The weekend in Connecticut was lots of fun. I got to see my folks, my brother, and my best friend. There was a lot of talking.

I watched the parade, some old and a new-to-me holiday movies, and a nice chunk of the Great Performances‘ taping of Holiday Inn.

There were old favorites consumed and new favorites sampled. I helped bake rolls, roll pie dough, mash potatoes, and make gravy. I decorated several dozen spritz cookies. I drank hot egg nog and ate gingerbread cake.

I helped my parents set up Christmas trees (or, at least, to get them indoors) and did some Christmas shopping.

I vegged in front of the fire, finished some knitting, and got a little reading done. I did not get to go through many of my boxes in the basement.

And while there was a lot of time in the car, there was no time in the office for six whole days!

I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend, too!

It’s been a lovely long weekend, over, as always, too soon. The week ahead holds:

Sounds busy, but doable. What do you have planned for the upcoming week?

This is the sunset I was referring to in yesterday’s post. My photo doesn’t begin to do it justice:

I hope you had a nice week and are looking forward to a weekend that might include Small Business Saturday shopping around your town or maybe some baking or reading or crafting.

I’ll be spending the day with my best friend, Karen, which is always one of the highlights of coming north.

Last weekend’s list was overly ambitious, particularly since I was sick. This weekend’s to-do list is shorter, if not actually more scaled back:

• Do a couple last Coffeeneuring bike rides.
• Dig up my potatoes.
• Clean the bathroom and the kitchen.
• Sort through my clothes.
• Complete my socks.
• Finish Exit West

I’d like to include watch a movie on this list, but Rudi caught my cold, which caused us to cancel not one, but two, movie plans this week already and I just can’t bring myself to make it three.

How’s your weekend looking? What are you hoping it includes?

Here’s what I hope my weekend includes:

• Get some sleep. I think I’m fighting off the cold that’s going around the office. Also, drink a lot of orange juice and tea.
• Procure quarters.
• Do laundry.
• Go for a coffeeneuring bike ride.
• Meet Sarah for Crafty Bastards (the big annual craft fair)
• Write the Virtual Advent announcement post.
• Read.
• Finish my socks.
• Watch a movie.
• See what survived tonight’s frost/freeze at the garden. (I stopped on the way to work this morning and picked all the remaining tomatoes, peppers, and ground cherries.)
• Send out my Christmas party invitation.
• Clear off my desk and the coffee table.
• Bake a cake. (This one, above all the others, is contingent on not getting sick.)

How about you? What do you hope to do this weekend?

Some Halloween photos from around town:

(My colleague made these witchy cake pops.)

(Our IT department set up a haunted technology graveyard.)

This is this year’s Halloween costume. Only a very small percentage of people knew who I was … and mostly women of a certain age. I have faith in my readers, though…