The Autumn Switch

 October means it's time to put the house into autumn mode --  of course the chimneys need to be cleaned, the screens taken down and the windows washed, the house plants brought back inside after their summer sojourn outside -- but in order to get myself psyched up for these chores, first I put away the summer blue and white and bring out the autumn colors.

I enjoy marking the change of seasons this way -- and I like putting some things away and bringing others out.  I'll pack away most of the blue and white china in the corner cupboard and take down the paintings of lilies ...

Away with the kitchen's blue and white throw pillows and the curtain over the pantry door . . .

The corner cupboard fills up with odds and ends that have been packed away since last December -- painted gourds, two skulls (cat and raccoon ), and other objects that somehow seem autumnal to me.

 Different paintings in the living room and the ostrich, emu, and rhea eggs that were in the cupboard look somehow different in their new perch on the mantel.

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The blue and white throw pillows an the couch give way to a rosy-hued leaf fabric, similar to that in the kitchen pillows. . .

And the blue rag rugs go into the washing machine while I bring out these bright mats.

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A harvest wreath on the door. . .

And it's time to set a spell and rest -- the vacuuming can wait till  another day.