I love how one of our neighbours has decorated the path leading up to her home.
Did you notice the half eaten apple on the left and the glove at the right?
Which leaves me with the thought that perhaps perfection is over rated...
Chestnuts are falling from the trees in our neighbourhood.
Inside this prickly pod there was a small delicate edible chestnut.
These are harvested by many locals who roast them and eat them hot with a sprinkling of salt.
These chestnuts also known as conkers are not edible.
They have a rich "chestnut" colour and a woody appearance.
Mother collects these to bring inside as she says that they keep spiders away.
A few doors down the street these raspberries are growing.
They hang out over the sidewalk and are very tempting...
A few blocks away this tall Hollyhock blooms.
The leaves are turning into their annual autumnal colours.
The sun is setting earlier
the shadows in the afternoon seem to wane
nights are cooler
I have started wearing socks.
Cauliflowers were on special at the market for an unbelievable price.
So naturally I bought one and made curried cauliflower soup.
Curried Cauliflower Soup
Saute a large diced onion in a wee bit of oil and cook until soft.
Add a large chopped cauliflower and 6-8 cups of vegetable broth
2 tbsp. of curry powder (or to taste) and simmer until cauliflower is soft.
Use the immersion blender and process until no lumps remain.
The bonus is that this soup is Weight watcher friendly!
I took myself out for a wee bite of brunch after strolling in Oak Bay.
I finished this book.
Really enjoyed reading Vita Sackville-West
The Edwardians was the first of hers that I read and it was quite a few years ago.
Now I need to get my hands on a book about her lovely home and garden...
Sissinghurst.
The young royal family are leaving today...
It has been a busy time for William and Kate making appearances while touring BC.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and their nannies have been out and about.
They have been seen enjoying our local parks.
The Beacon Hill Petting Zoo has oodles of goats
George reportedly loved seeing them.
There was a children's tea party on the lawns of Government House
local military families were invited to join in for some fun.
Balloons, bubbles, bunnies and ponies were on site for the celebration.
What a fabulous opportunity to get to meet the family.
Anemone's are still out in full force as are our roses.
It has been a stellar summer for the Humble Bungalow Garden...
but I can see the hydrangeas are fading and many plants are droopy.
The leaves are gathering on the lawn and spider webs are woven in every corner
and hanging onto most of the plants.
Where have the spiders been hiding all summer and why do they suddenly come out at this time of year?
I must close for now and get some things done around The Humble Bungalow.
Hope you have a fabulous weekend.
~ Be Well and Be Kind ~
45 comments:
You had me at wearing socks. I noticed the afternoon shadows, the dogs wanting dinner earlier... the Aspen trees are changing here in Colorado.... laura
I am going to try your recipe for the curried cauliflower soup! What a wonderful post today.
Lovely pictures, Leslie! :)
oh, it's me, Sheila Bell.
A great collection of thoughts and observations of this time of year. I couldn't help but see so many similarities and also differences on either side of the great big pond. Here in France we have the chestnuts, Spanish and Horse, both fruiting prolifically at the moment and also some late autumn raspberries and lots of anenomies still in flower. But our hollyhocks have been over for at least a month as have our hydrangeas and our leaves have not really started to change colour yet! I do miss Starbucks though, here I am jealous!!!
I'm a great VSW fan, and that's one of my favourite books. Sissinghurst is one of my very favourite gardens. We once found ourselves there at the very end of the day, alone in the garden apart from the birds - just magical.
Lovely fall pictures and the trees are magnificent at the moment. Sissinghurst is definitely a magical spot and I am sure you would enjoy The Well Tempered Garden by Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter fame.
Snap! I put socks on today, even for around the house when normally I'm barefoot in sandals in the house. My favourite socks are multi-striped ones from Joules a couple of years ago. I must go shopping from some stylish slippers - the problem is, slippers are usually quite ugly and old-womanish and I tend to slip out of mules, but I shall start a serious search soon.
Sissinghurst is lovely. We visited a few years ago, went up the tower and saw Vita's writing room.
Margaret P
I'm wearing socks too! Your cauliflower soup sounds lovely, esp with the curry. Perfect for the cooler temps and rainy days we've been having. I'll have to check out that author; I've heard of her, but never read anything by her. And aren't those chestnut coverings interesting?
It's time to visit the garden shop and to buy bulbs. Fall seems to creep up and next week is Thanksgiving. October always seems to fly by. I like to visit nearby Westham Island to see the displays of squash and other gourds. Socks! I would love to find some really comfy ones. If we were at school, it would be time for Charlotte's Web. I will add Vita to my library reserve list. If you like to listen to dramatizations, BBC 4 is playing (available in 15 minute parts) of the Forsyte Saga. I loved it on Masterpiece in the 70's and listen as I do housework.
I copied your curried cauliflower soup recipe...sounds yummy.
LOVE the lipstick on your Starbucks cup. I'm ALWAYS doing that...on all kinds of cups! :-)
So evocative. I can feel your fall.
My feet feel the cold and there is nothing quite as cozy as a pair of cashmere socks to chase the chill away!
Your aspen trees must be beautiful at this time of year..
Thank you Susan...hope the soup is to your liking...
Hello Sheila! So nice to see you dropped by my humble blog!
Oh I am so enjoying your IG snapshots of your lovely area of France...they are so inspiring and remind me of my trip. Our seasons are not too far apart...I imagine you sitting at an outdoor cafe under a canopy of trees in the village with a frothy cafe creme served in a lovely bowl...that beats Starbucks any day!
I can only Imagine how wonderful that moment would have been...you must get a feeling for the gardener who created such a masterpiece....I felt the same way in Veronica Milner's garden which is located up near Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island.
I will see if our local library has a copy...thank you for the suggestion Christy!
I pad around the house barefoot most of summer but our wood floors in this draughty old bungalow are not conducive to that in Fall and Winter. Cashmere and thick woollen socks are my footwear of choice...I have a pair of slippers but they are not very attractive :-((
It freezes well too Deborah...so if you make a big batch you can put some aside for a day when you are too busy to cook from scratch!
The chestnut coverings usually open when they fall to the earth and I have thought that the birds might be tempted to eat them right off the trees of they did not have those protective casings.
I bought some crocus and grape hyacinth bulbs to plant where the city workers dug up our front bed. I hope that some of our other bulbs did survive but time will tell. Charlotte's Web is one of my favourite stories...
If you cannot find a cozy pair of socks perhaps you could knit some?
Hope you enjoy the soup!
That shade of lipstick is a Maybelline #547 "Pleasure Me Red" that I purchased it from the Monoprix in Paris!
I'll be counting on you to send me some California sunshine soon as they rains can not be too far off...
I hope you had a fabulous birthday celebration!
Why, oh why, can't slippers be made to look attractive? I rather fancy some I saw a few winter's ago in a magazine but they were frightfully expensive for slippers ... black velvet with embroidery on the front. I'd not have paid as much for shoes, but they were so gorgeous ... But I shall have to get something for my cold feet with autumn now here! Unlike Canada and Europe and in a lot of houses owned by younger people in the UK, we don't have wood floors but carpets simply because they are warmer - when I was young if people had bare boards (and I don't include beautiful parquet, of course!) they were considered poor, unable to afford carpet. Now it's a lifestyle choice to have floors without carpets or rugs. Lovely polished floors are wonderful, but I do like to have some rugs with just the wood surround showing. But as you say, bare wood floors are chillier than carpet.
Margaret P
Oh the original black and white Forsyte Saga was wonderful. I wonder who remembers the actor who played the role of Michael Mont? He was Nicholas Pennell and he was the son our next door neighbour when I was a girl or about 11 or 12. He was about 17 then and he used to come into our home and play our piano as his family didn't have one, and he told my mother that he wanted to be an actor. He eventually went to RADA (the Royal Acadeny of Dramatic Art), was cast in the Forsyte Saga and eventually went to live in Canada (Stratford, Ontario) where he furthered his acting career. Sadly he died some years ago but when I think of that wonderful dramatization of The Forsyte Saga I think of Nicky, and in my mind's eye, see him playing the piano in our home. Such happy memories.
Margaret P
What gorgeous pink flowers at your neighbours!
We used to have the hot chestnut carts around town at this time of year but haven't seen any in ages. My mom used to keep us kids busy by roasting chestnuts at home and then leaving us to peel them - took ages but we loved them!
I watched the TV coverage of the Royals - especially the little ones at the children's party - very cute! And then yesterday as they were leaving - Prince George seems a bit shy but well-behaved but Princess Charlotte seemed to delight in waving to the crowd whenever she had the chance.
Thank you for the recipe - I've got a couple of cauliflowers in the fridge as they were such a great price - I'm going to make some of that soup tomorrow to add to my freezer stash. In the past week I've made a batch of broccoli soup and another of chicken noodle. I often take a few things to my elderly neighbour, and I know he likes curry, so I'm sure he'll enjoy a few servings of this soup as well.
I'm spending Sunday afternoon watching the Blue Jays play the Red Sox and I'm also getting a few more items of clothing switched over in my closets. It isn't quite cold enough yet to move completely to Fall/Winter, but the transition is well underway.
Enjoy your day.
Such a lovely post and a timely reminder for me about what I love about autumn. The aroma of a good soup simmering, vibrant fall colors and cozy socks are all good reasons to enjoy returning home after a two week trip to the South. Sometimes, when I am on holiday, I forget about the good things awaiting my return. Fall in the Northeast is reason enough to look forward to returning home.
I remember that original series well. What a memory to have. So far, the Michael Mont portrayal by Nicholas Pennell is the only one that I have seen. After listening to the BBC Radio, I am now watching the 2003 version with Damian Lewis. We have not met Michael yet since Soames and Irenee has just married.
Your cauliflower recipe reminded me that I have some cauliflower soup sitting in the freezer waiting to be used and cheese added for a lovely autumn lunch. We had a typical Autumn day here in Cumbria today, starting with a cobwebby mist, progressing through sunshine to a chilly evening. I must renew my cashmere socks as I literally wore them out last Winter. Like yours my roses and anemones are having a final fling to brighten up the garden whilst the hostas are on their last legs. Nearly time to put the garden to bed for the Winter!!
Wonderful post and beautiful photographs! Cauliflower soup coming up soon around these parts - your recipe looks simply delicious (or should that be deliciously simple?). I noticed the first changes on our birch tree today, autumn is such an inspiring season, don't you think? jenmiller
Beautiful work by your neighbour!
Thanks for the information on chestnuts. I had no idea of the differences and their uses.
SSG xxx
Hope that you like the recipes...
We have been blessed by the royal visit..my former principal has a story to tell!
Her daughter was in the park with her daughter randomly playing at Gyro Park and so was HRH Prince George...and HRH Princess Charlotte....they had fun playing on the equipment.
My Sunday was a mix of reading and thinking of a trip to Provence.....
I have been on a spending spree!
It does feel like soup season...hope you keep cozy
After loving the original with our neighbour, Nicholas Pennell in it, I didn't watch the later version with Damian Lewis. I thought Soames and Irene in the original was fantastic and I'd not want that memory sullied. Churches changed the times of their evening services so that the congregation could get home in order to watch this series in the days before video recorders and now DVDs.
Margaret P
Certainly feels and looks like Fall. Like you, I am wearing my socks and fleece. Soups are a favorite too. Yesterday, at Whole Foods I sampled a spiced black bean soup. I added a scoup of white rice on top. Delicious. Love the mums and white pumpkins combination. The children's tea sounds delightful. The Royal Family enjoyed their time in Canada. Canada is a great host!
This morning we awoke to the sound of the foghorns...it has cleared now and the sun is out but it is chilly! Our our hostas look really messy as the leaves are turning brown...must get out and cut them down.
Aren't cashmere socks the best? Happy shopping!
Autumn is a pretty time of year...it gradually introduces us to winter.
Soups and stews will be very much on my radar this season...simple and tasty too!
Do you have chestnut trees in Sydney?
I could use a fleece jacket for Fall and Winter...they are so warm and cozy.
Bean soup is very satisfying and good for you...I made a chicken rice soup yesterday with a leftover chicken breast and we had it for lunch and there are leftovers for a few lunches this week.
I meant I thought Soames and Irene WERE fantastic ... oh dear, my standards are slipping!
Margaret P
Sounds like I need to watch that series again...I do not remember that particular actor. How wonderful that he was able to use your family's piano!
Beautiful photos! And your cauliflower soup looks delicious! I see that we are very close in age...I will be 60 on October 27th. :) You have a lovely blog. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada.
Your autumn looks and sounds lovely. I still have hope autumn will make her presence known. You are wearing socks....I am still in flip flops. Have a wonderful week. Bonnie
Bonjour!
I have just signed up to follow your blog...
hope to keep in touch.
Leslie
Curried cauliflower soup sounds delicious. I frequently make aloo gobi, when cauliflower is at a good price. For some reason, several days before Christmas last year, it was $8.99 a head and they were all sold out.
I have the complete series of the original Forsyte Saga, as I bought it years ago for my mum to watch again. When it originally aired on PBS we had a black and white television; but I was surprised that they filmed this in black and white.
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