I always love reading Right Now posts when you all write them and I haven’t shared one since October. It’s high time to talk about what’s going on Right Now.

Planning: cookie baking! One week from today I will pack up my Kitchen Aid, lots of sugar, butter, eggs and chocolate, and I will head to Doreen’s for our annual cookie baking extravaganza. It’s a tradition we started a few years ago and I look forward to it in a really big way.

Watching: Lots of Christmas movies! There are the corny ones on Hallmark but then there are our favorites like Love Actually, Christmas with the Kranks, Christmas Vacation, White Christmas and more. There’s always something good to watch right now, it’s an embarrassment of riches!

Reading: The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Listening to: Christmas music. Of course. (More about this on Thursday, I think.)

Adoring: all the Christmas lights. We’ve got twinkle lights year round at our house but now we’ve also got our big Christmas tree, our bedroom Christmas tree, a few miniature trees scattered throughout our rooms, plus greens with garland on the mantle, over the bay window in the kitchen, and around the doorway between our dining room and living room, and lots of battery operated candles, too. It’s cozy and charming and I feel so peaceful when our home is all aglow.

Knitting: a hat for Dale. For the 2nd time because once again I knit a hat that was too big. I don’t get it, I even checked gauge this time!

Shopping: for Jackie. It’s so fun to pick out toys that I think he will love. Everyone else these days gets money. Oh, and the privilege (hahaha) of a family vacation to New Hampshire in February.

Learning: about bullet journaling. I’ve been journaling regularly for the past 3 years and I’ve always used a lined Studio Oh journal. But Passion Planner recently did a kickstarter campaign for a new Passion Planner Daily and I ordered 4. I also signed up for an online class on bullet journaling so I’m excited about starting 2020 with this new way of documenting my days.

Remembering: my parents on their wedding anniversary. My mom married my stepdad 48 years ago today. I was 6 and insisted that I was a bridesmaid and not a flower girl. My nana made my dress and it was tiffany blue and I was so excited about being in a wedding.

Loving: this magical time of year. Even with the hustle and bustle, the commitments and shopping and tasks, it’s still a glorious time and I’m doing my best to slow down and enjoy each moment.

 

 

 

 

How about a random right now post for today? Yes? Good. Here we go.

Adjusting to: life inside. Even though our days are still comfortable the evenings are cool and firewood is coming so the deck is about to be finished for the season. Good thing I like our cozy fall decor.

Watching: all the returned fall TV shows. I’m loving This Is Us and Grey’s, I feel like Modern Family has run it’s course, and we haven’t watched any Madame Secretary yet but I’m sure we will soon.

Reading: The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Still. I hope to finish today.

Listening to: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. It’s so very good and I’m going to be sad to finish it.

Loving: All of your comments and birthday wishes for my brother yesterday. As I said to some of you, it’s amazing to me that people from all over the world (because yes, I have readers in other countries) thought of Donald yesterday. It’s another one of those unexpected gifts of writing a blog and I’m grateful for it.

Crying: Over flowers that my friend Rose left at my house yesterday with a simple note on the that said “For Donald.” Yep. She got me all verklempt.

Knitting: A folded edge/hem for the brim of my Chevron Love Slouch Hat. Yes, once again I have knit a hat that is too big. I’m hoping that picking up from the cast on edge and knitting a hem will make this fit. I’m also hoping that I’ll get my hat issues under control before I attempt another one.

Crafting: Cricut stuff. I’ve made some onesies that I have sold and I’ve got a big order for t-shirts for a family Christmas gift. I’m also designing some stuff, including a shirt for myself for Hallmark Christmas movie season.

Learning: More about Reiki. I got my Reiki II certification last weekend and, while there’s a lot of information and it’s somewhat overwhelming, it’s also incredibly powerful and I feel like it came into my life at just the right time.

Buying: Christmas bedding. One of the big reasons I wanted a neutral bedroom was so that I could add touches of other colors as the seasons change. So far I’ve gotten a red throw blanket for the end of our bed along with red ticking striped pillow shams for our big square European pillows. I still need shams for our regular pillows, I’d love to find a red plaid. The biggest challenge has been finding Christmas sheets that aren’t flannel because flannel is just too hot for me to sleep comfortably. I did find some on Wayfair that I think will work, though.

Diffusing: All the fall scents! Cinnamon Bark, Clove, Ginger, Nutmeg, Orange . . . I’ve been putting them all in my diffusers and loving the way they make the house smell. If you ever want to know more about essential oils and how they can make your life better just let me know.

Reminding: You all to read Just Mercy. You’ve still got plenty of time to Read With Us, our first discussion will take place on Tuesday, November 5th.

Wishing: YOU a happy day!

 

 

 

There’s a bunch of stuff pinging around in my head right now – to do lists and work things and more. In other words, I’m feeling random! So, there’s not a real theme to this post, just a bunch of things that I want to tell ya.

• I finished my reading challenge on Good Reads last Friday, reading 75 books for the year. I’ll obviously finish more before 2018 is over, I’m guessing it might top out around 80 but it’s hard to say. Last year my total was 78 books. I’ll be sharing more about what I’ve read lately in a future post.
• I commented on Laurie’s blog the other day about the fridge jenga that occurs every time there’s a holiday. She said she’d never heard the expression before and I honestly can’t remember where I heard it first but I think it’s pretty spot on for what happens when you have to cram your fridge full of all the ingredients (and a giant turkey) for a holiday dinner. Pull out the wrong thing and it’s all going to come tumbling down!
• We had Friendsgiving the other day at Sean’s house and it was wonderful. Sean did the majority of the cooking but I made this cranberry salsa and it was terrific. I’m definitely going to be making it again soon.
• I usually cook a turkey on the Saturday after Thanksgiving but I don’t think that’s happening this year. We’ve had to adjust the plans for our Thanksmas gathering with our kids since some of them have to work on Saturday so we’re doing it on Friday and I’m going to emphasize the “mas” part of this holiday and have more Christmas foods like Swedish meatballs, deviled eggs, medwurst and ham.
• It’s not too late to make your turkey gravy in advance. I generally do a mash up of these two versions and it’s a great thing to just have to reheat the gravy and not make it while the turkey is resting.
• We bought an artificial Christmas tree last year and I’m so glad we made the switch. It’s pretty cool to think we can put up the tree any time we want. Maybe this weekend? It means putting away the fall and Christmas stuff, too, because I can’t have both holidays going at once!
• Speaking of Christmas . . . I’m all in for Christmas music and I’m loving it. I’m using Spotify for new playlists but I have my favorites that I go to year after year, too. Plus the app Tinsel and Tunes and the stations on Sirius . . . there’s a lot of music to cover between now and December 25th.
• It’s now been just over 2 weeks since Mason died and I am adjusting. I see him out of the corner of my eye a LOT and the other night I had a dream about him and he was fat and young and playing – and that’s how I think of him now.

What going on – random or otherwise – with you right now?

It’s hard to believe that today is August 1st. As I lamented to Kat the other day, how come summer months go by so much quicker than winter months? Doesn’t is seem reasonable that the days should feel like they last longer since there’s so much more day light? But we all know it doesn’t work that way and here we are with just one full month of summer left.

Here’s what’s current in my world right now.

Drinking: Rosé. It’s the perfect summer wine and I even went so far as to buy a 25 oz S’well bottle because it will hold (and keep frosty cold) an entire bottle of rosé.

Reading: Those Who Save Us (for my free center square, I saved it for last) and Sailing Alone Around the Room for a collection of poetry square. My cover all is imminent!

Watching: Sharp Objects. We love it! It’s creepy and weird and the perfect summer show.

Picking: Grape tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash and cucumbers. Oh, and lots of basil and parsley. The cucumbers are kind of weird this year, they have curves and are skinny. And the summer squash skin has been super tough. I’ve read that adding manure could help with that. Dale’s on it.

Loving: Our new pergola. We’ve got lights now and have enjoyed a few meals out there. Last Friday when we got home from the wedding we actually had a night cap sitting at the table and it was magical. The mosquitoes are a little more fierce than they are up on the deck but we’re mostly managing to not get bitten.

Finding: Roadside flower stands. I love buying bouquets of zinnias and cosmos and more! So old fashioned and charming.

Listening to: The Avett Brothers. All the time! And for podcasts, The Daily.

Knitting: True Colors but I have made zero progress. And socks. Also zero progress.

Planning: Jackie’s one year birthday sweater! The top contender? Little Hipster Cardigan.

Buying: Pottery. Too much pottery. And stuff for outside like a heater and lights. And prezzies for Jackie. Always.

Anticipating: Our Cape Cod vacation! It signals the end of summer, which blows, but it’s still one of my favorite weeks of the year.

Happy August to all!