Sometimes at night before I fall asleep, I play a little game with myself. I call it “Good Things That Happened.” As I lay in bed, I think back over my day and single out the good moments.
They can be as simple as my breakfast eggs, fresh from our chickens nicely cooked with perfectly runny yolks. They can be a hike with Cigo, a conversation with a friend, a fun adventure with Ellie, a get together with family.
Big and small, these moments are all good things. Taking a moment to celebrate them helps me appreciate my days, the people around me and my life.
October was full of good things that happened. In this month of Thanksgiving, I encourage you to think about the good things in your life and in your day.
Here are some good things from this month.
Dates, bacon, mayo, sour cream and cheese might sound like an odd combination. But they made a tasty dip that was a hit at one of our Thanksgiving celebrations. The recipe came from this fun, funny cookbook.
While I’m on Thanksgiving recipes, this was (kind of) the recipe I used to cook our first homegrown turkey. Smitten Kitchen is my go-to for all things cooking. Her recipes are so well tested and reliable. The way she lays out how to do Thanksgiving makes all the cooking very manageable. (I also made her stuffing and gravy.)
Moving on to a different holiday, Ellie is going to be a skeleton for Halloween. I used these free bones for our pattern and this week will be sewing them on the pink pants and top we already made. (Ellie wanted to recreate a pink skeleton onesie she wore for her very first Halloween.)
Preparing for the worst is still on my mind. This book had some really good tips and thought-provoking stories.
“There’s a joy in being the best you can be… Today’s efforts make tomorrow’s dreams” Another profound, fun song from Jesse Welles. (On the subject of profound, listen to some of his protest songs. His writing is powerful.)
“It is absolutely necessary, for the peace and safety of mankind, that some of earth’s dark, dead corners and unplumbed depths be left alone.”
H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness, 1936, quoted in Alone Against the North by Adam Shoalts
I’m rounding out the month with a visit with a friend I haven’t seen in a dozen years, a return to teaching after our mid-term break last week, and of course Halloween. More good things.
Home on 129 Acres 
Hi Julia,
Your pictures are on top of the text so unfortunately I’m unable to read what you have written.
Pam
Sent from my iPad
Thank you for letting me know, Pam. This seems to happen for email subscribers reading the post through your email client. If you click through to the blog you’ll be able to see the post properly.
Good morning Julia,
Thank you for sharing how to see your pictures through your blog. What a fun month of October you are having too.
Happy Halloween ! Hope Ellie has a wonderful time in her skeleton costume.
William is going as a dead hockey player. My daughter says this will be one of the easiest costumes ever, bundling him up for the weather with a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey over top that he has and painting his face white with some black touch ups. Faith is going as witch matching her Mom’s witch costume. They always come round to us where it is nice taking their picture and seeing the excitement in their eyes with the treats we are giving out to them each year.
We are off to St. Jacobs today to see a play in an 1860s schoolhouse converted theatre. We’ve been to this theatre once before. It is small, charming and unique.
Tomorrow we see another play this time in Cambridge with friends from Burlington. I worked with Bonnie at the first elementary school I was hired at back in the late 90s.
Two weeks tomorrow we are heading to Costa Rica for a two week guided eco tour. We are looking forward to it. This will be our fourth time to CR, however, this trip will corporate areas of the country we’ve not seen including a canopy tree top walk, river cruises and mineral baths.
Have a great day.
Pam
You always have so many interesting things going on, Pam. You are good at connecting with friends, family and embracing so many different experiences.
Good morning Julia. Your newsletter this morning looks like this. Very strange. Do you how I can fix it do I can read it. Did anyone else say anything? Thank you Sent from my iPad
Hi Suzanne. This seems to be a formatting issue when WordPress sends my posts to email subscribers. If you click through to the blog you’ll be able to see the post properly.
If you click on the link for her blog at the right side of the post, you can read her post with the pictures in their appropriate place.
Thank you for your assistance.