Five Things to Remember from November
For several months, I've been keeping track of five things I'd like to remember from that month. Here's what came up in November. As I post this, it's November 32nd. Is too.
One. Sunny days. Literal ones. November is normally a grey and dreary month up here. The leaves are long-off the trees, and the temperature bobs around zero/freezing. This year we’ve had many sunny mornings, which helps my overall mood considerably. And the sun’s always there, even when I can’t see it.
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| A random assortment of driftglass-- rather like these Five Things posts |
Two. Surprises. A publication that accepted one of my pieces years ago, The Walleye, recently produced a gorgeous anthology. It showcases both the original illustrations and the selected regional creative writing published over ten years. And I did nothing but answer my email! A real reason for deep gratitude.
Three. Lunch. Because it’s my birthday month, I’ve had the pleasure of sharing noonish lunch meals with several people that I don’t always get to see as frequently as I would like. It’s been great! Lunch is a really fun meal to eat out. I’ve tried two new places, visited an old favourite or three, and had a small breather. It’s a hinge moment in a day, a way to transition from public to private or vice versa, to get to know new people and maintain bonds with longtime friends. I’m a big fan of lunch. Yay lunch!
Four. Foxes. For the past several years, we’ve seen foxes in our area, but recently they’re taken to coming onto our deck. Sometimes they play but really they’re looking for the birdseed and suet we used to put out. We’re waiting to feed birds again until the raccoons depart the area. They’re cheeky, those raccoons,yet chasing them off makes me feel churlish. I don’t like favouring some wildlife over others, and I don’t like taming any of it. How to live in a rural home and embrace its contradictions: the story of my recent (twenty years of) life. Anyway, foxes!
Five. Splurges--strategic, of course. I have a love-hate relationship with a particular brand of hand soap. Some of the scents it comes in are swoon-worthy for me and some make me gag, without any "I feel kind of OK about" options. As the holiday season approached, I recognized that the holiday scents are my favourites, so I bought some already and I am prepared to have nice-smelling AND clean hands for quite some time. It’s nice to have hand soap that I enjoy using. It wasn’t that expensive, but I did feel a little silly for wanting the specific hand soap. High maintenance, as we used to say. (When Harry Met Sally has a lot to answer for, however great a movie it is in many ways.)
And that's that for November.
Periodically (sometimes weekly, often not) I post on Instagram about (some of) the books I read. This month, I posted about the following books:
- A Month in the Country, J. L. Carr
- Meltdown: The Making and Breaking of a Field Scientist, Sarah Boon
- A Countryman's Autumn Notebook, Adrian Bell
- I Kill the Bird Quietly, Samantha Convey; and Chasing the Moon, Siobhan Farrell