Hello, December! Fancy meeting you here and now. I need a little more time to properly prepare for your arrival, though, so would you mind terribly doing another loop around the block and come back a smidge later? Thanks.

Three beautiful things from my past week (in November):

1. After my parents leave to take the guys to the airport, Rudi and I curl up in my folks’ recliners and read all afternoon — he from his computer and I from a Christmas-themed library book. It’s just the sort of down time we haven’t had in a long while.

2. The day Karen and I have set aside to meet up is unseasonably warm. We intersperse gingerbread pancakes and book shopping with a stroll along the river (sans jackets!) and chatting over hot drinks outdoors.

3. I spend the afternoon decorating Gramma’s tree with Dad and decorating Spritz cookies with Mum. Everyone feels the encroachment of time, but doing fun things together helps to take the sting out of leaving.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world recently?