Fall is coming...

I don’t know if we can agree on that, but to me, every season is connected to a very special feeling and I could never understand those people who only love summer. (Although working fulltime now I can see why people care about all the darkness in the mornings and evenings, it can get depressing.) Summer is carefree, but also very exciting, busy, the feeling to have to be everywhere at the same time. Fall is wilder, winds and rain, great colours and also quieter, melancholic, great for deep thoughts, crafts and cuddling at home, cooking and watching series. I have to admit that after a summer with great weather like we had during the last weeks, I am looking forward to staying home more, being creative and lazy. Being lazy without feeling bad about it, that is fall and winter for me. And a feeling of slight sadness, which can be sweetly melancholic, as I said above.

Winter is similar, but also different, as there is Christmas. And snow (if you are lucky). Both tend to loose their magic a bit when you are older, but it is still there. Cookies, Glühwein, Feuerzangenbowle (I will post a great recipe, once the time is there. For some supermarkets, September seems to be the start of the Christmas season, but nope, not for me. Give fall some credit before winter comes.) gift-wrapping, gift-making…. I love it. 

Christmas markets can be magical, I like the songs. Bells ringing, glistening snow, cracking under your shoes. Coming home from the icy cold into a cozy warm home, drinking tea or taking a long bath. Taking baths is one of my major free-time activity in winter. (When I am not in the sauna, which is another perfect winter-activity).

Spring is romantic, everything comes to life, blossoms, buzzes. Now, outdoor activities become more appealing, think of feeling the warm sun on your skin, hearing the birds sing for the first time and realising how much you missed them. Smelling all the flowers, blossoms. You feel motivated for a fresh start. So does nature.

As you see, every season has it’s charm and every season can be your favourite, especially in the beginning. After a while I always feel tired of one season, looking forward to the new one, which is a great thing.

Here are two projects fitting into the coming fall:

Rumtopf (Fruit in Rum)

 I started a Rumtopf. Fruit in rum, leo translates. It is a rather old-fashioned tradition, I think in my grandparents’ generation it was quite common. You need a high pot you can close, best made of clay, like the original ones in the 60s and 70s. I got a vintage one on ebay for 4 Euros, so have a look if you’d like to have the original Rumtopf-feeling. Then you buy rum, dark rum with at least 59% alcohol, brown sugar and fruit. I don’t like how berries get slushy if you put them into liquid, especially strawberries, so I decided to use only stone fruit (except for the red currant my mother in law gave me, but I guess they will keep their texture. So far I used apricots, I will buy cherries, use the peaches from my terrace and plums will also be a great add I think. Every time a fruit is in season, you take the stones out and put it into the pot, adding rum and sugar, till all fruit is covered. (To prevent floating, you can put a plate on the fruit into the pot). It is important to only use clean fruit and put the pot somewhere cool, best solution is the basement, to make sure it doesn’t turn bad. In the last phase before Christmas you can add Christmassy herbs and spices and then drink it with good friends around Christmas time. You can eat the fruit along with pudding, or bake a cake with it. I don’t even know whether I will like it too much, as I am not a drinker of heavy alcohol, but I just liked the concept of making it. And I am sure that my friends and family will be glad to help.

Another project is connected to the first: if you take the stones out of your cherries, don’t throw them out, use them to make a cherry-stone-cushion. That means to eat and prepare a lot of cherries, but it is totally worth it, especially for cold fall- and winter-nights like mentioned above. Just put the cushion into the microwave for a short time or – if you don’t have one- into the oven and lie it on your feet / belly / neck, to enjoy the comfortable warmth.

To create one, you have to make sure the stones are really clean. Best is, letting them sit in vinegar for a night, then cook them for twenty minutes and afterwards, to dry them, bake them in the oven.

As fabric you can take anything that will not burst into flames in the microwave, best is cotton or another natural fabric. I have already seen all kinds of cushion-shapes, it probably depends a bit on what you want to do with it. I tend to create longer ones, that I can lie around my neck. For your belly you might want to sow a bigger one. Also a great gift for cold days J