Saturday

Tomorrow morning, Sandpiper gains a godmother and a godfather. The ceremony of a baptism will take place before noon and a celebration of this and all the love family and friends provide for each other, will follow. It is terribly unfortunate that my younger girl and her family cannot come up for the weekend. Primrose caught the school bug and so this joins the legions of unfortunate holidays and/or celebrations where one of the kids is sick and the anticipated fun stuff has to take place without parent or child. Up there with the Christmas where Snowdrop threw up and spiked a high fever, and up there with the Thanksgiving night I spent in the ER room being rehydrated after a nasty stomach bug came crawling out of nowhere.  We all have such stories to tell, don't we...

The weekend is, weather-wise, stunning. There's no other word for it.

I'm up pretty early.

I know tomorrow we'll all get an extra hour of sleep, but today I have to zip along, to the bakery to pick up some pains au chocolat (the bakery with the beautiful breads!)...

... and to the farmers market to get a whole bunch of munching carrots for the week. There are two veggies that no grocery store does well here: winter spinach and whole carrots. If you can get those straight from the farm, go for it. It's an entirely different eating experience.

I take the chocolate croissants to my daughter's house, where I see that Snowdrop is still working on her yogurt parfait idea.

Finally, it's done.

(I'm thinking Sandpiper is going to be a croissant kind of guy...)

 

 

One by one, the out of town guests (all fully vaccinated) arrive. 

The kids coopt one to read to them, the baby gets passed around...

Life is good, so I return to the farmhouse for some outdoor work. After a breakfast with Ed. (Is it still breakfast if it's after noon?)

It takes a bit of motivational prodding to get me to actually go outside, despite the sunshine and warm temps. I recognize the "winter lazies" that have set in, where nothing is quite up there with an hour or two or three on the couch with good reading material. But, finally, I'm out there and Ed and I work on those tasks that aren't essential, but will help create a visually pleasing landscape come wintertime. 

And toward evening, we head back to my daughter's house for a pizza party for the out-of-towners. Minus, unfortunately, my younger girl.

 

 

 

The scene is lovely: lanterns, pillows, comfy spaces. And yes, there are heat lamps. Arguably we did not need them, what with temps rising to nearly 60F (nearly 16C) today, but once the sun sets, it does chill off quickly and no one objected to the extra warmth.

A November night, giving us an extra hour of sleep. A generous gift from a month that's rather stingy with those hours of daylight! 

Tomorrow, a celebration of this guy!

 

 

 With love...

Friday

Let's take a walk. Nothing ambitious, nothing to feel proud of, but a real walk in a woodsy area so we can listen to the wind and be dazzled by these last days of a visually beautiful fall.

I mean, it's the day for it.

(Also let's chase Dance away from our breakfast routines. She is pesty!)

Having not too much time for that walk pushes us to our local county park. Over by Lake Waubesa. And yes, it is lovely.

These are the last weeks with our visiting birds from the south. In another month they will have left Wisconsin. Hey, they must be enjoying their hiatus here because each year we see and hear more of them in the fields that surround the farmette.

When the year draws toward an end and the growing season is behind us, it's tough not to think always in terms of "lasts." Maybe we should switch our mindsets and talk, instead, in terms of firsts. First days of golden leaves out front. First days of a walk where a scarf feels really good wound tightly around the neck. First time I enter the classrooms of Snowdrop's school.

Hey, how did that happen? Isn't the school closed to outsiders? Well yes, but there was this (fundraiser) book fair and when the little one came out of her school (can you even recognize her? I can!)...

... all she could talk about was making granola parfaits (from a recipe she found in a kid cook book) and buying a book at the fair. 

The fair (held in the school library) was winding down and indeed, all kids had already done the purchasing earlier. Still, she was motivated and we went back into an almost empty school, where she showed me some important markers of her day.

And we bought a book and left.

Back at the farmette -- finally, a few minutes with the season's gold!

The weekend will be full, but there are still some unknowns. It's the way we proceed with everything these days, isn't it? The family will gather, though maybe not all of it because, well, there's this virus, no, not The Virus, but another one making the rounds. Friends will have flown in, a lot of rapid tests have been purchased. Heat lamps have gone up outside where some small gatherings will take place. Yes, it'll be a busy weekend. 

But tonight is quiet here at the farmhouse. Topped off with a shared, expensive chocolate and Grand Designs on the TV screen. Luxury, Ed and Nina style.

Thursday

I wake up to thoughts of Poland. The virus is surging there (same anti vax issues there as there are here) and predictably it reaches the kids and so now parents and grandparents have those added worries on their shoulders. I need to check in with a Zoom call to Warsaw even before breakfast. But after animal feeding! Those cats would be pawing at the kitchen door if I didn't get to them first thing in the morning! And the cheepers? Thoroughly discombobulated.

It's a beautiful day outside. Still nippy, but we're warming up! I'm going to concentrate on the good side of this, even though I know being grateful for warm November days is not exactly appropriate. November needs to cool down. Wisconsin needs to cool down. The northern hemisphere needs to cool down already!

Still, I so appreciate the beauty of this sunny day! 

 

 

There's a lot of family activity scheduled for this weekend and because we are all careful people, it will take place outside. It is incredibly fortuitous that there will not be rain and indeed, it will be as warm as we could expect on a good day in September. None of us will freeze our little fingers munching on treats and foods on my daughter's deck!

Breakfast, close to noon.

 

Ed asks if I'd like to tidy up stuff outside some more and I answer with a resounding no. Sure, I'll snip off some spent flowers here and there. The monardas have had a crazy expansive run this summer and it would be good to cut them back for the winter (they block the view toward the sheep shed), but I'm not in a hurry. For now, my mind is on cooking and baking. (This is not the same as actually doing some cooking and baking. In early November, I just think a lot about it.)

And eventually I pick up Snowdrop after school.

Me, I would want to cavort for a while in a pile of golden maple leaves at the front of the farmhouse. It's such a pretty sight -- all those yellows scattered thickly on what the kids called "the magic meadow!" But, this is not her choice. The tree. She wants to visit the tree...

... and then head straight for the farmhouse.

Of course, I should talk. Who spent the morning indoors, rather than cavorting anywhere at all? Who gave up on yard work and shrugged at the idea of a walk, choosing instead to read and write, on the couch? 

So too, Snowdrop plays indoors. Books, foods and toys. The three things that make the afternoon such a happy time for the little girl.

Evening. I take her home, where her mom gives her a hug for a super good report from the teacher (after a parent-teacher conference).

(Sparrow watches as she finishes up her homework.)

It's quite dark by the time I come home. Well, that's no surprise. By next week it will be dark by the time Ed and I sit down to breakfast. I exaggerate. But, we are in November's grip already, that's for sure. Short days. But exquisitely lovely ones. Weather-wise, November has always been at the top of my list of "difficult months." Not this year though. Certainly not this year.

frozen

Winterize the porch: that was the assignment for today. What this means is that we take out all the potted plants, dump them in the compost pile and clean up the spaces they leave behind. And so long as we are working there, I may as well dig up the weeds growing just to the north of the screen. That's a fall rather than spring project. It's the last spot on the farmette lands that unfreezes in the early spring (north, shade), so if I want the weeds out, now's the time to dig.

And here's what I notice: yes, it is cold outside, but that's not the issue. I have sweaters and jackets for that. The more unnerving thing is that the earth itself is already very very cold. I wear gardening gloves but they don't help at all. My fingers grow numb pretty quickly. That's the first sure sign of our being at the cusp of winter: frozen fingers.

So yes indeed, we had a deep frost and most annuals gave up the ship. The walk to feed the animals was crisp and brisk.

And shortly after breakfast Ed and I got to work.

I can't say we wanted to stay out all day. The hands just can't take that kind of chill for long. Still, if after today, we do nothing more in the flower fields until spring, we'd be okay! Any additional work that we do outside will be cosmetic.

With that feel good attitude, I suggest he and I head out to Gail Ambrosius chocolate shop.

I have known Gail for a while -- since the two of us worked as the Saturday morning bakers at L'Etoile Restaurant. We made croissants and gougeres and epi loaves while it was still dark outside and in those predawn hours I learned that Gail was just biding her time at L'Etoile. Her goal has always been to open an exquisite chocolate shop. And eventually she did it. She is now regarded as one of the premiere chocolatiers in the Midwest. The only reason Ed and I tend to buy our box at Candinas instead of at Gail's is that the former is on our way to Farm & Fleet. Gail is a little out of the way. 

But today, we make a special trip to her shop. Her truffles are incredible: earl gray, jasmine, blueberry. Shiitake,  lemongrass, curry. Cointreau, cognac, rose. These days, I hardly eat any sweets. With one exception: a piece of special chocolate, at the close of dinner, every night. Oftentimes it's nothing more than a few squares from a bar of dark with orange bits. But lately we've been working our way through a truffle box and so the appetite for these has been whetted. 

 

 

Gail's chocolate shop is simple. In this way, she is different than, say, a French chocolatier, who will go to great pains to make attractive displays. But to her credit, we are not a city of strollers and shoppers. Working on window displays would be a waste of her time.

We buy a box with a variety of flavors. And as we make our selection, I'm thinking that a good chocolate truffle is probably up there with my most favorite foods. It is indeed a luxury -- her chocolates are expensive -- but Ed and I split just one chocolate each night, so a box will last us a long while.

Gail is working in the back, but she sees me in the store and so she comes out to chat. Of course, it's been a rough year. You can't make chocolates remotely. Finding people to do the intensively delicate work during a pandemic has to be tough. She said they barely managed to get through last year's holidays. But this year is better and I wouldn't be surprised if she is pushed to make an eye-popping number of chocolates. I can't think of a better gift to give someone on your holiday list. 

After we made our purchase, carefully selecting each and every one of these:

...Ed and I stay in this part of town and walk through the neighborhood. From Lake Monona, along the Yahara River (which joins Madison's two big lakes), and then back again.

(Looking toward Lake Monona)

(... and in the direction of Lake Mendota)

It's a lovely day for it, but it is a bit nippy. I had the foresight to wear my winter jacket, but I missed my cap and Ed -- well, he's still in shorts. (Hey, it did go up to 41F, or 5C, but still, not shorts weather, Ed! His explanation? Oh, they were the closest pair of pants around.)

 

Soup for supper -- my veggie combo, with all those CSA veggies and cannellini beans and grated parmesan. And a chocolate for dessert. Blueberry tonight. Mmmmm....

farmette bubble

Truly I don't get it. I wake up and check my smart phone. Madison is at 29F, so about -2C. Below freezing. The cold weather has arrived. Yet when I step outside with a can full of warm water so that I can defrost the animal water dish outside (it freezes over come nighttime during the winter months), I see no ice crystals out there. And the annuals haven't flopped down yet. So -- were we spared? Fine with me! Let's enjoy one more day of pretty colors!

Tonight, they're predicting a low of 25F (that's -4C). No way will we escape the inevitable. Still, the day is sunny and crisp. A lovely November morning.

In the afternoon, I'm there again at school, car at the head of the line, waiting for Snowdrop.

With infections still bouncing around everywhere, you never know how your plans will change and I am super grateful that at the moment, I can still do this pick up and bring the little girl to the farmhouse for an afternoon here. Knock on wood! Yeah, pound on it, that old timber!

(she found the marshmallows in the pantry...)

Sparrow is home of course. Parents say he's a little bouncing off the walls. Not surprised: his schedule suddenly is upside down. Not only is his school room closed down, but the kids' sitter is also sick with something. Still, the little guys are doing well! Knock knock knock knock knock!!

One day at a time.

And in the evening, Ed and I find the very latest (22nd!) season of Grand Designs! I swear, we grew up on this show, watching it from the very first episodes aired when he and I first began our own grand design of a life together. A blissful finale to a very pretty day indeed.

onto November

What's safe these days? Are you back in the swing of life, or are you one toe in and the rest still out? Surely that's me -- nine toes are hardly even skirting the waters of normal life.

I have an appointment at my whoop-tee-do-for-my-Subaru dealer. Some factory recall issue that, I'm told, will take up to two hours to fix.

What's a person to do...

I leave the car at the Subaru shop and head out for a stroll.

If it is around 40F (4/5C) and windy, you need to bundle up. I did not do that. Walking through the wasteland that is Odana Road, home to most of Madison's west side car dealers, social security offices and other equally unattractive entities, I feel that bite of cold air. Had there been a cap shop, I would have gone in and purchased one. No cap shop. I walk bareheaded.

Eventually I come to a coffee shop. Such a dilemma! What warms you more, a continued brisk walk, or a cup of hot tea, but at an outside table? Those are your choices -- pick!

You may feel confident in your movements, in staying in the heated coffee shop on a comfy cushion chair. I don't. This week Sparrow's entire class has been told to stay home. They're being monitored for Covid because a classmate tested positive at the end of last week. I noted that in the entire Dane County (home to Madison), there are on the average only four infections in the age category 0 - 4 per day. So you think -- what are the chances that it will be in your kid's class! Ho hum. (Masks work: Sparrow so far is testing negative.)

I sit at my outdoor table warming my hands on the warm cup of tea, wishing still I had a cap, and then the sun comes out and I think  -- well now, this is okay! And just at that moment, the dealer calls to tell me the car is ready. I give up my spot in the sun and walk back to reclaim my Blue Moon.

The nice thing about traipsing about in the cold, soulless blocks of Odana Road in the morning? I have no guilt in spending the afternoon on the couch ruminating about the forthcoming holidays. Not many photos for you. No surprise there! My camera refused to be dazzled by my walking route. My Fitbit, on the other hand, was excited.

Photos from before the car project:

(Still missed that frost by a degree. But tonight, we'll get a deep freeze, which will, unfortunately, retire these blooms for good.)

(Inside, of course.)

(Autumn gold)

(Evening chat with Primrose!)

Happy November to all!

with love.

Sunday

Happy Halloween! May you have plenty of good toothpaste to work its magic after an evening of a sugar extravaganza!

I'm fully into the holiday today, except not the calendar appropriate holiday. We never get trick-or-treaters out here in the country and so were it not for the kids (more on that later), Halloween would not even receive honorable mention here. But I am fully immersed into Christmas. The family continues to grow and therefore, so does this grandma's cooking/baking/present procurement/etc/etc obligations. And with the impending (well, nearly impending) birth of my granddaughter and the travel that this will entail, to say nothing of the holiday disruption it will likely produce, one has to think ahead and strategize. 

So this is what I do for the better part of the day: I think and I strategize.

The day moves from being cloudy...

(and cozy indoors...)

... to sunny and Ed and I do go out in the afternoon. To work on the million tasks that accumulate for us out there. I finish bulb planting and I continue to bring down some of the perennials. Ed works on fixing rotted trim and then he helps me with raking the beds. Do you know how awful it is to have a female lotus tree growing adjacent to your flower fields? That tree drops seed pods by the thousands. True, the deer come in the winter to eat them, but believe me, we could feed the herds from here to Alaska and still have leftovers on the ground. Which of course sprout into a million lotus saplings right smack in the middle of my flower fields. So raking is a necessity and we started in on that job today. 

It's pretty and decently warm-ish for the last day of October. Honestly, for us here in south central Wisconsin, it's been an amazingly generous and beautiful month.

But as I dig, snip and rake, my mind is on the next holiday and the one after that. Plan and strategize, all day long. 

Except in the evening! Forget about Those Other Holidays! It's Halloweeen!

I go out to my daughter's neighborhood just for a little bit, to see them all in their regalia. There's a black cat and Applejack the pony and I believe there is a little lion in that car seat.

They head out in a small group of friends, parents, etc.

... But I'm told it's the two older girls -- Snowdrop and her school pal -- who stay out the longest, going from door to door with the zeal of two let loose gazelles. Bedtime was very very late today!

Here, at the farmhouse, the sun sets and we retreated to our usual quiet space. 

 

 

 

Ed shuts off the water for the hose outside. The long overdue night frost is finally going to hit us tonight.  We can start hoping for that first snowfall! Maybe before Thanksgiving, maybe after. Always exciting, always beautiful out here, in the country.