NST OCTOBER 2022: Autumn Leaves and Sloe Berries

f0xh0les · 25 September 2022 at 8:25PM

Welcome to another NST challenge. We are the Ninja Saving Turtles. We are in this together. We look out for and after each other and no turtle is ever left behind. Ever!

This month is all about preparing for the changing season. The clocks go back at the end of the month, but we start with daylight from 7-7(ish), so make the most of it!!

OUTSIDE- As most of you know, I love the darkness, but I know a lot of Turtles suffer from the Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD), so get out there and grab your vit D, even if it is just a walk to the postbox. It all counts. The trees are showing off just for you, so visit your local park, go to a different park, take a friend, meet a friend, find an arboretum, the sloes are ready if you want to make sloe gin - or if you find a late second crop of blackberries, you can make booze in a jam jar just as well as a bottle. You do not need to make an industrial quantity, so keep an eye on the hedgerows. Pick up pine cones. Notice the change of season. Be aware. Tell me what you are up to in the 'outdoors'.

Start to put the garden to bed, if you are lucky enough to have one, have a good clear up and tidy outside if you have an outside space, mulch stuff, make it tidy and it will reward you come Spring. Remember to put out some food for the birds - some are planning long migrations soon and need all the help they can get. I saw a hatstand at the corner of the road last bin-day and I wish I had stopped the car and stolen it - I later thought it would have made a great bird-feeder if I had given it a 'concrete wellington boot' treatment and hung the peanut feeders and seed feeders at different heights from it. Enjoy any solar lighting you have outside, twinkly lights are not just for December. Solar lights work indoors too.

INSIDE Pick a room and make it fit for colder weather. If you need to put up door curtains over glazed or draughty doors, time to get them out and rehung (tension poles are your friend). If you have a sheep up your chimney it is time to bring it out (no, really, a chimney sheep is a real thing!). Fluffy throws on the end of sofas, or on the beds, they all make a difference. Candles put in safe places take the chill off a room. Never leave your candles unattended.

It is also traditionally the time we turn our heating back on (mine comes off the timer April - October) so test it before you need it. It is time to check each radiator, bleed them if they have cold patches, or give the pin a gentle tap with a hammer if they are stuck closed and won't heat up at all. Have you checked where your door snakes are(draught excluders), or your hot water bottles or microwaveable heat bags? Use thermal curtain liners if you have them (I know I have some, but did not use them last year - this year they are going back up!!)

If you can feel the cold is rising up through the floor (all of us in Victorian terraces), a rug will help, as will wearing slippers or thicker socks. If you know what you need, you will know when you find it.

Know where your winter coat is, your waterproof coat, your gloves and your hat, re-waterproof your shoes if you need to, check your wellies and other boots and get them re-heeled if they need it. Do it now before you need them. I do not want one Turtle to be wearing plastic bags on their feet inside their wellies this year. Tights and thermals can make a huge difference if you spend a lot of the day sitting down, they do no good at the back of a drawer if you can't find them, hoick them out and be ready to deploy. 'Heat the person' is going to be the mantra of this year, but do not be afraid to turn on your heating, and do not be afraid to ring your energy supplier if you have debts or a limited income and ask them for help. They have discretionary schemes for people struggling. If that is you, then please take the help.

The charity shops are heaving with stock right now. Check your wardrobe and make a list of things you are going to need - an extra jumper? a golf umbrella? a gilet? Shop second-Hand first, and then look elsewhere - swap if you can, you still have plenty of time to prepare before everything is covered in baubles, gold, and glitter ((shudder)) and it can be fun too.

Fun. Have some. Have lots! Free, if possible, outside with leaves, indoors with hot chocolate, outside at night with a torch and hot chocolate. Parents, Grandparents, Aunties, and Uncle Turtles (these Oxford apostrophes are just to annoy Therese Coffey you know) there is a half term coming up, and there is planning to be done.

Food – eat well, eat simply. Nourish your body. Add extra veg in to your meals. Soup season is upon us. New soup combination recipes always welcome

Read a couple of books for fun - anything your heart desires, mindless utter trash, murderous Tartan or Scandi-Noir, cook books, historical novels, the yellow pages, anything at all. Books are pence in the charity shops ( 4 or 5 for £1 in my locals), or free from the library and, as a bonus, you get to read the wall posters and find out what is going on.

Plan for December. It is the same time every year. Just keep an eye out for a bargain, or a really thoughtful gift. It does not have to cost a bomb, it just has to be given with love, or it might give you an idea of what you could make yourself. Turtles are crafty little... erm... turtles? The interweb has loads of 'how to - guides', so does the library. Learn a new (oldschool) skill (patchwork? quilting? crochet? knitting?)

The naughty chaise longue will be designated a Warm Space, and a heated overblanket will be provided to any occupants, and as long as they tell us a story, we will keep you supplied with warm drinks, and buttered toast.

Who is with me on my Autumn journey??