Share Four Somethings and Monthly Musing - October 2023

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 I decided I needed to combine my Share Four Somethings and my Monthly Musing post this time around if I wanted to do both, otherwise I'd simply run out of time! As it is, I am scrambling to get it done, and stayed up way too late to finish getting this ready to go! Nevertheless here is Something I Loved, Something I Read, Something I Learned and Something I Ate in October, and a few other somethings as well!

Something Loved

As usual, the number one thing on my list of loves has to do with family. This time, though, it is my parents and siblings that we spent time with. I loved visiting my family in Alberta and spending some time with them after way too many years! 

(Yes, these are the same family photos that I used in the September SFS, because this gathering was on September 29th and we didn't take photos of us together later in the week.)

While in Alberta, I also loved being able to spend a day getting reacquainted with Banff National Park, one of my favorite places!

We loved getting together with friends that we've known since high school or college days, but haven't seen in a decade!

Our kids share photos of their lives with us, so I can fall in love with cute pictures like how happy Aubrey is with the little pumpkin she took home from the pumpkin patch. Yes, I cry at how much I miss them, but I absolutely love these photos.

We went to Boo at the Zoo with our Ohio family and I loved this photo of Spider Gwen (aka Veronica) and the sea lion.

Something Read

I'm doing a bit more reading and hope I can keep up with my own expectations!

Here are the books I'm currently reading:

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright

Garden of the Midnights by Hannah Linder

Ticker by Lisa Mantchev

   

I've been trying out hosting a monthly link-up for review posts and I'd love for you to drop by and share a review or two, and comment on someone else's review. The hope is that we can comment on actual reviews and share them. Find the current Book Review Bulletin, and of course, all the rest of my reading news at Just A Second.

Something Learned

I learned that magpies are very unpopular with the folks in Alberta. I like them and I think they're pretty, but I guess I don't have to deal with them as a daily nuisance either. I also like crows, in case you're wondering what level of weirdness I'm at. 

I wish I could say I've learned better time management, but I still have not. I'm terrible at it.

I know I learned some useful things during the month as well, but I can't remember any of those things right now, or can't figure out a sensible way to explain what they are. 

Something On My Plate

So much good food this month! We ate what we felt like while on vacation instead of sticking to low-carb, so we could enjoy things like brisket poutine while in Banff.

And one of my favorite breakfasts, Waffles and Awesome Sauce.

We stopped to get some takeout for lunch one day and chose shawarma. We'd never had it before, and it was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Hopefully I'll be able to report in an upcoming SFS that I've learned how to make it, because I've decided I will.

Turkey dinner for Thanksgiving, of course! And butter tarts and Nanaimo bars for dessert!

We had these really delicious pierogi last night. Not exactly keto-friendly, but whatever. This weekend is not a keto-friendly weekend. We went out to The Melt the day before with friends, and blew the low-carb plan anyway. So worth it though - I had the Chicken & Waffle grilled cheese, which is my new favorite dish there.

I love these sesame coated cashews. These and pork rinds are now my go-to snacks. Not together, though.

What's Been On My Calendar? #WBOYC

 The whole Alberta trip was the big thing on the calendar and took up the first week of October. The trip home was an interesting one. We flew from Calgary to Minneapolis, then the plan we got on in Minneapolis had a mechanical problem, so after a long wait we had to get off that one and get on a different plane. Which also had an issue that needed fixed, which delayed takeoff even more. We finally got into Columbus at almost two in the morning, and got a Lyft home. On the plus side, the delayed flight was not on the way TO Calgary, or the first of the two flights on the way home, which would have been a lot more disruptive!

We celebrated the birthdays of our two oldest sons. Of course we could only get together with one of them, and take him out to dinner, but we're looking forward to seeing the other birthday boy and the other Maryland kids next month.

Thanksgiving (Canadian date) was on the Monday right after we got home from Alberta, so we put off our Thanksgiving dinner until the following weekend, when we invited some work colleagues of my husband's and had a Thanksgiving feast.

We went on a date night to see the visiting Calgary Flames (my team) and the Columbus Blue Jackets . . . lots of fun even though the Flames lost. It was Stars Wars night (although we don't know why) so that was fun too.

We went to Boo at the Zoo on a Sunday afternoon and had perfect weather for it! The pumpkins carved with all the animals were amazing!

We were able to get to the zoo that day because the send-off concert for the chorus had to be cancelled. That was really disappointing, and makes me nervous because it was basically the dress rehearsal for the Sweet Adelines International next week, and all of it is still new to me so I would have liked the chance to do a performance before the big stage. 

A planned walk at Alum Creek State Park was cut short when it started raining.

But we had much better luck at Rocky Fork Metro Park yesterday.

Friends from Maryland made a quick trip to Ohio this past weekend and took us up on our offer that they could stay with us. That was quite a treat, and a nice surprise too. We couldn't have predicted that they would be our first overnight guests other than family!

What's Coming Up Soon?

The big thing coming up, at least for me, is Sweet Adelines International Convention & Competition in Louisville! I'm headed out on Tuesday morning and will be there all week, and I'm really excited!

And also, Thanksgiving is coming up soon! And so I'm answering the Monthly Musings questions here to just combine things a bit! Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good Better Best co-host this monthly sharing of tips, tricks, and conversation starters. 

1. What are your Thanksgiving plans?

We are planning a weekend trip to Maryland to spend Thanksgiving with our kids there. Hoping to get there on the Wednesday in time for hubby to play hockey with his buddies.

2. Favorite Thanksgiving dish? Please share recipe.

I love corn pudding, and that might be my favorite 'traditional' thing that's usually on the Thanksgiving table. This is the recipe I've used for the past several years, Holiday Creamy Corn Pudding from This Old Gal.

3. Best food prep tips?

My favorite thing is to deep fry the turkey, because that frees up the oven for a lot of other things! But that's not always possible, of course. No matter how we are cooking the turkey, I write down everything on the menu and how long prep takes, and then make myself a timeline for the day so that I can get everything on the table and hot when it's time to sit down to dinner. And anything that can be made or prepped ahead of time - do that!

4. Favorite Thanksgiving traditions?

Just being together with family. And traditionally we start decorating for Christmas on Thanksgiving Day.

5. Turkey? Ham? Other? Both?

Definitely turkey, and preferably deep fried turkey!

6. Apple pie? Pumpkin pie?

Pumpkin pie for me, every time!

7. Football or family movie?

Some of my guys like to watch football, but it's usually not a big deal. We're probably more likely to watch a movie.

8. Stuffing or dressing?

I call it stuffing.

9. Turkey trot or Thanksgiving parade?

If I had to choose, it would be the parade, but we don't usually do either one.

10. Have you ever done a Friendsgiving?

My kids have done Friendsgiving, and actually called it that! We have gone to Gobble In The Lot on the evening before Thanksgiving for many years running, and it's not too different from Friendsgiving. The guys play a game of hockey and then we have a huge potluck Thanksgiving dinner afterwards. It used to be out in the parking lot until it was super cold one year and the rink said we could eat inside. So we've been doing it inside ever since, but the Gobble In The Lot name stuck.

I'm linking up with Monthly Musings hosted by Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good Better Best.

Share something in the comments, or share four somethings with the rest of us in the link party!

This post will be linked at Overflowing With Thankfulness in the Share Four Somethings link party.

This post will also be linked at What's Been On Your Calendar #WBOYC hosted by Deb's World.

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