A warm burst of sunshine this afternoon reminded me that it’s not quite time to relent and turn on the heating just yet, although my two feet long flamingo patterned hot water bottle has been enlisted into bed-warming action these last four nights or so. Mother Nature seems to be considering when to properly turn on the chilly times, giving us a few days of dampness and drafts tempered with magical sunny hot shots, just to get us used to the idea that Summer has past and hibernation days are knocking on our doors.
I don’t mind. Autumn is my favourite season. Leaves turning trees from myriad greens to yellows, bronze and orange, softly atmospheric energies brushing the skies of a low slung sun, the promise of evenings by the fire, candle glow, fairy lights returned to dark corners, soups and stews, puddings and pies…
The hooligan charm of goldfinches descend, en masse and twice a day, to feast at the bird feeding station. Fifteen I counted this morning. Or was it thirteen? Did I count two of them twice? They flash here and there, red and gold, and bring joy to my spirit. In the courtyard this patio rose, which has steadfastly refused to flower all Summer, has woken up this morning to the idea of throwing out a blossom or two…
And the ‘fuschia-that-died’ is putting on a good show, too…
It makes for a cheery welcome by the back door! Perhaps it needed to die in order to rest and resurrect, coming back healthier and stronger than before? Perhaps we all need a bit of that, sometime in our lives.
Or maybe these plants are embracing spontaneity, grabbing the last moments of sun and warmth to put on a final seasonal show…
And so, inspired by their cheery oomph, I was spontaneous today, too! For, after several months of procrastination and hiding all the previous paperwork in a drawer so I wouldn’t have to think about it, the urge suddenly came upon me this afternoon (just as I was about to whack ‘Hairspray’ into the DVD player for a bit of a singing and dancing session) to bloomin’ well order the new set of covers for the sofa whose covers have been shredded unto near death by a cat or cats who shall remain nameless i.e Flora Bijou Mybug (bless her soul, still missing her) and Bambino Bobble Wilson.
Sapphire blue velvet I’ve chosen. To go with the plum velvet of the other sofa that remains untouched by cat vandalism. It’s a well known fact that velvet is impervious to cat claws. I felt very buoyant once the order was placed although I did have to go for a bit of a lie down because they weren’t cheap purchases. I had to upload photos and info about the sofa, and now I wait for the pre-paid bag to arrive from the cover making company so I can send off the old covers for copying. I feel I should include a photograph of the cat vandals with a note to explain how the original covers got into such a shredded like marmalade state - ‘It was definitely the cats, m’lud. Not vermin. Nor overzealous vacuuming…’
Once the covers are with the company the new ones should be back with me within 28 days. Around the time, then, that the clocks go back and the turn of the seasons has well and truly arrived.
In other spontaneous news I also tried singing with my fingers in my ears. It made me go all dizzy. What’s all that about, then? My advice - don’t do it.
You’re welcome.
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KJ