November 2023 Happenings

No big adventure in November
We planned a trip to Kanab for Thanksgiving weekend, but the weather turned out to be poopy (snowy and very cold) so we cancelled it last minute.  No biggie, we'll go later.

 As far as the rest of the month...

November was all about the SHED!
It finally happened. We got our mega-shed!  Here is the before shot:

Here is the shed in progress, day one:

Here is after the first shed is up (end of day 1):

And here is the final sheds, before Jac's improvements:

 Once the shell of the sheds were in, Jac swung into action:

 

We even had guest helpers!  One rainy Sunday, Quinn, Holly, and Alexa came to help out a little bit.  So nice of them to come, and fun to spend a little time together.

  

After they worked a bit, Jac taught Quinn how to prepare something fancy for Quinn to serve at Holly's family's Thanksgiving Dinner.  So cute to see them cook together. :)

 

Also in November...

More home improvements
Over the first weekend in November, I went on my annual "girls weekend" trip with my mom and sister.  Jac stayed home and was busy!  He added a vent above the stove:

and replaced a tile in the kitchen that had been badly cracked for the last decade. (For some reason, Jac didn't like how I had "fixed it"--with packing tape. So picky. :) )

We ALL love Billy now!
Billy and Oliver seem to now be friends, or at least civil acquaintances. We rarely see the fighting anymore, which is such a HUGE relief.  And Billy is 100% at home here, and quite fearless.  For example, he climbs in or on or under anything he sees.  Like hanging out on top of this big bush to survey the neighborhood happenings. Silly kitty.

And when he is not out exploring his world, he is the sweetest, cuddliest, most loving cat I have ever had.  Such a cuddle buddy!

 

He LOVES being around people, even complete strangers walking by!  We often have to push him out of the way because he wants to be doing anything and everything that we are doing (like this game below). 

Even though he sometimes requires a lot of patience from us, he really is such a great addition to our little household.
 

Thanksgiving
We had a very small, non-traditional Thanksgiving celebration this year.  With dad and Brent no longer here (sigh) and Cindy and Jerry in Florida, it was just me, Jac, and mom for Thanksgiving this year.  

I, of course, had to set a themey table because, well, it's fun AND it makes it so much more special. I didn't have anything planned until that day, so Jac and I just drove around and found some fall leaves that would do. I think it turned out kinda pretty.

Mom wanted to contribute to the meal, so I suggested she bring drinks.  She picked up these four flavored sparkling apple cider bottles, so before the meal started we had a little blind taste test to see which ones we liked the best. 

The verdict:  Sparkling Blush (apple and cherry) and Sparking Peach (apple and peach) were the winners. Of course, the real treat was Jac's food.  Here's the appetizers:

And here is the main meal.  We decided to go non-traditional, as you can see.  The main dish was mac-and-cheese ham-chiladas  (invented by Jac for this meal and actually really good!)  We also had sweet potatoes in orange bowls, steamed veggies, and grilled beets.  It was a great meal by a great chef. Thank you Jac!!!

Snowy Staycation
As mentioned above, our original plans for a quick weekend trip to Kanab got scrapped due to cold and snow (here, there, all of Utah!) We lost $100 on the hotel reservation, but we gained three leisurely days around the house, which was awesome.  We can go to Kanab some other time -- probably next April in fact.

Here's a picture of our snowy backyard that weekend:

 

So we stayed home for those three days and filled our time with: 

(1) our first ever Cocktail of the Month (a new tradition for us). Jac made us Bloody Marys. He liked them, I did not. 

Afterward, we decided to nix the "cocktail of the month" tradition.  We don't need hard liquor in our lives.

(2) a lot of movies, including this blast to the past Raiders of the Lost Arc dinner date

(3) and just tootling around getting stuff done.  Not as fun as a weekend away, but relaxing and productive nonetheless.

 

As always, there was good food in November
We certainly ate well this month. Here are some photos:

 

 

Sometimes it's fun to just sit and watch Jac work his magic in the kitchen. :)

Time for Christmas!
At the end of November, we got a little headstart on Christmas. We made a charming, old-fashioned popcorn and cranberry garland (while watching a movie):

 

But we decided not to hang it on the Christmas tree because Billy likes to eat popcorn. That would just be to tempting for him. So we dangled it from a picture high on the wall of the kitchen:

 

And we decorated the house.  I love our cozy house at Christmas time!

 

And this year we decorated the kitchen as well. 

I especially love the kitchen at night. Love those lights on the garland. :)

Before taking down our regular decorations, I took pictures. That way putting it back will be much easier.  And, since this is where we put our pictures..... Here's what our living room usually looks like (for reminiscing in future years :) ).