November Notes

I love reading blogs that several different people write entitled "What I Learned in _________". I intend, most months, to complete a summary of the month and link it to the appropriate blog roundup and share it with everyone so they can be enlightened by my thoughts.  And yet, I have published all of one or maybe two of these actual posts. Whoops. I'm so far behind on blogging, it's just not even funny. In an attempt to catch up, here are my November Notes. Nothing fancy, just some randomness from my head:-)

*Planning to keep up your homeschool work when you're traveling is always a good idea...except for my part, it never gets done. We have made two different week-long trips this fall, and both times I packed schoolwork for the kids, and both times we did....maybe two worksheets total. So, here's the new plan: my kids are young, and their workload is such that they can easily make it up, so until that changes, time out of town is NOT school time UNLESS it is filled with field trips (and I am down with that, by the way. Zoos and museums are even more fun out of town!).

*Nathan and I started watching The Blacklist on Netflix. And oh my gracious, we were hooked. I have never been a James Spader fan until now, but as Raymond Reddington he is genius. However, about halfway through the second season, I really grew uncomfortable with the characters and the direction of the show (it's hard to find a good guy, and from what I understand, it only gets worse). My kind husband sensed my foreboding and suggested one night that we switch to something else. Bless him.  Enter....

*The Flash. It's so much fun, so lighthearted and not too frightening or gory and not filled with the typical CW "petty problems of pretty people. For a comic book show, it's uplifting and funny and light hearted. My husband knows me well, and he knows that I want at least one person to really be the good guy, and for there to be corny jokes, but without it making fun of stupid people or being truly painful to watch (I'm looking at you, Michael Scott).  So The Flash is our fun fix right now, no regrets at all.

*Speaking of a fun fix--Grantchester on Amazon Prime is wonderful. It's a period crime solving drama involved a young priest in England in the 1950s! Whoo- hoo! Now, this priest is flawed and makes some rather dramatic mistakes, but he feels the weight of those mistakes and grieves them. I loved the series, and wish it was more than 6 episodes (these British tv shows with their abbreviated runs!). I am reading the short stories that the series was based on, and the series is better!

*I HAVE been reading books this month, but I have nothing to show for it--i.e., nothing that I have finished. It might be because I am trying very hard to finish the expansive Warmth of Other Suns which I started in the spring. It is SO good and so so so long. Maybe I'll finish it by the end of the year?

*Fall is always busy for us. Add in a move, a new job, new responsibilities, and let's just say the fall is crazy. We traveled the week before Thanksgiving, our family came into town FOR Thanksgiving, and the week after Thanksgiving we had three Christmas parties. What does that mean? It means this week until Christmas is relatively quiet and peaceful and for that we are truly grateful. We have very few plans, and I do not mind that one little bit. Peace on earth, and good will toward men.

*Last--we finally bought tickets to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens the night before it opens ;-) We are now debating what time we should get in line beforehand. Ha!