30.November

Morning:: arrived home from school drop-off to find Neko with another stolen item from Alix's room

Noon::  steamy

Night::  any room for me

29.November

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

"Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn’t seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye.

Harold pens a quick reply and, leaving Maureen to her chores, heads to the corner mailbox. But then, as happens in the very best works of fiction, Harold has a chance encounter, one that convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. And thus begins the unlikely pilgrimage at the heart of Rachel Joyce’s remarkable debut. Harold Fry is determined to walk six hundred miles from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed because, he believes, as long as he walks, Queenie Hennessey will live.

Still in his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold embarks on his urgent quest across the countryside. Along the way he meets one fascinating character after another, each of whom unlocks his long-dormant spirit and sense of promise. Memories of his first dance with Maureen, his wedding day, his joy in fatherhood, come rushing back to him—allowing him to also reconcile the losses and the regrets. As for Maureen, she finds herself missing Harold for the first time in years."

28.November

All my actions felt trivial today after the news that a loved one will not be recovering.  So many thoughts of my family as I baked banana bread using my grandmother's recipe.

26.November

This Monday after a four day weekend was a tough one.  I missed my people.   I missed the willy nilly-ness of the day.  I missed the mid-morning coffee and sweet break.  At 8:30 I gave up and went to bed to read.

24.November

I looked up from my laptop and realized although the three of us were "doing our own thing" we were doing it together.

23.November

This year we did not take a thanksgiving hike but Paul and I made up for it the next day.  After tagging our christmas tree at Rossview Farm we decided to hike the West End Farm Trail.  The mostly flat and very soggy-in-places trail crosses through three farm properties.  We had the pleasure of seeing and chatting with our friends the Dupre's on the trail.  We hiked about 7.5 miles round trip.  

 

 

 

20.November

We followed the christmas-tree-truck part of the way to school today.  By school pick up the trees were all on display.  Our tree plan for this year is to tag a tree at  Rossview Farm on Friday.  Then in a couple of weeks go to cut it down.  We learned last year that more and more people are tagging the trees early which is why we could not find a tree to our liking at the farm.  I am hopeful we will have better luck this year.

I dropped off Paul's parka at the seamstress to replace the broken zipper.  While spending $45 on a zipper seamed pricey, I realized it is much cheaper than spending a few hundred dollars for a new coat.  Last week was a visit to the cobbler for new soles on a pair of his shoes.  

15.November

The sky during pickup after cooking club.

14.November

Recently read, Abdication by Juliet Nicolson.  

"The year began with the death of a beloved king and the ascension of a charismatic young monarch, sympathetic to the needs of the working class, glamorous and single. By year’s end, the world would be stunned as it witnessed that new leader give up his throne in the name of love, just as the unrest and violence that would result in a Second World War were becoming impossible to ignore. 

During the tumultuous intervening months, amidst the whirl of social and political upheaval, wise-beyond-her-nineteen-years May Thomas will take the first, faltering steps toward creating a new life for herself. Just disembarked at Liverpool after a long journey from her home on a struggling sugar plantation in Barbados, she secures a position as secretary and driver to Sir Philip Blunt, a job that will open her eyes to the activities of the uppermost echelons of British society, and her heart to a man seemingly beyond her reach.

Outwardly affable spinster Evangeline Nettlefold is a girlhood friend to the American socialite Wallis Simpson, a goddaughter to Lady Joan Blunt and a new arrival to London from Baltimore. She will be generously welcomed into society’s most glittering circles, where one’s daily worth is determined by one’s proximity to a certain H.R.H. and his married mistress. But as the resentment she feels toward Wallis grows in magnitude, so too does the likelihood of disastrous consequences.

Young, idealistic Julian Richardson’s Oxford degree and his close friendship with Rupert Blunt have catapulted him from excruciating hours in his mother’s middle-class parlor to long holidays spent at stately homes and luxurious dinners in the company of a king. But even as he enjoys his time in this privileged world, his head cannot forget the struggles of those who live outside its gilded gates, and his uneasy heart cannot put aside his undeclared affection for May.

May, Evangeline and Julian will all become embroiled in the hidden truths, undeclared loves, unspoken sympathies and covert complicities that define the year chronicled in Abdication."

12.November

Found on my phone.

 

10.November

Waffle breakfast for six.

Let the four kids loose at the mall for a bit while Paul and I ran errands and scored big at the thrift store.

Alix away at sleepover at Mari's.

Three adult guests for an evening of fish burritos and game playing .

9.November

Paul gave me the heads up about this new movie, World War Z. 

Love this scarf featured at The Pearl Bee.

These ornaments are gorgeous from The Sitting Tree.

I don't crochet but these are so cute. 

Double sleep over at our house with chinese food.

8.November

Awoke to the first dusting of snow of the season, not the nor'easter we were expecting.

The new container I bought at the restaurant supply company is working perfecting for my bread dough. 

Another cold and wet day.

I finished watching the series Brothers & Sisters on Netflix and now I wish I hadn't gobbled up more than one episode a day.  Paul and I recently watched Between the Folds, an excellent documentary about modern origami. 

7.November

Paul woke Alix and Chance up with the news President Obama won the election.  I think every morning should start with cheering.

 Alix was so disappointed when she realized she would miss being able to vote in the next presidential election by three months.

Bill paying, paper filing and laundry done

Gray skies with temps in the low 30's.  A Nor'easter is in the forecast.

The last of the lasagna was eaten by me for lunch

 I love the smell of oatmeal and almond soap.

 Paul made this favorite stir fry with a few alternations:  Cooking Light's Beef and Broccoli Bowl

6.November

Election Day



There was already a line when we arrived at the polls fifteen minutes before the doors opened.  We greeted several friends from our neighborhood. 

Throughout the day I followed the local news reporting on the high turnout at each ward.  I tried not to dwell on the "what will happen" if my choices do not win.  

Paul and I went up to bed by 9:30.  It was too early to know.  At midnight I woke up and turned  on NHPR.  They called the race for Obama.  In addition New Hampshire became the first state to have an all female congressional delegation and a female governor.  

I am so proud.

4.November

Living in New Hampshire, we have the opportunity to meet all the candidates running for President.  Often several times.  During the primary the settings are often intimate.  After the nominations have been secured the venues get larger but the opportunities are plentiful.  

On Sunday, Paul and I left our house at 5:30 am,  walked to our downtown stopping along the way to get coffee and donuts.  By 6:15, tickets in hand, we were near the front of a very long line to see President Obama and former President Clinton.  After passing through security we secured a place where we would stand along with 14,000 other supporters until 10:30 when President Clinton took the stage followed by President Obama.  By the time the rally ended and we walked home we had been standing for six hours.  It was so worth it.  Just another reason why I love our little state of New Hampshire.