Happy Things Friday: 2 October

It’s October!

I will not talk about how quickly time is passing, I will not talk about how quickly time is passing, I will not talk about how quickly time is passing.

…

Okay, I’m going to talk about how quickly time is passing.

It’s cliche! I say these things all the time. Also, they’re true! I just cannot believe it’s October.

I had a dream last week that it was 6:30 pm on Christmas Eve and I didn’t have a single present purchased or wrapped for anyone in my family. Also, I had no ideas what to get anyone. In my dream I was wildly driving around and all the stores were closed—because, hello, it’s 6:30 pm on Christmas Eve—and I couldn’t enjoy the evening’s festivities and I was astonished that somehow I had gotten to this point of oversight.

Let me rephrase that. This was not a dream. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE.

I woke in an utter state of panic and then proceeded to feel immense relief that I, in fact, have several months to prepare for Christmas.

And another Christmas anecdote. On September 11th, I stared off into space for a minute and thought: a month from today we will be putting the tree up. That seems so soon. (We put the tree up the evening of November 11th). It took me a lot longer than I’d like to admit to realize I had skipped an entire month. October!

Anyway. Enough talk of Christmas and dreams and my challenges with time/space continums.

It was another busy, full week. And I’m here to talk about Happy Things.

CROWDSOURCED WARMTH (HEART + BODY)

Friends, you delivered. Not only do I have a GIANT list of suggestions for new ways to keep warm—including specific brand recommendations for slippers, merino wool layers, socks, etc—my friend Nicole has THREE pairs of slippers that are like-new, in my size, that she no longer wears because they’re… wait for it… TOO WARM. And she has offered to mail these to me. As a gift.

Every single comment was helpful and appreciated, but here are a few specific mentions:

• I need a heated lap blanket. This MUST happen. So many of you have (and love) your heated blanket. I love blankets. I love heat. The solution is obvious so thank you all for pointing out this is an important next step.
• I am going to try wearing TWO layers of socks.
• I need to have a charging station for heated sock/vest batteries so I plug them in at the end of each day and they’re ready for me in the morning. (This suggestion came from Engie who walks her dog, Hannah, in all sorts of weather and I think it’s genius.)
• UGG, L.L Bean Wicked Good, and Glerup slippers all come highly recommended (multiple mentions of each). Also, camping booties that are rated for outdoors in the winter!
• Down-filled vests!
• Scarves (I will admit I don’t like the sensation of a scarf, but some helpful workarounds that were suggested were fleece neckwarmers or something made of silk.)
• I received several reminders that I can wear my beloved ski pants in the house during the day. They’re warm! They fit me again (they were just a smidge too tight last year and weren’t comfy for day-to-day wear).
• I need to get a set of fleece-lined leggings and I should wear tights under normal pants.

I also loved Jenny’s encouragement. Outside of moving to Florida (I certainly understand the appeal of snowbirding), she thinks “this will be [my] best winter ever.” I love her optimism!

CAMP DAY

Our all-day youth event was great. I played seemingly endless games of Dutch Blitz. I’m competitive and boy does that game bring it out in me. I chipped TWO nails, I was slamming cards down so aggressively. Then I moved on to Scattergories where I remained incredibly competitive; there were multiple rounds of UNO in the mix, too (a bit tamer).

There were outdoor games and chapel. Seeing a giant group of kids have fun while learning about Jesus truly warms my heart. Their insights on giant existential topics is incredible.

There was pumpkin carving, and singing Old Lady Leary and Great Big Moose around a campfire at the top of our lungs, and bouldering and canoeing, and capture the flag after dark, and roasting marshmallows. It felt… very wholesome and fun and wonderful and I’m so thankful I got to be a part of it. This group of tweens and teens is going to grow up to do great things in the world.

The weather forecast originally called for heavy rain, but the sun came out for part of the day, and there wasn’t a drop of precipitation.

Two thumbs up!

FESTIVE DRINKS

Another week, another trip to Starbucks. One of the kids has a deepening friendship (Ahem) and it was a Hangout with Mothers Along For the Ride.

While Starbucks is NOT frugal, Belle buys her own things most of the time (three cheers for teen jobs; if you’re curious, this is how we handle giving/saving/spending). And I still had a Starbucks credit from the gift card Jenny sent me last year! Woot, woot.

Closer to home, I couldn’t resist picking up this fall mug I spotted at a thrift store. It’s a racoon!!! And falling leaves!!

And while I’ll likely only buy the one bottle of Pumpkin Spice Silk Creamer (PLEASE TELL ME THEY WILL SELL PEPPERMINT MOCHA IN THESE LARGER BOTTLES THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON), it feels decidedly festive.

BONUS HAPPY THINGS

• Our family loves Formula 1. It is such a delight to watch the races. Most of them happen on Sunday mornings when we’re at church, so it’s relatively rare for us to get to see a race in it’s entirety. But because of the location (Baku) and a national holiday (on Sunday), the race was shifted to Saturday morning and we got to watch the whole thing!

• This book is heavy, but gripping so far. Indy had another team formation session for soccer and when he was subbed off the field, you know how I spent my time. *Update: this ended up as a DNF. After I made it through the first third of the book, it transitioned into having pervasive strong language—not surprising since most of the book is set inside a prison. I did read the ending because I was attached to the characters and this book is not for the faint of heart. There are content warnings galore—and I didn’t actually read the middle section of the book for that reason—but I can also understand why it’s so highly acclaimed.

• One day when Belle was at school, I sent her a few silly “dad” jokes. My favourite is:
  • Why are mountains so funny?
    • They’re hill areas.

• When the kids were little, a few times a week we’d have what I called Hodge Podge for lunch. Basically it was a little of this and a little of that, depending on what I had in the fridge. I love these meals because no advance planning is necessary and I can use up odds and ends and it doesn’t have to necessarily feel “cohesive”. One night this week we had Hodge Podge for supper: I finished the final half of an English cucumber, washed the last handful of grapes, used the last slice of cheese, the final two ciabatta buns, and leftover meatballs (which I skewered with toothpicks so they became finger food). The fridge looked so much cleaner when I was done and people got fed. Win, win.

• I tend to tidy as I go. If I see a cup hanging out on a surface, I will put it in the dishwasher. Much to the dismay of my family who is constantly looking to reuse the same cups for their water. In John’s words: You have to nail things down in this household. Anyhoo, apparently Belle had enough of my over-eager cleanup and put labels on her cup in painters tape. Belle’s cup. DO NOT REMOVE UNLESS OTHERWISE INFORMED. It made me laugh and… point taken.

• Belle picked my manicure colour for the week and she opted for Essie Expressie Spray It To Say It. This is a quick dry polish (for real! it’s so fast!) and lasts so well. It says you don’t need a base coat or a top coat with this polish, but I do use both. Mostly because I LOVE the Essie Gel Couture Top Coat. It’s so shiny and really helps at-home manicures last (and also seems to dry very quickly. I am not overly patient, if you couldn’t tell.

That’s a wrap from me this week. Happy weekending, friends.

(And to anyone joining me for the Cool Bloggers Walking Club, happy walking!) I left my phone home while I went for my first walk (1 October), but it was a lovely 5 km spent with John!