Thoughts of autumn

The other day I started feeling autumn-ish. Maybe it's partially because it's finally getting a tiny bit cooler - though 27 C isn't exactly what I'd call freezing - and maybe it's the tree I saw that morning, starting to turn. My colleagues blame this on the heat, not the coming cold but a girl can dream, can't she?

Later I was reading a knitting blog and there was a picture of a teenager wearing a shawl. It looked so cosy that I wanted to make one too. It started me thinking about the feel and smells of autumn. I can close my eyes and smell the big bonfires, feel that delicious cold snap that wakes you up so well, feel the gentle rain on my face. I can remember getting wet and cold, then coming indoors to dry, warm clothes and the first wood fire of the season. If was really cold I could snuggle under a blanket with a hot chocolate, and just watch the flames play.

So many people complain about the coming cold and dark, but I love it. The dark is like a giant blanket, safe and comforting. The cold just makes you want to snuggle up close to your beloved. What's not to like?

Maybe part of the reason I'm rhapsodising about this is because this summer was so freakin' hot. At Balaton the temperature was between 35 and 41 degrees every day. And just to top it off, the water in the lake was 31C. I even took a picture to prove it!

So much for cooling off. I can hardly remember when I last felt slightly cold, even at night. And I kinda LIKE feeling a bit cold. I know, I'm weird. 

But apart from the heat (did I mention the heat?) I enjoyed the trip to Balaton. We spent the mornings at the house Peti's family had rented. Everything and everyone were moving slowly, except for Peti's nephew Balázs who at 2 and a bit years old is blessed (or cursed) with a perpetual passion for motion. And food. 

We spent the afternoons at the lakeside, either in the water or in the shade under the trees. I even tanned slightly! Shocking. 

On the last evening we played Dixit. Much fun was had, even though Peti thought his mum shouldn't have been able to beat us all that easily without even seeming to try. 

The house project is coming along nicely. We now have tiles everywhere, and it's looking puuurty. We've even got a bathtub, and the kitchen will be installed this Friday. Yay! 

In other news, I'm currently addicted to Doctor Who. I'm watching a few episodes every evening and enjoying it hugely. I'm starting to wonder if I should force Peti to watch a few too, just to see if I can get him into it as well. (You have been warned handsome!) And yes, Mike, you're still a meanie for getting me addicted. So there!

A bonus to all this sci-fi watching is I'm finishing the Zelda pullover and pretty fast too, considering I'm also making the Frosted Ferns Niebling as a wedding present for a friend. A top and a tablecloth in around 3 weeks is pretty cool I think. By the way, why is it that when people see this 

Frosted Ferns, at the edging knitting

they always ask if it's a hat? I'm trying to imagine the size of the head but my mind is blanking. Ah well. Better picture to follow when the project is finished. I dare anyone to ask if it's a hat THEN! 

Last weekend we went to the wedding of a friend of Peti. It was good - tasty food, fun music, lots of dancing, good company and even though there was no lack of available alcohol, nobody (that I could see) got sloppy drunk. I really like that about Hungarians - they don't need to get stupidly, belligerently drunk legless to have a good time at a party. A couple of days later I found myself randomly singing "nyolc óra munka, nyolc óra pihenés, nyolc óra szórakozás"*(link) to myself. I think I'm slowly turning Hungarian... or maybe just crazy. But then, that's nothing new. :-)

Inside the town hall in Kiskunfélegyháza

*8 hours working, 8 hours resting, 8 hours having fun. From what I gather, it's about the proper division of a day :-)