10 on the 10th: November!

Not much new on the home front when it comes to Nigel’s recovery. He had another appointment on Monday. The surgeon, quite frankly, is beginning to worry me. Maybe he’s just thinking out loud, but he’s confused about the images he sees on the x-rays. He did say the fracture is healing, but where the other bone growth is supposed to be occurring is “mossy.” Mossy? What the heck does that mean in layman’s terms? He’s still concerned about the way Nigel walks. He said if Nigel doesn’t correct that, he’ll either end up with a limp or he’ll need a second surgery on that hip. Nigel says…limp is fine. Marsha says…nope, another surgery is what we’ll do. But, then, the surgeon said he thought he’d see lots of improvement next month. In all fairness, Nigel did lose an entire month of strengthening his muscles when the surgeon initially thought there might be a problem with a fracture (which there was). So, what is going to be his fourth month in physical therapy will actually be his third month of true physical therapy. When we talked to the therapist the next day, he said he was going to increase Nigel’s appointments to an hour and really push on the strengthening of the outer muscles and glutes. The problem has been that his inner thigh muscles have been strengthened because of the way he was walking so now he has to almost overcorrect with the outer muscles. Yours truly is overseeing some of that…but, I am definitely exhausted with this whole thing. My biggest fear is that that “mossy” area is just the vascular necrosis coming back. I didn’t think of that until after the appointment. And, I know that’s so much more than you ever wanted to know!

November is a good month, right? We have Thanksgiving here in the States, and then the holiday rush begins. Hahaha!!! Who am I kidding? It’s already begun. I think the stores were bringing out the Christmas stuff back in August in dribs and drabs. All Saints Day is on November 1st. Guy Fawkes Day is on November 4th. I know Penny has written about this celebration in the UK. You can read more about the “days” of November here.

Without further ado…

Buying Halloween candy at a discount is always fun.  I’ve been watching my carbs so I didn’t do any of that this year.  Nigel certainly doesn’t need any, and the grands don’t come around much anymore, either.  I did have to go in the grocery store on Halloween for some reason, and most of the good candy was already gone anyway.

At our house up north, we had three very beautiful burning bushes.  For those of you unfamiliar with them, they look like plain old green bushes for most of the year.  But, come the fall, the leaves turn a brilliant red and they just blaze away.  Luckily, the leaves are small and stick around for a bit longer than tree leaves do.  We didn’t have any at our last house, but we have four here on the hump.  They are blazing still.  I love to just look at them…it’s a bit bittersweet because they do remind me of the ones at our house up north (no longer there…the new owners tore them out).

I actually detest Daylight Savings Time.  But, I don’t mind it as much in the fall when the time “falls” back.  I like the days to get darker earlier.  I realize that’s because I don’t have to be anywhere usually.  So, I love eating in our dining room with the chandelier blazing.  I love the cuddly, hygge feeling these early nights give me.

November usually calls for extra layers on the bed, too.  I do love to snuggle down under lots and lots of layers.  I also pull out my flannel pajamas.  Last year, I bought a pair of velour pajamas at Kohls, and let me tell you, they are the bees’ knees!  The pants look almost like a circus tent (the stripes…not the size), and the top has a kangaroo pocket as well as a hood. 

While I really don’t like seeing my poor back porch rather naked, I do enjoy getting it cleaned up and ready for winter.  I’m on my own this year as Nigel can’t lift anything.  I will need to ask my boys to come over and move a couple of things into the garage.  I have a large Kimberley fern I want to try to winter over in the garage.  I could probably carry it, but I’m afraid I’ll stumble over our uneven yard and drop it.  I wouldn’t mind as much about the plant, but the planter is a very nice ceramic one. 

Hosting my family for Thanksgiving is definitely one of the best things about November.  A few years ago, we started ordering a smoked turkey from a local restaurant.  My oldest doesn’t really like turkey, but he’ll eat enough of it to make his mom happy.  He contents himself with the sides and desserts.  By ordering the turkey, I don’t have to worry about using up oven space, having a dry or undercooked turkey, and it’s just delicious!  I do need to coordinate who’s bringing what yet.

For the last several years, we have gone to Winterlights at Newfields.  We did miss it the year Nigel broke his ankle. The kids all went and said they would have pushed him in a wheelchair.  We didn’t have one then.  We are going this year, and we do have a wheelchair.  I just have to get some foam rubber so the ride is a little easier on him.  Winterlights is just magical with the lights, the music, and the family being together.  I think they add something new every year.  I’m so excited to see it again this year.  It’s become a true holiday tradition for us.

Black Friday shopping is one of my favorite things to do.  I’ve gone almost every year since I was a young mom.  My mom would pick us (me and the kids) up, we’d meet my oldest sister and her kids at the northern mall in Fort Wayne, then head to the southern mall.  Of course, we were pushing strollers then, too!  I don’t think there were the crazy sales we have these days, but it was just a fun thing for all of us to do.  My daughter and I continued to do it when Mom passed.  After she got married, I talked my oldest sister into going once or twice. I went with a friend once, and coerced Nigel a couple of times.  I rarely buy anything.  It’s more a people watching thing as well as a tradition.

Can you believe I’ve made it all the way to number nine without mentioning what I like to eat?  That’s because the only thing that is special about what I eat in November is what I eat on Thanksgiving.  I am ok with the turkey and trimmings.  Want to know something funny?  I can’t make gravy.  Honest.  The last time I made gravy, even the dog wouldn’t eat it.  That’s no joke!  We had a chow chow, and he turned his nose up at it.  So, we rarely have mashed potatoes and gravy.  Nobody but me likes dressing so I don’t even make that.  Dressing is a lot like stuffing only you bake it outside the turkey rather than in it.  My absolute favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving?  Well, it’s a tossup between pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting (I’m pretty good at that) or blueberry/cherry delight.  This is my Aunt Lou’s recipe.  For years, I thought it was lost to the ages, but I was going through my recipe cards several years ago, when I found her handwritten recipe.  It always reminds me of her when I follow that recipe.  It’s still so weird to think, with the exception of my dad’s youngest sister, my siblings and I are the oldest generation of our family.  It seems like we should still all be going to my mom’s for every holiday.  Let me know if you want the recipe…it’s really easy.

Hmmm…what else do I like to eat in November?  I think that might be soup.  I do love a good soup.  Nigel is a bit of a pain about soups because he’s not a fan of creamy soups like potato soup or gnocchi soup.  But, a good old fashioned, from scratch vegetable soup is so good on a chilly (or not so chilly) night when it’s already dark out, and the chandelier is blazing! 

Wrap it up, Marsha!

I thought this was going to be difficult. But once I got going, I had no difficulty coming up with ten. I probably could have gone on and done even more. November can also be one of those months where people are hurting so make sure you check on your people…near and far, close and not so close. So, can we talk? What kinds of traditions do you have for the month of November? Are there certain plants, bushes, or trees that remind you of places and times? What is your favorite food to eat in November? Please leave a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as soon as possible.

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