Now the Leaves are Whirling Fast

Autumn’s already on the wane, following a few storms which have hastened its demise…

I always feel a bit sad when that happens. The dazzling leaves are torn down prematurely, making the season feel all too fleeting.

For me, winter begins in December - only a few weeks away now - and then we’ll be hunkering down and hibernating as much as possible during the dark days and cold nights.

There’s been an awful lot going on behind the scenes here. The kitchen extension’s progress has been delayed for over 8 months (due to an extremely picky Building Control department). Every solution seems to have been met with yet another demand.

But the builders are back on site now and things are on the move again. It’s actually been incredibly stressful because all this is part of a bigger picture, a very difficult situation where we feel as though we’re stuck and unable to plan anything. I won’t go into it here, only to say the stress is the sort that actually makes you ill.

And dealing with that level of stress is exhausting. Running on adrenaline, feeling constantly anxious, struggling to sleep: we’ve had over a year of this and it really takes its toll.

So I’ve been to see the doctor a few times, and got some help to tide me over this storm.

I’ve also had to reassess things. Anything adding to the stress which isn’t entirely necessary, I’ve taken out of the equation. I only work in the bookshop now - my happy place. The journal is on hold indefinitely.

Instead, I’ve just last week completed a photography course and have been working on a ‘rebrand’ of sorts. That sounds a bit corporate but it isn’t really.

The plan is to offer photography walks and workshops, and also styled photoshoots and brand storytelling.

I’ve already put together a brand new Instagram account (please feel free to follow!) and I’m busily working on building a portfolio. I’ll also be doing a few trial runs of workshops with friends.

I invested in a new MacBook Pro (£££) and am on the lookout for a 50mm lens for my Canon.

Workshop/studio space would be great, but realistically it’s a monthly expense I’m not able to meet just yet. So perhaps once the kitchen’s finished I can do one-to-one sessions at the table. At least there’ll be a kettle and cake close to hand!

This post is going to be a bit all over the show, to be honest: I’m working from the library today (another happy place) and am just typing stuff as it comes to me.

Actually, speaking of books:

I have a huge, teetering pile of them next to the bed. Some library books, some purchases from the bookshop because I find it very hard to resist a pretty cover. Currently, it looks like this:

Breadsong by Kitty and Al Tait (library)

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx (bookshop purchase)

Halloween Party by Agatha Christie (ditto)

Autumn Chills: Tales of Intrigue by the Queen of Crime by Agatha Christie (ditto again)

Christmas at River Cottage (library)

The Ivington Diaries by Monty Don (charity shop find)

Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks (another charity shop find)

The Stylist’s Guide to New York by Sibella Court (ordered at the bookshop)

Village Christmas by Laurie Lee (impulse buy at - yes - the bookshop)

Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell (library - and I’m loving this one)

Primrose Bakery Christmas by Martha Swift (library again)

It’s probably time to impose a book ban on myself. I’m pretty sure there are more on the pile.

You know I’m a huge advocate of walking for mental health and wellbeing, and we’ve relished the autumn colours here: the bracken, the copper of the beech trees, the yellow of birches. The mornings are cold and damp - the dew makes the cobwebs stand out against the leaves and stems, the creeping mists give the world a ghostly appearance.

On wild and windy days I head up high to face the elements and feel swept up by them.

Joe and I decided to master the art of sourdough baking. We made our own starter, and nurtured it, and it worked.

The first loaf was tasty but dense; the second an improvement and the third a definite success. Not as pretty as some of the masterpieces you see on Instagram, but we’re making progress. I have a banneton (basket for it to prove in) and a special blade to slit patterns into the top.

The Breadsong book helped us a great deal in this new endeavour, so I’ll be taking notes before returning it to the library.

I’ve also given someone a jar of starter - according to her, there’s quite the demand for it locally. And this being Hebden Bridge (land of the hipster) I’m not surprised at all.

You actually get quite a lot of excess what with having to discard half every time you feed it, so we also tried sourdough crumpets and they were very nice indeed.

Joe’s doing so well at high school. He’s up an hour earlier than he used to be, and catches the bus still.

Homework can be a problem - not because he’s reluctant to do it, but because everything’s online so we have hiccups with logins and the like.

I also have to hand it to him for coping with rugby outside in the cold, rain and mud.

We’ve watched a few films of late, and Jay and I are currently into Shetland. I haven’t seen the previous series so maybe we’ll watch those too.

I suppose the countdown to Christmas is now on. The shop windows all look very festive and inviting. Considering I’m a bookseller and Jay works in a brewery, it’s not hard to figure out what people will be receiving this year.

We’ve more or less lost Joe to the world of the screen. He’s still happy to get outdoors, but… well, he’s growing up. I’m not allowed to hold his hand any more. It was, up until recently, him instinctively reaching out for me but that era is over. And I understand; we saw two girls from his form in town the other day and there was much giggling (them) and blushing (him).

But even a trip to Liverpool at the weekend - his road sense is virtually nonexistent - had me being shrugged off when I tried getting him safely across busy junctions. A mere guiding hand on his arm was met with ‘I’m fine!’

I’m glad we have two cats.

One is just completely dysfunctional and unpredictable. The other is very gentle and affectionate. I really don’t know her back story, other than she had a litter of kittens at some point and later ended up at the animal sanctuary.

She does seem to know tricks though: she’ll stand on her back legs and will roll over on command too. Which is quite impressive.

Tomorrow I’m meeting an old friend in the morning for coffee. She’s bringing her youngest, who Joe went to nursery, preschool and his first primary school with. So he can come with me. I won’t touch him in case he sees anyone he knows from school.

We’ve got an appointment to look at new kitchens, then we’ll have to clear the current one out in readiness for the external wall being knocked through next week.

Sunday, I’m seeing another friend for a catchup. And in between it’ll be getting chores done, hopefully a few walks and perhaps another sourdough loaf. It’s quite the process though.

Next weekend’s the Rossendale Art Trail, which looks interesting. There are various winter fairs happening in Calderdale too, and more open studio type events. I’m thinking it could be worth going just to see if there’s any affordable studio space available.

And here we are: the end of another little update.

The builder informed me that he’s satisfied the building inspector - for now - and won’t have to remove the entire roof, which was looking likely. So no scaffolding required, or extra labour.

We’ll have a celebratory drink tonight. Sometimes it’s all about the small wins.