Welcome, sweet chums, to Sentence a Day 11.2022 – my monthly review of life in one run-on sentence a day. Today I am bringing you my long-winded daily rundown for November. Each sentence packed with more than you would ever care to know about my day-to-day life!! With my blogging so hit and miss most of this year, I haven’t shared a SaD post since this one back in June. I missed writing them and having them to revisit. Have used them time and again to find out what happened when. Each month I tell myself to just write a couple of words for each day. But I wind up writing a novela instead. Please accept my apologies on the front end.
As always, want to give a big thanks to Rebecca Jo at Knit by God’s Hand who originally created this series. She and I have both struggled with LIFE and blogging this year. Hope you will please run by to say hello to her. We are both hoping to get back to more consistent blogging in the coming year on things we care most about.
Just a reminder: Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links which are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link provided I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.
SENTENCE A DAY 11.2022
Not sure how we are now into December. And where in the world October and November went. This whole fall has just been a big blur punctuated with a whole lot of coughing.
Holiday
- Feliz dia de los muertos. I think this is the first year in a very long time that I haven’t had an altar or ofrenda…but these are not my sentences for today. We slept well after a very busy first day yesterday in Boston; breakfast at our hotel; caught the streetcar down to the Freedom Trail and visited a dozen historic sites including the Old North Church, Paul Revere’s house and USS Constitution (which were all closed for one reason or another); enjoyed a delicious bowl of clam chowda at Quincy Market for lunch; took oodles of photos; by late afternoon we were dragging even after several pit stops; dinner at Tasty Burger before finally collapsing in bed at our hotel around 7 pm; weather has been absolute perfection=crisp, cool and partly cloudy. 11.01.2022
- Another delightful breakfast at The Verb before heading to the subway for the train station; enjoyed riding the Amtrak from Boston to Penn Station, NY; traveled through some beautiful countryside; ate a sandwich in honor of my first train ride from Boston to NY and first sandwich (ham and cheese) in 1964; from Penn Station we caught the subway to our hotel, Sonder at Battery Park; so chic with the best view!!; walked down to the harbor to see the Statue of Liberty, then around the corner for pizza; back to the hotel to take in the skyline at night from the roof; PC is really coughing, aching. 11.02.2022
Onto the Big Apple
- PC didn’t sleep well so we took our time getting around; ate leftover $90 pizza for breakfast; walked to Trinity Church then Ground Zero and the 9-11 Memorial; as we were standing in line to get our tickets a plane flew toward a very tall mirrored window and my heart skipped a beat; the memorial was a sobering reminder of one of our saddest days in history, something everyone should see; seafood lunch at Margaritaville; walked through Times Square and Central Park then back to our hotel and Insomnia cookies for dinner; discovered a washer and dryer in our apartment so washed clothes but the dryer didn’t dry much, spent hours trying to dry. 11.03.2022
- Up early to continue trying to dry the clothes we washed last night; dryer kept turning off and everything was damp; finally threw it in the suitcase anyway; 2 trains and 1 bus later we were at the airport only to learn our flight to Dayton was canceled due to fog; scrambled to try to find a reasonably priced hotel – ha!; wound up in a $325 a night Hampton Inn; walked over a mile in Queens to a Walgreen’s for cough meds and Burger King; back to the hotel for a nap; $80 soup and salad dinner, early to bed. 11.04.2022
Ohio Bound
- Another long, tiresome day after a long tiresome yesterday; PC slept on the chaise lounge to try to keep from coughing; showered and went down for breakfast before taking the shuttle to the airport; boarded the plane only to have to get back off due to a mechanical failure; 3 hours later we were on a second plane to Dayton; checked into our hotel, met the Troy, Ohio Clingans and Paul’s son Matt at Panera for a quick dinner; picked up Nyquil at Walmart and we are already in bed at 8:00 pm; Buff checked the kitties and the mail and cleaned the pool; our pet sitter didn’t visit the kitties today. 11.05.2022
- Poor PC was up most of the night trying to find a way to subdue his cough so he could sleep; the time change allowed us an extra hour of dozing; breakfast in the hotel lobby, then to the urgent care clinic for an antibiotic for Paul’s sinusitis and bronchitis; over to his mom’s house to do a load of laundry and eat lunch with May, Matt, John and Greta; enjoyed lunch on the porch; Greta and I wandered through a couple of cute shops while the boys looked at cars for Matt at the used car lots; coffee at Winans this afternoon; bought Matt a computer desk and chair at Walmart; Taco Bell for dinner and early back to the hotel so PC could rest. 11.06.2022
On to Tennessee
- After another weary night, quick bite of breakfast before going to my MIL’s house for our goodbyes; flew to Washington, DC and then on to Knoxville; picked up rental car and drove the 70 miles to my sister Valerie’s house in Crossville; their Cumberland homestead house is tucked in the hilly east Tennessee countryside built almost 100 years ago by the Civilian Conservation Corps; Roby has done much work on their house and it is adorable; ate manicotti for dinner, off to bed early in one of their darling rooms upstairs. 11.07.2022
- Fun morning starting with a big breakfast at the very patriotic Family Ties restaurant, thoroughly enjoyed visiting the public library and military museum; hiked a trail at Cumberland Mountain State Park with photos beside the lake; steaks on the grill for dinner; election results and this fruit crisp with ice cream for dessert; love being with my sissy; PC is feeling worse than ever; Lauren has been hospitalized with a bad headache, vision problems, nausea, all possibly related to Lauren’s vasculitis or her reaction to doxycycline. 11.08.2022
- Sometime in the middle of the night, PC moved to the other guest room where he could cough without worry; bagels for breakfast then met Metra at the charming Rocking Horse antique gallery – oh, the pretty things; bought felted red cardinals for everyone’s Christmas tree; visited Metra’s home – it is so warm and inviting, full of beautiful things she’s made; walked around the barn and meadow behind Valerie’s; Roby built a fire that chased away the afternoon chill; dinner at Stagecoach Restaurant and then we drove to Knoxville to stay the night before our flight home. 11.09.2022
Homeward Bound
- Slept well last night but up very early to catch our flight with layover in Denver; finally home by 2:30 pm; after stopping for a Dairy Queen blizzard on the way from the airport; unpacked the suitcases and started laundry first thing; sorted the mail; snuggled the kitties; off to sleep early in our very own bed. 11.10.2022
- Poor Paul was coughing all night so neither of us slept much; I fixed a big breakfast then we ran to Kohl’s to pick up these Nine West turtlenecks in plum and lavender; had ordered them for the trip but they didn’t arrive in time; stopped at Walmart for kitty litter and more meds for PC then headed to the theater to see “Till,” a movie based on the true events of Mamie Till-Mobley’s determination to seek justice for the lynching of her son in 1955 Mississippi; prepared my Where Bloggers Live post to publish but WordPress would not allow me to save, preview or publish; after hours of trying I went to bed temporarily defeated. 11.11.2022
Sick of Sickness
- Sometime early in the night, PC went downstairs to sleep on the couch; I awoke to a frosty morning and an empty bed and our shower dripping; Paul ran to Home Depot across the mountain for the part to repair the leak and doughnuts for breakfast; I spent several hours trying to fix my blog; PC went to Urgent Care for his 11:00 am appointment – still has bronchitis but now has steroids, cough syrup, and an albuterol inhaler on board; had pedi and my gel polish soaked off my fingernails; watched TV, folded laundry, soup for supper; long, lazy day. 11.12.2022
- We were in bed before 8:00 pm last night and slept almost 12 hours – heavenly; great church message about mental health – R U OK?; Taco Tote for lunch, our weekly walk about the outlet mall where they had my twisted peppermint lotion and body spray on sale at Bath and Body Works; football and blog reading all afternoon; peachy pork chop HelloFresh for dinner; I have a headache, hope I’m not getting sick; PC was better today. 11.13.2022
Back in the Saddle
- Started the day out early and right with my quiet time; fixed homemade meatballs for spaghetti tonight – enough for us and the kids; put laundry away; ran to Loft to pick up a new Fair Isle sweater; grabbed baguettes for dinner at La Madeline; dropped dinner by for Lauren, got hugs from her and Pumpkin; subbed for my friend Amy in her art classroom this afternoon – nice to be with the kids again and when Lucia saw me at lunch, she ran to me and hugged me tight; home by way of Old Navy to pick up another sweater I’d ordered; listened to the last chapters of “Miss Cecily’s Recipes for Exceptional Ladies” – such a fabulous book, tears and giggles from beginning to end; spaghetti tasted good for dinner; football and blog reading before bed; hard freeze predicted for tonight; hope Fluff is inside. 11.14.2022
- Over the mountain before 6:30 am to help Lauren with the girls so she could attend a video conference meeting at 7:30; so glad to see all 3 of my El Paso girls and get hugs and kisses; back home to run the vacuum, mop downstairs, clean the kitchen, change the sheets; gave Simmie a sedative then took her back to the vet to be checked for her respiratory issues; while the vet was checking her, Sim got upset and bit me; they ran more tests; brought her home; picked up grocery order at Walmart; bought stuffed animals for Casa Maripose (a Kindercare project I am helping Cami with) and canned goods for the food drive at Lundy; Paul came home early; our Internet and cable went out so we went to Casita Linda for dinner and were in bed early again tonight; my hand looks much worse. 11.15.2022
Substitute Teaching Again
- Up early for quiet time; made a to-do list for the first time in a month; over the mountain to sub for kinder – cute class, the kids told me they loved me before lunch time!!; helped with field day – the kids played in bouncy houses and I had to bounce, too; my hand was quite swollen by the end of the day; snuggled Lucia after school til she got on the day care bus; ran to Michaels for supplies for my Christmas Tree Challenge project; PC bought sub sammies; he helped me soak my hand before bed. 11.16.2022
- Another day of subbing for KA; troubled child teased and tormented several students with his scissors; another child seems so lost – I would bet she’s a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome; met with my doc about my hand on a teleconference while the kids cut out turkeys; another sub covered the last 2 hours of school for me; I picked up meds and got a tetanus shot; my hand is very sore and swollen. 11.17.2022
Weekending
- PC was off today so we slept in a bit; then he picked up newest prescriptions; I walked to my latest Rover.com job with Kimchi (kitty) and Molly (Weimaraner); started work on my Christmas trees craft with Valerie and talked to Kevin while we worked; “She Said” movie and popcorn for dinner; the movie made me think about all of the sexual harassment I’ve endured in the work place; EPISD big wig was arrested for just that after having committed kidnapping, assault and rape several times during his employment with the school district; back over to check on Kimchi and Molly; watched “Disenchanted” – cute but not as good as the first one. 11.18.2022
- Gosh, we are sleeping close to 10 hours every night!!; did my drop-in visit for Molly and Kimchi; made biscuits and gravy for breakfast; cleaned kitchen; painted my tree canvases again; over the mountain to pick up the girls for lunch and play at Peter Piper – they make us laugh; ran errands at Michael’s, Target, HobbyLobby; walked the outlet mall and then back over to do a second drop-in visit before picking up Chick-fil-A and watching UT Knoxville football on TV; loved wearing the darling poncho Lauren bought for me. 11.19.2022
- Had planned to go to church this morning but PC is still coughing quite a bit, so we listened online; continued message on mental health; lazy afternoon watching football and working on my Christmas tree project with my sister, my nose has been running a stream…ah oh; baby Declan is 11 months old today. 11.20.2022
De Ja Vu – Masks and Self-Quarantine
- Fixed breakfast and packed PC’s lunch and got him on his way then showered and headed to the commissary – they had moved everything around so that made for a slower visit; bought peanut brittle in honor of my mama; got the groceries put up while talking to my brother; met my sister on Facetime to work on our trees; made these chicken sliders on Hawaiian rolls for dinner, with potato and macaroni salad; feeling pretty sick tonight, grateful PC made me a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow morning at Urgent Care; I stayed upstairs in our room all night and let PC watch TV in the den; we are back to wearing masks – IN THE HOUSE; he slept downstairs, I slept up. 11.21.2022
- Feverish in the night, didn’t remember Paul checking on me, leaving cough drops for me beside the bed = true love; quick appointment at Urgent Care, tested + for Influenza A; dropped off prescriptions, laid down for a bit, then dragged my sickly behind back out to Walgreens to pick them up; back into bed where I listened to an uplifting children’s book “Ghost” and dozed; worst symptom is a deep, dry cough; PC ate leftover Taco Bell but nothing sounds or tastes good to me; we were asleep in our separate beds before 8:00 pm. 11.22.2022
- Drenched in perspiration last night from 104.2* fever; feeling better this morning but hurting to cough; put away laundry, sorted ironing; followed the heartbreaking news out of Virginia and Colorado of more mass shootings; figured out a pattern for my Christmas card, now to make them; ironed some clothes we had taken on our trip – seems so long ago; fixed Hamburger Helper for dinner which we ate apart, watched TV apart and back to bed in our separate rooms. 11.23.2022
Quiet Thanksgiving Weekend
- Thanksgiving, which would normally have me in the kitchen all day but not this year; chipped beef turkey on toast for breakfast was the closest thing we ate to traditional holiday food, enjoyed it on the patio; lots of football watching and cheering for our fantasy teams; McD’s for a late lunch; more football; compiled book summaries for the book club to choose our next read; no word from Lauren and fam – we were supposed to be together today; Bren and fam went to Mustafa’s family in Frisco; a little online Christmas shopping thanks to my Christmas club savings. 11.24.2022
- Nine years ago today, PC and I went out shortly before midnight for our only Black Friday shopping adventure together, we didn’t buy much but I thought it was great fun; had hoped we would feel like doing it again this year just for kicks but we don’t; followed the voting for the book club’s next read; made a peach dessert, twice baked potatoes and green beans to swap with Lauren for some ham and pumpkin pie; enjoyed the good eats for supper; changed bedding upstairs and downstairs but we are still not able to sleep well together. 11.25.2022
- Still coughing; stayed home all day; pie for breakfast then began gathering my fall decorations to put away and slowly getting my Christmas and winter decorations out; Paul worked all day long on our garage door but got it fixed; leftovers for supper; early to bed but it doesn’t seem to be helping us get over this. 11.26.2022
Hacking Our Heads Off
- We cannot quit coughing. It’s just horrible going out with this barking cough. Stayed home from church for that reason; iHOP for breakfast then headed to the Outlet Shoppes to check out the sales; PC ordered me a beautiful leather jacket at Lucky Brand – cannot wait to wear it!!; ice cream on the way home – we are truly overindulging; watched football most of the afternoon; watched the movie “Devotion” and had popcorn supper – it was a good story but something was lacking in the telling, didn’t feel an attachment to the characters; more football and Christmas card making before bed; started out in the same room but Paul was coughing so much he wound up in the downstairs guest bedroom before midnight. 11.27.2022
- Got PC off to work and then did my quiet time in bed; laid back down for a few minutes afterward; put away laundry, worked on Christmas cards, applied resin to my Christmas trees to finish them up; put fall decorations back in the garage; made our last Hello Fresh meal – have canceled the service for the time being; watched football and more poor fantasy team suffer another loss; up to bed early. 11.28.2022
Subbing with Cia
- Up early for quiet time; threw a pot roast into the crockpot with veggies; made lunches; fed kitties; dressed for work; listened to our new book “The Christmas Dress” on my way across the mountain; saw Ernie, the goat – who I haven’t seen in weeks; subbed for 2 first grade classes, Cia came to me first thing to share her enthusiasm and delight for a Frog and Toad book she’s reading; pretty good day with the kids but my feet hurt; picked up Walmart order; ate supper; watched old “Office” reruns. 11.29.2022
- Gave Purrsimmony some gabapentin and packed her into the carrier to take her back to the vet as she is still so congested, sneezing; blood work and respiratory panel all normal, so vet gave Sim her vaccinations finally and some allergy meds to try; worked on the last of my Christmas cards; made this ravioli soup and homemade bread; took a delightful nap; cleaned all of our neighbor’s tree’s leaves from our pool…so irritating. 11.30.2022
And that’s November in more than a nutshell but smaller than a breadbox. But before we call it a wrap, here’s my month in 1 Second Every Day.
Your Turn
So, how was your eleventh month of the year? Are you ready to put 2022 to bed or would you like it to stick around for another month or twelve? Overall, it hasn’t been a catastrophic year for us but we have had plenty of difficult days. Hoping 2023 will be kinder on my little clan.
Thank you for popping by. Hoping to get back to regular blogging with the new year. If LIFE will allow.
Hugs and kisses,
Deb
Oh no, what a month! Far too many coughs and sneezes and visits to medical centres. Let’s hope you’ve got all the sickness out of the way now and this month will be a LOT better! Keep well x
Leslie Roberts Clingan
We are so tired of coughing. I was hurting for a while with every cough but it’s gone on so long, I guess I coughed the soreness out. Our weather has been unseasonably warm so I think that is helping us to finally kick this stuff. And our kitty seems to be feeling better, too. Thank goodness. Hope you all are well and preparing for the holidays with all the family ’round.
Alexa
So sorry to read how poorly you and PC have been in November – that sounds really miserable :(. And nevertheless, you’ve packed a lot in! I understand about the blogging – I to fell off the radar this year and am hoping for better things next year. Sending warm good wishes for a much better December!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, dear one. Hope we can both get back to blogging and visiting in the new year. Happy holidays!!
Marsha Banks
I do you and PC are finally on the mend. I’ve started a hacking cough…very dry, but no other symptoms so who knows! I love those resin trees. I need to try to figure out what you’re doing there! So glad you’re back to blogging a bit!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Finally, now that it is January, we are feeling almost normal. Thank you!!
Joanne
I’m kind of amazed at all you managed to do this month with so much sickness going around. Your PC is a trooper to head out on that trip not feeling the greatest. I’m hopeful that with you back to writing that means you are both feeling much better!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you. Hoping this year I can enjoy life a little more and keep up with blogging at the same time
Karen
It was good reading your Sentence A Day post. I looked & I’ve not wrote any sentences since June. Didn’t get back to it after the Grands summer visits. My sister & I visited NY years ago in early December. Everything was decorated for Christmas. We went to the 911 spot; it was very eye opening. Your crafted Christmas trees look adorable & festive. Karen
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Start this new year with Sentence a Day. If you haven’t begun already, just start mid-January and go from there!! Thank you for your kind words.
Susanne
So sorry to hear you were so sick! If you mentioned the test results, I must have missed it. I hope your December has been better so far! I’m ready for the new year but I’m totally enjoying what remains of 2022 too. This is the most relaxed December I’ve experienced in many years and I’m really making the most of it.
Laura Bambrick
I’m so sorry to hear about you and PC’s health issues in November! I hope your December is off to a healthy happy start!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Our December was delightful. And now, in January, we are finally feeling better. Hurray!! Thank you for visiting.