Hey friends. The work week is just about over. Can I get a hoo? And a ray? Let’s talk about some random stuff, mmmmkay?

I blew NaBloPoMo by not posting last Sunday. I’m pretty sure no one noticed. I mean, I posted a poem on Saturday and . . . crickets. I thought about posting on Sunday and I even searched for a funny library meme and . . . I just didn’t post. I think I’m good with my Monday-Friday routine and I think you all are, too. So no more weekend blog posts from me going forward.

Thanksgiving is one week from today and it’s sure going to look different for me and, I expect, all of you as well. We’ve been guests for years, I can’t remember the last time I actually cooked a turkey on the actual holiday. And in reality, I probably shouldn’t be cooking a turkey this year since it will be just Dale and I along with Hannah and Mikey. They said on the news the other day that small turkeys are difficult to find right now and that makes a lot of sense. We like turkey, though, so if I can’t find a small one I’m good with a big ole bird. I’m going to keep the sides simple and I haven’t decided yet what to do about the pies. I generally make 5 but that’s not happening, naturally. Dale said I only need to make one . . . mince. That’s all well and good since it’s his favorite but it’s not a hit with anyone else! I can’t even imagine Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie and Dale doesn’t like that. I did find these mini pies from King Arthur Baking and I may go in that direction with pumpkin for me, mince for Dale, and pecan for Hannah. Hopefully Mikey has a favorite among those 3, too!

I have 3 recently finished knitted things that I haven’t shown you yet! I really need to coordinate with my top knitwear model, Hannah, and get some photographs taken of 2 of these, Nightshift and Rio Calina. The 3rd project is a gift and it’s waiting on the arrival of a new bundle of joy for some friends so it may still be a little while before you see that one.

And that’s all I’ve got for you this Thursday. Just remember . . . it’s almost the weekend!

If you wrote a post for today please include your link below. Thanks for joining, too.

This week I have 3 things for you, an update, an observation, and a recommendation.

1. The update: We will be discussing The Women of Brewster Place here on this blog as well as on Bonny’s bog and Kym’s blog next Tuesday the 17th. Yes, we were supposed to discuss it this past Tuesday but election fatigue left the 3 of us without the needed brain capacity to put much thought into it. To make it up to you, we have a special treat: a Zoom meetup for a virtual discussion! Yep, we’re taking the plunge and we hope you will join us on Tuesday the 17th at 7:00pm eastern time. If you want an invite to Zoom with us just let me know in the comments.
2. The observation: I was thinking, as I wrote my speech for Veteran’s Day, about how soldiers enlist to fight for our freedom and in doing so they actually give up their own personal freedom. They sacrifice the freedom to be home with their family and friends, the freedom to ignore a command they don’t agree with, their own freedom of speech as they have to support the mission. It really boggles my mind when I think about it this way and it makes me more grateful than ever that there are people in our country who are willing to do this.
3. The recommendation: Go right now and get the book The House in the Cerulean Sea. I generally wait to recommend books when I do a reading update but I finished this one yesterday and I can’t stop thinking about how wonderful it is and that makes me want all of you to experience it as well. It’s uplifting and delightful, it will open your eyes to bias and prejudice in a new way, and it will make you cheer for the underdog with an ending that will leave you crying and laughing all at the same time.

And that’s all I have for this Thursday. I hope you’ll share your post below if you wrote one for this week. As always, thanks for joining in!

A while back I started following an Instagram account called Pandemic Patches. They are adorable 2″ patches celebrating all the things we’ve accomplished during the pandemic, from home haircuts to victory gardens and more. In my life, I’ve earned 3 and I’m highlighting them today.

1. Sourdough Baker. Interestingly enough, I actually learned to bake sourdough bread with Sean a few weeks before the pandemic took hold in earnest. Jo-Ann and I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon with him, learning the ins and outs of sourdough, from feeding a starter right through to the finished loaf of bread. I went home that day with a bit of Sean’s started (OG, for short) and have been baking sourdough bread pretty regularly ever since. My started is named Mama Cass and she’s strong and beautiful. It’s definitely more complicated than yeast bread and it’s super satisfying.
2. Sewed Masks. Waaaaaay back when masks first became mandatory in Massachusetts I investigated some patterns and started sewing. I made quite a few, actually, and then I ran out of elastic. A friend got me more to keep me going but, if I’m being completely honest, I found no joy in this sewing. Since masks are here to stay for a while I think it’s time to make some more and you can bet I’ll be sorting through my fabric stash for holiday patterns!
3. Foot Peel DIY. So there isn’t actually a Pandemic Patch for this but I think there should be since Foot Peel Masks became a craze earlier this year. I suppose it’s mostly because we couldn’t all go get out usual warm weather pedicures but I think it’s also because we were stuck at home and needed something new to entertain us. I never got around to applying the Foot Peel I purchased until a little over a week ago and I’m here to tell you that it works. It’s kind of gross but it does really work.

What Pandemic Patches have you earned? Tell me in the comments! And, if you wrote a post for this week, please include a link to it below.

Is this week dragging by or is it just me? I don’t know if it’s waiting on the election or the somewhat dreary weather we’ve had or what . . . but I feel like Monday was weeks ago. In any case, it’s Thursday and I’ve got 3 random things for you this week.

1. Halloween. It’s not cancelled in our town but I think for the first time ever we are keeping our lights off this year so that the little ghosts and goblins don’t darken our doorstep. That doesn’t count for Jackie, of course, and for our neighbor’s kids as well, but I think for the very few trick or treaters we generally get it’s just not worth it. Plus more peanut butter cups for me! I’ll be making my traditional American Chop Suey for dinner and I think Dale is planning a fire in the firepit for the late afternoon and the kids will all be over for dinner (and smore’s?) and I’m hoping it all doesn’t feel too anticlimactic.
2. Field of Flags. This is a fundraiser our Kiwanis club offers to raise money not just for our club but also for Fisher House Boston, a home for veterans and their families needing medical treatment. We’re under restrictions because of COVID so we can’t have our ceremony, but we are still planning on placing 1,000 flags on our town common. If you’d like to sponsor a flag you can find the form here (it’s a Google doc) and it has directions for either mailing in a donation or donating online. Our major fundraisers for the year have been severely impacted . . . no pancake breakfast last spring . . . no golf tournament this summer . . . so if you’re inclined to make any sort of donation at all I would truly appreciate it.
3. Animal Crossings. I got my Switch back from Nintendo repair about a month ago, which is terrific . . . but my island was gone and I had to start over, which is not so terrific. Still, it’s been an opportunity to build things differently and perhaps even better since I have more of a sense of the endgame. Mostly I’m sad about losing all those Bells I had in the bank plus all the fish and bugs I caught over the spring and summer. Do you play? It’s engaging and fun and provides a great escape from the doom and gloom of the world right now.

And that’s what I’ve got going on this Thursday. If you wrote a post for this week please include your link below and thanks for joining me.

Friends. Are you listening to Brené Brown these days? She’s got 2 fabulous podcasts, many books (I recommend the audio version for these because her voice . . . ) some amazing TED Talks and the 10th anniversary addition of her book The Gifts of Imperfection has just been released. I’ve mentioned how her work has changed my life before so you probably . . . hopefully . . . have given her a chance. In case you haven’t, though . . . in case you need a little extra push . . . today I’m giving you 3 reasons why you should.

1. The October 14, 2020 Episode. Brené’s guests are Drs. Emily and Amelia Nagoski and they discuss burnout, stress, trauma, and all the tolls those take on our bodies. I found myself nodding along so much I probably looked like a bobble head. Seriously, the part about how feelings have to be acknowledged as having a beginning-middle-and-end is life changing.
2. The October 21, 2020 Episode. It’s discussion with Joe Biden on leadership and vulnerability and it covers so much about what it means to be a good leader, to be a leader people can trust, to be a leader who doesn’t seek power but instead strives to empower others. It’s how I hope I lead when it comes to my job, my role as an elected official, and my volunteer work. Politics aside, it’s inspiring.
3. Her audiobook The Power of Vulnerability. This is not your typical audiobook. Rather, it’s 6 hours of lectures that she gives to a life audience. They are funny and powerful and engaging and her advice on living a whole-hearted life is fantastic. Bottom line? Being vulnerable is where it’s at, baby.

Maybe this stuff isn’t for you. But maybe it is. I think it’s worth exploring and I hope you will, too.

If you wrote a post for today please include a link below. Thanks for joining us!