Well, after feeling that September went really slowly, I can’t actually believe that we are almost at the end of October already! I guess it’s something to do with all the family birthdays we have this month – D’s gran’s, G’s, D’s, D’s dad and one of my sisters – an expensive, but fun, month!

So it may just turn out that a few of my “happy things” this week may be autumn-related – I think I love this season more each year, and I’ve been particularly relishing it this time. So here goes:

1. Top of my list isn’t actually anything to do with autumn, but down to B being home for the week for half term. My prayers were answered and the M6 was pretty kind to us last Friday, so we were all home by about 6.30pm and are really enjoying having a week together again.

2. A family meal at Zizzi on Saturday. I had got Tesco vouchers for Zizzi a few weeks ago but then we didn’t manage to get there, so the four of us ate there at the weekend, and it was delicious. I had spaghetti carbonara, which was cooked the more authentic Italian way, without any heavy cream, so wasn’t as filling as it often is.

3. It was D’s birthday this week so, although he was working on the day, we made the most of the time we had together, having a special breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, then a lovely evening meal, cooked by B, of koftas and couscous salad – with a bottle of Prosecco, of course!

4. Inspired by last week’s “Back to the Future Day” on G’s birthday, we thought that it would be good to introduce the children to what it was all about, so we watched the first film on Sunday night, then the second on D’s birthday on Tuesday. A real blast from the past, but they are films that still really “work” – enjoyed by all!

5. A trip to the library! I absolutely love going to the library and taking my time to meander around the shelves and selecting a real mix of books. The most exciting find this time was a bit of a weird one, as it is a murder mystery by Richard Castle, who is actually a fictional writer in the fabulous American TV series, Castle, which D and I love, but I had no idea that “someone” (no one seems to know exactly who!) had ghost-written books under that name. Intriguing – and very well written.

6. Autumn walks have featured highly this week, with some taking place on beautiful, clear, sunny days, while others have involved some pretty eerie low-lying mist, into which B loved trying to disappear. I’ve frequently been reminded this week of one of my favourite autumn songs – Autumn days when the grass is jewelled…

7. Autumn breakfasts – I know that you can, and indeed we do, eat porridge all year round, but I’ve been particularly enjoying my seasonal version this week – oatmeal cooked with coconut milk, with apple compote, honey and cinnamon. Just delicious.

8. Layering! I love this time of year, as you never know quite how the weather may turn out or change throughout the day, so layers are definitely the way to go, with cool shirts under cosy jumpers, thick socks under my boots, etc. Lovely.

9. Candles – yes, G and I are a little obsessed with candles right now, but it’s so lovely to close the curtains, now that the clocks have gone back and it’s getting dark so early, and light some gorgeous candles. I even found a fabulous grey one which I now have on my desk here, so I think that I have just about every room covered now!

10. A trip to Kedleston Hall yesterday. It was a pretty quick trip around the hall, as we have been there previously (how I wish that G and B were more interested in history though, and savoured these places more) but it was followed by a very nice cream tea in the restaurant for lunch, so all in all, a nice trip out.

Happy weekend everyone!