Thank you, LH - another terrific author for my long reading list.
As to your melancholy wish - I hope brisk November air and country skies will clear the blur and that ugly smudge, too.
{The color: grossly simplifying, imagine that "salt and pepper" - or, better, a Weimaraner - see, it could be beautiful)

I wish you could dine at my table on Thursday - I'm doing some "creative cooking" - cornish hens with pomegranates, persimmons and cranberry - last Thanksgiving in my old house.
Autumn is so energizing!

The ashes of paper frequently have a bluish tinge--not really light grey or off-white, it's different.

Tatyana: Thanks for the Weimaraners; they do make a nice image to go with the word! (I once met several of Wegman's Weimaraners, a real highlight of my time in NYC.) And I wish I could share your meal -- it sounds fantastic. (I think Cornish hens are much more interesting than turkey, though I enjoy turkey once a year.)

Ben: That's my problem with "ash-colored" -- ashes are all sorts of colors.