Sunday, October 24, 2021

Sunday Salon - Winding down with October






Can you believe Thanksgiving is roughly (4) weeks away?  My son asked if we felt comfortable getting together as a family this year and, my immediate response was "yes!"  We've all been vaccinated (except for the granddaughters and they are masked in school as well as pool tested.  I'm hoping with all the supply chain issues, we will still be able to find local turkeys big enough for (10) of us.  I look forward to having everyone together after a somewhat lonely Thanksgiving 2020.   Do you have plans with family this year?  Has anyone gotten the COVID-booster yet?  I have an appointment for the booster on Friday. (We did get flu shots though - no side effects.)

A new addition to my daughter's family. Meet Millie, a 6 month old Australian Shepard. She joins the 7 and 9 year old sisters and 10 year old, 3-legged cat Rae (who has been great about the newcomer thus far.)



Rae

PAST WEEK - The weather has been lovely and this is the first year I can recall not having to turn our heat on by October 15th. The days have reached some 70 degree highs, no frost yet but, this week the temperatures will be dropping - hey it is to be expected when you live in New England.  We managed to take some nice walks and just enjoy time outside.  A few weeks ago we took a ride to the Berkshires and although although it was nice at home it rained there.  There was tons of tourist traffic and construction traffic as well, so it kind of put a "damper" on our plans.  We ended up hitting the outlet mall which wasn't busy at all but, decided on delaying our Stockbridge lunch plans for somewhere outside of the hustle and bustle. It all worked out in the end.

THIS WEEK - I have a hair appointment on Tuesday and my book group lunch gathering on Wednesday and then our meeting at 2. Our book is Stay With Me; Ayobami Adebaygo which I hope to begin today.  Have your read it?  I spoke to a few people who really liked it. 

BOOKS

I've been reading a lot; still behind on reviews though and winding down on the RIP Challenge.  I read 12 books from my list of 20 and still have (2) more to review: Getaway; Zoje Stage - 3.5/5 stars and The Family Plot; Megan Collins - 4/5 stars.  

I ended up reading several non fiction books this month which I really enjoyed as well (for me it was kinda non-fiction October.)





Hope your week and month has gone well.



(no review yet but it was excellent)

34 comments:

  1. We got our flu shots too but curious if there will be any reaction to the new boosters.

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    1. We did not have and side effects from our flu shots after the COVID vaccines. I'm scheduled to get the Booster on Friday as well.

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  2. We've gotten our boosters, now for the flu shots! Here's to a more traditional Thanksgiving this year, with or without turkey. :)

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    1. Jen, that is true --turkey or no turkey it will be better than 2020.

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  3. Looks like Millie is happy to be joining the family :)
    We won’t be due for our booster shots til early next year, but plan to get them when we’re eligible.
    Good luck finding those turkey’s

    Wishing you a great reading week

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    1. Thanks Shelly - we will make do with or without the traditional Thanksgiving fare if we need to LOL

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  4. My husband accidentally washed his vaccination card with the laundry last week and now we must wait until he receives his new card before we get the booster. Sigh.

    A group gathering for Thanksgiving sounds so great. None of us have decided what we are going to do.

    I am eager to read On Animals by Susan Orlean. I hope I can get a copy soon.

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    1. Oh gezz poor husband. I booked my booster appointment for Friday but, my husband couldn't find his update medicare card so he has to wait for his replacement to card to arrive. I hope you enjoy On Animals - I recommend print over audio (read by author.)

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  5. Hooray for family get togethers! Millie looks totally adorable, welcome home sweetie. Rae looks like a real sweetheart too.

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    1. Millie is a cutie and so far Rae seems rather chill about her arrival.

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  6. I want that kitty!!! That's my favorite kind of cat. Calico or tortoiseshell or whatever its called. So beautiful. Millie is adorable.

    It's just me and my Mom so Thanksgiving is the same for us, COVID or no COVID. LOL You hope to find a turkey big enough, I hope to find only turkey PARTS so that I can do a Thanksgiving sheetpan meal I've had bookmarked all year.

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    1. She is a sweet - 3-legged cat who was born with a deformed leg which was amputated as a kitten. She has done fine. I don't even care if we have turkey this Thanksgiving - anything will do if we are together.

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  7. Ah isn't Millie cute! I hope you and your family will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Unfortunately we will probably not be able to see our families as being that they are out of the country it's just more complex with travel restrictions, etc. It's been so hard not seeing family and friends right? We'll be getting our boosters next month but we did get our flu shots! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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    1. Iliana, it's rough when family is far away but, I'm sure you will make your day special even if it is reading a wonderful book.

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  8. I am looking forward to getting together with family for Thanksgiving as well! The fall colors look beautiful.

    I want to read Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson. Hope you enjoyed it.

    Have a great week!

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    1. Life Among the Savages was a pleasant surprise! Glad tou plan to spend time with family this Thanksgiving.

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  9. We'll have two of our three daughters with us for Thanksgiving... plus a new boyfriend we'll be meeting for the first time! Should be fun but, like you, I'm wondering if we'll have trouble finding the traditional foods. Publix hasn't had canned pumpkin since we got back, but I was happy to score a couple of cans at Target. Pumpkin pie is a go. Who knows about cranberries or turkey...

    My husband got the Covid booster yesterday and had no side effects at all. We both got flu shots a couple weeks ago. Hoping I can get booster soon, too.

    Millie is so cute.

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    1. Glad you will have some family in FL to celebrate with. This year, I don't care if we eat pasta and salad on Thanksgiving as long as we can be together LOL Millie is a sweetie.

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  10. The year has gone by so quickly. It's quite alarming when you're getting older to watch this happen. We've been contacted about our boosters but will wait until we hear from our GP surgery to get those done. We don't do Thanksgiving here of course but are keeping our fingers crossed for Christmas, hoping to have family to stay.

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    1. Yes, the booster will make me feel even better. Plenty of vaccine here. Hope you get to have time with family at Christmas and, yes, I am getting a little sad when I now know what my mother meant when she said, "the older you get the faster time passes."

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  11. Aw what a beautiful dog! Congrats! :)

    It's been unseasonably warm here until the last week. Now we're cooling down and the heat is on it got in the 30's last night...

    Same here with Thanksgiving. We're going to get together and I was wondering the same thing about turkeys, although our group will be smaller. I keep hearing about the supply chain issues though so not sure how that will affect Thanksgiving.

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    1. Thanks Greg. Millie has a rough start but I think she will be just fine with all the love she has gotten in just one week.

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  12. Millie is adorable! And the sisters seem smitten with her. So sweet. I've had 3 vaccine shots in Canada. 1 AstraZeneca and 2 Pfizer. I feel covered for awhile. Good luck with your booster. Also I have read Stay With Me in 2017 ... it's essentially about a marriage in Nigeria ... that's sad & thought-provoking ... which likely will make for a good book club discussion. Have a great week.

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    1. She is sweet a bit shy but she had a rough start. She is getting braver in just a week. I read the first half of Stay With Me today; it's good and made me smile at times even though it's a serious story. I can see a lively discussion.

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  13. I love all animals and Rae and Millie are sweeties. That is awful to pay $50 and hate your haircut. I usually have a photo on my phone to show the stylist when I try something different - which is rare LOL

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  14. I think we will get together for Thanksgiving as well as long as no one has been sick. What a sweet face Millie has and I love Aussies! They're such great dogs. And Rae is a beauty. Love the fall picture! Have a wonderful week!

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    1. Oh I hope you can have the most perfect Thanksgiving. It's been such a rough year for you guys you more than deserve a special day.

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  15. I love that you will all get together for Thanksgiving this year. My Thanksgiving is going to look very different. My son will get my daughters and they will spend Thanksgiving in Kansas City. We could not get her on a flight to come out. At least they will be together.

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    1. Oh, I am glad E & E will be together for Thanksgiving. You and the hub can do the jammies and movies LOL

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  16. Gorgeous fall colors, Diane!

    We're planning a fairly large family gathering this year for Thanksgiving, too. My three brothers and their families will fly to Oregon, thanks to science and vaccines! My mom is getting her booster on Thursday and my husband might get his on Wednesday. I plan to get mine, but we're getting ready to head out in the rv again and I don't want to have the same reaction that I had after my 2nd shot, so I'll wait until we're back home and I can plan for a "recovery" day from the shot. There will be 12 of us on Thanksgiving Day, so I need to start searching for a big turkey, too. However, we will probably have a ham, as well, so it doesn't need to be enormous.

    Millie is a sweet pup! I love Aussies. They are such intelligent dogs, but boy do they need room to run around.

    World War C looks like a great read! I'm also eager to get a copy of the Shirley Jackson book. Thanks for the recommendations.

    Have a great week, Diane.

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    1. I'm glad you will be able to get together with family as well. World War C was excellent IMO as it was not just about COVID and the author does a great job helping a lay person understand.

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  17. That new puppy is adorable! What fun (and a lot of work) to have a new dog; I miss having a pet. We were just talking about Thanksgiving the other day, but didn't come to any consensus. It's me and my parents at home since my daughter won't come back from college since she only gets a couple days off. But, I think we're all itching to have a get together so maybe we'll have some friends come over.

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  18. Helen, I'm sure you will find something nice to do on Thanksgiving with parents. Yes, Thanksgiving break is short for college students.

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