Sunday, Reflecting . . .

We’re in the mid-50s (temperature in Celsius) now, and settling into the fall rains — soon to be followed by the winter rains, and then the spring rains.

But this morning, the sun was shining on the beach, and I took my tea (and a blanket) down to one ofthese chairs, sat and sipped and read the weekend paper and watched the ducks that signal the shortening days paddle about the bay.

And I reveled in the crisp slant of the October morning sun, its evocative shadows, the way a neutral palette can be enlivened by a shot of colour, the way memories of summer can be so sharply held in a play of white and red, the way textures chatter to each other in their tones of grey. . . .

Before grabbing the camera to capture the moment (and I know, I’ve photographed this shot before, but it spoke differently in this moment than in that), I thought back over a busy week. Honestly, my posts over the last seven days hardly capture a fraction of it, as is always the case, right? But if you missed me the first time ’round, I’ve decided to keep up a practice ofa Sunday recap.

This week, that includes

Monday’s post updating my running program, the adjustments I’ve made in deference to some injuries that seemed to be settling in. I’ve been labelling such posts “Running over 50” which is true enough, but I’m going to have to start adding “Running over 60.” And I think that’s a good thing!

Thursday’s post about leather, perfume, fall — all packaged into my first-ever poem (teenage angst excluded)

AND

Friday’s Five things, the second in a continuing series that is turning out to be great fun to put together. I already have my first thing ready for next Friday . . .

Now back to a certain stack of essays which never seem willing to mark themselves. . . . Thank you so much for stopping by, and you know I’m always happy to see your comments. . . .

14 Comments

  1. Madame Là-bas
    6 October 2013 / 8:22 pm

    Today, I had a cruise of Hyannis, Mass. The leaves and the colours are different from our coast and today we had our first drizzle in a week. It felt like home. Even grey sea skies over grey-blue waters are beautiful. The peace and beauty that can be found by the sea is very soothing. Just about now, Monsieur will be transporting my mother-in-law's ashes to Bowen where she found the peace and beauty in her life. We really are experiencing the circle of life this year. I hope that some of your essays are well-written and thought-provoking.

    • materfamilias
      7 October 2013 / 4:07 am

      I'm glad you're finding some peace and beauty to comfort you as you think about your mother-in-law. Take care.

  2. Pondside
    7 October 2013 / 12:52 am

    I'm glad you did the re-cap. If I hadn't read it I'd have missed the glove post and the poem – it brought up such sweet memories. Good luck with the essays.

    • materfamilias
      7 October 2013 / 4:07 am

      Thanks! and I loved your latest post — really lovely!

  3. pomomama
    7 October 2013 / 2:30 am

    We're loving the Fall colours over here on the mainland, reveling in the sunshine (two hikes this weekend; lunch al fresco mid-week with mr ebb) and making the most of clear skies to clear our thinking for the winter rains.
    Ah summer!

    • materfamilias
      7 October 2013 / 4:09 am

      That sounds like a fabulous weekend — it was great to get that respite from the rain wasn't it! Right now, the wind's blowing up some mischief outside and the leaves and twigs and various seeds and cones are bouncing off the skylight. Ah summer, indeed — I think it's truly gone. . .

  4. Susan B
    7 October 2013 / 4:52 am

    I love that bit of low sunlight you've captured. Autumn is good for reminding us to slow down and enjoy the nice days.

    • materfamilias
      7 October 2013 / 11:49 pm

      Now if only it would give us some extra hours to slow down in!

  5. Pale Blue
    7 October 2013 / 5:13 pm

    A beautiful weekend of weather for us over in England too – surely somewhere in the world they had rain? Even warm enough for some misguided young (and not so young) men to go about bare chested.

    Re your running post last Monday. As always I am so inspired by runners. One day, I keep telling myself. I know what you're going to say – get out there, place one foot in front of the other, speed up and repeat…

    Anyway – keeping moving is clearly the path to maintaining all sorts of faculties and abilities as we age. There was a lovely programme on tv over here recently and I've added the link below, although I am not sure whether you can view it everywhere. It looked at 5 (I think) women with an average age of 80 – all delightful people, all very much engaged with the world, all very interested in how they look and all but one very slim and physically active, which strikes me as key. I found it all very inspiring and encouraging so take a look if you have a spare moment.

    channel4.com/programmes/fabulous-fashionistas/4od

    • materfamilias
      7 October 2013 / 11:51 pm

      I saw this show just last week — someone shared it on Facebook, a pirated or otherwise-downloaded version. What a Fabulous show! The 5 women were wonderful and inspiring. Thanks for sharing the link — I hope other readers will take a peek. Well worth the 45 minutes or so.

  6. LPC
    7 October 2013 / 11:43 pm

    Running over 60 is amazing.

    • materfamilias
      8 October 2013 / 3:14 am

      My20, 30, or 40-year old selves would have been very impressed, I must admit. As should my gym teachers from way back when. . .

  7. Unknown
    8 October 2013 / 12:52 am

    That photo is beautiful. I like weekly re-caps because it is easier to see what I missed when I'm not able to read every post. Your running is inspiring but the roasted tomatoes are even more inspiring :).

    • materfamilias
      8 October 2013 / 3:15 am

      We take inspiration as it strikes us — I'm glad the roasted tomatoes grab your fancy! 😉

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