A Celebration and Things Autumnal

I can't believe that this is the last day of September, a month which I love. Where has it gone? It feels as if it has slipped quietly away in the twinkling of an eye. I'm still feeling a bit under the weather after my cold, but the weather itself is wonderful. Since the weekend we've had misty mornings, blue skies, warm, golden days and chilly nights - perfect autumn weather. Last week we had a wonderful day at B's graduation ceremony. It was a very special day indeed, one which I will always remember. The university put on a fantastic ceremony - simultaneously formally academic and full of fun too. The celebrations took place in huge marquees and the surroundings were fantastic - champagne and canapes combined with glorious sea views. B was so happy and I was a very proud mum.

Once we were home again, it was time to cook the wonderful quinces which my colleague had given me.

I peeled, cored and chopped them.

Then put them into a preserving pan.

I then cooked them in water until they were soft, mashed them with a potato masher and strained them through a jelly straining bag.

I put the strained liquid back in the pan with equal amounts of sugar and boiled it for about 15 minutes till it was set.

I potted up the jelly ...

... and when it was cool admired its rose-gold colour.

Here it is with the late-afternoon sun behind it - I just love the amber colour. It's delicious on scones and brioche rolls, an appley flavour tinged with pineapple or rose, quite subtle and fragrant.

Outside, the garden is still producing blackberries and raspberries, although the rate is slowing now.

I picked the last of the apples this week and gathered the windfalls (I love that word!).

Our tree has never produced so many apples, and I think the poor thing needs a rest. In Keats' words it truly is 'bent with apples'.

I cored some and filled them with mincemeat, then baked them for an hour in a hot oven.

Here they are once cooked. I served them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but they were eaten so fast I didn't have time to photograph them looking artistic in a bowl!

Finally there have been some wonderfully colourful sunsets ...

... and sunrises over the last few days.

Just beautiful!

Thank you for all your lovely comments - I so love to read them, and appreciate the time you take to leave them. See you soon x

This week

This has been the final week of the summer holidays, and I have tried to dispel the yearly sense of gloom by trying to make the most of it. My youngest and I will be back to school and work next week, and in a couple of weeks or so my two older ones will be heading off to the first and final years of university. I have always found this to be a bittersweet time of year, as I mourn the passing of summer, but absolutely adore early autumn with its ripeness and abundance. So, despite the rain and having a bad back this week, I have managed to cross a few things off my seasonal 'to do' list.

1) I have been picking small bunches of flowers from my garden, as well as sweet peas which are still going strong, and roses which are in their second flush.

2) Windfalls from our little apple tree have started to litter the lawn, and I have used them to make Norwegian Apple cake from Mia's excellent recipe. Served with creme fraiche, it was delicious, and my good friend Jane and I enjoyed a slice with a cup of tea when we had one of our creative get-togethers.

 3) Inspired by another blogger, Sue at The Quince Tree, I made Damson Gin. I have been talking about making sloe/blackberry/damson gin for years, and am very pleased with myself, now that I've finally got around to it. The damsons came from the local farm shop.

I love the fact that in just three days in it's already gone a lovely rich colour.

4) With the rest of the damsons I made damson ice cream which was yummy, and very pink.

5) I am working madly on a granny square blanket that I'm making for my son when he starts university. Not long to go now, and it's not as far along as I'd hoped. Oh well, he won't need it yet as it's not too chilly.

6) Despite the rain I've been popping out in the garden to pick blackberries and raspberries which are ripening fast now. The raspberries also seem to be having a second flush, as I already picked lots back in June.

7) The roses and peonies which, like the lavender, I dried in the airing cupboard, make very pretty pot-pourri. The colours do fade quite quickly, and I add a few drops of essential oil, but they are a lovely reminder of summer.

I love the intense colour and crinkliness (if that's a word) of these dried roses.

8) This morning (Sunday) is wonderfully warm and sunshiney after all that rain, so I've taken time to sit on my favourite bench in the garden with a cup of tea. Despite the garden being a bit untidy in that end-of-summer way, I'm concentrating on how good it feels to be almost in September - bring it on!