November
I've just been making out my list of goals for this month (it's November 1 as I write this) and while I say I am not going to be sharing those goals. I did think I'd share some of my favorite things for November. I am not mentioning Thanksgiving on purpose. It is a favorite, but I feel it is a stand-alone for November, sort of the gateway into the whole holiday season, so you won't find me mentioning it here. I'm reserving those pleasures.
Here's what I'm going to be doing to make November a cozy and memorable month...
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Have you ever seen the movie "Sweet November"? I watched the original many years ago with Sandy Dennis and Anthony Newley in the lead. The 1968 version is written more like a play than a film which is a style that we seldom see on screen these days.
The story revolves around a young woman, Sara, who takes on a man each month to help him 'fix' what is wrong with him. They live with her for exactly one month. Charlie Blake (Anthony Newley) is chosen to be November's man of the month...
Inevitably the men all fall in love with Sara who someone manages to hold herself aloof. Charlie realizes that Sara is terminally ill which makes their parting that much more bittersweet...
The movie was remade in 2001 with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. That one was filmed more like a movie. Though I don't much care for Sandy Dennis, I do like the 1968 version of the film best.
If you like a romantic comedy, then this one might be a good pick for this month before we get tucked in with the holiday films.
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I've been drinking a maple cream coffee every morning since September came along. It's been super simple to make, just about 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and some half & half. I've really enjoyed having it.
I thought for November I'd try a Gingerbread coffee each morning. I've made a warm spice mix that includes ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar (for that hint of molasses), sugar, cloves and nutmeg and mixing in a spoonful with my half and half each morning. I always heat my creamer on the stove and if I'm feeling fancy I'll use the frother in it. I did something similar last year and it was really good.
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The weather is officially cooler here in Georgia and temperatures really drop along about dark (which now comes earlier). Salads for supper will be off my menu until it warms again in the spring. It is officially souping season. (If "souping" isn't a word don't come at me. The autocorrect suggested it repeatedly and I kind of like it, so souping it is.) It's this time of year that we eat soup at least once a week. I'll even eat leftovers for lunches. I love soup!
This year, I plan to try some new soup recipes just to see which ones John likes best. My goal is to keep them frugal which is one reason I really love Kitchen Sink soup, but I don't want to limit us. I'm sure to find something else we love that is inexpensive and delicious. John is not very fond of soup, so my goal is to keep him interested in having soup for supper once a week.
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This week my winter coverlet goes on our bed. It's a deep rich teal matelassé that is super heavy and really lovely on a cold night. The lighter early autumn spread will be washed and packed away. I'll also bring out the blanket that John loves and air it out this week on the clothesline before placing it on the bed.
I also swapped all of my summer clothes out for the cooler weather clothing, sweaters, ruhanas, wraps, long sleeved blouses, etc. It was cool enough last week that the time seemed right for it. I looked at the 14 day forecast and I think we are safely into the cool days and cold mornings.
I've dreaded the cold this year more than usual, but I do look forward to bringing out the blankets, spread and sweaters and such.
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I have purposely tried to limit myself in making sweets this autumn, but for this month, I plan to make the following items: Gingerbread. I only hope I can remember which my favorite recipe is. I've tried several and only one of them comes out slightly sticky on the outside and richly dark inside.
Autumn Leaf Snickerdoodles. I have some pretty maple leaf cookie cutters of various sizes that I use. I sometimes have a grandchild with me when I make these and sometimes, I just share them with the children. I need to buy some colored sugars to use, since I'm out entirely this year. I'll run by Hobby Lobby and check out their baking items for some fun autumn colors...and pick up Christmas ones while I'm there as well.
While it isn't for this month, I want to make fruitcake this year. I'll do that this week, so I have plenty of time to let it ripen. For once I have all the fruit I need on hand.
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Music for easy listening this month:
This lovely piece by Max Richter titled 'November'.
Guns 'N Roses, "November Rain" is digitally remastered and quite lovely.
Jake Westbrook Vintage Autumn playlist is something I play from September right through Thanksgiving. There are four volumes of music with only a few repeats.
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If I'm very lucky, I'll be able to locate a few Winesap apples this month. They come into season in mid October. I plan to drive a little further north in order to find them. They are actually the best apples for making cider, but I love them to eat fresh. They have the sweet sticky tang of cider to them. Usually, we find a few in Thomaston at a chain grocer that carries local products.
I also want some apple cider. I don't drink apple juice, but each year I buy one gallon of apple cider and make hot wassail. I also love to bake a whole chicken with apples, butternut squash, onions, and baste it all with apple cider while it cooks.
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Usually at some point this month we'll have a heavily windy day that pushes in a hard cold front. The wind will blast the house. I must get outdoors and walk in that wind. I feel like it blows away the cobwebs in the brain and freshens me inside and out.
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And that's my list of pre-Thanksgiving stuff to do to celebrate November. Do you do anything special to enjoy this month?
November in our house is officially stew season. I usually make a vat of it and the family will eat it all week. It’s on repeat until I stop making it once the weather turns, usually around March.
ReplyDeleteHello friend, we are just starting to have cooler weather stay. I like the way you’ve got this blog formatted. It’s fresh but is also easy to navigate, good choice!
ReplyDeleteOur first frost is to come Monday night of this coming week.
DeleteThank you. I wanted to keep it simple, pretty and clean looking.
What is it with men not liking soup!? If it isn't tomato soup or chili, my husband really doesn't want to eat it. I could, and often do, eat soup all year round. I absolutely love soup. I've finally realized a few years ago that I'm worth making an entire batch of soup just for me. I often make a batch, take it for lunches to work during the week and then freeze whatever I don't use up.
ReplyDeleteOur weather here in Oklahoma has been absolutely stunning the last few weeks. Warm sunny days in the 60s/70s, cool mornings and later evenings. We've had lots of lovely evenings on the front porch lately and it's been blissful.
I bought my Thanksgiving stuff this week so I'm all ready for that. It will just be three of us this year so keeping it simple.
I have a British brown cake recipe I haven't made in years that I want to make this year to be topped with some fried apples and real whipped cream. Gingerbread and/or ginger soft cookies are also on my list.
John likes his soups to be THICK. He likes gravy to be almost like a thick pasty thing too. He always says as long as his fork will stand on it's on in the bowl he'll be happy. And there we have the issue with SOUP, lol.
DeleteWhen Katie was home, I would always make her a bowl of the brothy part (all she wanted, and then drain ladles of the soup so it was just meat and veg mixture for John and then I'd have something nearer SOUP in my bowl). All a bit too three bears-ish to suit me!
Hi Terri I enjoy your new blog but I really really hope you leave a blue house journal up for a good long while, I love going back and rereading a lot of what’s on there about budgeting, cleaning and so forth it really motivates me.
ReplyDeleteBHJ will stay up for a good long while. I plan to start posting there again in January. It will be much LESS than previously. I'm thinking once every two or three weeks. I find that having had some distance I miss that aspect of sharing as well but I do NOT want to get obsessive about it as I had been.
DeleteWe've had some 70° days in the last week, but I think that is at an end. I worked in the garden those days, setting up some raised beds and finally planting the garlic. We cleaned up tree branches and garden refuse and made a few trips to the dump with those.
ReplyDeleteAn early Thanksgiving with the grands was enjoyed. They'll be with their other families on the holiday.
There was a lovely school program for Veteran's Day. The grandboys in the band and Layla singing with the elementary choir.
I went to my sister's overnight so we could attend our niece's symphony band concert at her college. The next morning we awoke to snow! They're three hours from us, so I drove out of the snow to sunshine and 50° at home.
It's been warm-ish here for soup, but after our Thanksgiving feast I wanted something lighter the next day and made vegetable soup and grilled cheese on sourdough for supper. There was a little leftover, so I added some cooked ground beef and put it in the freezer in a couple of single portions. Now on a chilly day we can have vegetable beef soup for lunch.
I love November. It can be wintry, but harvest is over, the bugs are gone, and the light has a certain quality every afternoon that I find comforting.