I sometimes think I should call these monthly posts “Highlights” instead of “Favorites”, because they mostly end up being about times spent with family rather than items I’ve purchased. However times spent with family ARE my favorite times, so I’ll just keep calling it “Favorites”. I miss having in-person time with my son Danny and his wife Erin, but there was plenty of family time in November with our daughter Cara and her family, as you’ll see if you read on.
On November 1st, Danny texted me several pictures from the cemetery visits he and Erin made on the night of All Saints Day. The sight of all of the candles is amazing!
Of all the ones he sent, this was my favorite!
Costco’s return policy is my Favorite #2! I like my coffee H-O-T. The packaging for these travel thermoses stated that they keep beverages hot for up to 12 hours. THAT sounded great to me, so I bought a 2-pack, thinking that if I liked them, I would go back and get more for gifting.
I was disappointed when my coffee was lukewarm after only one hour in the thermos. Back to Costco they went, even though I had gotten rid of the packaging and no longer had the receipt. Turns out, they keep a record of all of your purchases, so you don’t need the receipt. They also will take things back without the original packaging! So while these thermoses are definitely NOT a favorite, Costco’s return policy is a BIG favorite! 😁👍
Our son-in-law Paul went back to Nigeria to finalize things there, so Cara and the girls were on their own in Houston for over a month. After a few weeks of that, they came up here on the 9th for a change of scenery, and that made this grandmama happy! They stayed about 6 days, and we didn’t do anything super exciting, but it was nice to hang out together. I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures, but here are a few:
They left on the 15th to go back to Houston, and I drove down to Houston the very next day! Paul was due to arrive back on the 17th, and because he was going to have so much luggage with him, there would be no room in the car for Cara to take the girls with her. So we agreed that I would come down on Monday, spend the night, stay with the girls while Cara went to the airport to pick up Paul, and then I would leave as soon as they got home from the airport. So this solo road trip was a favorite for the month.
It was so funny…when I first got there, Helen came running out of the house and greeted me with, “Do you want a piece of cheesecake?” 😂 She was so excited that she had made this cheesecake by herself as part of a Girl Scout project that she totally bypassed “hello”! Uh…and, heck yeah, I wanted a piece of cheesecake! It was delicious! 😋
After the cheesecake we all went for a walk. Then late that afternoon the girls put on a little dancing show for Cara and me.
Edie was the whirling dervish contortionist dancer for this show.
And Helen was the elegant sophisticated ballet dancer. (Ignore the pieces of batting on the floor. Sunny had been decimating her stuffed toy earlier.)
The next morning went fast. In fact, the whole time there went fast. Before we knew it, Paul was home (yay!), and I headed out after snapping this pic from a distance down the driveway:
You can barely see Helen behind Cara’s hair. Ha! And Edie was still inside participating in her class online.
Of course Thanksgiving is a November favorite! Especially since the Bovets were back up for the holiday! Paul had been back in the country for over a week and was feeling fine, so they came up the day before Thanksgiving. They had taken a COVID test on Monday and hadn’t gotten their results back yet, so they all stayed in the addition, and we kept our distance from each other. It was a HUGE relief when their tests came back negative the next morning, and we all felt sufficiently safe to co-mingle.
Big Eagle fried two turkeys: one to eat and one to freeze. Cara injected the flavoring.
While Big Eagle, Cara, and Paul were hanging out by the frying, I was inside with the girls helping them make THEIR turkeys.
Rice Krispies treats turkeys, that is! They turned out really cute, and before the weekend was over, they had all been gobbled up!
That night Cara gave the girls their Christmas P.J.s!
The next day, we put up the tree and decorated it.
Late that afternoon, there was some badminton played in the back yard.
Then after dinner, we went to see a movie at the Coyote Drive-in in Ft. Worth! I hadn’t been to a drive-in since I don’t know when. Fun!
As I said to begin with, family comprises most of my favorites. But I do actually have a purchase this month, too, that is a favorite. I’m wearing the heck out of these holiday slippers that I ordered from Tom’s. They’ve been keeping my feet so warm and cozy! I ordered a pair for Cara, too. They arrived the day after Thanksgiving, which is perfect, because that way we can wear them the whole Christmas season!
And the Christmas bulbs on them glow in the dark!
So that was November, and now Christmas is less than 3 weeks away! YIKES! I have to get busy shopping! How about you? Are you done with your Christmas shopping? I think I’ve bought 2 gifts is all at this point. And before we get too much further into December, do you have any November favorites to share? I’d love to read about them in the comment section if you do!