Ah, NOVEMBER…a month filled with…falling leaves…shorter days…the election…my birthday…unplanned car expenses…Thanksgiving…Giving Tuesday and the start of the advent season…In the midst of it all, these are things that filled my November days…

Reading…with airplane time & holiday time, an eclectic assortment of books were completed…Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance…The Bookman’s Tale by Charles Lovett…The Last Oracle by James Rollins…Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope…The Mackinac Incident by Len McDougall…The Secret to Hummingbird Cake by Celeste Fletcher McHale…and listening to Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda…

Watching…The Durrells in Corfu was a delightful Masterpiece Theater find…easing into Christmas movies on The Hallmark Channel…

Listening…thoroughly enjoying the latest Pink Martini album…

Traveling – Part 1…to Milwaukee to start the month with a 2 day trip that extended to 3 days & confirmed why I always pack just a bit extra for the unexpected delay…on a crisp autumn evening, dinner at a favorite cafe was perfect…

Traveling – Part 2…a long weekend over to State College with my girls…on Friday morning I had to get the girls off to school – Miss V was ready for the bus way early so we were outside for 35 brisk minutes…fun times exploring local shops & getting a jump start on Christmas gifts…taking Christmas card photos…celebrating my birthday…impromptu concerts…intense board games…all around fun!

Traveling – Part 3…home to the ‘Ville for a week…(minus a few days for a quick MKE trip)…plenty of R&R time at home with the family…Rebecca & I enjoyed 2 sessions at the local salt room…the family that reads together – one afternoon I looked up from my reading to see that we all had our noses in books or other reading…

Traveling – Part 4…another 2 day trip to Milwaukee from the ‘Ville…I brought my “traditional” Thanksgiving Monday leftover Nantucket Cranberry Pie for breakfast, even on the road…

Cooking…a tasty family Thanksgiving menu that included “my” Brussels sprouts…inspired by the Thanksgiving in a Blanket video recipe making the rounds, Mom turned our leftovers into a delicious Stromboli that used her fabulous yeast crescent roll dough…once back home from the Ville, a go to Shepherd’s Pie was whipped up for the week…

Baking…a delicious Cranberry Pumpkin Muffin recipe that is much healthier than my “go to” of the Trader Joe’s pumpkin bread mix of years past…an easy Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroon recipe to take to the office Thanksgiving luncheon…my Nantucket Cranberry Pie for the annual Thanksgiving lunch at church in the ‘Ville…

Sipping…Lots of coffee & tea…both hot and iced…splurging on a Vernors during a layover in Detroit…

Looking ahead…as we say Hello, December…a busy December filled with a couple of weeks of work and then a couple of weeks of time away with dear ones to relax, recharge & celebrate the Christmas and New Year…

What filled your November days?

Linking up with Leigh for the What I’m Into round-up. 

Ah, OCTOBER…a month filled with…leaves: changing colors, rustling in the wind, scattering across the yards…beautiful autumn skies…brisk days and some “last gasp of summer” heat…In the midst of it all, these are the things that filled my October days…

Reading…it was a busier month (& only 1 flight on the 2nd) so only 4 books were completed since sharing reads…a fun celebration of childrens books in Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein…more in the James Rollins Sigma Force series: Black Order and The Judas Strain…another visit to Three Pines in A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny…

Watching…most of my shows via DVR…enjoying Designated Survivor, Timeless, This is Us from among the new shows…continuing to be amazed with how Code Black can “get me” in their stories…HamilDoc was a fun insight into the phenomen around the musical and Alexander Hamilton..

Hosting…a fabulous girls weekend with my fave girlies & their Mom…we packed a lot into just over 2 1/2 days…Independence Hall…The Crayola Experience…Cheesesteaks…pedicures…shopping for winter gear for all…just hanging out…all around fun for all…

Crafting…not much…but M’Amy had plenty of crafting options available for the girlies while they were here…coloring books…decorating pumpkins…

Cooking…lots of fall flavors…a new Spinach Artichoke Soup recipe – I seasoned it like my “famous” dip & have decided this is a ‘keep the ingredients on hand’ recipe for the days ahead…lots of roasted veggies…putting a pumpkin spin on my go-to no bake cookies…a new fave breakfast is a pumpkin smoothie…a batch of Autumn Butter was a great way to rescue aging apples & pears in my fruit basket…

Sipping…as I try to add bone broth to my daily routine, this Lemon-Cumin-Turmeric version is delightful…tinkering with a dairy free make ahead creamer to pair with Oolong tea & ice for day long sipping…

Welcoming…a few trick-or-treaters on Halloween night…it has been years since I have actually been home on Halloween…

Looking Ahead…November is always a favorite month with my birthday & Thanksgiving…

What filled your October days?

Linking up with Leigh’s monthly What I’m Into connection. 

Ah, SEPTEMBER…a month filled with…one last heat wave…moments of fall creeping in…busy work days (and a pause to celebrate)…the return of football…a bit of travel…and more…these are the things that filled my SEPTEMBER days…

Reading…lots! While I didn’t get a reading round-up shared this month, I’ve achieved my summer reading challenge and continued on. It looks like I got through 9 books in September, including: When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi; I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh; Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart; starting into the Sigma Force series by James Rollins; starting into the Her Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen and more…

Watching…(small screen)…diving back into some favorite shows and trying out some new ones as the fall season starts…since I saw the first ad, I was looking forward to Designated Survivor and so far it hasn’t disappointed…

Celebrating…September started with a huge milestone on the work project that has filled my time (& travel) in recent months…our site celebration hit just the right notes to mark the occasion…

A milkshake was the perfect post root canal lunch on a Saturday…

Sitting…in way too many dentists chairs for the month…cleaning and x-rays…a root canal to start a Saturday…part one of some crown work…

Crafting…not too much…basically a few rows of knitting…

Cooking…all sorts of things: a perfect farm fresh succotash…my go-to Shepherd’s Pie…a new creation – Broccoli & Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake…wilted spinach & pear salad with soft eggs…a quick pull together of Buffalo Chicken, Spinach & Cheese Tortellini Bake…roasted garlic & tomatoes for all sorts of goodness…

Iced coffee & a cupcake to end an impromptu al fresco lunch on a Friday

Sipping…it was still an “iced” beverage month…a new iced tea in rotation is Coconut Green Tea…

Traveling…for work…a few days in Milwaukee…beautiful lake & sunrise views from the hotel room to start the days…productive working sessions…delightful meals with colleagues to end the days…

Never too old for a Daddy Date

Traveling…through the ‘Ville on the way back from the work trip…including a Thursday afternoon Daddy Date to see Sully in the theater…a fun dinner with Rebecca & some of her friends in Senoia…meeting up with PA friends at the original Chick-fil-A Dwarf House on Saturday as they arrived in GA to celebrate a 13th birthday with a mother-daughter weekend of hiking…taco salad and chocolate cake with our pastor and his wife on Saturday…

Marching…into the high school football stadium with the band for Friday Night Lights…it was the 50th anniversary celebration of our high school marching band so Rebecca & I joined up with band friends, our band directors and so many other alums to celebrate…we all marched in with the current band & some alumni played as we all were on the field for the pre-game event…it was a fun evening catching up with friends and remembering such a great part of our high school experience…this fall has been 25 years (!!!) since my last time marching…

Looking ahead…ah, fall! I’m not sure of what work travel might pop up in October…planning for a long weekend hosting the girlies…time to get the fireplace ready for cooler weather…more warm beverages coming into the routine…fall flavors in cooking…the changing of the trees…hand-knit season returning….

What filled your September days?

Linking up with Leigh’s monthly What I’m Into Round-up.

Ah, AUGUST…a month for…lots and lots of hot days…time spent watching sports that only get watched every 4 years…an abundance of fresh tastes from weekly farm stand visits…one or two mornings that had just a hint that fall may one day come…

In the midst of it all, these are the things that filled my days…

Reading…on a new Kindle! At the end of July, my Kindle decided to just no longer “open” so after months of talking about the Paperwhite Kindle I finally made the move. A busy month meant that I didn’t share my July reads here but they are queued up for September along with the few August adds: Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery and Still Life and The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend…hoping that Labor Day weekend lets me hit my summer reading goal…

Watching…the Great British Baking Show was a treat…after the DVR captured the final season of Inspector Lewis & pulled me in – I’m now streaming the series from the beginning…

Cheering…so many different Olympic events…as the Opening Ceremonies arrived, I joked that the combo of long work days & staying up way too late watching Olympic coverage just set me up for 2 weeks of being perpetually too tired…

Sleeping…much better with the addition of a new mattress pad & the nightly routine of lavender & peppermint oils in the diffuser.

Crafting…while not “officially” setting any Olympic knitting goals, many stitches were knit…another “Stash Shawlette” was cast in during the opening ceremonies & off the needles more than 24 hours before the closing ceremonies…looking at the pile, I need to have a Blocking Olympics soon to properly finish all my recent knits…

Enjoying…zinnia & herb bouquets from my local farm stand…August yielded 2 basil bouquets & 1 pineapple sage/lavender bouquet…each has been under $5 & sparked joy…

Cooking…muffin madness early in the month was a smart move & one that I think I might do monthly…creating a tasty chilled zoodle salad with chicken & a homemade peanut sauce…a great one skillet meal of pork chops with wilted spinach & peaches…stuffed peppers are becoming a go to meal option…so much great local produce being incorporated into my meals…

Sipping…iced coffee and iced tea and iced water and all the cool drinks to beat the heat…a new & refreshing iced tea discovery is Cherry Lemon Green tea…

Traveling…above the clouds to Milwaukee…below the clouds to Happy Valley…

Looking Ahead…as the big work project goes live on September 2nd now a next wave of work begins with it…the return of football…contemplating what will my football knit…ready for the change of seasons…

What filled your August days?

Linking up with Leigh’s monthly What I’m Into round-up.

Ah JULY…a month of…celebrating the birth of this country…the zaniness of our political process through conventions…heat, heat, heat, heat, humidity – and all the ways to beat the heat…in the midst of it all, these are the things that filled my July days…

Reading…after a full read in June, I managed to actually read “ahead of goal” in July and completed 6 books which I will review soon: In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume; Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Marie Semple; Before the Fall by Noah Hawley; Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough; The 14th Colony by Steve Berry…

July Knits

All sorts of joy sparked!

Where knitting began…

Streaming…really enjoying Foyle’s War on Netflix as I sort through things and knit…in addition to good stories, I think it offers some good insights into what life in the UK during WWII was like…

Watching…the latest season of Death in Paradise on a local PBS station…getting pulled into The Great British Baking Show…

Listening…thoroughly enjoying the new Need to Breathe album…the Hamilton soundtrack is still in heavy rotation…

Sipping…all the iced drinks to beat the heat…

Shopping…the farm stands on Saturdays for so many fresh fruits & veggies…and long lasting “you cut” zinnias…and the annual visit to my local sunflower farm…

Cooking…focusing on simplicity and the tastes from the farm stands…highlights include ham steak with roasted radishes, green beans & onions…a simple zucchini, sausage & ricotta bake topped with homemade tomato sauce…easy roasted chicken & veggies…a blueberry-rhubarb cobbler…a pin-spired stuffed pepper: buffalo chicken & spinach…easy skillet suppers of eggs & whatever leftovers could be chopped into a hash…

Ready to go!

Milwaukee summer scenes

Papa Cardinal brunching in the ‘Ville

Looking ahead…While August vacations plans have been delayed, a fun weekend with the WI-fam is on the agenda…at least 1 business trip to Milwaukee…work kicking into hyperdrive as a deadline on a massive project looms…inevitably staying up too late to watch the Olympics…seeing my TX girlies as they settled into life in PA…

What filled your July days?

Linking up with Leigh’s What I’m Into round-up.