Autumn not fall

September was, officially, the craziest month of the past few years. Glad it's over but a little concerned to find that it is October already. Which leaves only two very short months and a couple even-shorter weeks until Christmas...aiyee!! Sorry, that's still the C-word until at least after American Thanksgiving.

Our road trip was fantastic - our fabulous driver made it the whole way there and back in wonderful humour. The way there was lovely - Wiltshire is really beautiful countryside. And Longleat is stunning. I don't think I would ever get over looking out of my front windows at the beautiful, perfectly Platonically English landscape and seeing a rhinocerus contentedly munching the lawn. In the hunting gallery we also saw the doublet Charles I wore at his execution - complete with bloodstains around the neck...macabre, yes. But as I'm teaching Civil War and Restoration Literature this term, I thought it a good omen! The same room, the 'hunting gallery', also housed two prehistoric Irish Elk skulls with horns. Another example of Nature's twisted sense of humour.

We saw Stonehenge (from the road - £5 to get 10 feet closer?!):


And then went to Old Sarum and had delicious pub grub in Salisbury. We did miss the cathedral as it was nearly dark - very impressive spire though. As everyone who knows me understands, I am food-centred: I remember things by associating them with tastes. Now, Salisbury will always be evoked by a really nice venison steak. And mushrooms. Really good mushrooms.

And now, here we are, back in Leeds. Thanksgiving is coming up - another ex-pat dinner to look forward to. Nasser is making the pumpkin pie; in Canada, this is a fairly simple procedure thanks to the invention of canned pumpkin. Last year, when we hosted the ex-pats, we looked high and low at every grocery store within walking distance for such a thing. None to be found. So Nas, brilliant cook that he is, found a recipe and made it from scratch with fresh pumpkin. It was the best pumpkin pie we had ever tasted. Well, Jeff and I, the two other Canadians, thought so. And we are experts. My humble offering was maple whipping cream to top the pies.

My two classes really impressed me in our first seminar gathering - very talkative and enthusiastic. I'm really quite looking forward to the classes. Research and writing are also going well - must be the weather! I'd hate to think I was actually beginning to get the hang of this...