thanksgiving, some links, & a finished object

Sunday.

A rare session of lunchtime knitting at the Matthei Botanical Gardens conservatory last week.

Turkey Tom is safely in our fridge defrosting and our new Turkey Trot shirts are neatly folded – BOTH waiting for their debut on Thanksgiving Day. Brandon, Miss L & I spent a nice Sunday working around the house – Miss L is becoming quite a little baker, after we’ve rabidly consumed most seasons of Great British Baking Show on Netflix, and when she puts her hair up in a messy bun, I know she’s about to produce something yummy- and a lot of dishes to boot. I love her cheese buns but the dishes are no joke. My Bosch, which I think was purchased when Lily was a baby, finally died and although I would have hoped to have gotten a few more years out of a Bosch, we bit the bullet and found a new Maytag on sale at Home Despot. To be delivered later this week and although my credit card is smoking hot after holiday shopping and will definitely need a post-holiday break, a dishwasher is kind of a big makes-my-life-a-lot-easier appliance that I don’t like going without. So it goes. In addition to getting the dishwasher sorted out, Brandon has spent a lot of time in the house doing renovations – building shelves in our spare room and hall closet, cleaning the basement and garage, unpacking his study, rearranging our belongings in the house, and hanging art. Wwe finally finished up a few projects today that gave us a working spare bedroom and much-needed storage space, and had some time after L went to her dad’s for a three mile run in the to-be-valued November sunshine.

Brandon is carving out a knitting corner for me in the upstairs bedroom, and I look forward to the day soon when I’ll have a painted shelf for my stash and knitting books and an old comfy armchair. Sarge has pretty much claimed the spare room bed for himself, as you can see in this shot of the knitting nook in-progress.

It wasn’t a very relaxing weekend, but it was very productive, and very rewarding to see his belongings mesh with ours in this house. He has a great aesthetic and a talent for knowing what looks good, and his touch and his things have made me love our space even more. We are definitely not a couple that goes to Pottery Barn and buys a matching living room set and Home Goods art and has a carefully curated furniture storeroom. We’re much more of a mismatched, whimsical decorating style, things collected and handed down, things meaningful and interesting and a little shabby. I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’m looking forward to a nice break later this week, catching up on some of my favorite vlogs (Ina Knits and By the Lakeside on YouTube), magazines (loving Midwest Living), knitting (still working on the hot-water bottle cover, Log Cabin blanket and the Isabel Kraemer Pink Memories sweater), television (Crown Season 3 and of course more Great British Baking Show), spending time with family, running the Detroit Turkey Trot on Thursday along the route of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and going ice skating at Campus Martius on Black Friday now that the Christmas tree is lit.

Ina Knits on YouTube and a few rows of my Log Cabin blanket.

early onset

It’s November 19and I already have the winter blues.

Typically November is one of my favorite months – I love running in November (turkey trots!), putting the yard to bed for winter, the whole harvest vibe. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it has most of the joy of Christmas without the additional stress and conspicuous consumption. I love the gradually deepening darkness and the bare trees. And in one fell swoop, November was taken away and we were thrust into February. Last week we got six inches of snow and it was in the single digits at night and there was a snow day at Miss L’s school. This week, it’s still unseasonably cold and there is lingering snow and the sidewalks and streets are treacherous with leftover ice.

We have deer in our village, and a six-point buck strolls casually through the backyard. I’ve been reading lots of reports of coyote sightings, too, and one of the neighbors stopped by this weekend to tell Brandon that she saw three of them sitting in our front yard. It feels like a book chapter in which the river freezes in a brutal winter and wolves cross the ice to raid the townsfolk’s farms and livestock.

I’m not sure if the two are related, but I’ve been struggling with my mood for the past week, too. I’m on a low dose of a very effective antidepressant but every now and then – like something buried far beneath the surface that sometimes moves and catches a glinting reflection of daylight to remind me it’s still there – I have a whisper of that old feeling, the old “what happens when the other shoe drops” feeling. Some of it is hormonal and some of it is that I just haven’t been very active since the Savannah half, so I need to get back to regular runs and long walks and lunchtime elliptical sessions with my book. I’m trying to seek out opportunities for hygge & Brandon is fully on board with fires at night and scented candles and yummy dinners. I’m knitting a lot, just finished up L’s fingerless chunky mitts and a new flat hat for her in black; still trucking with my sweater knitting and about to cast on for a new hot water bottle cover. And I am drinking a lot of tea – Constant Comment, Sleepytime, a yaupon tea that I bought in Savannah – and have new pink heels for work.

But I can’t help but feel that I’m raiding my midwinter emergency kit way too early this year.

show us your books! october reads

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There’s no bad season for reading, but we are fast approaching what I consider to be THE BEST SEASON for reading – when you can do it in front of a fireplace, with a blankie, and your choice of beverage.

To support my claim that this time is nigh upon us, I present two pieces of evidence:

Submission 1: First Snow (in southeast Michigan at least)

Submission 2: Happy Cat Feet from Nap-Drunk Cat During First Snow Fall

And now on to the books!

I didn’t get as much reading done this month as I usually do, but that’s primarily because I started the month with a nonfiction selection (which usually takes me a bit longer).

The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont by Shawn Levy was, if you are interested in old Hollywood, an interesting history of one of the most famous hotels in the US. I’ve listened to all of Karina Longworth’s “You Must Remember This” podcast (which I can highly recommend) so this book was a fun read, apart from where it occasionally bogged down in (albeit necessary) details about real estate and construction.

Knitlandia & A Stash of One’s Own, both by Clara Parkes, were, as the titles may suggest, books about knitting – the first, Ms Parkes’ personal essays about her travels for knitting (as someone who has written six books about it and also founded a popular online knitting magazine). I liked Knitlandia and I loved the descriptions of the conventions and fiber festivals, as well as her love of finding a good bowl of pho wherever she travels. Reading these probably did nothing to speed up my overall reading for the month because I kept wanting to pick up knitting projects while I was reading.

I continue to devour The Ruth Galloway Series by Elly Griffiths and this month rampaged up through #8. The character continues to develop and the cast of friends, family, and colleagues expands and deepens – I keep reading not just for the cool mystery themes (plots and subplots include druids, King Arthur’s remains, threats made against women priests, excavated WWII planes, Victorian child killers and visions of the Virgin Mary, among others – and let’s not forget the most captivating subplot of all – Ruth’s relationship with DCI Nelson and the child they had out of wedlock). I still have not gotten bored or slowed down and every one I read just makes me want to read the next.

Lastly, my favorite read of October was The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman. I read the His Dark Materials trilogy years ago and really enjoyed it (didn’t love the Daniel Craig / Nicole Kidman film so much, but I see they’re making another go of it on HBO). I liked Dust even better. I found Malcolm, the main character, to be endearing and the plot was quick moving and adventurous – as a prequel to the Golden Compass, it answered questions from Dark Materials and seeing many of the characters before the dark clouds of Dark Materials begin to form was fun – like old friends. I picked up the second in the trilogy in hard cover at one of my fave bookshops – Horizon Books – when I was on holiday up there at my folks’ house, but haven’t cracked it yet. I would guess, though, that it will show up in my next installment of Show Us Your Books.

As one last note, on the topic of books and bookstores, my one regret about my Savannah trip was missing out when Brandon and his dad went to a bookshop near our flat – E Shaver Books. It looked so charming from the outside but I was simply too tired to walk there. There are apparently three resident cats!! Which hearkens me to my favorite used bookstore of all time, The Haunted Bookshop of Iowa City, where I got to pet the two resident cat managers (one of whom was NOT thrilled by the attention).

Until next time, I look forward to checking out the recommendations from others in the meetup, and feel free to comment with your favorite recent reads!

savannah + rock & roll half marathon recap!

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It’s taken me a bit longer than I anticipated to get this post pulled together so thanks for your patience! It just means we were having a really awesome time on our trip and then had to quickly throw ourselves back into real life to finish out this week strong.

We front-loaded the weekend with the half marathon, so as soon as we were off the plane, Brandon’s sister picked us up and we were off to the expo (I was thrilled to note when I got my bib that Brandon had personalized it!) Brandon’s sis is one of the good ones, for sure. She’s an Ali McGraw, willowy, athletic Vineyard Vines / Northern by birth but Southern by choice who puts in minimum sixty hour work weeks and yet still finds the time to play competitive tennis, do Pilates, be the integral glue for a big Southern family and train for her first half. AND plan a perfect weekend trip for us.

She found us a beautiful flat almost right on Lafayette Square, just behind Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home, and everything, including race start and end, were within walking distance. The race route went right past our corner and we could have stood in the bay window to watch it. The morning started out cold, at least for Savannah – in the 50’s – and we bundled up in throwaway fleeces & sweatshirts after eating our toast & getting hydrated.

The route was flat and lovely – taking us through a lot of the city that we wouldn’t see as tourists as well as through the historic areas. And of course, there were runners in costume – several Elvises and a Tommy Lee, running shirtless in black jeans and a flowing black wig, twirling drumsticks. I ran the first 5 or 6 miles with Brandon and his sister, keeping a slow, steady pace (12’s) and walking through aid stations. I never would have known it was her first half – she was a champ! Then when we ran past our flat, their parents came out to hug and cheer them on and I lost them in the scrum. I didn’t want to stop because I knew that if I did I would have a harder time getting started again, so I popped in my headphones and powered on. I felt strong and ran the next few miles between 11.15 and 10.42 (mile 10 was my quickest at 10.42) and then hit the wall at mile 11, gradually slowing down – 11.37, 11.40, 11.45.

Official Event Results: 2:32:52
Garmin time: 2:33 (11.37)

I felt great throughout, probably due to a very relaxed first six miles, and never had a moment during the race where I felt like I was suffering, even in the last 2 miles. I really enjoyed running with Brandon and his sister (who finished strong about ten minutes behind me, with Brandon running with her) but I think if I’d run my own race, I could have thrashed my A2 Half time (although it’s not a great comparison because the elevations are so different and there was nothing equivalent to the Arb Hill in Savannah).

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The rest of our trip was spent sightseeing, napping, eating, and watching (and nastily critiquing) Hallmark Christmas movies on the only channel we reliably got other than sports networks. I found a local yarn shop and made some purchases; I highly recommend The Frayed Knot if you’re in Savannah and need yarn!

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We took the riverboat tour on a bright, sunny afternoon, and shopped at Black Dog for souvenirs; we toured the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, which was excellent; and we celebrated Brandon’s parents’ 50th wedding anniversary with dinner at Elizabeth on 37th. This is a fabulous restaurant in an old Thomas Square mansion, and we found out halfway through the meal that our server is actually the owner (and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee).

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