All the Autumn's Joys ~Welcoming November~

Already here we are at November 1st.

  Frosty and cold, cold, cold here this morning. Certainly made getting out of bed difficult- especially after a long and late night of wrangling candy from the neighbors. 

My toes were rather numb by the end of the evening and so were the fingers of this 'Jedi kitty' and his wizard friend.

Hurry with the camera and get me to the candy!

As you can probably tell- these were last minute costumes made up from whatever they could find in the dress up box. My eye liner came in handy for 'kitty facial features'. 

These boys were interested in only one thing- candy.

(I'll take candy over girls any day of the week!)

Don't wake the kitty!

So, back to November . . .

Around here, November is Nutella month- it's the only time of year I buy the lovely chocolatey, hazel nutty spread . . .mmmmm, so good on toast with a steaming fresh cup of coffee!

 And yes, that's exactly what I had for breakfast . . . and a snack . . . 

Tea and Snickers

After dropping the Younger off at school this morning (he goes twice a week) I spent some time on much needed housework and school planning.

After tidying up, the sun actually started to shine, so I put the kettle on and had tea and a bit of 'the stash', and cozy-ed up on the couch for one of my favorite November traditions- list making!!

 Holiday-plan-list-making to be exact. I adore making lists of all sorts. Yes, indeed, I was a happy girl munching my chocolate and listing out all the people to send cards to, the craft projects I hope to do, gift ideas for family, baking plans, activities . . . pure excitement!

On the sidewalk

  Since I make as many gifts as I can (which is hard to do with all the 'techno' men in the family) I try to get things going early so I have enough time. Of course, it always seems that I grossly underestimate the amount of time needed, and still find myself up all night at the end.

Our neighbor's tree- isn't it lovely?

 And as much as I love to make things- stressfully trying to finish projects at the last minute doesn't make for an enjoyable season. To be honest, that was last December for me. I bit off more than I could chew- a homemade stocking for my mom, hand painted Christmas cards, caroling party, birthdays, Christmas dinner- it was crazy and I didn't enjoy the season at all.

On the dining-room table

So, I'm being intentional this year- to get more taken care of this month, so I can enjoy the gift of time next month.- I hope!

Wishing you a and warm and cozy November 1st- and come by tomorrow for when we celebrate All Soul's Day and make soul cakes!

Cheers!