Welcome to a cosy Autumn post, dear reader. I love making cosy content about random things that happen in my life, so today I'm bringing you along as I share my Autumn favourites: things that I am enjoying this Autumn. So settle down and join me, as I chat to you about one of my favourite seasons.
I shared my Victober TBR by video a few weeks ago, and it was quite popular, so I thought I would do something similar again for this post. However, the file size was too large for this platform so it wouln't upload. I spent ages editing the video so it makes me very sad that you won't be able to see it. Just imagine an aesthetic video of me apple picking, collecting chestnuts and walnuts and pear picking in the Autumn sunshine.
We have so many apples in our garden, so every year the family chore is to pick them all up off the grass and some from the trees too. This is a real chore, but we'd already done a lot a few weeks ago, so there was a manageable amount to do this time. It was quite pleasant actually, the repetitive movement, accompanied by the smell of apples in the crisp morning air.
There truly is something so special about Autumn mornings. The sky is clear, and there is a bit of a bite to the air, compared to the warm summer days from a few weeks ago. I appreciate this change, and I love the way that the seasons change and melt into each other.
We also have a walnut tree, which we don't usually get much from because the squirrels beat us to it! However, this year we've decided to pick them early and try and get some. We have managed this, so I had to collect them from the greenhouse, where we'd left them to dry out and bring them up to the house. This also felt very Autumnal and cosy!
Similar to this, we have a lot of chestnuts. We spent a while picking them up too, and hopefully we will roast them at some point soon!
For the last few years, the promise of Autumn is also the promise of Victober, the Victorian October readathon. So far this year I haven't been very good at updating with posts, but I have been reading a new Brontë book: Villette by Charlotte Brontë.
So far I am enjoying it, but I am making VERY slow progress and not going to lie, the recent chapters have been a little boring! I do really like Lucie Snowe, and how she is very much a secondary character. She is constantly analysing the people she comes across and interacts with, but we rarely hear what she thinks of her position or what her thoughts are, other than her remarks about her acquaintances.
I love the setting, and being half French, the way that Charlotte Brontë drops in French dialogue is very funny and I understand it without looking at the notes, which I know is a frustration for many English speaking readers!
A lot is also going on at school, especially since I am about to start doing my D of E bronze award. In case you don't know, for the qualification I have to complete a physical activity, a volunteering activity and a skill based activity, on top of the well-known expedition part. For my skill activity, I have chosen to learn Spanish! I have tried to take it multiple times as a GCSE, but for several reasons this hasn't happened. This was the perfect opportunity to start learning and it's been something I've been loving in the last few weeks!
I'm using Duolingo, which I already used for German, as well as Memrise and I'm looking into other resources. If anyone has any recommendations then please let me know in the comments! One of my dreams for a while now has been to travel to South America and although they speak a different dialect, it will still be a big help to know how to speak Spanish!
There's something I love about learning a new language. Building vocabulary and phrases and when you hear something or read something and realise that you understand it! Spanish is such a beautiful language and I just love the process of learning a language. Being bilingual, language learning is something that comes easier to me and French and Spanish are quite similar so my French is definitely helping me there!
Around The Blogosphere:
- Looking for an autumnal book rec? Look no further than Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books' post where she recommends YA books based on fall aesthetics! - click here to read it!
So many things I'm loving so far this Autumn! So much casual magic, so many little moments of joy. Especially when school gets stressful (or when I make it stressful for myself), finding these moments is what keeps me going. What are you grateful for right now? What have you been enjoying this Autumn?
Happy reading, casual magic seeking and whatever else you get up to!
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p.s. casual magic of the day:
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Learning Spanish. How lucky are we to be able to learn how to speak a new language through the internet and the power of the connected world. I can't wait to learn more, both as a language and culture. Ahhhhh the world is so cool!! So much casual magic, so much to be grateful for <3
My mother used to take us apple picking when we lived in New England, I have such fond memories of that time.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that's such a special memory to have. Maybe I'll look back on this time with my parents with a similar fondness in years to come!!
DeleteHarvesting fruit and settling down for cosy reading time sounds perfect Z! Victorian writing can be slow-paced at times, but there is a lot to admire in the skilled observations and descriptions. I hope you enjoy the rest of Villette. I would love to help with anything Spanish related (and to take you to South America). It might be worth looking at your local library's website to see what's available if you haven't already done so - our library gives us access to some online language packages (similar to Duolingo) as well as language learning audiobooks, a few e-books and online magazines. There are some free online Open University Spanish courses available too: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/university-ready/free-online-spanish-courses. Reading simple and familiar books can help - especially if you try reading out loud. We have a little Roald Dahl collection in Spanish and some fairy tales... I'll try to remember to bring you some to borrow. If you want some conversation practice, please give me a shout. Good luck with your DofE! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I did try to appreciate the "journey" of reading Villette, but ended up putting it down. I am hoping to pick it back up at some point though! Thank you so much for all the advice - I'll definitely check it out, I'm trying to get together as many spanish learning resources as possible!! Thank you so much :)
DeletePicking apples, walnut, chestnuts sounds like fun. Apples reminds me of autumn for some reason though I'm not a fan of them.
ReplyDeleteI read Villette a while back and it was okay but definitely the French is a little bothersome but I have an edition with notes so it's not too bad.
I love to learn a new language but sadly, I just couldn't though I have tried several times. I guess I wasn't too determined about it and probably it's why I couldn't learn them. I think it's easier to learn another language when you're still young, but it seems harder when you're an adult. Good luck with your Spanish.
Have a lovely day.
Apples are so Autumnal!! I am very lucky to be able to speak and understand French! Yes I think being younger makes it easier, also because I'm bilingual it's something that comes easier to me in that way too. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by.
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