We’re over a week into December, so it’s high time I did this! Welcome to my monthly recap of the previous month of November 2024. This is where I share, inspired by this blog over here by Leila Lawler, the pretty, happy, funny, real, smart, and kind things of my November 2024. I’m a bit late this month, what with Thanksgiving being so late, out-of-town family visiting, and all the Christmas prep stuff going on.

My baby grandson got to meet my dad over Thanksgiving. Look at that grip! Poor Dad! I don’t think he knew that his skin is so elastic! More on our fun Thanksgiving at the bottom of this post.

I enjoyed immensely my autumn decorations. They make me so happy! I just love my garlands and banners. My front room is small, but I love being in it because of how cozy I’ve been able to make it. Here’s a view of my son listening to a book for our homeschooling while he takes notes. It just thrills me to my bones to see this sight!

On November 2, at the Highland Liberty Meeting, I enjoyed the presentation by Gabriella Puckett about her life growing up in Communist Cuba. She spoke about how some people attempt to glamorize life in Cuba to attract people to Communism. She said that life in Cuba was horrible. It was dirty and impoverished. She never ate a fruit besides an apple or banana until she came to America. She does not recommend life in Cuba to anyone. She is so glad she was blessed to leave at age 18 with her parents and siblings. You can watch it over here. Despite all the problems with America, I’m grateful I live here!

My son got inspired by hearing about a Sword of Freedom Civil War ball, to be held in December. He has been working to get all the requirements done so he can participate in the ceremony at the ball to be awarded his sword. He’s fully engaging in scholar phase so I’m taking over doing the daily dishes/kitchen cleanup these days. I’ve always had my children who are in the TJED “love of learning” and “scholar” phases do the dishes. (See the phases explained over here.) As he is my youngest child, I have no one left to do the dishes, so now it falls on me. This is preparing me for my empty nest in three years. I’m embracing listening to more podcasts/audiobooks as I do this new duty.

Election Day! I voted on that day and walked home from the polls. This was one of the views. below, that I enjoyed on that frosty walk home. It was a rare blustery day with snow falling on and off.

That night I went to a victory party for Dr. Mike Kennedy, who ran for the Utah 3rd Congressional District seat vacated by John Curtis, who ran for and won Mitt Romney’s seat. Dr. Kennedy won! I’m so excited for him! I actually met him 20 years ago last summer when my husband and I bought a used car from him and his wife. He is a conversative who I anticipate doing much good in Congress as he stands for liberty and limited government. This Election Night felt as exciting as Christmas Eve!

The party was at a bowling alley with blue light. It was slightly disorienting at first. The event involved lots of yummy free food, livestreams of the election coverage from different media outlets, and free bowling. It was exciting to see Trump win, even though I voted for Joel Skousen because 1. I wanted to be united with my husband, who didn’t vote for Trump because he doesn’t like Trump, and 2. Because Skousen is a much more principled man, and 3. I knew Trump would win Utah anyway. I’m still not sure about the Trump victory. Did it really happen? Did the powers-that-be engineer it? Is he really for cleaning up the swamp? Is he really not beholden to any other powers? Is he really for limited government? Has he become more principled than he was than in the past? Will he really carry out his promises? Time will tell.

Thrifting treasures! I found the following this month on my thrifting jaunts.

As a lover of trivia, I love finding and collecting the Uncle John Bathroom Readers. They’re just fun! I also collect Little Golden Books. I’ve already read the one below to my grandsons.

Somehow my Pioneer Woman Holiday Cookbook, the one I got for Christmas 9 years ago is missing! It’s as if someone waltzed into my home and stole it off my homemaking/feminine arts/cookbook bookshelf! I have quizzed all my children. No one knows where it went. So, I was happy to find a replacement, as shown above. I’ve been really wanting an oversized nubby white sweater and a beige one. I was thrilled to find both in one trip. I love old Usborne books so I was happy to find one, the Living Long Ago. Plus an America-themed board game, a book about the temple by Anthony Sweat, and a fun little whodunit puzzle book to keep in one of baskets on our bookshelves by our dinner table for conversations.

I also found a Ken Jennings Jr. Trivia book on geography, which I’ve been wanting, after never finishing the one from the public library, and a fuzzy, soft ivory coat. Totally not crunchy mom approved as it’s 100% polyester. As I’ve said many times, it’s impossible to be 100% crunchy all the time, unless you have unlimited money.

Here’s the fun polka dot dress paired with my new white sweater. I’m so thrilled about this sweater. It is so perfect for wrapping up in on chilly days. Like I said in my October 2024 recap, when I found a short nubby white sweater, I was still looking for a longer one to go past my waist. This one is perfect! We haven’t had a super chilly day yet but I anticipate them this winter. This sweater will go with so many tops. I just wish it had pockets.

My fourth son competed in a weightlifting competition in Idaho. I am so happy for him that for the second time in a row he lifted a combined total of over 1000 pounds in one morning. So twice now he has made the “1000 lbs. Club.” He sets such a great example to our whole family of being disciplined in pursuing physical fitness. He never misses a day of working out, except for the sacred Sabbath when he takes a break. I’m also thrilled that he has submitted his application to be called as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His competition was in Montpelier Idaho. It was wonderful to drive by the temple being constructed there. I am thrilled for the saints who live there that they will have a temple so close. I loved feeling the small-town vibe there.

I missed the Christmas cousins’ craft party my daughter organized, held at my mom’s home, to go to the weightlifting competition. It ended up being the same day. They made some snowflake window stickers, among other things, as shown below. I wish I could have been two places at once!

I celebrated a birthday and then my daughter’s birthday 4 days later. As a family we celebrated each birthday on the subsequent Sunday. For my birthday we sang songs gathered in my living room, while I accompanied everybody while playing the piano. Then we had a Zoom party with the out-of-town family members where we played a game that I designed. For my daughter’s birthday we played Quiplash with the out-of-town members using jackbox.tv. I was happy that the birthday girl won! She received the gifts below from some of us. I love her taste in clothing. Every year, when I look at her birthday/Christmas wishlist, I get inspired by her clothing items on the list. She said the cape in the photo below that we gave her reminds her of the book Holly Claus that I read aloud to her and one of her brothers years ago.

Look at this birthday cake my son-in-law made for her! I am so impressed by his skills! I have never heard of a guy making a birthday cake for his wife, and to top it off, it was a Barbie cake! Amazing! He made it piling up cupcakes and frosting them. She said she always wanted one of these cakes when she was a little girl. I had no idea as she never told me. (I actually always wanted one too.) Isn’t it fun to see our secret childish longings fulfilled as adults?

I also got to watch the same daughter perform in a Christmas dance recital. She participates in a community-sponsored adult ballet class. It was so fun to see her dance plus all the other numbers with all ages. The music, the costumes, the background scenery, the dancing! It was all so adorable, especially the parent and tot class, the gingerbread men dance, and the candy cane lane dance. It just delighted my heart. See the photos from that below.

Pam and Laura of Team Green of Season 14 on Relative Race won the competition in the Season Finale of Episode 10! Hooray for middle-aged women! As one of that demographic group, I love cheering my fellow middle-aged peers on to victory in any competition. It was so cool to watch them burst forth out out of the room where they completed the winning move to see cannons burst forth with green confetti! We watched the episodes every Sunday night this fall. We’re sad that the season is over again. Now to watch reruns and also catch up on The Chosen on Sunday nights until the new season next year.

During one of my many luscious hot water bath/soaks this month, as I was washing, then combing my hair, I was delighted by this totally spontaneous, random, image created by the hair that fell out of my head and landed on the edge of the bathtub, in the shape of a Mickey Mouse head, complete with ears. It just made me smile! How cool is that?

It made me think of one of my daughters-in-law who loves all things Disney. During Thanksgiving break, when she was here with my son from Texas, we played the Disney board game below that I found last month while thrifting. It was a hit! I was worried that it wouldn’t be fun for my family, but it was. Lots of discussion and laughter ensued. I was thrilled and not surprised that my daughter-in-law won! It totally brought out her enthusiasm.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we had a wonderful time of it with my parents, one brother and his wife, one sister and her husband, all of my children, 2/3 of my children-in-law, all three of grandchildren, and a nephew and his family. A lovely time! I got to cuddle with my grandbaby who lives in TX so I hardly ever see him. I was there shortly after his birth for two weeks. I finally got to hold him again. He is so chubby and cute! I was thrilled to finally share my collection of board books that I have been keeping out for him after finding the perfect basket for it while thrifting a few months ago. I got to read to him while his parents did baking on Thanksgiving Eve.

As usual, Thanksgiving Dinner was over all too soon. I’m glad that the next day, Black Friday, I got to spend more time with my out-of-town family that I usually don’t see every day. We went on a walk together and played lots of games.

I got to play the board game Therapy with my son, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, then Bananagrams, and Lord of the Rings Seven Wonders Duel. We also played Betrayal House on the Hill which is not my favorite, but I played it to spend time with all the others who really wanted to play it. One of my friends describes it as Clue on Steroids.

Bananagrams is always a crowd pleaser. Most everyone will play. We combined two sets to have more tiles.

Then another day I played Settlers of Catan Cities and Knights with my oldest son, the one who absolutely loves Catan games. I also played Three Sisters with my youngest son for gameschooling earlier in the month. Three Sisters is my new favorite. I love it because it is all about the farming life, harvest season, and has so many choices. Plus everyone plays pretty much every round. I highly recommend it!

Books I read this month (besides the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ which I listen to and read from every day to nurture my soul):

The above was for the Civil War class I am mentoring for my scholar phase son, for his LEMI Sword of Freedom Class. It’s so good! A true classic! I just love this story. It was at least my third time reading it. It has so many talking points! I listened to a good chunk of it on the drive home from Idaho (mentioned above) while the other family members slept. I love that it is based on the author’s family history. 5 out of 5 stars.

I read The Secret Book of Flora Lea for my sisters’ book club. Definitely a page-turner! I felt blessed that I could find it in my Everand subscription so I could listen to it. Having a book in audiobook format always increases the chance that I will finish the book as I can multitask. This book made me feel like I had entered a world of fairy tales, outdoor play, nubby sweaters, wavy hair, tea and cookies, a warm fireplace, a crush on a boy, mother love, sister love, mystery, and the effects of WW2. I just wish it didn’t have the premarital relations. 3 out of 5 stars.

My sister gave me these books for my birthday:

I’ve read Under the Egg aloud to my children, years ago, when we lived in AZ, because of her raving about. I’m happy to have my own hard copy of the book. It’s a great story of historical fiction and intrigue. I’ve heard so much about Calpurnia Tate that I’m excited to read my own copy.

Movies I watched this month:

Again, this was for Sword of Freedom. I used my old-fashioned way of censoring since it’s PG-13. An amazing story! I so admire Harriet Tubman. 5 out of 5 stars.

I review A Christmas Present here. It was entertaining and wholesome, and refreshingly, about marriage and mostly real life. Most of us can’t just leave for a 10 day Christmas vacation with less than a day’s notice. Though implausible, it was, however, fun and delightful. Definitely eye candy and some light food for thought, including random Bible verses quoted.

Then we saw The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the new one that is currently playing in the theater on Thanksgiving Saturday. Such a treat! What made it extra special was seeing it in the theater with the luxury loungers, as a big family outing. My parents, 4 out of my 7 children, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and grandchildren were all there. Read my review here. It’s the Best Christmas Family Movie Ever! It was the perfect ending to a wonderful month!