Once again I’ve been caught unaware by the end of the month. Why is that? October has been a whirlwind of happiness and some sadness. An explosion of activity, with a sprinkling of relaxation. I’m exhausted from trying to keep up with what’s been going on. So this is a great place to recap on the things that have made us happy this month.
Without further ado, here are my family’s faves
Pumpkins
I’ve mentioned before that we have a big garden, but this year we finally accepted that, for the moment, our garden is Oscar’s domain and trying to keep him from trashing playing with growing plants is both frustrating and futile. So at the beginning of this year, Ben took an allotment and alongside the potatoes and French beans decided to have a crack at something a bit different. Which is how we ended up this month with four home grown pumpkins.
This came in handy for decorating our Autumn window, but even more so for carving at Halloween. We haven’t bothered carving a pumpkin for years, but look at this beauty Ben did this year. Isn’t it fab?
And I’ve discovered Pumpkins aren’t just for carving (especially when you’ve grown them yourself). So far I’ve made pumpkin chutney and discovered the boy adores salt and chilli roasted pumpkin seeds! There’s so much flesh in these beauties that I’m now looking into other recipes. Soup maybe? Or how about Pumpkin Brownies?If you’ve got any recipes, let me know!
Mirror
I decided a few weeks ago that I was sick of checking my appearance in the glass panels of the front door as I leave the house. I realised what our lounge needed was a mirror. We don’t have a hall so it would need to be something that fitted with the room. Of course I had something in mind straight away and couldn’t find it anywhere. Actually that’s a lie. I did find one I liked. An old season Pottery Barn one on a Pinterest type site. Typical. I want something that no longer exists. Hmmm.
Then one day I found myself in Haslemere, childless and with time. I stuck my head in The Ark, an antiques shop (or as Ben calls it an upmarket junk shop) I’d never dream of going in with the boy. And there she was. Hanging on the wall, peeping out from behind cabinets and covered in dust. You know when something catches your eye and you do a double take? That. She was a bit more ornate than I pictured but she was perfect. I put her aside and we collect her with the car the next day. And she’s already made herself at home 🙂
Winchester Science Centre
Ben took a week off work this month, to spend time at the allotment and with us. I’ve already written about how fantastic that was and how nice it was to have the opportunity to do stuff I’d never be able to do on my own, but I couldn’t not include Winchester Science Centre in this month’s faves.
We had soooo much fun. The exhibits are all hands on and while the two floors of buttons and levers was enough for Oscar, older children (and parents!) would also love the exhibits. The Centre also has a Planetarium, which we didn’t go in (he’s not ready yet), but I really would love to one day. The Centre seemed to have a good understanding of Autism, with detailed floor plans and social stories available on their website. As Oscar’s carer I also got in for free, which was great. I had no idea how he was going to react and had it not worked out, and I’d had to pay full price, that would have been an expensive experiment!
As it was, the boy loved it and I cant wait to take him back!
Yankee Candles
If you follow Mrssavageangel on Facebook you’ll know this month has been all about Yankee Candles for me. I love a good Christmas candle and last year I revelled in their Red Apple Wreath scent for months. However, this year I wanted to see if there was one I liked more, or at least as much! There isn’t anywhere local that stocks all the fragrances so instead, I decide to buy a load of sample candles to burn at home and see for myself. Its been so much fun, I’ve really enjoyed having different fragrances every day and discussing them on Facebook. I’ve not found a Christmas fragrance I like more than last years Red Apple Wreath, but I have discovered Pain au Raisin. I’d wear that as a perfume! Not particularly christmassy, but definitely a new fave. I’m a bit sad all my samples have been burnt now. I may have to buy some more 😉
Soup
I love cold weather. I means I can legitimately eat stews and casseroles (I mean I’d eat them any time, but people think its weird eating stew in June!). Yum! I’m not usually a soup person. I always felt they left me bloated and made me feel uncomfortably sleepy. However this October I’ve been giving them another try. My favourite so far has been homemade Ham and Lentil. Delicious! And now we have so much pumpkin, I need to give that a go too. Filling, nutritious and warming, homemade soup has been a revelation for me this month.
What have been your families favourites this month? I’d love to know!
