Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. We moved swiftly into Christmas mode by picking out our tree on Friday morning. But then we realized we all weren’t quite ready and waited until Sunday to bring it inside. This weekend we’ll probably decorate it. Baby steps…
Of course, ready or not, the holidays are coming, and December 1st was marked with the return of one the kids’ favorite parts of the season: the Advent calendar. This year will have to feature more crafts and activities at home (making ornaments and wrapping paper, for example), and fewer outings, but I don’t think they’ll mind. Hudson asked if memorizing a Christmas song could be added this year, which is a great idea! We started with opening up the holiday-books box, choosing toys to donate, and making a craft with grandma (at a distance, outside!). And of course there will be lots of movies. I think we’ll add in Home Alone for the first time this year. We have already started with Little Women. (Do you have some favorites?) Here is a past post with some more of our favorite Advent Calendar ideas.
I also need to get going on holiday cards this weekend. I’m later than usual this year. If you haven’t gotten a photo for yours yet, here are some tips.
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving! We will spend a few days in Lake Tahoe before spending a low-key Thanksgiving back in Davis. What are your plans?
I’m completely caught up in Royal dramas lately. I’m not the only one… why is it so appealing right now? First came Diana: in her Own Words, and then the six-part docu-series The Royal House of Windsor, both on Netflix. I especially enjoyed the latter, which starts about 100 years back. Then I listened to the five-part podcast on “You’re Wrong About,” which didn’t necessarily hold new information but which felt like the kind of discussion I wish I were having out at a restaurant with friends. I especially enjoyed that the hosts are younger and bring a more outside perspective—having not been around for as much of the Charles and Diana stuff.
I started prepping this link list Thursday night, and kept holding on publishing it in hopes that we’d have declared the election for Joe Biden on Friday. Well, it took a little longer, but it was worth the wait! We’ve been celebrating around here since getting the news on Saturday morning. And it has been so wonderful to see similar celebrations happening around the world! Watching Kamala Harris speak directly to young girls about the possibilities that await them (“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last”), watching Joe Biden talk about his continue faith in our country in his first speech as president-elect… and doing it all as a family after four years of turning the channel on hateful rhetoric… it brought tears to Aron’s and my eyes on Saturday night. We had all but forgotten what it feels like.
I’m so happy about this choice—for science, for climate, for health, for decency, for compassion. I’m so happy that Madam VP Harris (California representing!) and Dr. Jill Biden will be examples of leadership in the white house for Skyler. I’m so happy that we’ll have dogs and joy and maybe even some more Pete Souza photographs to celebrate. Thank you! Thank you to all those who organized, called, wrote letters, and worked hard to mobilize voters! I’m especially grateful to Stacey Abrams for her work in Georgia and against voter suppression! Cheers all around!
