December is here at last or perhaps suddenly. Feels more like suddenly this year doesn’t it? We have lots on our December calendar and I’m excited for it.
However, first I think I’ll take a minute to look back at the whirlwind last week of November. Isn’t it weird how sometimes a week with nothing special on the calendar can speed by as fast as one that’s super busy?
MONDAY AND TUESDAY
Nothing too exciting happened on Monday except my usual grocery store trip. I guess I’m officially a “regular” as that’s how the lunchmeat counter manager referred to me. “I’m seeing all my regulars today.” HA. It’s true though, I typically shop on Mondays and get the same things from that counter.
Tuesday, J had his class and I took a snowy hike through some of the nature center trails. You can see the post about that here.
I worked for just a few hours on Tuesday afternoon. It was definitely a bit more chilly in the late afternoon on the playground than it had been on the nature center trails. And so muddy! Ugh. However, I still enjoyed seeing the kids. J didn’t have his evening class so our evening was fairly relaxed, I mostly read in my book and watched a bit of TV.
WEDNESDAY
With lots of sunshine and warmer weather, I opted to drive out to a nature center on the east side of town and do a bit of walking. I didn’t take my boots so mostly stayed on the paved trails. I had the best time seeing a new (to me) bird as well as some eagles flying over head! The eagle picture turned out blurry but here’s my new tiny bird friend:
A bit of real life: Unfortunately, the evening ended on a bit of a sour note as J and I came home starving from his class and my husband had not even bothered to start dinner. He’d been home a decent amount of time, saying “I didn’t know what you wanted.” I’d written two options on our menu board. My temper flared a bit as I made dinner (loudly) but everyone was fed. I ended up making sausage, orzo, & broccoli.
Maybe I’d come home in a bit of worse mood as I’d finished reading Holly by Stephen King and found myself quite disappointed in it.
Life and dinners go on…
THURSDAY
Yesterday, I went hiking at the closer nature center trails again. Wore my boots and was glad I did as a lot of the snow melted into slippery leaves and mud.
So strange to see how the weather and trails can change in a matter of two days. This is the same spot 2 days apart:
I also finally managed to get to the library and pick up my on hold books (as well as return my overdue ones). Also picked up a few new cookbooks, not sure if I’ve mentioned it but the library is such a great place to grab cookbooks to preview. In my current collection, I have Trisha Yearwood’s cookbook as well as one by Chrissy Teigen plus a couple random ones.
Not from a cookbook but last night we made these banana pancakes for dinner. Whatever you’re planning for your next meal, change it and make these instead! So good. We added mini chocolate chips to ours. They really didn’t even need syrup. Next time, I think I’d like to add blueberries instead of the chocolate chips.
Ended my November watching, not a Christmas movie but an old dateline special about Jonestown. Why? And then, I turned on the football game but fell asleep.
Our Weekend Plans
And now it’s December! Ours is a bit busier than normal but after a few years of quiet holidays, I’m excited about it.
Prior to this post, I took a moment to enjoy a cup of hazelnut coffee as the Keurig is plugged in for the holiday season. It only comes out for hunting season/Christmas, the rest of the year is the regular coffee maker coffee which I also had a cup of earlier in the morning.
And read the first day of Simply Christmas, a favorite devotional for this month. While it’s geared to moms with younger children, I still find wisdom in the pages.
Tonight we have J’s college Christmas concert to attend. Tomorrow, our first of the month dinner/game night with friends. We’ve not had a proper game night in a while so I do hope we actually play a few games tomorrow. And then, Sunday night is the Chiefs game. Between all that fun, I am hoping to get the rest of the house decorated for Christmas, maybe do a bit of shopping or baking, and taking some time to enjoy the start of the Christmas season.
If the sun shines, you know I’ll be out taking a walk with my camera soaking it in while I can. I’ve told myself every time I can be out walking and enjoying the sunshine in the next few months, I’m going to do it.
Do you have any exciting weekend plans?
This area, the crime seems to be on a bit of an uptick…is it related the homeless? I don’t know. I feel as though I’m walking a fine line between compassion and common sense. Watched a homeless man biking up the road as I left for the store so had to drive around the block to see where he went. Then, he was just gone. So, back in the driveway for me, check the backyard, double check the door locks. SIGH. Remind myself everything is cyclical while being a bit frustrated with myself for not agreeing to move to a different area many years ago. Well, that took a dark, melancholy turn. Let’s try a different tab. 
Oh, Thanksgiving. We have plans! Hooray. My older brother is hosting and my other older brother who moved to Texas a few years ago is coming into town for it. Haven’t seen him in way too long.
