November Begins

November might just be my favorite month of the year. It comes in so quietly but soon is filled with the hum of change. It gets darker, but also shifts lighter as the leaves glow luminous and bright on softly raining days and dance to pull your attention through windows on blustery ones. More candles are lit and twinkle lights are slowly added. While it's always a little sad to put away the summer activities I love and say goodnight to my garden friends that bring me such peace, November brings it's own version of things I need. It's time to rest November says. It's time to slow down. 

I was sitting down with my calendar the other day working on putting some, “Look Forward To’s” in place for the coming months and little bits of things started popping into my peripheral thoughts. After the first few I decided to make a list for November so I would remember to do them. 

- Mail hand written letters or cards weekly 

(This kind of feels imperative to me after reading Denmark is no longer delivering letters due to decreased demand due to the digital age. Use it or lose it? That seems so sad to me and even though I'm just one person mailing post, I hope to always be able to do this. Hand written letters found in the piles of advertisements and bills are such a treat.)

- Donate to the local food bank

(Will be doing this in both my community and one with greater need)

- Take a holiday card photo

- Shop our local garden center's holiday shop for a new icicle for my Christmas tree 

- Make a date with a girlfriend

 

I also have another more ambitions big picture Fall bucket list that includes things like:

- Take a cooking class

- Make caramel sauce (complete!)

- Try out a new prospective desert for holiday dinners (Tried two! Complete!)

- Restock the pantry and fridge with base ingredients and make the first soup of the season (complete!)

- Visit a museum 

- Buy a red umbrella (complete!)

- Make a holiday wreath

- Start writing again (Complete!) 

So, between keeping our home running, getting homemade meals on the table, figuring out quality time with a traveling spouse, connecting with family, doctors appointments, local Women's Club meetings, self-care doing, and last minute little trip planning to use up our allotted vacation time before the end of the year, this is pretty much what's on my plate in the next few weeks.