Happy October
japra | Oct 01, 2008 | Comments 19
Last weekend in Cookham, England. The leaves are only beginning to fall.
“And how does dear, dear Norland look?” cried Marianne“Dear, dear Norland,” said Elinor, “probably looks much as it always does at this time of year. The woods and walks thickly covered with dead leaves.”“Oh!” cried Marianne, “with what transporting sensations have I formerly seen them fall! How have I delighted, as I walked, to see them driven in showers about me by the wind! What feelings have they, the season, the air altogether inspired! Now there is no one to regard them. The are seen only as a nuisance, swept hastily off, and driven as much as possible from the sight.”“It is not everyone,” said Elinor, “who has your passion for dead leaves.”Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Chapter 16
Ha–this cracks me up. Marianne isn’t the only one in raptures over the “dead leaves”. I have enjoyed watching them swirl in the road and having them “driven in showers about me” on our walk last weekend (more like a sprinkle, really).
In other news, Mr. DJ is in town this week. He had to turn in his passport to the US Embassy to get more pages added. He was down to his last page and a half of free space. After getting two lectures from passport control elsewhere, he finally relented and sent his passport in. I think he’s feeling a little separation anxiety, though. It’s a weird feeling to be in a foreign country without a passport!
It’s a beautiful day today now. I woke up at 5:30 and the wind was howling. After taking Mr. DJ to the train station, it poured. Now we have a clear blue sky and that lovely golden sun. It is a bit chilly, though, about 55-degrees F. Actually, it feels like Thanksgiving weather in Texas.
I’m off to make some hummus. I can’t seem to get enough of the stuff lately!
Oh, I wanted to say thank you to Barbara for letting me know about the BBC 4 programme on Kenneth Grahame. I listened to it yesterday (via the Internet) and was thrilled to recognize some of the places they were talking about from my walk in Cookham last weekend. I also realized I forgot that I LOVE books on tape (or whatever they are called now). I must get some. WitW is high on my list.
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
Ijust can’t believe it’s October!
We live so close, but your leaves are much farther along than ours! Any theories? (Loved the S&S reference, btw.) We will probably have some come down today, though, as the wind is really howling.
Poor Mr. D.J. — parted from his passport. Sigmund had to get TWO passports, as he always seemed to have one that needed special visas.
I will look up the Kenneth G. programme on "Listen Again." Thanks for passing on the tip!
Laurie–I know. This year has FLOWN by.
Bee–Cookham is about an hour north of us (15 miles, hahaha!). We do have some “frosting” on our trees, though. I am enjoying every little “dead leaf” that falls. I wish we’d have some reds and oranges too, though. It seems like the leaves turn yellow and then brown so quickly.
Thanks for the tip about getting another passport. Mr. DJ might have to do the visa thing as well and that would ground him for too long.
I love how you are quoting the classics!
I can’t believe its October and I’m loving it! One day you’ll have to spend the autumn in New England to see all the reds and oranges and not just yellows.
I wish I had a passport in which to have separation anxiety from! Mine has long since expired and I haven’t bothered to get another since having kids, but if I want to get us up to Quebec someday, I’d better get on it!
Alyson–You simply must renew your passport! How can your husband sweep you away to exotic locales ;-) BTW, have you been to Quebec City? It’s so charming! It would be a wonderful weekend trip for you and your sweetie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City
I have been to Boston in the Fall (that line always reminds me of a Veggie Tales song), and it’s so so so beautiful there. But yes, I must go again, for sure!
It’s weird, I know it wasn’t intended but that entry suddenly reminded me of home. We have lots of evergreen trees but our grass goes yellow in winter and the muted colours in your photo just took me back. *sigh*
Happy October!
It’s interesting, people from the 1800′s enjoying fall just like we do! We’re already seeing some bright red maples over here.
One of the things I enjoyed after my family moved from Texas to St. Louis was the arrival of distinct seasons. Our leaves are still pretty green at this point, but I’m excited for the colors to start turning. BTW love the Austen quote! I loved Mansfield Park and Persuasion the most. Then again, my cat’s name is Darcy…
It is amazing that it’s October already. Here’s a jet set tip from a friend who travels all over the world for work: 2 passports. That’s especially a good idea if you need to get visas. Then again maybe you should hold Mr DJ’s passport hostage so you’ll see more of him.
Emm–Oops! Sorry about that. Hope you got over it soon!!
Christine–I know what you mean. I was browsing through my book of Jane Austen Letters one day and found a mention of a town very near to mine. I go there all the time! It is weird to think she was there 200 years ago. I wonder what it looked like back then?
Sarah–Mr. DJ is going to look into getting another passport. This would ease his mind about having to send it off for visas. Thank you for mentioning it!
Oh, it didn’t make me sad! It was a good thing as I haven’t been very homesick at all and it is nice to be reminded of home every now and then!!
Emm–You haven’t been homesick AT ALL? I am impressed. I’m glad the photo didn’t make you sad. :-)
No. Stephen gets very homesick but I don’t. In my mind I always knew i wanted to live and work in a big city. I almost feel as if I have come home.
Lucylucia–Darcy! :-) Persuasion is my favourite Austen book too.
I heard St. Louis is very beautiful. I have a cousin who went to University there and he loved it.
There was frost here last night, had to cover my tomatoes!
I love books on tape too or whatever they are called now. I listen to them mainly in the car when I am not listening to the new Al Stewart CD I just got.
Susan–Frost already? I hope your tomatoes made it through. If we lived here long enough, I think I would be tempted to put in a garden. Only it would be of things like poblano, jalepeno, tomatillos and cilantro (thought that is readily available here).
Speaking of “Sparks of Ancient Light”, we got ours a couple weeks ago and listened to it over and over (and over and over–haha)! I’m so sad that Al’s current tour doesn’t extend to the UK. I suppose I can hope for next year…
I loved reading Jane Austen’s letters, too! We are going to go up to DC and to Charlottesville late this month…I hope the leaves will be just right for colorful viewing! Mimsy
Mimsy–I am making my way through JA’s novels again. I am getting so much more out of them reading them here.
Mimsy (again)–Have a glorious trip! It should be beautiful in the DC area.