november is my favorite. maybe because i have a birthday right in the middle. but also because the weather is cooling off. thanksgiving is fun. and christmas is right around the corner.
here’s what was happening this november, when i wasn’t quilting, making cakes, or visiting western new york…
in very exciting home improvement and kitchen upgrading news, we got a new double oven. for a long time we assumed we would need to remodel to replace the oven because the existing one was so small. but. we found a great one, that would fit in the space, and actually has more room inside. amazing. before we went to ny, derek took out the old oven. and, while we were up there, the new one was installed. just in time for some intense christmas cookie baking.
hazel still loves school. she started riding the bus home and it’s life changing. i have visited for lunch a few times and she loves it. we also get invited to every. single. birthday party.
the anna baby tried out for basketball this year and made the team. she doesn’t play a lot, but she’s really enjoyed it. after playing in the 90s and coaching in the 00’s, it’s weirdly surreal to find myself back in a gym as a spectator. and middle school basketball is sort of painful to watch. but let me tell you something. the parents? they are the worst. and the attitudes of the girls? also the worst. i was thankful when it was over.
in timely fashion, as anna begins her basketball career, some friends of ours had some extra tickets to a wake forest game, so anna invited her pal, kaylin, and we became demon deacon fans for a night. it was against utah valley university, so we assumed it would be a blowout, but wake won it on a buzzer beater at the end of overtime, and it was so exciting.
still trying to do that healthy lifestyle thing. november (and december) weren’t great. but. i keep getting back to it. that’s all i can do. right?
as with all novembers, i had a birthday. the big forty six. sheesh. ike gave me a candle. derek gave me tickets to the bills game that was moved. (don’t worry, unlike the lumineers tickets in covid, i would make this one up). anna gave me some bills mugs. and hazel picked out a perfect gift. she knows. i opted for cheesecake to celebrate, because i don’t actually really love cake all that much. weird, right?
other things….
unbeknownst to me, hazel took a pic of me sewing, which was a fun surprise on my camera roll. lots of bills football during november means lots of chicken wings. the excessive number of chickens we now have are taking over and attempting to ruin our yard. and. with a tween sister and a teen brother who are more interested in friends and their phones, hazel is pretty lonely and sad (and dramatic) a lot of the time and we find these (sort of hilarious) notes on her door.
and. ruby the worlds best and derpiest dog. with cameos by me and hazel.
and. we’re on to december….