That time of the year.

I have changed my kitchen display, I love this old jug, but it has a crack and leaks water, so this is the next best thing, none of the contents are new, most are 2-3 years old, and a true reflection of the season. This will stay until December, when I add Christmas glitter, I love this display so much, autumn is not my favourite time of year, but I do love the colours at this time of year.  

Hubby has been working in the garden, he is closing down the decking, our wooden table and chairs are now covered, the bench and chairs are over 30 years old. The canopy is also packed away, it does flap on windy days, much better to keep it in the dry in the garage. 

This is our winter view, hubby picked up all the leaves yesterday, it no longer looks like this after a stormy night.

 I have been lucky to have Molly a few times on her own, Will is at school everyday now, George goes to nursey for 1 day, soon to be 2 days, so I don't normally have just Molly. This is taken on our spare bed, I pop an old towel on top of my ripple blanket, she was catching her fingers in the yarn. Here she is meeting Tiger who lives on the bed, and has been loved by all our grandsons, and Molly as well, she was talking to him for ages. 

The weather has changed, it's cold most days, I have started wearing my vest each day and socks, the rain has been heavy and stormy, there is a northern cold wind, so sandals are now packed away. Autumn has arrived, the garden still has loads of colour, most will stay until the first frost arrive, we do love to sit inside and watch the birds in the garden, hubby is filling feeders more often. We are spending more time at home and inside, I don't mind the cold but hate to be cold and wet, most of what we need can be got in our village.

Our local haberdashery shop has new owners, it also sell carpets, rugs and curtains, so it has always been a nice shop, but the haberdashery side was run down, the new lady is very passionate about all craft, and has already changed the layout to add more space, the yarns have doubled in size, and she has better quality cotton fabrics, she is selling off loads of things to allow more space. There are now loads of lovely gift items as well. 

Our florist has expanded their gift section, they started small last year and now has given over more space, they will often allow you to choose a pot for them to fill with a floral display. Neither shop have bargain prices, but the do offer a different range of items. 

If you want cheaper prices we have our local bargain shop, which sells great priced yarn, toys and gifts as well as every sized plastic container you might need. We do also have a few charity shops, including Sue Ryder, who sell loads of yarn, I love the charity shops for different containers for my plants. 

2 card shops, one cheap chain and another lovely independent who also sells gifts. 

We do have an old fashioned family owned hardware shop, hubby loves it in there, if you can't find what you want, just ask, they will know where to look, they will often open packs if you only need 1 or 2 items, not as cheap as the big chains, but often they will save you money, it's always our 1st port of call. 

We now have a veg shop and butchers, we use the veg shop but not the butchers, his meat is expensive and often very fatty, we do use another butcher in a village close by. 

Tesco took over part of the old Co-op shop, soon there will be a Costa's and Dominoes Pizza, neither of which we will use, but they should bring in the younger shoppers, which can only help the survival of our village. 

With barbers and hairdresser, and independent model/dolls-house shop, we have a good balance of everything you could want, and only 5 minutes walk from our home, this winter we are planning to stay local and use our lovely shops. 

PS 1st October already !!