The blog has been a quiet place this month. I went on retreat to work on a book idea, I’ve been working on launching Insider News over at Substack, and this week, I’ve been trying to lean into the slowness that Advent has to offer. When I started pulling photos together for this post, I noticed how November is the month where we really begin to see the season shift from Fall to Winter.
Early November had moments of reading outside in tank tops and bare feet.
We had to pick up a very large stack of books (aka the entire Poppy series) from the library on the way to gymnastics one day. The sunshine was warm, but the wind requested sweatpants.
Sometimes I’d kick them outside to play so I could read The Starless Sea for book club in peace.
We finished reading D’Aulaire’s George Washington while standing on our heads. Well, she stood on her head. I sat upright.
She took her history book (America Is Born) to the sunroom couch, apple in hand, to read about the Stamp Act and the early days of the American Revolution.
I started John Irving’s latest book, which is more than 900 pages. I affectionately call it a doorstop, and although I’m taking a break from it over the holidays, I will hop right back into it in the new year.
Reading Harry Potter next to the puppy has become a favorite pastime.
As has reading Critter Club in the dog pen.
Sometimes we read recipe cards on the floor while in fancy dress up clothes.
And sometimes they read wherever they land when I’m out of town.
They finished up Story Thieves for bedtime reading while I was on retreat.
While they read at home, I did a lot of airport reading when I flew home standby. Paris Daillencourt was an excellent traveling companion.
The morning after I got home, the weather had chilled enough that we needed a morning fire.
I’m still not sure why she loves reading upside down, but I guess it doesn’t matter how she reads, as long as she’s reading, right?
You better believe I read this beauty from cover to cover the second it arrived on my doorstep.
We read on trains.
And in the theater, waiting on SIX to begin.
Sometimes the puppy got to snuggle next to me on the couch.
When he was being mischievous, he got stuck in his pen.
And eventually he decided if he’s going to be part of our family, he should probably learn how to read.
By the end of the month, we’ve packed away our tank tops and have nestled in for a long winter of reading buried under our thickest down comforters.
Where did you read this month?