autumn in ticino

today was one of these days why people from north of the alps move down south. i woke up after a long night to a splendid sun. a day when you can concur everything. waking up to see light in winter is amazing. no dull mornings, no fog, no rain. i sometimes do miss the rain, but today sun for me was perfect. hubbydear took care of the garden, getting everything winter-ready. i was not able to help outside, but enjoyed the beautiful weather when i went out for a run late afternoon. no sweaters, no rain jacket, just 2 t's and i was off. i wish for loads of snow at christmas, because christmas should not be without that. but for now i felt blessed. now i am sitting here in winterstyle, with joggingpants and uggs on my feet, but that is more to keep up the winter feeling.

nature in tegna

i am small but very strong

any obstacle in the path of life is there for a reason, 

find the reason and the obstacle can be overcome.

(l.f. bottema)

silhouette in nature

walk and don't think

the flowers of the dead

we dutch people like to bring the outside inside our homes, as in having flowers standing around to give a nice touch to the living surroundings. days are getting shorter, the weather is changing and we need some warmth in our family space. it is time to bring autumn in. i have done that for ages as my mother did, by buying chrysanthemums. a nice big, really big potplant with lots of flowers and that will last until we bring in the poinsetta's for christmas. when i moved in with hubby dear, he was shocked when i went out and bought one of these monsters the month of october. "these don't come into houses, these belong on cemeteries". it is a big business chrysanthemums here in ticino, together with the red devotional candles. hubby dear had a small construction job to do in the next village last week, the week before 'all saints'. and he had to put a waste container next to the flower shop, where the outside exposition stands. the owner came out screaming. "what are you thinking, putting that container in front of my flowers. this is the only week of the year that i really have something to do!" poor lady. so he said ok i will to the job next week. yes, the day of november 1st arrived, 'all saints'. people get busy to get together graves of forgotten and not-forgotten  relatives. important that the others see that graves are kept, at least for this moment. the cemetery never looks as nice, and in order, and loved like these days. never mind if you have thought about these family members in the last year or not. that is not the point. it is all about show. on the day itself, there will be a ceremony where a clergyman will pray and spread the holy water with his toilet brush all around. this is one of these days where one is to be seen. whisper goes around about the lost souls(aka us!), who do not turn up, thus have not any respect for the dead. i do have respect for the dead. i dust my parents on a regular basis since they have been taking up space in my living room. that is not just a once in a year job, but at least once a month i have a go at them. having the chrysanthemums is the ultimate solution to for graveyard, they last for ages. can even withstand freezing temperatures. so if you are lucky, you will only have to turn up again in spring to clear out the putrefied plant and than wait for next fall to arrive.