sent from: London, UK. destination: San Jose, CA, USA

I can’t tell if the scene depicted on this card is summer or winter. From the lack of leaves on the foreground trees and the splashes of orange I’m going to guess that it’s late autumn. Still, there’s a warmth to the light and the green that implies something like spring.

No doubt about autumn here – trees are putting on their red mantles and darkness comes shockingly early after the clock adjustment. Fireworks go off every night and the smell of distant bonfires drifts across the suburbs. Christmas lights are up in Oxford Street and in the department stores – at least the USA had Thanksgiving to keep the Christmas Ghost at bay for a couple more weeks.

We made dinner for the family, a Halloween celebration with slimey swamp soup (spinach), witches hair and innards (black pasta and meatballs), and crunch spiders (brownies with chocolate stick legs). Not to mention crunchy bug eggs (toasted pumpkin seeds) as well!