My latest newsletter went out last week (you can read it here). I’ve considered hiring a virtual assistant to do the tedious tasks that take up so much time—like putting content on social media and sending out quarterly newsletters. But a couple of years ago I hired an accountant to do my taxes and I still spent at least a day gathering receipts and adding up the numbers; then I paid her $500 to take those figures and plug them into tax preparation software, which I could have done by myself for half the price. I’m only putting out newsletters twice a year and that seems sufficient; I don’t blog as much as I used to and I guess social media is to blame. I post on Instagram almost every day and try to take photos regularly to make sure I have enough content to share; now those photos are the archive I consult to figure out just what I did each month. I used to do an end-of-year slideshow but that seems pointless now. I think I’m sharing enough!

My life is pretty basic. Aside from my trip to the UK and Ireland last month, this fall has been fairly quiet. The horrific war in the Middle East spurred me to write two new picture books this month. This 1890s photograph I came across on Facebook lit up my imagination and now I’m building up to a thousand words a day on my prequel. I visited two art galleries last week for more inspiration but since I’m home most of the time, I’m catching up on my DIY To Do list. Went to the hardware store today to get foam so I can properly winterize my back door. The paint supplies that have been cluttering my office for *a year* are now gone because I finally finished the job I started last winter. Half my Xmas decorations are up, I started listening to holiday music yesterday, and I’ve decided to try my friend’s recipe for gingerbread this year instead of baking my usual cookies. I ordered a live tree online from Home Depot that will be delivered next week and spent over an hour online searching for a strange little elf that used to be part of our home decorations when I was a child—not quite “elf on the shelf” but close. Couldn’t find the exact same elf so bought a little Black one to sit on the shelf above my stocking—and I had to buy a pet stocking on Etsy because human stockings are ginormous. I only want to fill mine with the treats we got when we were kids: chocolate coins, lip balm, and mandarin oranges (I’ll skip the slide puzzles from the Christian bookstore). Not sure why the holidays make me so nostalgic…it’s my favorite time of year and with everything going on in the world, maybe I’m just reaching for all the comfort I can find.

I still don’t miss Brooklyn but lately I’ve been remembering all the ways I used to stretch a dollar back in the day…walking home after class to save the $1.25 I would have spent on a subway token. I could then put that money towards the $3.50 it cost to buy a veggie roti from this little Bangladeshi spot in Bed-Stuy. Since I had my turkey dinner for Canadian Thanksgiving last month, I went to a nearby Indian restaurant today and tried to recreate my favorite budget meal from back in the day. The price was ten times higher but worth every penny! I’ve come a long way since moving to Brooklyn as a young woman in the 1990s. A friend in Brussels asked me today when I’ll be back in Europe, and I couldn’t say—the future is foggy. I’m going to gather soon with my west coast friends so we can collectively set our intentions for the winter solstice. After three sessions with my occupational therapist, the compressed nerve in my left arm seems to be recovering. I’d like to start the new year with a clean slate and a clean bill of health. Plenty to be thankful for as the year draws to a close. Hope your holidays are full of comfort and joy…