Good-bye, November

Just about a month ago I was looking forward to my birthday, anticipating celebrating another anniversary with the Man of the House, and Thanksgiving was still weeks and weeks away.

Now, here we are at the last day of the month.  Time. Does. Fly.

November was a good month.  Full of blessings and things to be grateful for as I pursued my November Gratitude Challenge.

My birthday celebration lasted a full weekend, with dinners and lunches and a trip to the River Arts District in Asheville for a couple of lovely locally produced pottery pieces.

Not to mention all the moist, rich red velvet cake I enjoyed!  My family made me feel very loved and special.

The Man and I got away for a couple of nights mid-month when he had a softball tournament out of town.  I've already shared on that HERE, so I won't make you shift through all the details again.  (If you missed it before, please take a moment to read and enjoy that post!)

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I had the joy of celebrating 23 years of marriage to the Man of the House.  Speaking of time flying!  23 years goes by much quicker than I could have ever imagined! What's the old saying?  Time flies when you're having fun?  Yep!

We treated ourselves to annual passes to the Biltmore Estate where we spent the day enjoying the estate all decked out for Christmas, a wine tasting and had a delicious dinner at Deer Park.

We spent the night at the lovely Grande Bohemian hotel in Biltmore Village.  (To everyone who made our anniversary weekend special - a HUGE thank you!!)

Thanksgiving was the usual hustle and bustle with a house full of family.  Along with all the good (and some not so good) times that is expected to involve.  The Man of the House smoked the turkey - which was completely wonderful!

We're still eating leftovers around here.  And so far no one is complaining.  Although I am sad that all the pumpkin pie is gone.

And that was November.  Which brings go us to...

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Day 19 of the November Gratitude Challenge

I Am Thankful For:

Working on a new crochet design

The cat sitting at the backdoor chattering at the birds

Doing worksheets with the grand baby

Another beautiful sunset

Almond milk creamer

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Day 18 of the November Gratitude Challenge

I AM THANKFUL FOR

Oatmeal with cinnamon and blueberries

The swarm of chickadees at the feeder

The sound of rain against the window

Yarn on sale
Rainy afternoons

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The Reality of Weekend Softball Tournaments

This Man of the House was invited to go participate in a softball tournament in Cherokee, NC last weekend.  Well, ok - technically it was in Whittier.  But... 6 of one, half dozen of the other...

Knowing he had to be there pretty early and that games could run late into the evening we decided to make it a weekend getaway.   A little early anniversary gift to ourselves.

After digging around online we managed to find a good rate at a cute little bed and breakfast nearby - The Chalet Inn.  It was a very nice little place.  Personal attention.  Tucked away from the beaten path, but very conveniently located to Cherokee, Sylva and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

On a side note - if you ever decide to visit Cherokee in November you should be aware that, with the exception of the casino, apparently the entire town closes up shop and heads home at sundown.  We went looking for something to eat and quickly found our choices to be fast food or fast food.  We settled on Pizza Hut because that was the nicest restaurant we could find open at 8pm.  You have been warned.

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, although a little bit cold.  I've never been to one of these tournaments before.  And clearly had no idea what to expect.  In all my glorious naiveté, I expected there to be some downtime between games while other teams played.  Time the Man and I could slip away for some brief sight seeing, shopping, or a quick pop into the casino to lose all my loose change in the slot machines.  (If you've ever actually BEEN to a tournament of this time you are now laughing like crazy.  Go ahead.  Take your time.  I'll wait.)  The reality of it was several back to back games, with an occasional break of about an hour - IF the current game didn't end earlier than scheduled.  So much for down time.

On the plus side:  have I ever mentioned how beautiful this part of the country is?  Well, it is.  Beautiful.  I mean, when you live somewhere that THIS is the view from the ballfields:

Yeh... that!

During the day the weather was cool, but not uncomfortably so.  The sun was shining.  (I ended up sporting a pink nose the next morning.  Oops!) I settled into a camp chair, relaxed, crocheted and watched my handsome man pitch game after game.

Which is not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Once the sun set behind the mountains things got ugly cold very quickly.  And as games continued on into the wee hours of the morning we found ourselves tired, hungry and frozen.  Which just isn't as much fun as it sounds.  Exactly.

But, their team did take second place in their division.  We got a day and 2 nights away from the grind.

And on the drive home we made much less softball-ish type plans to enjoy our actual anniversary this coming weekend.

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November Gratitude Challenge: Days 12-17

Time gets away from me sometimes.  I get distracted and suddenly almost an entire week has passed and I haven't gotten much anything marked off my to do list.  Such as writing a new post for the blog.  But time moves on; and so shall I...

I Am Thankful For

The beauty inside a butternut squash

The grand baby informing me that he does not like butternut squash because it is not his favorite

The Queen bee sweater I've been eyeing going on sale

Warm autumn weather

Seeing THIS while driving the male offspring to guitar:

Impromptu overnight trips

An afternoon crocheting at the ball field

Making anniversary plans

The Panthers are 9-0!!

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November 10th and 11th Gratitude Challenge

I Was Thankful For

the male offspring applying to college

the female offspring bringing me a coffee

clean sheets

not vomiting

ginger ale

Everyone who has served in our nation's armed forces

Walnuts

The offspring and their silliness

Thinking about the weekend

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The Ninth Day: November Gratitude Challenge

I AM  THANKFUL  FOR

Rainy Mondays

The Man of the House and the grandbaby watching TV

White yarn fuzzies everywhere

A yummy Peppermint Mocha

The kiddos making eachother laugh

Reserving my table for a small craft fair

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Days 6, 7 and 8: The November Gratitude Challenge

This Weekend I Was Thankful For:

Homemade pizza night

Rainy Saturday's

Looking for tile

Dunkin Donuts

Babysitting the Grandbaby

The male offspring working around the house

The female offspring taking pictures for me

Having the moms over for dinner

The Man of the House making pulled pork

The Panthers go to 8-0!

A chance to get some things off my chest

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November Gratitude Challenge: Day 5

Today I Am Thankful For:

Pumpkin Spice

Starting a new book

An afternoon cup of tea

Chatting with the Man of the House during  the boy's guitar lesson

Not having to cook

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What Are You Thankful For (Day 4 of the November Gratitude Challenge)

I Am Thankful For:

Eyeliner

Chocolate cupcakes

A visit from my mom

Pretty handmade scarves

Fruit salad

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Day Three of the November Gratitude Challenge

Today I Am Giving Thanks For:

A wonderful husband

Two crazy offspring sending me texts to make me laugh

The grandbaby at play

A silly dog
Quiet mornings

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November Gratitude Challenge: Day 2

Today I Am Grateful for:

Rainy Mondays

Car repairs done quickly

This kid:

A cat sleeping in my shopping bag
Feeling like I made a little progress

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November Gratitude Challenge - Day 1

I Am Thankful For:

Sushi for lunch

Beautiful pottery pieces

A pretty necklace

Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino

Red Velvet birthday cake

A VERY happy birthday

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November Gratitude Challenge

It's November!  And here in the US, that means one thing!  Ok, really it means many things... but the BIG thing is Thanksgiving.  That one day each year when we gather with family and friends and give thanks for all our many blessings.

But why should we only give thanks one day in November??  Gratitude should be a regular, on going process!  Daily.  Every minute.  Every heartbeat.

In that spirit, let's make November a month of gratitude and thankfulness.   Take a moment each day to ponder your blessings and give thanks.  Each day create a list of at least three things for which you can give thanks.

Are you in?

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