November Mishmash
Full of Thanks!
Hi! I am very thankful for YOU! I hope you were able to have an excellent meal with people you love this week! I almost forgot to mention the election which was extremely disappointing. :(
Food!
I made enough Green Bean Casserole to feed like 20 people and it was delicious.
Also made this Fancy Ranch that is always a hit, served with crunchy veg and seedy crackers! I could eat it with a spoon!
Here’s a cozy fall soup that we enjoyed this month: Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup
Books
You can shop all my recent reads here: https://bookshop.org/shop/michelleflook (Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.)
I have two non-fiction and 3 fiction books to talk about this month. All were good in their own ways, all very different from each other! Click the link above to shop these and my other faves via bookshop.org!
Non-fiction:
Rebel Girl by Kathleen Hanna - this is a pretty good memoir, audiobook read by the author, told in chronological vignettes through Kathleen’s life. I liked it but didn’t love it.
Men Have Called Her Crazy by Anna Marie Tendler - Another memoir that I liked but didn’t love. Anna has struggled with self-harm through her life and this book chronicles her time in a treatment facility along with looking back through her life experiences. I didn’t realize this when I was reading it, but she is John Mulaney’s ex-wife. This audiobook is also well read by the author.
Fiction:
The Fury by Alex Michaelides - A very fun mystery, for fans of locked-box mysteries a la Knives Out, this story is set on an island off the coast of Greece and has plenty of twists and turns.
Lifeform by Jenny Slate - I just love Jenny Slate, and this audiobook, read by the author, is lovely. I liked her last book more, but being inside Jenny’s brain is a place I really enjoy.
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix - The most unhinged book I read this year (maybe ever?). I did not know what I was getting myself into with this book, haven’t read others by this author, but it’s great campy horror fun. The audiobook is extremely well read, with great voice acting. If the idea of a horror book centered on haunted puppets sounds up your alley, by all means, pick this one up!
TV/Movies
We watched this movie: Late Night with the Devil (Hulu). It is weird, and unsettling, pretty unique, and I keep thinking about it!
Dark Matter on Apple TV+. I never read this book but this show was really good!! Thought provoking, interesting, and entertaining. Matthew and I both really liked it!
We also watched Alien: Covenant and Alien: Romulus. These movies are quite different from each other, but both are entertaining, creepy, and sci-fi/horror fun. In Romulus the aliens are really spider-like, and it has a grittier vibe, similar to the older movies. Covenant is more sleek/futury/lore-filled. I liked them both!
Projects!
I made this cute baby quilt as a pattern tester! This is the Ardis Quilt from Hot Stitch Studio! Once I get this one quilted and bound it will be for sale! I love how the bright blue and green pop!
Here’s another quilt I was lucky enough to pattern test! I still haven’t finished this one either, but it’s a really neat pattern. This is the Conjunction Quilt from Month of May Quilting. I’ll be selling this one too once it’s finished!
Here’s my November Block of the month from the Sweet Potato Quilts Block of the month club! Only one more block left and then I’ll have another quilt top to sew together!
Miscellaneous!
Thanksgiving with Friends was so fun! Ate way too much delicious food!!
I got a haircut, and no more chemo curls!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remi!
Remi has had a difficult couple months, diagnosed with dry eyes (KCS) and then having some kind of undetermined pain that we had to treat for a while with muscle relaxers and limiting her activity. She’s doing fine now though, back to her usual goofy self. Here is a pic of her in her cozy jail while we had to limit her activity for a couple weeks. The one benefit of this mystery injury she had is that now she likes hanging out in her crate!
Goodbye, until next month!
xoM