Autumn mood

In Greece the sea is still warm enough to swim in, but here in Normandy where we mainly live now the weather has turned, despite the steady rain being interrupted by periods of brillian sunshine. At 7.30 am it is still pitch dark; there is a chill in the air that inspires the lighting of a fire in the chimney, although the heating is not on yet.

Beach walks are dramatic

Autumn is a productive time, with a good harvest of apples and pears

The last of the tomatoes

Dahlias still thriving

The leaves have started to turn

More indoor time means more art making

Morning Window. Oil and varnish on book cover

An interior on a hardbook cover primed with gesso (instead of paper or canvas)

I was inspired by the pears to make an oil sketch on another, embossed, book cover.

In my art workshop we have been drawing shoes!

Charcoal on paper
Marker on paper

And a wet and dismal Saturday (it steadily rained all day) drove me to bake a totally unnecessary—but delicious—cake. Of course the apples and pears make lovely crumbles and pies and compote, but I was in the mood for something different. Something I’ve wanted to try for a while. It is Yottam Ottolenghi’s Lemon and Blueberry one-bowl loaf. Only I did not have a loaf tin and the blueberries were frozen, but I don’t think it made a difference.

The trick is to roll the blueberries in flour before putting in the batter—in my case, straight out of the freezer. It was an easy cake and highly recommended.

19 thoughts on “Autumn mood”

  3. Thank you for the autumn vignettes from Normandy . . . a lovely cooling breeze for a mid-spring day in eastern Australia with temperatures already in the mid-thirties. In cooking am a savoury girl . . . looking at artistic endeavours absolutely love the shoe artistry: oh way-back memories of towering heels . . . smiles and more smiles . . .

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