So, November! October was rather busy and I didn’t keep up all the habits I should have, so I’m trying to begin again with a clean slate. But first, here’s a look at what I ate, read, did, etc. last month. Maybe some of it will inspire you.

Read

I read several books that I don’t feel passionate about recommending, but there are a few I’m happy to include here. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell: I’m not always convinced by his arguments but I am consistently fascinated by his way of turning conventional beliefs on their heads (see also: his podcast, Revisionist History).

The Known World is a difficult novel for me to describe. I hesitated to read it because of the heavy subject matter (slavery), but it ended up being very interesting and complex, with a large cast of characters and nonlinear timeframe. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely has adult content, but I enjoyed it more than I expected.

I didn’t make any of the projects in A Well-Crafted Home, but definitely check it out if you’re interested in ideas for high quality crafts, especially those made of wood, linen, and leather.

I read The Magician’s Nephew aloud to my kids. The Chronicles of Narnia are some of the books I most clearly remember my dad reading aloud, and I will certainly continue with the series!

Finally, here are a few fun picture books: My First Action Rhymes (I learned some new ones), I Dream of a Journey (gentle and whimsical), Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! (a Palistinian folktale), and The Mare’s Egg (a Canadian folktale).

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Eat

Since I was given Smitten Kitchen Every Day in August I have been making recipe after recipe. So far that means: jam-bellied bran scones; everything drop biscuits with cream cheese; ricotta blini with honey, orange, and sea salt; sticky toffee waffles; polenta baked eggs with corn, tomato, and fontina; magical two-ingredient oat brittle; spiced carrot and pepper soup with a couscous swirl; broccoli, cheddar, and wild rice fritters; caramelized cabbage risotto; quick sausage, kale, and crouton saute; and banana bread roll.

To switch things up I also made a SK recipe from the blog: winter squash and spinach pasta bake.

Should I just add a Smitten Kitchen heading to my monthly favourites post already? (I’ll always remember the gift note my sister including with the first SK book she gave me: “I have never made a bad or mediocre recipe from this book.”)

Honourable Mention goes to Village Pizzaria, a new eatery in downtown Owen Sound, where we ordered a couple of pizzas on Saturday.

Do

• The first weekend of October I took the kids to see my grandma for her 95th birthday, then had a bonfire and sleepover at my parents’ house
• We visited Andrew’s family for Thanksgiving and stayed in an Airbnb on the Ottawa River (a long, steep, muddy lane; rowboat and kayak; lots of desserts; puzzles and board games)
• As a last hurrah to the hiking season we took the kids to Bruce’s Caves and Wiarton, then ordered pizza, and watched Chicken Run

Watch

It’s been a long time since I watched a movie I liked as much as The Peanut Butter Falcon. The trailer should give you a good idea if you’d like it (but head’s up for cursing and a few violent scenes). Don’t miss the short special feature on the making of the movie — it’s heart-warming.

Listen

I also enjoyed the soundtrack of The Peanut Butter Falcon, including “Running For So Long (House a Home).”

For our school folk song in October we learned “The Wellerman,” which is ridiculously catchy (and fits the recent TikTok craze of sea shanties).

Have you been following the criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos? I recommend the podcast “The Dropout.” Here’s the description from the website: “Money. Romance. Tragedy. Deception. The story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. How did the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye? How did the woman once heralded as “the next Steve Jobs” find herself facing criminal charges — to which she pleaded not guilty — and up to decades in prison? How did her technology, meant to revolutionize health care, potentially put millions of patients at risk? And how did so many smart people get it so wrong along the way? In “The Dropout,” ABC News chief business, technology and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, along with producers Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson, take listeners on a journey that includes a multi-year investigation. You’ll hear exclusive interviews with former employees, investors, and patients, and for the first-time, the never-before-aired deposition testimony of Elizabeth Holmes, and those at the center of this story. Starting August 31st, 2021, in a series of new episodes, “The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial” will take you inside the courtroom, breaking down the evidence and keeping score for both sides until 12 jurors decide the fate of the Theranos founder and new mother. Three years after she was first charged, we find out how this saga finally ends.”

Meditate

“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
– Romans 6:15-23

Bonus

I love these haiku as public art! (Discovered via Modern Mrs. Darcy)

What are some of your October favourites?