Cleaning out my phone the other day, I came across a note dated October 21st. I had planned to make it an instagram post, apparently, but forgotten. All I will say about it, now is that October knocked the wind clean out of me, and November is recovery.

I want to include that note in today’s gratitude list because every bit is still relevant and I do not want to forget it as much as it’s convenient to. Okay let’s go.

It starts:

“We are forgoing the woes of life this day in favor or gratitude toward the awfully long list of good things I haven’t properly recognized this month.”

KINDNESS

let me tell you about a lady: barely knows me, brings me chocolate the week she lost her best friend and asks how I’m doing with the stress. I could not believe myself.

November add-on: This lady…I don’t know how to begin to tell you without details. I might ask her “how are you?” and she’d reply “I’m okay.” You can kind of see her fade for just a second but then she’s back to energy, heart, and warmth. I don’t know where she gets it. I suspect she’s a believer, although she hasn’t said, but if not, she’s got light-years on me.

OUTDOORS

My goal was to hike every weekend this month and, well…3/4 weekends isn’t bad

November add-on: pictures can be found here and here.

HEAT

My dad got our 2nd wood stove installed before the rain hit.

November add-on: we’ve had some issues with the ventilation since then (it tends to backfire smoke into the room instead of up the chimney), but we are nonetheless SO GLAD to have it. Did I tell you, last winter it was 28 degrees in our basement? That’s not happening anymore : )

RELEASE

via wood splitting. You can’t know how satisfying it is.

November add-on: I thrive on activity which is rather hard to get at work. Besides, it is to the point of darkness for 18 hours at a time, and I don’t need to tell you why I’d rather not run in the dark. We’re done wood-splitting for the moment, but in October it was the best cure to the racing tick of uncertainty in my head.

CHOCOLATE

November add-on: I will not be commenting further.

WARMTH

It’s not cold enough to put away my sandals yet!!

November add-on: My sandals are still sitting by the front door, and this is my reminder to pack them away before the day it over. It’s officially cold enough.

NEW EXPERIENCES

Sleeping in a hammock is weird, but rewarding??? I need practice.

November add-on: long story short is my brother and I tried to hammock for Sukkot. We only made it one night, though. It was freezing and I didn’t have the right sleeping bag (it kept falling out the side and waking me up). We don’t know how professional hammock people do it, but now that I know what it’s like, I can refine the process for next year. I’m already thinking of a summer camping trip.

SEASONS

Fall is incredible and the color *almost* makes up for the fact that I can’t run after work anymore.

November add-on: We are now at the point in fall where all color is gone and most people are ready for snow to get here and cover the brown so they can go skiing. I, on the other hand, am grateful I don’t have to drive in it, just yet.
I know the population has grown this summer, and that means more drivers who probably come from other states that don’t have snow/ice/wild animals. They won’t be able to drive 70mph everywhere like it’s a freeway.
^^^ referencing the two wrecks I passed this week alone and it hasn’t even snowed yet.

. . .

gratitude moments from this week:

= friends who drop by work just to see me
= strangers who tell me the shop’s social media looks amazing and ask if I’m the one doing it (the answer is yes ) and it helps so much on days when I feel that I’m not doing enough.
= evenings when the dinner conversation is full of belly laughs because my younger brother is the most quick-witted person I know.
= wool is the best fabric in the world next to cashmere and if I ever thought cotton socks would be enough, I was mistaken.
= celebrating that I got this post out on time for the second week in row. November has not been great for preplanning of any kind.

cheers.
k.

p.s. in case you missed last week

What are you grateful for this week?
You know the drill: link your blog, insta, twitter
– anywhere you’re doing this thing.