The Leisurely Progress of Autumn

So, yeah, it's been hot, cold, balmy, dry, pretty much all over the map the past month. Apparently, we had one of the warmest Octobers ever, and the trees have gotten overly excited about the whole thing. It actually almost resembles a normal autumn in a normal place with normal trees that turn colours, rather than the usual muted shade of blah they tend to go here (though there is still plenty of that). Granted, many of the trees that are turning would probably turn in Florida (liquidambar), but we'll take what we can get!

I worked from home today, as I had to wait for a furniture delivery (how very exciting and very domestic!). I didn't used to like working from home, because I like to keep a very strong separation between work and home (probably from too many years of being a student), but I've come to realise that I actually get a whole lot more done when I'm at home. I suppose part of it is that I feel slightly guilty about not having to schlep into work, so feel like I need to make up for it, but also because I can just sit here with music playing, without the phone ringing and without any distractions. It's like studying - I could never study anywhere with lots of distractions (though somehow I did manage the art of studying in coffeshops, which is probably part of why I now have crap vision). Oh well. Anyway, a productive day was had at home, and I didn't even have to fend of any Jehovah's Witnesses (though I did have to fend off one guy trying to sell fish). Jehovah's Witnesses - we tend to get those on the weekend - not so surprising, given that we live near a Kingdom Hall. I always tell them I'm Jewish and that all my housemates are Jewish too. That usually throws them - I suppose they figure that it's a real religion, and sort of a precursor to their religion (even though it's clearly the WRONG religion), so by the time they recover I've said my goodbye and shut the door. Of course, they always still manage to shove the Watchtower through the mail slot. I try... They always seem to have a small child in the front, handing out the Watchtower. Now if said child was selling Girl Scout cookies, that would be a different story, but, sadly, they don't do that here, and the Watchtower doesn't taste very good. Hmm - apparently, someone walked off and left me running.

Anyway.

Didn't do much exciting over the weekend - David and I looked at rugs at John Lewis (ooh, hold me back), and we walked around and looked at brown/red leaves in Hyde Park (like I said, we take what we can get). Maybe this weekend I will actually manage a bike ride, if the weather isn't crapalicious. It's getting to that time of the year when it's just as likely to be horrible as anything else. That and it's getting darker noticeably earlier every day. The light has done its shift to winter light (very low, evening-like). It just seems to shift one day, as if there is an angle of incidence (I think that's what it was called - can't remember) - anyway, as if there was a certain angle that suddenly, things look all wintery. California really doesn't get it, b/c it's not far north enough, except right around the winter solstice. I do very much like the winter light here though, the deep shadows, that sort of thing. David has said that the low light makes him nauseous. But then, David is a bit of a fruitcake (unlike me).

David at First Out Cafe, which just closed because of CrossRail, which they are building across London. The cafe was here for 25 years and I think I first visited it 16 or 18 years ago. Really good for hearty veggie food (it was a lesbian cafe, so not much meat on the premises). I'll miss it.

Did this man perhaps forget the rest of his car?

First Out Cafe.

Yeah, that was built into the wall of a toilet cubicle, which, incidentally, had frosted glass in the door. Certainly inspires confidence!

David smiles for his proud pumpkin. Unfortunately, we missed most of the Trick or Treaters, as we weren't home early enough, but we did get quite a lot of candy, before David took the rest of it to his work. How dull.