We have a little snow on the ground to mark the beginning of December. (In fact, Malcolm played outside for three hours this morning, “Because it’s so snowy!” I can’t wait to see him when we get more than one inch!) November was quite a month, with some upset stomachs and sore throats, but also substantial progress on the U.S. immigration process and church membership transfer. I hope you enjoy reading about some of my favourite things from the past month and maybe you’ll check some out for yourself.

Read

I finished reading the historical novel Cotton in My Sack by Lois Lenski to my kids (you may be familiar with Strawberry Girl, which I believe is more well known). It fit well with our schoolwork because we discussed cotton in our nature study of cultivated crops and Arkansas was one of the states we covered for U.S geography.

Eat

There’s a new Azure drop not far from us, so I ordered rolled oats and dried cranberries from this “family owned and independent company dedicated to providing carefully chosen, affordable organic, natural and non-GMO groceries, health, household and garden products.” The next monthly order deadline is tonight and I’m hoping to try out some more products if we can meet our minimum order amount. (If only I had an unlimited budget!)

Andrew’s mom went to Ottawa and brought us back fresh Kettleman’s bagels. Such a treat for supper, though at the risk of being a stick in the mud I insisted we have hummus and vegetables too.

The week before Thanksgiving Andrew came across a wild turkey on its last legs, so he brought it home for the holiday feast! I made the breasts into pot pie and we still have the legs and a big pot of stock to enjoy. It was much more tender than I expected and an interesting project!

A few days ago the girls made tourtiere with recipes/advice from both grandmothers. Always a hit!

On Saturday Andrew took his parents and me to Jake’s for a lovely dinner. The atmosphere was cozy and festive (even if you think November is too early for Christmas trees). I had fall sangria, kung pao cauliflower (shared appetizer), bread with maple butter, and salmon on house made fettuccine with asparagus. Highly recommended if you are looking for a special outing.

Do

• I went to two more contra dances in November and they were such a blast!
• We took the kids to an afternoon hockey game at Clarkson University in Potsdam and they had a great time (even though we were seated close to the very loud pep band).
• I had an appointment in Utica and afterwards I got to check out Bargain Grocery — home of 99 cent Ben & Jerry’s (also snagged some chili crisp and angostura bitters).
• The kids participated in Operation Christmas Child, Eleanor got new glasses, Phoebe went to a birthday party, and the kids all went to the children’s museum and helped out at our friends’ greenhouse.

Listen

I’ve been enjoying a Spotify playlist called “cozy fall reading vibes,” but I refer to it as “movie music” because it sounds like a dramatic movie soundtrack.

Meditate

I’ve now finished Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, John, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John. When I’m done reading the Bible in a year I think I’ll study something more in depth, but I haven’t decided what.

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn” – Zechariah 12:10

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” – Revelation 1:5b-7

What are your November favourites?