Friday, November 22, 2013

Sunset, Snow, and Cinnamon Rolls

It's been a damp and drippy grey week (for the most part). Crochet deadlines are hanging over my head like the clouds in the sky, and spare minutes are taken up with yarn in my hands and bits of pattern running through my head.

What with weather and craft obligations, it's not been a good week for outdoor exercise. But on Tuesday, which was beautifully bright and clear, I snatched a walk just in time to catch the afterglow of sunset on the lake.

The sky was an indescribable twilight blue, somewhere between peacock and steel, fading to the faintest flush of apricot on the horizon:


Dried flowers and leaves showed beautiful in silhouette against the evening sky:



The trees and houses along the shore cast magical reflections:


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Today (Friday) we wake to a thick powdering of snow on the ground. (How delightful to open the bedroom curtains and see a world turned suddenly white.)

While cinnamon rolls bake in the oven, I step outside with my camera to see what we can see. The air smells scrubbed and fresh as it so often does after a snowfall, and everything looks clean and bright under the clearing sky.

Even the burdocks behind the house are beautified by their burden of fluffy white:


A squadron of geese flies high overhead, squawking for a lost October:


Back on our doorstep, one last-lingering pansy bows its head to the inevitable:


Indoors, the air is warm and spicy. The cinnamon rolls emerge from the oven, bubbling over with buttery-brown sugary goodness:


A faint popping sound from the hallway signals the last-minute roasting of coffee beans as I finish cooking breakfast.

We sit down to plates full of goodness.


Local eggs, scrambled and topped with Swiss cheese and the last of our fresh chives. Broiled tomatoes from our own little planter - the vines are long frozen, but the fruit lives on, ripening on the kitchen counter (hooray!). Topping the tomatoes is crumbled frozen basil from this year's basil patch, smelling like a green whiff of summer as it thaws on the hot tomatoes. And, of course, the cinnamon rolls, beautified with a layer of buttery icing.

Snow outside and fragrant food inside. The sun streams through the south-facing windows and lands like a warm caress on the back of my neck. On the table between us, the seasons overlap: summer on our plates, autumn in the background, and Christmas getting closer all the time.


Not a bad start to the weekend. :)

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P.S. I'm sorry I haven't been answering your comments lately - a change in my work schedule has thrown off the balance of the entire week, and the extra crochet deadlines have made it hard for me to blog (and read your blogs) as regularly as I'd like. I can't seem to squeeze it all in right now. But I thank you for your comments and hope you'll keep leaving them. They truly make my day!

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22 comments:

  1. That plate looks so yummy!!!. I hope you find a bit of time for some rest and relaxation too. Maybe a long week end next week? Walking my dog has been an adventure lately, either getting soaked, or frozen. I find myself thinking it is evening all day some days. We could use a bit of sun. :)

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  2. Good grief! Snow already! I can practically smell those cinnamon rolls--so cozy.

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  3. Aaaaah, yummy!! I just baked two HUGE loaves of bread. We will have some of it for supper today.
    My chives are all gone, Yesterday I had to buy a bunch for a first time this season :)

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  4. I LOVE the reflection in your first picture. Simply beautiful.

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  5. That breakfast looks heavenly! If you're planning to do it again this weekend I'll be right over...

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  6. Can I come and live with you please? Blue skies and cinnamon rolls mmmmm!

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  7. Lovely post Sue, beautiful photo's and that breakfast looks yummy :)

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  8. I so loved your pictures. It's always fun when you share your world with us. :)

    Yum on the breakfast...hmmmm didn't you say I could come and stay with you a while, or was that invite for Jo only (you know, he's a ginger snap loving dude, but he also loves a good breakfast, too). : ) Not sure Miss T is ready for the antics of Jo, though. :)

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  9. Of course we will leave them, especially if you invite us all over for breakfast. Yum!

    Have a wonderful weekend and take care of yourself during this busy time.
    Meredith

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  10. Thanks for sharing your busy life/beautiful photos! Extra busy here (holidays, germs, extra activities with grkids) so barely enough time to get my Mr/Mrs M fix! Dreary, rainy, now freezing temps in the midwest 8-(

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  11. You mustn't apologise for being busy. Glad you have snatched some time outside. Your breakfasts always look delicious. Juliex

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  12. Breakfast looks delicious, but I think I'll leave the snow with you in Wisconsin.

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  13. Nice late autumn shots with clear skies. Your breakfast looks yummy and hearty with freshly baked cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs! I'm very curious to know what "Swiss cheese" is?! I live in Switzerland and we have at least 450 different types of cheese, but none of them is called "Swiss"!!
    I love the geese formation in the sky and your shots at that magical "blue hour" which changes a little each day.

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  14. Beautiful sunset shots and wonderfully cosy food delights, and I love the burdocks and sweet pea with their white sparkly coats, thank you, such a warm and homely post! Joy x

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  15. After reading another blog this morning about counting our blessings, it's on my mind as I go about my chores. "Don't grumble about housework, be thankful you have a lovely home" I think to myself.
    Then seeing your wonderful post Sue, I can imagine you counting your blessings too......
    So much beauty seen through the camera lense....the reflections in the lake with lights twinkling in the background and the silhouetted dried plants. They are just breathtakingly beautiful.......
    Breakfast looks absolutely delish, but you must be an early riser, to make cinnamon rolls to enjoy with it.
    I can imagine how pretty everything would look under a blanket of white and I look forward to more 'snow' pics as Winter descends.
    So different from the drying paddocks and cicadas chirruping over here......

    Hope you manage to find a few more minutes in the day to complete things.......enjoy your weekend,

    Claire x

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  16. I read/love all your posts but am in the same boat too! I must comment about this post and here is my comment: DROOL!!!

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  17. Images ... stunning!!
    Breakfast ... looks yummy!
    Deadlines ... scary. I have some looming too.
    The bloggy problem ... I feel your pain, and totally understand. These blogs of ours open the door on everything except enough time it seems.

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  18. Lovely thoughts and images. We all have times when things are a bit crazy. My son sent a picture of the 8 inches of snow they got overnight in Colorado. Will definitely take getting used to as he was born and raised in Kuwait where it is hot most of the year. I don't like that it gets dark so early now. If I have to run errands after school and then come home to cook (like today), then there is no time to walk and I don't like going at night. Much prefer sunlight and a bit of Vitamin D. :) Wishing you all the best, Tammy

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  19. I've just printed out a recipe for cinnamon rolls. Yummy!!!! They are not baked yet but I can already smell them ..... hmmmmmmmmmmmm mmm m m :-)

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  20. WOW...thank you Sue, for making the time to post. You give my heart a hug with your words and images. I accomplish much less than you, but absolutely sympathize with your challenged time management...there it goes...time flying...swirling us...causing us to soar and swoop down and land for a lovely moment here and there to catch our breath :)
    Gracie xx

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  21. Dear Sue,
    What a lovely post. Your words and photos are just superb to say the least. Thank you so much.
    Wishing you a beautiful Thanksgiving.

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  22. Boy, your tomatoes sure have me drooling!

    I've had the same work and crochet issues as you for more than a month now, only I'm not being published in a magazine. Oh, and internet issues to boot.

    All we can do is the best we can do. Hopefully our readers understand when we have times when being on the internet just isn't easy.

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