I know. It’s been a bit. It’s also been a lot. The remodel continues at a snail’s pace. Abram finished cross country and headed straight into basketball. V dislocated their knee and brought an abrupt end to their swim season. Jesse and I planted garlic and then something dug through the beds so I don’t know how much (if any) we will actually get next summer. Violet and I went with my sister and niece to Lizzo (it was amazing). Abram and I joined my niece, nephew, parents, and sister for a Minnesota Gophers game (also fun). There was homecoming and football games and 8th grade boy nerf battles. Jesse and I both had COVID (zero stars – do not recommend). Violet needed knee surgery. Abe treated a few different neighborhoods with some friends. V handed out candy. October was gorgeous, and then snowy and gray, and gorgeous again and now we are in November.
Knitting: Finished a pair of socks for my brother-in-law, started and finished a pair from Abram (because when he outgrows them, they will fit me), and am working on this scarf in the Oyster Gray and Meadow color way. The repeat took me a little bit to get right but it’s starting to go fast now that I’ve got it down.
Watching: All the things. Finished the RHOBH season with all kinds of feelings (Garcelle is my favorite. Rinna is not.) Other than that I was mainly on Netflix – Somebody Feed Phil, which I dole out one sweet episode at a time. I love it so much. Do Revenge I enjoyed with Violet. Partner Track was fun and soapy, and finally, The Watcher which was kind of eh. I’ve been watching Tell Me Lies on Hulu and I don’t like it but I also keep watching whatever that means. I’m looking forward to the HBO Max Lizzo documentary.
Listening: Lizzo (it’s a theme and I’m about it), this is a whole mood for a blustery rainy October day (my sister gets credit for introducing it to me), and this for puttering around the house (aka millennial elevator music)
(ETA because I forgot) Reading: Maybe in Another Life (★★☆☆☆) and After I Do (★★★★☆) by Taylor Jenkins Reid – she’s a bit hit or miss for me. After I Do was a hit, Maybe in Another Life was a miss. When I Ran Away by Ilona Bannister (★★★★★), On a Quiet Street by Seraphina Nova Glass (3.5 stars), Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (★★★★★). Currently reading: This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
Making: We recently went dairy free. I never thought of us as big dairy people, but actually eliminating it has made me realize how much we actually we were using. This pumpkin bread or these pumpkin oat muffins (maybe even both?) are in the plan for this week. October brought about chili season and we’ve made three batches already. My favorite go to dinner lately is an olive oil baked sweet potato with shredded roasted chicken breast – sometimes I add green beans that I put up from this summer or a big spinach salad.
So that’s me. Hope you are all doing well! Would love to hear what you’re up to in your corner of the world.
I think my favorite thing about this post might be the link to the chili recipe, with its reference to the three-year-old tomato crusher. Oof. Also the glimpse of 2013 Kate. The differences are subtle, but significant, which has me thinking about the impacts of the past 9 years on all of us. The years have been hard in so many ways, and I hate the whole “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” thing, but I appreciate the ways in which the hard things have created growth. Or some of the growth, in some people. I’m really looking forward to trying out your recipe. 🙂
I, too, have been watching Tell Me Lies even though I don’t like it. Why do we do that? I think it might be that I no longer have anything I really like, other than Abbott Elementary and Reboot (both Hulu), which release new episodes only once a week. I’m so thankful for your watching ideas here and look forward to trying them out. Cane and I have discovered Restore on Discovery+, which has ruined me for all other home renovation shows. It features a guy in California who restores old homes to their origins, and I love his work, his philosophy, and his complete nerdy geekiness about old homes. We watch an episode almost every night. Luckily there are lots of them.
My biggest -ing lately is cleaning/purging/organizing. Today I am tackling our laundry/storage room, and I’ve been looking forward to that for days. I feel like a weirdo, and I don’t care. The more I get our home in order, the better I feel. I hope your renovations can hurry up and get finished. I know how work in one part of the house affects pretty much all of the rest of it. The other -ing I’m excited about is puzzling. I made a space for a puzzle table, and yesterday I got one with a strong autumn vibe. Because it’s autumn for another month, no matter what the weather here is doing.
Wishing you a cozy November. I’m glad you had a true fall in October. (I’m getting over my shock/dismay at the way we went–literally in days–from an overly long, hot summer to a cold, wet winter.) I hope V’s knee recovers (that sounds like a lot, all by itself) and that you all enjoy this season. Love hearing from you here.
Oof is right! I miss that three year old tomato crusher. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone sweeter than 3 year old Abram. I, too, appreciate our growth in the last nine years, and could do without the platitude. Thinking about the challenges earlier generations faced and how they are discussed, I wonder what will be said about ours – how it has shaped us collectively for better, worse, or both. As for the recipe, that’s changed a bit as well. It’s very much a taste and adjust recipe, but I only use one tablespoon of brown sugar and I do not pack it in tight. Let me know what you think!
I love Abbott Elementary so much. I haven’t heard of Reboot so I’ll try that and Reservation Dogs next. (You’ve mentioned it twice and it has to be better than Tell Me Lies). Restore sounds very much like a show Violet would love – I’ll have to watch that when it’s time to trade out subscription services.
If your love for cleaning/purging/organizing makes you a weirdo – you’re my kind of weirdo. I’m a systems girl (I think that’s something librarians and accountants have in common in our core) and I love having places for things and resetting things to baseline. Hoping the decent fall weather sticks at least through the rest of the week so I can get windows washed before winter hits. I’m sorry to hear about your abrupt jump from summer to winter. Autumn is such a lovely season when you get it, so I hope you do get a little this November.
Thank you for the well wishes on V’s knee. Thankfully there was no ligament damage – “just” some cartilage that needed to be removed. They’ll spend the next few months stabilizing their knee with PT and strength and conditioning and it’s already doing much better since surgery Friday.
It’s always good to hear from you and what you’re -ing whether here or at your own blog. Thank you, Rita. <3
Sometimes I feel such longing for the children my children used to be. I love who they are now, but I miss who they were. I know they all live in my memories, but what I wouldn’t give to be able to talk with them again or hold them in my arms.
I, too, love AE. It’s really grown on me. It so sweetly skewers so many of the challenges in schools. I have rarely liked TV shows or movies about schools/teachers–for lots of reasons–but this one I love. Reboot has a similar kind of sharp sweetness to it. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Reservation Dogs.
So glad V’s knee wasn’t worse!
I couldn’t agree with your first paragraph more. I don’t want to go back to those days (they were their own kind of hard) but I would love to have moments of them again.
Exactly. <3
So happy to see a post from you, Kate—I always love seeing what you’re up to, and my goodness, it sounds like a lot, especially the renovation and V’s knee injury. (Wishing them a speedy recovery.) Great photos, as always. You’ve had snow already! (We’ve been unseasonably warm here.) And that scarf is gorgeous. It’s so cool the way it’s different on the reverse side.
I’m so sorry to hear you and Jesse had COVID. I hope you’ve both fully recovered. (I got a laugh out of “zero stars — do not recommend.”)
Like Rita, the three-year-old tomato crusher got me too. Last night I was feeling quite blue as I handed out treats. My youngest—who toured a university this past weekend—was busy with homework, so much so that he didn’t even have time to carve the pumpkin, and between doorbell rings I pulled a photo album from a shelf and just happened to find a photo of my older son, aged 5, wearing the dinosaur costume I had sewn for him 19 years ago. (Oof.)
I’m nearly finished knitting the hooded sweater I’m making for my niece’s second baby, and I’ve also been working on socks and dish cloths. I’ve been reading Samantha Silva’s Mr. Dickens and His Carol, which is pretty good. (It’s making me want to re-read A Christmas Carol, so the timing is good.) I’ve been watching one episode per week of the latest season of the Great Canadian Baking Show as well as Derry Girls (highly recommend; it’s very funny) intermixed with Star Trek Voyager (for the umpteenth time). Oh, and I also binged season ten of Call the Midwife. Aside from knitting, reading, and TV, I’ve also managed to get back into an exercise routine, and in many ways that’s thanks to you. Your success in that area definitely helped to inspire me to get back to it. Also—wahoo!—I just reached 365 days on my streak with Duolingo. (The French is going swimmingly, the Dutch a bit less so, but I’ll keep trying.)
Take care, Kate 🙂
We did have snow. Very early even for us. It stuck for a couple days and then warmed up again and we’ve been rather warm ever since.
I understand feeling blue. We didn’t carve pumpkins at all this year (no one was interested) and it’s just..bittersweet. And to stumble upon a picture of them in a costume lovingly made in the years before…yeah, big oof.
You inspire ME with your Duolingo and exercise routine. Have you been doing both French and Dutch for a year? I am trying to get back into the swing of things since I’ve been sick. I did received the antiviral series which helped, but I sure haven’t bounced back as quickly as I have from other bugs. Your comment helped cheer me on. (A full circle moment.)
So good to hear from you, Marian. I’m off to see where I can watch Derry Girls!
I’m so sorry to hear you haven’t yet completely bounced back from your COVID infection, Kate. It does seem to take a lot of people quite a while to feel better. Sending you good wishes, and hoping whatever symptoms you’re dealing with don’t linger much longer.
I have done French every single day for a year, but the Dutch has been a bit more hit-and-miss. (Duolingo doesn’t keep separate streak tallies if you’re learning different languages—it just keeps track if you’ve done at least one lesson of something every day.) The French feels more practical (Canada is officially bilingual, and I’d love to visit Quebec again), so I always get that lesson in first thing in the morning, but even though I’m also highly motivated to learn Dutch—and in many ways it feels more intuitive because I heard so much of it growing up—I find I don’t always get to it later in the day. (Perhaps if I could just stop the effing doomscrolling, I’d be able to fill that time with learning Dutch, which would be a whole lot better for my mental health!)
Thank you, Marian!! I really can’t complain (but I will) because it isn’t bad. I just need a little more margin in my days because I get tired out/worn down. I’d blame the season but the days have been gorgeous here!!
Don’t be hard on yourself for doom scrolling. You’re still learning Dutch more than not and you’re doing French every day. That deserves some self congratulations, IMO!
There’s so much to love. We love Lizzo as well. I’m glad you got to see her in concert.
I also enjoy SYML, so I’m sure I’ll like that playlist. I added his song “Lost Myself” to my playlist last night and have been listening to it on repeat ever since.
I read your chili post, and the goulash comment made me laugh. We ate goulash as kids, and you’re right about adding pasta to chili.
I don’t like Rinna but love Garcelle, too. Kyle is also on my sh** list. 😂
I usually don’t like Kyle, but I feel really bad for her this season actually. From the sounds of it all three of those sisters have had difficult childhoods and traumas and are all dealing with it in very different ways.
I loved goulash as a kid. It makes me think I need to make some for dinner!!
Good seeing you, Kari!!
I know how you feel about Somebody Feed Phil. I like him and want to keep him around for a long time. No binging that one. I know we are a duo who likes dairy, so doing without would mean some major changes in our diets.
As for what I’m doing, today I’m making chili with ground bison and black beans, then messing around with some new framed art that I want to use to create a gallery wall. I live a simple life [hallelujah!].