November is a special month for me.
For one thing, it's my birthday month. For another, I have four children/grandchildren who have birthdays this month, and a daughter and a son-in-law who have their anniversary today. It's also election month, which was more notable this year than is typical the year after a presidential election.
It's cold here, in Northern California. All year round. But fall and winter are a challenge for me. I was raised in the high desert of Southern California, a hop, skip, and two jumps from San Diego, LA, Anaheim, and even Las Vegas. I'm not used to the northern coastal fogs, strong winds, rain, and occasional tsunami. Sometimes I really long for clear blue skies and warmth.
But. I wouldn't trade the beauty of the color green here for anything. There is a price to pay for it. We've got weeds going bananas because the rain has been pretty typical for November. That means it's too wet to weed, the flowers may not survive it, and we prefer to stay inside. Our wood-burning stove is such a blessing when it gets really cold. Our entire county is electric only--which means those who can afford it get propane for their high energy needs. But us normal folk, we have tooth-clenching electric bills in the winter. Don't need any heat in the summer. Nature provides her own, so we have a month or so of no electric bills. The rest of the year? If it weren't for our ductless heater/cooler, we'd be in a world of hurt. As it is, big months run in the mid $200s. That's offset by the stove. You can even simmer water or soup in a pot on top of it! Pretty cool (hot?). And because it's super efficient, we never have to shovel ashes.
I had a real monumental Tuesday this week. I had a front tooth abcess when I was 14, and for decades I have suffered with all kinds of problems with it. My first dentist was so awful, he eventually lost his license, and he ruined a lot of my teeth and my dad's, probably my mom's too. She lost all of them. Anyway, many crowns and other treatments later, it finally came loose, fell out, had to be glued back in temporarily, and then on Tuesday I underwent step one of having an implant. I'm so grateful the tooth is out. I did have to have a bone graft, so they can't do the actual implant until late-February, but I actually hurt less now after the extraction, grafting, and packing/suturing than I did when I had the old, infected tooth. Probably had been infected for years. And because of the constant irritation, I suffered bone loss, the reason for the graft. I wish I could have done it sooner. I feel healthier. Sounds strange. In so short a time? But I've known of people who have nearly died from bad/infected teeth, so yes. It can have a major impact to remove a bad tooth.
I'm making good strides with writing my third book in the Dragon Unchained Trilogy. Now that I'm home more and working on my business as a proofreader, I have more time to write. Wow. Time is the key. Theona figured that out the first time she stopped time in Dragon Unchained! Lol.
When I finish this series, I will start immediately on two historical romances I've had on a back burner forever. One takes place around 1843. The other is in 1875. I'm so excited to get to them.
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. I'll drop back here afterwards and toss in some pictures. Our Thanksgivings are small, and we only have a daughter and her son coming this year. Under the circumstances, I just can't handle the work of a big Thanksgiving, and my (step)daughter is coming as much to help me as she is to enjoy visiting with us on the holiday. I'm not up to any big formal dinner preparations--especially since I can't eat most of it. My diet will be very limited for the next few weeks. I can't eat anything firm, only soft and mostly liquid. Boring!
That said, I'm so glad to be ready to move on to bigger and better things that I know what I'll thank the Lord for this Thanksgiving. I hope you all feel the same.
Enjoy!
The biscuits and the mini-quiche are very soft, easy to make, and really yummy.
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