Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: Late October, Tea, and the Television Series Penelope

46 Comments

This post is part of a series called Thankful Thursday, where I list some things to feel thankful for. To some extent, focusing on what is wrong appears to come naturally to most people, who often complain, complain, complain when they get together with family and friends. (I’m no exception, that’s for sure.) So focusing on things to feel thankful for seems like good spiritual practice, a way to counterbalance the tendency toward negative thinking.

Late October

In Maine, peak foliage is over, and the glorious burst of orange and red has passed. But the landscape still has a glow, albeit a more modest one of russets and yellows.

When I work outside, I am smitten by this glow and am ever so thankful for October, from beginning to end.

This beauty is in the woods on the edge of our backyard

The icing on the October cake is that Dee’s birthday is at the end of the month, and to celebrate there just might be pizza involved at her favorite place in Augusta.

Tea

At our home by the edge of the woods, we are big tea drinkers, and our array on the back of the stove certainly illustrates this.

Now, after looking at this picture, you might think we are an affiliate of Harney & Sons, but I assure you we are not. We are, however, huge fans. We fell in love with this tea when our daughter Dee went to Bard College in upstate New York, and we visited a nearby Harney & Sons tea room. Over the years, that love has held steady.

The tea is a little pricey, but as we eat most every meal at home, we justify the expense by thinking about the money we save by not eating out. A meal for two at a restaurant could buy a lot of tea from Harney & Sons.

Watching

Television Series: Penelope
Created by Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn
Available on Netflix

Maybe it’s because I live on the edge of the woods and witness its green mysteries every day, but I am a sucker for stories where people go into the forest not only to find themselves but also to find out if they can survive.

Therefore, when I read about the premise for Penelope—a young girl takes to the woods because there is something empty inside her that she longs to fill—I was all in. And Penelope did not disappoint.

Grounded by the luminous Megan Stott, Penelope follows the eponymous heroine as she leaves civilization behind and disappears into the Cascade National Park in Washington state. In the woods, Penelope must learn to fend for herself. This includes learning how to fish, build a shelter, and collect edibles from the forest.

Strictly speaking, this is not a realistic account of how a suburban teenager would survive in the deep woods. With few wilderness skills, Penelope learns mighty fast how to get by. Instead, this series has the feel of a fable, an odyssey that focuses not on the hero, Odysseus, but rather on, well, Penelope, who in this case is not married and is not required to be faithful to a wandering hero.

The cinematography in Penelope is so stunning that the forest becomes a character in its own right, providing beauty, sustenance, and, yes, terror.  In this sense, I felt that the series creators caught something essential about nature and wilderness.

I was gripped by Penelope’s journey and when the series reached its startling conclusion, I wanted more. Fingers crossed that there is a Season 2.

 

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Note: For the next few weeks I’ll be taking a break from featuring other posts that highlight simple pleasures. When fall chores are done, I’ll return to listing them.

 

 

 

 

 

46 thoughts on “Thankful Thursday: Late October, Tea, and the Television Series Penelope”

  1. That golden glow in your woods is just as tasty as your teas must be. It’s a wonderful time of year, and just think — even when the leaves have fallen, the tea will still be there.

  5. There’s something very subdued about the yellows and russets of autumn. I think they force us to realize winter is approaching (and taking a wee break from our hectic routine isn’t a bad thing at all!)

  6. the tree is lovely thanks for sharing.

    i had meant to reply to a previous thankful thursday but forgot. I just wanted to mention that unreal chocolate is vegan and at least i find it is enjoyable. they do have milk and dark chocolate so you might want to keep an eye out for the brand or pickup on-line

    nothing like a piece of chocolate to go with a soothing warm beverage in my book.

  11. Couple of comments:
    “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” from Anne of Green Gables says it all, doesn’t it? Thanks for the Penelope tip (I love the reference to the Odyssey). Until “The Diplomat” drops on Halloween, I haven’t been much into Netflix but that sounds intriguing. (If you haven’t watched it, you might like “The Diplomat.” Last season ended with a huge cliffhanger, and I’m hooked! Re the tea: after your recommendation I checked that company out and I was inundated with ads for ages afterwards. Finally, atop the stove doesn’t seem like the best place for tea. Wouldn’t it be better in a cooler place?

  12. You have more teas in your cupboard than I have and I thought that I had quite a lot. Good tea is always worth the money as you can’t get even a half decent cup of tea when you are out.

  13. It sounds as though some scenes of “Penelope” might best be enjoyed with a cup of calming chamomile tea, to soothe the nerves. 😊

    That being said, if there aren’t too many terrorizing scenes, I might like to watch it. The film’s premise sounds very intriguing.

  14. I got through 1 1/2 episodes of Penelope and bailed. She never needed a toilet, seldom ate or drank water, (plus jumping a freight train is extremely dangerous), she even managed a stylish *bun* (not a knot, which is easier to do with long hair), and the moment she walked into that ranger station the park ranger would have recognized her from the APB her parents had put out for her, and there would be helicopters circling, dogs sniffing, the whole missing persons shebang going on. So much suspension of disbelief over this naive and stupid girl–and I have a teenager living with me, so it really hit a lot of nerves. Hope she doesn’t watch this and get ideas!

    2. I do want to add a few things. First, as I mentioned in my post, this is not a realistic show. It is highly doubtful that a suburban girl with no camping experience could survive in the backwoods. But I took the show as it was, a fable. I did think the show adequately explained how she ate and drank. It fact, one episode was dedicated to this, and it wove it’s way through the rest of the episodes. Finally, where did she go to the bathroom? I can answer that question from my own personal experience with hiking. In short, she went in the woods. That’s what hikers do. No mystery there. And how did she wipe herself? Well, there were ferns and leaves everywhere. Sorry you didn’t like the series, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Just as there are different books for different folks, there are different shows for different folks.

  20. You are so right to call our attention to the magical glow of falling leaves on a sunny day, falling like rain, like gold coins, like a blessing.

  22. Beautiful Autumn colours against that blue sky Laurie, such a feast for the eyes! 🧡

  23. Most of the trees in my garden turn a sludgy Khaki colour but a few give me a display of reds and pinks and are much appreciated. Like you I enjoy tea – at present my ‘go to’ is chai because the spiciness seems to suit the season.

  25. I do think Thankful Thursday is a good idea . It is easy to grumble and not appreciate the little things that make us happy and to be thankful for.

    I like the sound of

    Television Series: Penelope
    Created by Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn

    That is a lot of different teas you have there. What is your favourit flavour?

  27. I love October too, Laurie. It’s beautiful on so many levels. We’re tea drinkers too and I’ll have to try Harney & Sons. Thanks for the tip. AND thanks for the series recommendation. The North Cascades are in my neck of the woods and anything about living in nature appeals to me (even if not quite realistic for a suburban teen). 🙂 🙂

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  29. Fall is my favorite season, with its transitional skies, color and bounty. That is a beautiful golden tree.
    You have an impressive tea collection!

    The series sounds intriguing. Do you remember a book called “My Side of the Mountain”? I remember reading that as a child. I never saw the movie version.

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