We've come to the end of another NaBloPoMo

Third one for me. And what started three years ago as a one-month experiment has turned into the almost-daily drivel both of you look forward to! Who woulda thunk it?

I am TOO OLD to drive to North Carolina one day and come back home the next day. What's worse is making the drive all in one day, which is what's going to happen a couple weeks from tomorrow, when we visit my husband's son and his family. But that trip will be about an hour shorter each war than Thursday/Friday's was.

Ahhh, but it was so worth it to be with BOTH my children (and my son's family) at the same time. That happens so rarely that I would do it again tomorrow if I had to. Even though I am TOO OLD.

Dinner was lovely and delicious and absolutely not on plan, except the turkey. Seriously, every side dish was sauced or sugared, but I had decided going in that I wasn't going to make a big deal out of one meal.

Russ and Jeff used to say, it doesn't matter what you eat between Christmas and New Year's, it matters what you eat between New Year's and Christmas. I adapted that philosophy to include Thanksgiving dinner. 'Cause I went right back to clean eating and whole foods the first chance I got.

Also? My husband and I don't do a lot of partying or entertaining or socializing during the holidays. We're both retired, we live in the Middle of Nowhere, we traditionally go to one open house on Christmas Eve and we save our party hosting for election season. That's just how we roll.

Which makes navigating the holiday food land mine somewhat easier.

Now that I think about it, though, I have to go to a dinner on December 2nd and a luncheon on December 8th. But here's the thing: I'm not going to be so rigid and uptight about what's on my plate that I'm going to let it ruin my peace and serenity. Thanks again, Jen, for planting that seed.

And so, another November comes to an end. Today will be full of football and knitting. I came home with requests for hand knit knee socks for my older granddaughter and for another pair of felted clogs for my daughter-in-law. (I love that she loves them so much she doesn't want any other kind of slipper!) First, though are the triplets' toy dinosaurs – nearly done – and their little sister's Hello Kitty, which won't take long.

If you played along with NaBloPoMo, congratulations for finished the month! And I hope you'll keep it up for another and another and another. Daily writing has been therapeutic and restorative for me, most of the time. Sometimes I feel a little pressure, but not often. I didn't do as well this year as I have previously, which is why some posts were just photos and captions, but hey. WHO'S COUNTING? Heh.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as mine was. Gratitude is a daily thing for me, thanks to AA. Thanksgiving was just the whipped cream on top.