Dribs & Drabs ...

So it's November. Good things happen in November. My birthday, for one. It's always good when you can celebrate another successful tour around the sun. Snow usually makes its first serious appearance, something I rather like (probably because I've come to associate that first snowfall with my birthday ... ) We just had ours - over 15 cm of snow dumped on us over night. So for the 7:15 am trip to take the hubby into work we tossed into the van extra mitts, scarves, some shovels and his winter boots. In case we got stuck en route. We didn't. And the usual 12 minute trip only took about 20 minutes, so not bad at all, considering. The city 2.5 hours north of us got so much snow they pretty much shut down for today. Were calling for people with snowmobiles to pick up stranded motorists, particularly health care workers. That's alot of snow. We've had that much in one go in the past, so I definitely empathasize. It's why we took the precautions of preparing for having to dig either ourselves or someone else out of a drift a bit too much to handle. But it was all good, for us anyway. But once I got home I did put in a call and booked an appointment for good winter tires. My appointment is next week, and I figure it'll be money well spent, because the all season Radials currently on my van just don't cut it in slippery intersections.

What else happens in November? Well - many writers participate in NaNoWriMo, that annual "festival" of non-stop binge writing. I even know someone who completed it one year - she's got the certificate and everything! (That would be Amanda Witow, if anyone wants to check her writing out!) As for myself, I've never tried to do NaNo - I've always been "too busy" with my other hobbies and life responsibilities. Which always seem to eat up so much of my time. So for me, instead of going hard with the writing one month of the year, I figure I'd be better served to try to work out how to fit in regular daily (or even weekly) writing, every month. And then stick to whatever schedule I come up with. Because I really don't have the "spare" time to devote to writing 60,000 words in a 30 month period. But those stories aren't going to finish themselves, more's the pity. I've left them sitting for long enough to know they need a bit of a helping hand from me. But NaNo as a concept is something to celebrate, on behalf of those who are able to do it, or even just work at it.

One other good thing in November - the birthday of my middle child :) I don't see her very often - well, technically not at all considering she lives on the other side of the country. Not counting the sporadic chats via zoom (way too sporadic for my likes - we've done two in the past year). So a mother worries and frets and tries to restrain herself from bombarding poor daughter with countless texts. She's very independant and I'm very proud of her ... but it would be nice to hear from her a little bit more often. How to encourage that without nagging or hovering (I'm OK with appearing to be desperate in this case) ... ahh, the eternal parental dilemma once the chicks have tumbled out of the nest. At least with the two chicks that stayed here I see them at a minimum of once a week, as we've started doing weekly family meals on the weekends - sometimes a supper, sometimes brunch. Usually at our house, with me cooking (which is just fine - I like to cook). This past weekend they surprised me by arriving with all the fixings and did all the cooking :) Did I mention that November is my birth month?

So, I think I've rambled on long enough for this visit. Who knows what my next topic will be? Or when I'll visit the blog again? Something else to fit in to that theoretical schedule of mine I guess. So - until next time - stay warm!