November Takes a Bow

A pink rose in my neighbourhood.
The first half of November was warm with blue skies
and many flowers continued blooming
for our greatest joy!

Leaves started to turn golden and orange and the red berries were plentiful

Falling leaves decorate the cars in my street

These Lantana flowers were still flowering down in the park.

The graceful white Cosmos too.

Probably one of the most beautiful leaves in the autumn
are the Maple, especially against the blue of the sky.

This tree is in my neighbourhood

The fallen leaves create a carpet of red and orange stars.

Some of them get caught in the fence

Golden leaves and generous blue skies for the month of November

I often pass a whole fence of Morning Glory blooms
when I walk home from the metro stop which brings me up away from the town centre.

American Oak leaves down in the park
right at the beginning of the month when the beech trees in the background
still had green leaves.

Now the autumn chrysanthemums have been planted and these were joined
by a fallen Tulip Tree leaf.

Pretty cloud formations dance in the sky

The wind coaxes them into different shapes continually

My daughter had her birthday at the end of October and she came to celebrate it
here at the beginning of November and we all ate birthday cake!
I made this one with dark chocolate and ground almonds.

I recently heard about something called Fika.
Fika is an important part of Swedish culture where people meet mid-morning,
or mid-afternoon for a 'fikarast' or 'fikapaus' for a coffee (or drink of one's choice)
with preferably a cinnamon bun, or something similar.
This was taken on November 7th, when I started crocheting squares
to make a winter blanket!

Here are some of the different stages
I chose the colours to represent frost and snow and snug winter days.
Can you recognize the squares that make you think of holly and red berries?
I hope to finish this blanket by mid-December.

I also crocheted some lightly stuffed hearts to give as gifts.
The pattern is called Sunburst Hearts and is from a pattern by Bunny Mummy

Since there will soon be no more flowers or colour in nature,
I wanted to end this blog entry with a collage of colour.

The days are still getting shorter and the temperatures are going down.
We'll soon be getting zero Celsius at night
and then there will be snow!

I hope that you're enjoying the season and using these long evenings for occupations
that you really enjoy!

8 comments

  1. Hello Sandra. Wonderful pictures again. I think the autunm colors are special. I have a small mable tree in my frontyard and the red makes you speachless when the sun shines on it.
    I think I start this Swedisch tradition. I LOVE cinnamon rolls!!
    Your blanket looks wonderful. It really shows the coolness of winter and the cosy warmth of a fire. Great work.
    Have a wonderful time.
    Warm greetings

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    1. Hello Gabi! Yes, the autumn colours are very special. The maple tree in your frontyard must be breathtaking at this time of the year!
      Yes, I rather liked the sound of that Swedish tradition too!
      I'm glad you like the colour choice of the winter blanket. I'm on the last rounds now!
      Wishing you a wonderful month of December!

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  2. Wow the Swedes know how to enjoy life! Might have to employ that tradition every few days!!!

    A lovely colourful post, as usual. So wonderful to see the vibrant colours. Your blanket and heart crochet work look superb. Xxx

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    1. I agree, Fika is a lovely habit to adopt. I think that we should adopt all the lovely life-enhancing habits from many different countries!

      Autumn has been so bright and colourful and now we have long evenings to craft and create!

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  3. Looks like you had a truly lovely November, Sandra! Beautiful photos of the flowers and clouds. And your blanket has such pretty colors, too. I wish you a peaceful December ♥

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    1. Thank you, Carol. I really do enjoy this time of the year and don't mind that our temperatures are plummeting as it makes for envigorating walks, hot drinks and snug times at home to read and do crochet!

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  4. Everything nice to see here, as always.
    Big hug,
    Miriam

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Miriam. It's always lovely to hear from you!

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