September/October Update

Time for the September/October update! There is only one more update post to go after this, since I'm covering two months at a time.

You can see the previous update posts at the links below: 

Jan/Feb: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/03/januaryfebruary-update.html

March/April (+ Baking Inspiration): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/05/marchapril-update-baking-inspiration.html

May/June: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/07/mayjune-update.html

July/August: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/09/julyaugust-update.html

 

In September the Rule of 6 was introduced in England, due to the coronavirus. Unfortunately, it meant my belly dance group couldn't meet up since there are loads more than 6 of us! I was able to go for a socially distanced walk with a group from my local mental health resource centre though. 

I celebrated Madron/the Autumn Equinox on 22nd Sept. You can read my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/09/madron-2020.html

I also went to the beach in the Worthing area during September. I hadn't been for ages, so that was nice. Here's a pic:

 

Goring Beach

In October, COVID Alert Levels were introduced in England. (There were different rules for other countries in the UK). They consisted of different tiers. Here in Sussex, we were on "medium" which meant we had the Rule of 6, and restaurants, pubs and cafes etc. closed at 10pm.

I went to Lancing Beach at sunset in early Oct. Here are a couple of photos:

 

Lancing Beach

 

In late October, I went for a pancake/crepe brunch at Crepeaffaire in Brighton with a Meetup group, my first since lockdown! I was nervous, especially about taking the bus to get there (since I hadn't used it for a while, and there are new restrictions). But I enjoyed it. It was good to get out and I'm glad I went because we've just gone back into lockdown! I also went for another walk with the group from the centre a couple of weeks ago.

Then I celebrated Hallowe'en/Samhain at the end of the month. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/11/halloweensamhain-2020.html

As we moved into autumn, I transitioned from making cold drink at homes to making hot ones. Although I still made some Vietnamese style iced coffees because I was missing McDonald's frappes lol. (They've now come back!). I made French hot chocolate a couple of times. The recipe from Well Plated). You can see a pic in April 2019's update: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html

I've been feeling up and down recently, and the health anxiety has got worse again in the last few months. I do tend to feel more down during autumn, but I'm trying to feel more positive. In fact, I'm currently working on a post about feeling positive over on my other blog Falling Petals!

I felt more freedom in general over the summer because it's my favourite season, and I like the hotter weather and longer days. Also, we came out of lockdown and things opened up again. While I enjoy autumn and find it a beautiful time of year, I do feel things start to "close in" on me, due to the shortening days. It starts to get colder as well but there's usually still nice weather during early autumn. I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and if you do too, or are just not keen on this time of year, I provided a few links with tips for coping in my recent Autumn 2020 post.

We've just gone back into lockdown again in England, until 2nd December. The thought of it gets me down a bit, but this time more places are staying open (like restaurants for takeaway or delivery) and we are allowed out more for exercise, so it doesn't feel quite as bad.  

Hope you're doing ok and having a good autumn. (Or spring). :) 

Read: The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross (good book that reminded of Robin McKinley's Beauty stories), OPEN by Frankie Bridge from The Saturdays (mental health non-fiction) and The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman .

Saw: The Sister.

 

Links I found useful in Sept and Oct: 

20 Simple Things You Can Do to Declutter and Live Minimally: (I found the email tip most helpful): https://www.simplyfiercely.com/declutter-live-minimally/

6 Reminders for Bad Mental Health Days: https://www.itslaurenvictoria.co.uk/6-reminders-for-bad-mental-health-days/

The Chic Life is a good resource for manifesting and "high vibe" content. I did Diana's Change Your Vibe, Change Your Life challenge in September.

P.S. For some late autumn inspiration check out these posts:

Autumn 2020 Photos + More Inspiration (my post): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/10/autumn-2020-photos-more-inspiration.html

Celebrating the quiet of November's Samhain season: https://sarahfawnempey.com/celebrating-the-quiet-of-novembers-samhain-season

Autumn from Witchcrafted Life shares 30 reasons to love November: https://witchcraftedlife.com/30-reasons-to-love-november/

Gratitude pumpkins for November (Happily Eva after): https://happilyevaafter.com/gratitude-pumpkins-for-november/