November, December

When you hit November things start to slide rapidly towards Christmas; the next months disappear in a frenzy of shopping for presents and groceries.

  November started quietly with some sort of flu which kept me bedridden for several days and exhausted afterwards. 

Short walks near home got my energy back  in time for an exciting trip north. My daughter and boyfriend got engaged while on holiday in Italy and shortly afterwards an engagement blessing was held at Oldham Mandir. It's a beautiful building but I hadn't taken my phone along so the only photo I have is this taken by  husband. This time, fortunately, I had help with my sari and looked much more respectable, though I hardly dare move in it. The wedding won't be till 2027 but I'm beginning to think that time will be needed for planning!

Then it was time to get into the festive mood with trips to Christmas markets and illuminated houses and gardens = Calke Abbey, Chatsworth, Kedleston Hall, and Haddon Hall

This year I have a couple of advent calendars to help keep track of the days - a jigsaw puzzle (one small section each day) and a more traditional open-the-window style of a Pieter Breugel snowy scene.




Christmas has still sneaked up somehow unannounced with last minute shopping and present-wrapping.









 

October

 In comparison to some months, October was VERY busy - a trip to see the Glorious Nothings exhibition at Chatsworth, a short break in Suffolk, up to my daughter's (via Crowden Reservoir) to join in the Kali Puja celebrations, and a visit to Dunham Massey.

Back home there were more wedding fairs to be checked out. Although so far my daughter hasn't settled on a venue, I'm finding it an interesting way to see local properties which aren't normally open to the public

In the garden, autumn continued to advance (as you'd expect) but burrowing under the back fence by the compost bin was a glorious surprise - a passion flower! I'm told tat with luck it will survive winte and maybe even fruit next year. Fingers crossed!

Dunham Massey

A trip north to visit my daughter was the perfect excuse to nip into Dunham Massey gardens. They're lovely at any time of year and the end of October brought a mix of autumnal leaves and summer flowers hanging on despite falling temperatures.

 

Anglesey Abbey

Our visit to Anglesey Abbey started in the house where there was an interesting exhibition of mean's clothing and a library large enough for even my books!

But it was the garden that I loved most.

My previous visit to Anglesey Abbey was in early spring, just after the snowdrops had flowered, so obviously it was very different in October. I was surprised  to find so many roses still in flower 

And the display of dahlias, in a rainbow of colour, was amazing.

But the stand-out feature to my mind was this simple, but stunning, planting of cyclamens; one of those places I would have loved to linger for a longer while - but there were no seats!