A Month in Summary - November 2025

Depoe Bay, Oregon

November 2025

So, who has their Christmas tree up and decorated?? With Thanksgiving falling so late in the month, I decided to put our tree up right after our guests went home. We're hosting a small Christmas party for friends on the 9th, so I want to have the house decorated in time for that event. 

November was a pretty busy month for me. A few trips over to Salem and Corvallis (90 minutes each way), visitors at the beginning and end of the month, our anniversary, various doctor appointments, and a trip to the ER. (Rod has Bell's Palsy, which isn't great, but at least it wasn't a stroke!) In spite of all of that, I managed to get quite a bit of reading in. Focusing on the Nonfiction November Challenge, I knocked off seven books from my list. Most were exceptional, but there are a couple that I won't hang onto for a second reading. 

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (4/5)

Safekeeping: Some True Stories From a Life by Abigail Thomas (3.5/5)

Altitude Adjustment: A Quest for Love, Home, and Meaning in the Tetons by Mary Beth Baptiste (3.5/5)

The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward by Melinda French Gates (4.5/5)

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks (4.5/5)

I Am I Am I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell (4.5/5)

Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett (3/5)

Movies & TV Series:

Black Bag - Fun espionage movie starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. We enjoyed it!

The Beast in Me - A gripping thriller, but very disappointing performance by Claire Danes. Her exaggerated grimaces grew very tiresome, but Matthew Rhys manages to save the show with his stellar portrayal of a sociopath. Fun fact: Matthew Rhys is married to Keri Russell (of The Diplomat). 

Visitors:

My aunt, uncle and cousin came out in early November, visiting from Durham, North Carolina. It's always great to see them!

Thanksgiving was also very enjoyable with two of my three brothers here with their families. Our next door neighbors were also included for dinner that evening.

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

Rod & I celebrated 37 years this month. Twu wuv! 💕 (Poor guy is suffering from Bell's Palsy. He really was smiling on the inside!)

Wishing you all a calm and joyful December!

A Month in Summary - November 2023

Elk Falls Provincial Park

Campbell River, British Columbia

September 2023

Just as the bear in the photograph above is preparing for winter, I found myself slowing down in November, curling up with my books more often than I usually do during the summer. We celebrated our 35th anniversary, enjoyed a visit with more relatives mid-month (I think that brings the total number of visitors in 2023 to a whopping 43!), and hosted a few of our neighbors for Thanksgiving. The RV is tucked in at the storage facility for the next few months, and the rainy (and windy!) season has arrived, so I see more time for reading and trying out new recipes in the coming months.

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson (4/5)

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (4.5/5)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (3/5)

Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard (5/5)

Bella: An Appalachian Love Story & Jagged Dawn: Logan's Beginning by Valerie Davisson (4/5)

The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill (3.5/5)

The Push by Ashley Audrain (4.5/5)

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls (4/5)

Closer by Sea by Perry Chafe (3.5/5)

Movies & TV Series:

My Texas Rangers' T-Shirt from 1998

Texas Rangers are the 2023 World Series Champions! When we lived in Fort Worth (1998-2000), we fell in love with the Rangers (and their ballpark). It was also the season of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, so we watched A LOT of baseball. I loved going to games and have always been a fan of the team (which has been around since the year of my birth). Well done, boys!

Unforgotten (Season Five) - Lots of characters and threads to keep track of, but we enjoyed it, in spite of the convoluted finale.

Vera (Season Three) - We really enjoy this series, especially since each mystery is wrapped up in a single episode. I love seeing how the friendship between Vera and Joe continues to develop.

Anika (Season Two) - Lots more (dry) humor in this season than in the first, but overall, I didn't love it. 

Bosch Legacy (Season Two) - Another follow-up season that disappointed us. Actually, the Legacy spin-off of Bosch isn't nearly as good as the original. 

We celebrated 35 years of marriage on the 6th. I am so fortunate to have such a great husband and travel companion! Twu wuv. 💖

Thanksgiving Feast:

Most of our family came for visits this past summer and early fall, so with no relatives coming for Thanksgiving, we invited a few of our neighbors to Thanksgiving dinner. Only because I couldn't find a smaller turkey (from the company I prefer), I wound up with a 24 lb beast! I've never roasted a turkey that large and was afraid it would take all day to cook. Surprisingly, it was finished in under four hours. (It was actually slightly overdone, but that's better than an undercooked turkey, and, with enough gravy and cranberry sauce, nobody cared.) I do a lot of prep the day before and serve the majority of hot dishes in crockpots. I was even able to carve the turkey well before our guests arrived, holding it at a safe temperature in a large crock pot. And yes, we have a lot of leftovers which are in the freezer for future meals. Turkey soup, turkey tetrazzini, turkey enchiladas, turkey sandwiches, and turkey tacos, to name a few. What's your favorite turkey leftover meal?

Christmas Gift Idea:

I received my first item from MAYSON the label and I'm in love! The color is stunning and the cashmere fabric is so luxurious. If you need a gift idea, you can't go wrong with this scarf. It comes in six colors (cappuccino, navy, heather grey, skylar, black, and white sand) and after much deliberation, I ordered the skylar. It was tempting to get one in every color. ;) 

On second thought, treat yourself to an early Christmas present. You deserve it!

Parker House Rolls

Parker House Rolls

Growing up, I was not only lucky to know all four of my grandparents, but I also knew my maternal great-grandmother, Louise Ashbrook. I didn't know her as well as I knew her daughter (my grandmother), but I know that she loved nature and was an avid bird-watcher. She was also an exceptional painter of landscapes, as well as delicate scenes on hand-blown eggs, which several family members display at Eastertime. She was also know for her amazing Parker House rolls, which many of my relatives have attempted, over the years, to duplicate. She never measured her ingredients, grabbing handfuls of flour and pinches of sugar & salt, making it impossible for anyone to carry on her legacy. Until last week!

A few years ago, I stumbled upon a recipe for Parker House rolls that Kristen Doyle had shared on her blog (Dine and Dish). As usual, I printed the recipe and tossed it into a pile, later to be filed away and long forgotten. This year we're hosting our family gathering and I decided it was time to try my hand at Kristen's recipe (which she got courtesy of the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts). With the weather turning cold and rainy, I made plans to make stew one night and chicken and dumplings the next. What better than to have some tender, buttery rolls to go with that yummy comfort food! I dug through my files and found Kristen's recipe. I followed it almost exactly as written, opting for my KitchenAid mixer (with the bread hook attachment) instead of kneading the dough by hand. I was so pleased (ok, giddy with joy!) to not only have the dough rise perfectly the first time, but also after cutting out each little circle of dough. I waited longer than instructed to pop them in the oven since I was waiting for the rest of the meal to come together, but the kitchen was warm and the dough didn't collapse. 

The final verdict? Delicious! They're a bit lighter and fluffier than my great-grandmother's rolls, but they're the best I've ever made. I don't know which is better, serving them warm with salted butter or saving them for the next day and enjoying them with a little bit of mayo and leftover turkey. I guess I better double the recipe. Thanks, Kristen!

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour (I used a little bit more)

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 packages active dry yeast

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened

1 large egg

In a large mixer bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast; add 1/2 cup butter (1 stick). 

With mixer at low speed, gradually pour 2 cups hot tap water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F.) into mixture. 

Add egg; increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes, scraping bowl with rubber spatula.

Beat in 3/4 cup flour or enough to make a thick batter; continue beating 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. 

With spoon, stir in enough additional flour (about 2 1/2 cups) to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, working in more flour (about 1/2 cup) while kneading. (I used a bread hook and left the dough in the mixer.)

Shape dough into a ball and place in greased large bowl, turning over so that top of dough is greased. Cover with towel; let rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees F.) until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough is doubled when 2 fingers pressed into dough leave a dent.) 

Punch down dough by pushing down the center or dough with fist, then pushing edges of dough into center. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead lightly to make smooth ball, cover with bowl for 15 minutes, and let dough rest. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In 17 1/4-inch by 11 1/2-inch roasting pan, over low heat, melt remaining 1/2 cup butter; tilt pan to grease bottom. (I used a large jelly roll/cookie sheet pan, brushed with some of the melted butter, leaving the rest in a bowl to dip into.)

On lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/2 inch thick. With floured 2 3/4-inch round cutter, cut dough into circles.

Holding dough circle by the edge, dip both sides into melted margarine or butter pan; fold in half.

Arrange folded dough in rows in pan, each nearly touching the other. 

Cover pan with towel; let dough rise in warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Bake rolls for 15 to 18 minutes until browned. 

Recipe courtesy Omni Parker House Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts

Click on the link in the sidebar for more of my favorite recipes. 

Please visit The Intrepid Reader for Weekend Cooking.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend.

A Month in Summary - November 2019

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

November 2019

Well, that was quite a month! In spite of all the craziness that popped up during the last two weeks (see my post here), I managed to get in a lot of reading and stuck with my personal challenge to read only nonfiction. Nonfiction November is always a fun blogging challenge to follow, and I wind up adding a lot of titles to my TBR list, but I'm not an official participant. My favorite of the month? I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel. She really gets us readers!

Books Read in November (click on title for my review):

Wish You Were Here by Stewart O'Nan

Forty Autumns by Nina Willner

Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening by Carol Wall

I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel

Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

First Lines:

They took Arlene's car because it had air-conditioning and Emily wasn't sure the Olds would make it. That and Arlene's was bigger, a wagon, better for bringing things back.

Emily knew she wouldn't be able to resist. She'd never learned to take even the smallest loss gracefully--a glass cracked in the dishwasher, a sweater shrunk by the dryer. She'd stuff the Taurus full of junk she didn't have room for at home. All of it would end up down in the basement, moldering next to the extra fridge still filled to clinking with Henry's Iron Citys. She didn't drink beer, and she couldn't bring herself to twist them open one by one and tip them foaming down the sink, so they stayed there, the crimped edges of the bottle caps going rusty, giving her vegetables a steely tinge. She would save what she could, she knew, though Henry himself would have shaken his head at the mess. (Wish You Were Here)

Our story started when one war ended and another began. 

The day World War II ended, my grandmother, Oma, was one of the first in the village to emerge from the underground cellar and step out into the still and desolate landscape of rural Schwaneberg. At forty years old, her belly swollen with her seventh child, she hoisted open the heavy wooden door and climbed up onto the dry, dusty landing as her children followed, squinting as their eyes met the daylight. (Forty Autumns)

I never liked getting my hands dirty. This was one reason that our yard looked so sad. But there were other reasons, too--bigger reasons that were much harder to confront than brittle grass and overgrown bushes. (Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening)

"Can you recommend a great book?"

Because I'm a writer, certified book nerd, and all-around bookish enthusiast, people ask me this question all the time. I talk about books like it's my job--and in a sense, it is. I make book recommendations all day. (I'd Rather Be Reading)

I heard about the promise Edward made to his dying wife long before I met him.

Valerie, Edward's daughter and one of my oldest friends, related the story when I saw her shortly after her mother's death. Paula, who was just shy of her ninety-fifth birthday had been bedridden and drifting in and out of consciousness for days, sat up in bed specifically to address her beloved husband.

"Listen to me, Eddie." Paula spoke firmly, emphatically. "You can't come with me now. It would be the end of our little family." (Dinner with Edward)

I was stunned by Mary Karr's memoir, The Liars' Club. Not just by its ferocity, its beauty, and by her delightful grasp of the vernacular, but by its totality--she is a woman who remembers everything about her early years. (On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft)

Movies and TV Shows:

Echo in the Canyon - I love music documentaries, particularly those of the 60s, and this one didn't disappoint. I could happily watch it again.

El Camino - We loved Breaking Bad, but this follow-up movie was a big disappointment. I was tempted to turn it off halfway in, but stuck with it. Meh.

Saving Private Ryan - We've watched this a few times and it never gets any easier to sit through those opening scenes of the battle on Omaha Beach. Excellent cast.

Avengers Endgame - Loved it until the end.

The Vietnam War (Ken Burns) - Burns is simply a genius when it comes to documentaries. We have watched several of his programs, but I think this is possibly his best. It's a depressing topic, but there is so much about Vietnam that I didn't know until I watched this show. If I were a high school history teacher, I would be sure to include this series in my lesson plans. 

Puzzlemania - 

This one was quite challenging!

Outings and Trips:

We haven't done much in the way of outings or trips since we returned from our road trip. The only outings of note were to Corvallis when my husband wound up in the hospital with pancreatitis and a severe gall bladder attack. Four days later, I was able to bring him home where he has been recovering as he figures out what he can eat. Thank goodness this didn't happen on our trip or during our daughter's wedding!

Rod wasn't the only one in our household to wind up in an ER this month. My 86-year-old mother had been battling a terrible cold/cough and it became much worse one night, so we call 911 and she was taken to the ER where she was diagnosed with viral pneumonia. She was released two days later after several breathing treatments and rounds of antibiotics and is now recuperating at home with us.

We are grateful for all the wonderful doctors and amazing nursing staff at both ERs and hospitals!

Visitors:

My brother and his family came down from Seattle for a three-day visit and our next-door neighbors joined all of us for our Thanksgiving feast. It was a lovely day and yes, we ate too much!

We have so much for which to be grateful. At the top of our list is family, friends and our health.

Happy Holidays!

Gratitude

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I have to say that I am very grateful that these two are both home and on the mend. Rod had a terrible gall bladder attack earlier this month and wound up in the hospital with pancreatitis. He spent a couple of days in the hospital getting that under control, followed by surgery to remove his gall bladder and was discharged the following day. Shortly after his follow-up appointment with his surgeon, my mother developed pneumonia and she wound up spending a couple of days in the hospital. They are now both resting, more or less comfortably, at home. 

Two ER visits, two paramedic transports and two hospital stays in two weeks. Let's hope that the belief that bad things occur in threes is just that--nothing but a superstition. My birthday falls on Friday the 13th, but I certainly don't plan to go into hiding. Life happens, whether in threes or more. 

This Thanksgiving I am very thankful for the amazing team of medical professional we encountered during the past two weeks. From the EMTs and ER nurses to the surgical teams and nursing staff to the support staff, each and every one was professional, knowledgeable and very compassionate in their care of two of my favorite people.