Hello friends and Hello October! This month has always been a favorite … sweater weather (and not just short sleeved cotton sweaters, we’re talking sleeves, wool, and jeans!), clear blue skies, sleeping with the windows open, college football, birthdays! (four of the best guys in my life – my dad, Marc, Rob, and Sam all celebrate this month), crisp apples, snuggling with an afghan and a good book, starting to think about the holidays, bourbon cocktails, … I could go on and on. and this year all of those things are still here. and yet. yeah. I know you get it, too.
And still. it’s October in what feels like the most important election season of my life. Here’s my TGIF.
Thinking about when I’m going to vote in my state’s early voting. It starts October 12 and continues for three weeks. My current plan is to vote mid-week, mid-day in week two. I’m going to see how week one goes before I decide. and of course I have the privilege to be flexible about all of it. If I show up and the line is long, I can come back another time. But I am 100% committed to casting this ballot in person before Election Day.
Grateful for tennis. for so many reasons, and maybe the best one is that it gives me a way to exercise with others … and then socialize. Gosh, it’s hard to believe I just started back to this “last month” (well, unless you actually watched me play 😉 ) One of my favorite things is that my sister and I have started hitting balls, followed by a catchup (with a beverage), in place of our mid-week FaceTime. and last night, Katie and I met to hit balls for an hour and then enjoyed an hour plus on a bench by the pond with snacks and wine (that’s when we saw that gorgeous sunset). Cannot wait to do All of This on repeat this month!
Inspired by Brené Brown. her Unlocking Us podcast, playlists on Spotify, and The Gifts of Imperfection. I’ve been a fan of the podcast since it started and I’m so glad I can participate in all the Spotify “stuff” (as opposed to folks who do things on Facebook and I’m just like “nope, not doin’ it”). I just started Gifts a couple of days ago and I’m thinking this is gonna be my And book of the month (oh man, I can only hope I DO NOT HAVE TO re-arrange the felt board. again!! … at least not before January!)
Fun … I’m looking forward to TWO books this month and they both come out next Tuesday: Ina Garten’s Modern Comfort Food and Alice Hoffman’s Magic Lessons. I’ve pre-ordered Ina and I’m wavering about getting Magic Lessons on Kindle or hardcover. Now that I’ve discovered how easy it is to highlight and share text via Kindle, I’m leaning toward that for Magic Lessons, but then I won’t be able to lend the book. and maybe it would be cool to have the book to highlight and pass along. What would you do? (and gosh, isn’t this a nice problem to have?!)
In closing, I wish y’all the best October. Be well. Hold those you love close (in real life if you can, and virtually if you can’t). Find something to celebrate. and say thank you as often as you can. xxoo.
mere-et-filles 
You can lend Kindle books!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GJUXNRAHSH6LX6FA
I’ve done it several times and it works fine, as long as the person you are lending to has a Kindle and they accept the loan. I notice that the instructions say “eligible” books, so I’m not sure how to determine if a book is eligible before you purchase, but lending Magic Lessons might be a possibility.
Lovely sunset!
Lovely to hear your enthusiasm for this month – hoping it continues to percolate and be sustained. The tennis-playing clearly has benefits over and above hitting the ball to and fro – how nice that it can be bookended with more social times. Things which feel comforting are just right, right now – I’ve been thinking about it a lot this last week. And thank-you to Bonny for the info on lending Kindle books – who knew!
I am so jealous of your early voting. If we had early voting, I would for sure be voting in person, but with in-person voting available only on Election Day, I didn’t want to risk the crowds. We’ve already received our mail-in ballots and plan to drop them off in person at our county election office.
What an uplifting post! In regards to your books question, I have to admit I’m almost always a hard copy fan. I love loaning a book and asking the person to jot in the margins. It brings me much joy to open it up the next time and see our collective responses in our different handwriting. (I especially love doing this with cookbooks! Then I can see what they’ve substituted, how it turned out, etc.) And your tennis rhythm with your sis & Katie sounds ideal!! What a great move that was…
Thanks for the head’s up on Ina’s new book, I just placed a hold at the library. I’ve had Magic Lessons for months from NetGalley and I still haven’t read it, shame on me. And yes to all things Brené Brown!
Our early voting began September 29th and I voted…it feels so good to know I’ve done my small part!
I’m excited to be voting too. I love the mood the photo is projecting. Stormy cosy and whispering of things to come! I am reading more and reflecting more as I read your Grateful recommendation–Thank You!
Ina’s new cookbook ought to be on my front porch tomorrow, and I can’t wait!! She’s been one of the bright rays over the past several months.
I really love being able to highlight and add notes via ebooks. (While I love sharing “real” books with others, I don’t like to read what other people have highlighted.) And I am really looking forward to more new recipes with Ina! I’m so glad you’re enjoying tennis. It’s so nice to have somthing FUN to look forward to! Have a great week, Mary. XO
I, too, have decided I must vote in person this year, although originally, I thought I’d vote by absentee ballot. That no longer seems to be a good option. Our voting starts on the 24th. I am also looking forward to Ina’s new cookbook. Hers are among my favorites. I’ve had mixed feelings about Alice Hoffman–loving some and not so much others. It will be the library for me.
New books all over the place. I still have a gift card from Amazon so I keep putting books in my cart but haven’t pushed go – yet. I am thinking I might do more nonfiction on Kindle since the note keeping is so much easier but then I do love a book in my hands. So many first world problems.
I’ll be doing the same with early voting. Make sure the kinks are out and plenty of chances to come back if the line is long. If I have to pay for a book because A) the library doesn’t have it or B) it’ll be a million years before I can get it from the library I’ll go ahead and buy. That allows me to keep and review notes for another time or loan/give it to someone to enjoy. It has to be super cheap for me to buy a kindle version. Yes to October-it’s fall y’all!
Another beautiful photo Mary. I buy hard copies of books I know I’m going to love and perhaps reread. October really is a glorious month.