November 4th, 2026

Hello November readers! Here we are in the first week of November after October just ZOOMED by. I hope you voted and it’s going to be interesting to see how our country shifts with the newly elected people. We’ve already seen how the stock market shifted. Let’s all hope it leads to more peace and prosperity for more people in 2027.

I stumbled across this enameled color wheel plate when I was shopping for some old fashioned soap. I bought two plates! One can be used for a palette, if I like, and the other I was envisioning as a fun cheese and nut serving plate. It’s always fun to find something that adds more color to your life and is unique.

Currently we are getting ready for a major remodeling project later this week. It’s a one day project however it will take many days to prep properly for it. Always nice to improve the place you are living. Yesterday I updated the remodeling document I have been keeping so that we have an accurate timeline of the overall remodeling that we under take. We are grateful that we have been able to find a quiet (or largely quiet) place with easy access to various forms of nature. Everyone should have access to adequate and safe housing. So that’s my wish that I’m putting out into the world this winter.

Helping various situations where people and organizations are struggling has also been our focus this summer and fall. Knowing that you make a positive difference with people and the earth in general, is a good feeling. Utilizing skills built over decades is also wonderful.

This blog is very much stream-of-conscious thought, because I’ve had little free time lately and am still trying to keep up exercise, healthy eating, volunteering, organizing, and meeting new people who are doing much of the same things. I heard from a friend who is moving across the country and it was a relief to know she is okay so far. This can be a volatile world and especially for older, single women. So I am pleased that she is getting this next chapter of her life underway so that she is surrounded by family, friends and nature, that is not quite as under threat as it is here.

I have so many creative ideas for the future. I jot them down, or reserve the URL in advance and then just keep working. I have found that when the time is right, the opportunities and locations present themselves. The trick is doing the laying of groundwork without stressing about hurried timelines. So what are you dreaming about that you would like to do down the road? Are you writing it down.? Making notes on how you can move that way? Open to new possibilities when they arrive – that align with your vision? If not, maybe now is the time to take that first baby step? If not now, it’s okay. Just mull it over for a while. Thinking on it actually brings you the opportunity to look at the pros and cons of committing yourself to your inner voice.

Trying new things and stumbling through new software or investment details is scary yet really, really productive in the long run. Being kind to people along the way really helps grease your future wheels. We all have our defensive moments, but try to realize when you are being defensive from insecurity and when you are being defensive because the person really does not have your best interests at heart or the goal you would like to achieve in their action plan. It’s no good working with people who will actively sabotage you. So be patient, hard working and wise. Easier said that done, yet worth all the work.

As we had a great spooky season and are now headed into the season of gratitude, I thank my husband of several decades for his love and support, my daughter for her sharing her life with us and her hard work, dedication to causes and level head. I also am grateful to the many people around me that I have either met recently or reconnected with after long periods of us all being busy, for understanding that life is full and sometimes we don’t reach out as much as we could or should. I have a few token gifts for the friends who have done the hard work for others. I look forward to being thankful with both actions and food this month.

Lastly as the “winter” season comes (put in quotes because where I live there is never a real winter, just a chilly and rainy season), I am wishing everyone a warm, dry, safe place to lay their head. In a country with this much wealth at the top, it seems like a really small goal. Once we accomplish that, let’s get our leaders to focus on health care and infrastructure, sound good? Okay, I hope you are on board with me and I encourage you to add a little color to your life this season, it really does make a difference in lifting your spirits. Happy Holidays everyone.