Autumn Rituals

It was almost a month ago the calendar said Autumn Begins but it’s only been the past two weeks or so that it feels believable. My daughter and I like to celebrate pagan holidays, track the moon cycles and trade tarot readings by candle light when the time is right. 

One thing I did on that 1st day of Autumn was take a pic of my 2023 daily planner. The cover was a witchy design of moons in gold, but I got it for about $10 on Amazon, and the shiny pattern quickly began to rub off. Through the year I’ve been documenting it’s degredation. I bought a new planner from a better more reputable site this time on the recommendation of someone I trust and already look forward to using it (Kokuyo Techo planner from Jetpens.com). 

The downtown farmers market has gone away, I didn’t make it to the last week of events but it was fun throughout the spring and summer months. I’ll definitely be back again when May rolls around and that starts back up. The winter is very extreme where I live and not much will be happening outdoors at all unless you like to go skiing. 

I got myself a PSL one day (Pumpkin Spice Latte, I’m sure that’s really well known acronym but thought I’d write it anway) it’s various advertising campaigns are the herald that cements fall vibes in my mind. Usually I just drink a small dark roast coffee at home but the change of seasons deserves a celebration. 

The leaves on trees are changing color. Gorgeous! I grew up in California and never saw such a phenomenon. Day by day the trees become more naked. I love to see the bare branches and what birds might continue their business in that office. 

My one and only child is a Libra so I’ve been busy shopping for her bithday gifts and special treats.  Spoiling her and lavishing attention upon her interests are my main mission in life, so it’s been fun and exciting for me. A few things I got her are a fortunes worth of Ghibli themed stationary items, handmade clothing and acessories from etsy pertaining to her fandoms, and some electronic tools she had put on an Amazon wishlist. I got “Black and White” or rather “Half Moon” cookies as they will match the moon phase when it’s her special day. Her cake is a strawberry jam roll cake from a Korean bakery we like, and I’ll have whipped cream in a can for it. 

Since sandals are going to be “over” for a while I got another chemical foot peel (it’s like a lotion that, after a week or so, makes all the dead hard/dry skin slough off your foot, it looks very freaky). I had one back in Spring while it was still cold enough to wear socks and now that cozy footwear feels mandatory again, I wanted to have my feet more like the texture of a baby’s again (doing the peel twice a year is enough for me).  Using a pumice stone in the shower is worthwhile to do too for similar effect, but the “foot peel” is so legit. If you’ve never had a pedicure I’d highly recommend trying this. Only the most brave internet users should seek out images when they research the experience, truly it looks disgusting 

As an avid knitter with a large collection of handmade wool clothing items I am very happy for the change of weather! One of the most important tasks for me in preparing for the brutal New York winter ahead is getting all my sweaters, mittens, scarves and such sorted out of storage (and I put away the “summer knits” made of light cotton and linen fibers).  Visually it wont make much different on my wardrobe, since I mainly like to wear black, but as the temperature drops the different more cozy materials are very important and a main strategy to survive all the snow and ice in store.

I closed the windows and started using the heat this month. I’m not looking forward to the increased ultility bills, but I’m sure it will be fine.  It’s early enough in autumn I wonder if I was hasty to start, as there are still warm afternoons. But it is that time of year! Hope you all enjoy the season