Celebrating the kids’ Thanksgiving Mass/feast with some hand knit socks in the cranberry sauce colorway.
Knitting: I’m working on my November socks still. I had my first one done quite early in the month. Then I got sidetracked. Then I started cruising a long on my second one and now…I’m going to need to sit down and get to work this weekend! Especially, if I’m going to be giving any knitted gifts this year (I have yet to give a hank of yarn with a tag saying what it will someday become, but I’m not ruling that out for this year!)
Watching: I ordered the second season of Outlander. It’s still steamy but didn’t seem quite as much so as last season (no complaints, just an observation). The show has now caught up to where I left off reading. I can’t decide if I want to read to find out what happens or just watch. (I loved the beginnings and endings of the books I read, but found many parts in the middle to be just SLOGS.) The new season of The Affair has started and the first episode was amazing. I like this show a lot. I watched a few episodes of The Divorce. I liked the first two and then just…eh.
Reading: I lost my copy of The Orchardist. I took it away with me on a weekend adventure and proceeded to set it down somewhere. Violet asked me to read the book The Scavengers by Michael Perry because her teacher is doing it as a read-a-loud so I said I would. I liked it. I like Michael Perry. In part because he writes about areas I know and it makes me feel like I’m in on the joke. This one skewed young. I liked the premise/theme but it certainly wasn’t the best post-apocolyptic story I’ve read. (2.5 stars)
Cooking: Lots and lots of things that go in the crockpot. I used to think those people who couldn’t manage to sit down as a family for dinner were crazy. I mean…just sit down for dinner. But this year, I’ve definitely had to eat my words. With activities, work schedules, and kids who need a 7:30 bedtime, we’ve definitely had nights where I eat with one child, leave it on warm and head off to an activity, only to have Jesse come home with the other and eat together. Any quick meals you can recommend? Soups and stews are especially good as it’s FINALLY starting to feel like November around here. (Maybe snow tonight/tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!!)
Finally, if you happen to be celebrating Thanksgiving this year (and even if you aren’t), I hope your week is filled with family, food, and friendship. Thanksgiving is always my favorite and lately it’s being usurped by that brighter and flashier (and more consumer focused) Christmas. And I love the Christmas season but I’m sad that our holiday of gratitude is being taken over (in particular this year), when I think we all could use the reminder to open our hearts and hearths to our neighbors (in particular, the ones who are different from us) and share the many gifts we’ve been given. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving. XOXO.