press gang episodes, marvelling at the mad crush i used to have on dexter fletcher. i am treading very gingerly through my days..

saturday

it was cold and grey for most of saturday. chloe and alba stopped by in the morning and alba, not content with the rice pudding i had cooked that morning, tried a sample from my garden, most of which came back up again. phew. i ran into matt at the train station. he came and found me at the climate rally. both moments were nice. we hadn't seen much of each other lately. hard to believe in global warming when your toes are numb and your ears are burning from the cold. nevertheless it was a powerful thing to be claiming swanston street, sitting out the front of the town hall (labour party conference was happening inside), jangling keys and watching the fray -families and friends - feeling all in all like there is a growing momevement committed to real change and that it will start with us. or that it already has.

(image from friends of the earth)

sorry you didn't catch the sunrise i sent

the mornings have been icy cold, and grey for last few, not to mention dark. but this morning was clear and full of pinks and blue. my toes are still cold though.. and the birch in the backyard almost leafless x

Our abundant winter cactus. Salmon blooms turn candy pink as the cold approaches.

Jassy in her new scarf. Aren't I just a craft fiend at the moment!

Do you like the wool? I will knit you a matching one if you do. :)

This is my drawing from my second art class. It's so much fun (though I don't envy the poor model who had to sit in this position in a cold studio for three hours)!

Hope we can chat tonight. xxx

All rugged up

Winter has finally arrived. Here we sit on the front porch watching the storm come in and awaiting Craig's return from work. The first real opportunity to use the rug Sally and I knitted for Jassy.

Can we talk this weekend?

Anna with her first ever pie, Anna's new camera, our first bookclub in ages, Calvino, and a cold night in a warm studio above Smith Street. You can get more book details here http://www.amazon.com/Marcovaldo-Seasons-City-Italo-Calvino/dp/0156572044

a saturday in

this cold is hanging on in there, i have been cooking up a storm, full flavours and gravitating towards vitamin c rich peppers, stews and spicy things.. only yesterday i felt like this pepper yelled at me. i roasted him anyway, but made tuna pasta bake for dinner.

it started badly but the sun shone by the end of the day