Changing the Tears of Autumn - A Saturday Memory Lane Blog

Saturday Memory Lane... The seamless re-working of an older blog that's been updated and gently reloaded.

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"Tears, idle tears,
I know not what they mean,
Tears from the depth of some divine despair,
Rise in the heart and gather in the eyes,
In looking on the happy autumn fields,
And thinking of the days that are no more."

--Alfred, Lord Tennyson



I've made no secret of it.

Summer with all it's splendour and fullness is my favourite time of year.

It's when good things just are, and the world seems filled with hope and possibility.

But Autumn...

It rolls in like new pencils, and bright red apples.



A smell in the air that makes us feel safe. Like somehow the world is a little gentler than we first imagined.

But for me, Autumn brings other challenges.

It was October when I walked away from a career I had worked for years to bring to fruition only to realize with the stark reality of a chilly November looming ahead, that it was the wrong path for me.

Although I gave it my heart, the path did not have heart, and so I had to leave it.

"A path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you. Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself alone, one question. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't it is of no use."

-Carlos Castenada, from the Teachings of Don Jaun

My grandparents both died in November and the absence of their stalwart and loving presence was hard on me. And now, this year, our beloved little dog Ziggy closed his eyes for the last time on October 16.

So I find myself, come Autumn, faced with the reality that there are important choices to be made.

I'm already fighting the tendency to eat too much in preparation for the hibernation of a long winter ahead, and if I were being really honest, I'd tell you about the frantic phone call made to TH last night while he was on his way home from work with the message: "Get Cheezies!" left on his voice mail.

I know.

And I did.

Eat the cheezies, that is, but I didn't eat too many because, clean eater that I've become, I found them to be way too salty.

If life is about growing and learning, I am hell bent on staying the course on the path I'm currently on and not going back.

I'm socializing instead of hibernating.

Exercising instead of eating.

And leaving behind the sadness of the past, holding close the knowledge that I have been loved.



Now is the time for the burning of the leaves.
They go to the fire; the nostril pricks with smoke
Wandering slowly into a weeping mist.
Brittle and blotched, ragged and rotten sheaves!

A flame seizes the smouldering ruin and bites
On stubborn stalks that crackle as they resist.
The last hollyhock's fallen tower is dust;
All the spices of June are a bitter reek,

All the extravagant riches spent and mean.

All burns!
The reddest rose is a ghost;
Sparks whirl up, to expire in the mist:
the wild Fingers of fire are making corruption clean.

Now is the time for stripping the spirit bare,
Time for the burning of days ended and done,
Idle solace of things that have gone before:
Rootless hope and fruitless desire are there;

Let them go to the fire, with never a look behind.
The world that was ours is a world that is ours no more.

They will come again, the leaf and the flower, to arise
From squalor of rottenness into the old splendour,
And magical scents to a wondering memory bring;
The same glory, to shine upon different eyes.

Earth cares for her own ruins, naught for ours. Nothing is certain, only the certain spring.

-Laurence Binyon

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I am a big believer in gratitude and on remembering the things in life that give us joy.

In the spirit of that, I am re-posting a fun tag I did last year with Melissa from The Inspired Room.

The 20 Things I Treasure in Autumn

1. Fall fashion. Blazers, sweaters, boots, button downs. Fall is my favourite time of year for great clothes. And because I always associate fall fashion with classics, I thought I'd share some favourites from Ralph Lauren's 2008 line...



Nothing says fall to me quite like a fabulous bag,

Amazing boots



A beautiful coat



Or coulors like red and black





2. Casseroles. What could be better than a wonderfully comforting casserole? For a real winner, visit the Pioneer Womans recipe for Chicken Spaghetti.

3. Jogging in the early evening. There is nothing quite like the crunch of Autumn leaves beneath the feet and the crisp cool air of fall to remind a person that life in all its intricacy is a beautiful thing.

4. Potted Mums.



These are the perfect addition to your yard and porch to bring beautiful fall colour to your life.

5. Sunday Dinner... what better time than fall than to invite friends and family to Sunday dinner. In a world where we tend to know more about our internet friends than our neighbours, how about inviting a neighbour to dinner?

6. The beauty of birds. In Canada we get to watch the geese in formation take flight. We take these seemingly small things in life for granted. They are a reminder to recognize the everyday miracles around us.

7. The sound of crickets. How fortunate are we to live in a world so robust with art, beauty, and nature.

8. The early darkness - if you turn it around, it becomes a time to settle in and reflect on all that we have to be grateful for.

9. Grasshoppers - hopping their way through tall grasses, celebrating their part in existence.

10. Scented candles

11. Lavender - reminding us, again, of the promise of summer.

12. Butternut squash and all it's sweet possibility

13. Flannel pyjamas

14. Toast spread with summertime jam

15. Zuchini Bread.

16. Homemade pickles.

17. Planting garlic - the gratitude of good things.

18. Family board games

19. Baking bread

20. My apple pie

And that's the blog.

But first, dish it!

Tell me about the things you love about Autumn and also if you have any challenges this time of year. What are you doing to cope? Are you taking good care of yourself, and, if not - maybe today's the day to get back on track.

As always, enquiring minds want to know!!