Holiday Bucket List 2021

“[She]’s making a list…” - Auntie Claus is Coming to Town. Last year, I didn’t make any bucket lists because it was nearly impossible to plan for anything. Although this year, I still don’t have big plans, there are holiday traditions that should be honored as well as new things to try.

• Deck the halls with 3 trees: our traditional white, silver, and glass tree in the living room, a new Parisian-inspired mini tree in the loft, and a woodland/Scandi tree on the deck. ✓

• Drive downtown to see the Christmas lights. ✓

• Dine with friends outdoors in a snow globe/igloo, ✓

• Shop for gifts and send Christmas cards to friends and family. ✓

• Lovingly wrap packages just like Mom and Grandma Dodo. ✓

• Drink egg nog, hot cocoa, and Champagne. ✓

• Host the Larsons for a Christmas sleepover. Light the candles on Jesus' birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday . ✓

• Enjoy my personal Christmas Playlist from Band-Aid to Bing ✓

• Burn candles that smell like Christmas trees and peppermint ✓

• Watch White Christmas, Love Actually, and It's a Wonderful Life (Cry when General Waverly inspects the troops at the Inn and when Harry Bailey toasts, "To my big brother, George, the richest man in town!")  ✓

• Share Linus' rendition of the Gospel of St. Luke ("That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.") ✓

• Snuggle by the fire with Piper. ✓ (Repeat as often as possible. ✓)

November 2021 in Pictures

“Spring's wakening bugle long is hushed; long dimm'd is Summer's splendour; October yields her easel bright to black and white November!” — James Rigg, "November," Wild Flower Lyrics and Other Poems, 1897

Links I Love • November 2021

This month’s focus in on beagles and the most iconic of them all, Snoopy. Of course, what month would be complete without a little food, fashion, and Paris thrown in for good measure?

• How “Peanuts” Created a Space for Thinking

• AKA’s Meet the Beagles

• 10 Howling Good Facts About Beagles

• 10 Black-and-White Facts About Snoopy

• In a Collection of ‘Peanuts’ Tributes, the Gang Is All Here

• Milwaukee Defeats New York City in Trending Twitter Poll on Best City in America

• The Science Behind Gratitude (How It Can Change Your Life)

• And Just Like That…Carrie’s Back! SJP Vogue Article

• A Guide to the Most Iconic Cafés in Paris

• Hygge, Like Love, Cannot Be Bought

• The Believer: With Tireless Faith in the Potential of Those He Coaches, Shaka Smart Draws on His Own Basketball Journey

1 MM

“The biggest commitment you must keep is your commitment to yourself.” — Neale Donald Walsch

I did it! I rowed 1,000,000 meters! Since March 12th, I rowed every day but two when we were out of town. As I approached 1MM, I committed to achieving this goal by Thanksgiving, a day to give thanks for so many blessings, not the least of which is the strength, determination, and commitment that it took to reach this goal. The 20-minute Gratitude Row was the perfect workout for this milestone and as a bonus, the soundtrack included the Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) (IYKYK — “Melinda, Melinda!”). How does that 1MM compare to 500 miles? It’s actually 621.37 miles, about the distance from Delafield, WI to Toronto or the length of Lake Michigan from north to south and back north again!

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My Badges: Give Thanks, 1MM, 250 Days, Learn to Row, Race on the Charles, Fall 2021 Commit to Fit, 30 Weeks, 750K, Fitness Builder, A Stroke of Genius (Summer 2021 US Olympic Teams), Beginner Training Camp, 500K, Form Check, Spring 2021 Commit to Fit, 250K, Earth Day Team Workout, 100K, Variety Pack, World Water Day Race, Land and Sea, Team Player, and Wanderlust. Time to earn some more — Bring on 2MM!

Currently • November 2021

“Fear not November’s challenge bold — We’ve books and friends, and hearths that never can grow cold: These make amends!” — Alexander Louis Fraser, “November”

READING:

• The Book of Joy — Yes, again, but this time with a group of colleagues. The discussion has been wonderfully vulnerable and uplifting.

• Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era — “For years, Capote attempted to write what he believed would have been his magnum opus, Answered Prayers. [This book] recreates the lives of these fascinating swans, their friendships with Capote and one another, and the doomed quest to write what could have been one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century” (Goodreads).

• Out Came the Sun by Muriel Hemingway — “A moving, compelling memoir about growing up and escaping the tragic legacy of mental illness in one of America's most famous families: the Hemingways” (Goodreads).

WATCHING:

• Ghosts on Hulu — “A young couple's dreams come true when they inherit a beautiful country house, only to find it's both falling apart and inhabited by many of the deceased previous residents” (iMDB). Very funny!

• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving — It wouldn’t be a holiday without my Peanuts friends.

LISTENING TO:

• The new ABBA album, Voyage — What can I say? It’s a guilty, Scandi pleasure.

• Vince Guaraldi and George Winston — At this time of year, I crave cool jazz and piano solos, especially soundtracks from Peanuts holiday specials, Autumn as it’s transition to December, and perhaps best of all, the combo that is George Winston’s Linus and Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi.

FEELING:

• Proud/Accomplished — My goal was to row 1,000,000 meters by Thanksgiving. As I write this, I have a week to go and 25,000 meters; that’s a little over 3500 meters per day — totally do-able. I am quite proud of myself for committing to a regular fitness routine.

• Grateful — Thanksgiving is the traditional time of year to count our blessings and I am truly thankful for good health, family and friends, a sweet beagle, a steady job, and a lovely home. As we discussed The Book of Joy, someone recommended Two Minute Mornings: A Journal to Win Your Day Every Day: “This written exercise helps facilitate mindfulness and assists in the creation of a constructive daily focus – the right track to forming a permanent positive mindset. Features simple, quick prompts that focus on gratitude, letting go of stress, and setting daily intentions. A clean, yet effective page set up provides space to reflect on three daily questions: I will let go of, I am grateful for, and I will focus on.” I love the idea of not only being mindfully grateful, but of recognizing that, in order to be truly thankful and focused, we have to let go of something negative or out of our control to make room for the joy. I think this might be my “New Year’s resolution”.

LOOKING FORWARD TO:

• Decorating for the holidays — I’m very excited to decorate this year, now that we have clean, white walls and new carpeting. I think everything is going to be sparkling and bright. I am decorating three Christmas trees this holiday season: the big one in the living room featuring all the beautiful white, silver, and glass ornaments; the Scandi tree on the deck with wooden ornaments, pinecones, and bottle brush birds; and a new, small Parisian ornament featuring the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, a macaron, an airplane, a wine glass, and a camera, along with glass ornaments in shades ranging from clear to dark gray. Those are the concepts. I’ll post pictures soon.

• Thanksgiving and Christmas Breaks — I really need them.

October 2021 in Pictures

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” — Lucy Maude Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables