I am starting to schedule routine meetings and things in December.
Reflection season (Quintile 5!) is almost upon us. And let this be a reminder to all that the year tends to feel like it is flying by at this particular point.
Reasons:
1- There’s often a lot of vacation! Thanksgiving has become a weeklong affair in some ways (I think my kid have 1.5 days of school that week; local public school district is CLOSED the whole week). Then there’s a hop, skip & a jump to winter holiday break!
2- There’s a lot of fun! It would be interesting to graph the number of parties/social events throughout the year. Where I live, fall/winter is also the season for outdoor gatherings (we practice summer hygge, not winter).
3- The fun comes with a lot of traditional obligation. Especially if you are female with kids. I “need” (NEED IN QUOTES, because let’s face it none of it’s really a “need”) to:
- update addresses for holiday cards
- design + order holiday cards
- bake 3 key lime pies (to my in laws if they are reading this – this is not a complaint, I am HAPPY to bake pies and grateful that it’s all I have to make for our sumptuous Thanksgiving feast! But it is on the list!)
- deal with Hanukkah gifts (trying to get my husband to mostly handle this one but I can’t imagine there won’t be some involvement on my end)
- make pumpkin bars for the kids’ school Thanksgiving feast
- also, we have 2 birthdays (!) between Thanksgiving and winter break, G & J. Because of course we do.
- go to various parties + gift exchanges for work
- coordinate teacher gifts or at very least contribute to class cash gifts
I mean, nothing on the above list is offensive. Much of it is optional. But the little things add up and many of us are out of practice because 2022 is the first winter things have felt essentially normal in a while (in terms of parties/social gatherings/school events).
I also have a week of call in there (week before Thanksgiving, just grateful I’m not covering the actual holiday week this year though I am in 2023!).
AND a lot of BLPA work to do (and I am very excited that many of you shared your interest! THANK YOU! More details coming!)
Since it IS reflection season, I am determined to carve out actual reflection time between now and the year’s end. I will work on putting some hard landscape slots for this into my planner today!
Speaking of flying, I am headed to Seattle with Josh for the next 3.5 days for a very brief getaway to attend his college BFF’s son’s bar mitzvah. I am appalled that it’s actually cold there now and may have to dedicate my first Seattle outing to buying an actual warm jacket. Somehow all I have is a wool coat circa 2011 and a running jacket that is not going to stand up to 40s temps (unless I am actively running while wearing it) and I need some kind of sporty waterproof-ish jacket to last me the next decade or so. There is apparently a Patagonia store 8 minutes from our hotel (how very PNW!) and that may need to be our first outing. Something like the below is calling my name:
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What did you end up getting to wear?? Cold weather dressy party clothes can sometimes be very tricky, and I live in a cold climate! 🙂 Summer dresses with strappy sandals are just WAY easier.
I got nothing – wearing a Persifor dress I already own with long sleeves and close toed heels . . . and hoping I can get away with jeans and a nice top for the pre-event dinner (!?). It would have been fun to buy a new outfit but not necessary + my allowance is hurting and I need to get some ski gear!
As a born-and-raised Seattleite, you can get away with a lot in terms of what you wear (definitely a more casual culture) so I wouldn’t stress too much. But so many good memories at that Patagonia store.
Absolutely second this. Anything goes with clothes in Seattle. You will see people dressed up and people in jeans at the same events. We are very casual and outdoorsy in clothing.
So fast… my big “before 2023 (but really before 21 December when school finishes)” list is taunting me from my wall. I’ve started putting smaller things on there so I can at least cross something off, but I need to trust I’m making decent progress on things (except my stupid book). It’s week 6 of 11 of teaching, with autumn break next week, thank goodness. 9 more lectures to do when I get back, hoping to get a week ahead on Monday/Tuesday next week. My teaching load is horrific this year and meeting this afternoon to discuss rebalancing in the future.
I haven’t quite thought through the social calendar yet. I’ve just queried the date of the holiday pageant, and we’ve got a date to go get a tree (we’re away for the actual holiday but if we buy it 1 December we’ll get 3 weeks of enjoyment out of it). I’ve made the Christmas present list for T, but he’ll want to look through the catalogue for fun.
My parents are flying in on Tuesday for the week and my husband and I are sneaking away for a few days – just a nice hotel where we can have some walks.
Also, re the jacket. Uniqlo might not be a bad bet. I love my puffer from them, and they’ll last for years given your infrequency of wear.
Gooooood point!
Agree with this — I just got a puffer long coat from them and it is fabulous. Lululemon might also have something cute and appropriate. Amazon Columbia and Marmot so those might also be a possibility (with 2d shipping).
I have that jacket with a hood and love it! Worth the investment
“Flipping” the calendar to November (not that I do that as a physical action anymore), always brings up an intensity towards the things to be done. I looked at goals I had listed at the end of 2021, that I had not looked at since (clearly I need some BLPA). My life has gone in a different direction then I was thinking it would at the end of last year. It feels a little defeating to see all the things not done but I think I will counteract that with a list of accomplishments from an opportunity that look a lot of my time and happened in mid 2022.
The nano puff is supposed to be a stronger material than the micropuff. I spent a lot of time in the winter coat rabbit hole last year. Of course I live in PA and a thin jacket like that is good from like 40s to low 60s (I run cold lol) so it gets a lot of wear as that’s basically half a year of weather here. I have a warmer coat for skiing and when it’s really cold like 20s.
very good to know!
I love my Patagonia micro puff jacket. I live in a ski town and it’s perfect for running about and not being too big and heavy. I wear it to run in the winter but not really for skiing since it’s not really waterproof. I love buying Patagonia too because if something breaks or it gets too worn out they fix it or replace it.
Another vote for the Patagonia nano puff over the micro puff. It’s cheaper but it’s incredibly warm. I live in Seattle and it’s what I’m wearing daily right now. Plus, it’s a perfect layer for under a shell jacket for skiing, so you know you’ll wear it on that trip, too. Lastly, it’s cozy and light weight enough that you may wear it on cooler winter evenings in FL at times, too! https://www.patagonia.com/product/womens-nano-puff-jacket/84217.html?dwvar_84217_color=SEQR&cgid=collections-technical-insulation
The Patagonia store in Seattle is big and has lots of inventory. If you have a size and color in mind you can probably order and ship to the store to make sure it’s in stock when you get there. Last piece of advice, you will need a water proof hooded coat when you’re here—the rainy season has begun. I also have Patagonia for that: the women’s torrentshell 3L and it’s great. Rain beads up and runs right off the coat. It’s so funny, we have lived here for almost 3 years now and no one uses an umbrella in Seattle! I was so surprised when we moved and discovered that…but I guess it just rains so much in the winter that people embrace it and just put their hood up. https://www.patagonia.com/product/womens-torrentshell-3l-rain-jacket/85245.html?dwvar_85245_color=CNY
Have such a great time while you’re here!!
ooh if you think it would do double duty as a ski underlayer than I am SOLD b/c I am fretting about a ski outfit (I really want to be warm and comfortable but ski gear prices are terrifying!)
I am super picky about my gear and I agree with this recommendation. With a Nanopuff and Torrentshell you should be good to go in 40’s/rainy conditions. I agree that these could work as ski layers too. I run in the snow in my Torrentshell and have been happy with it. It doesn’t stand up to hours in a downpour, but that’s a job for $400 Gore-Tex. PS. If you are looking for ski pants, I higly recommend the Outdoor Research Snowcrew pants. They come in 3 lengths and can often be found on sale.
Also if you would like my full family ski gear dissertation please let me know. I hate spending $$$ on gear but I also hate being cold and/or wet. 🙂
I would like the dissertation!!!
OK, I will email you!
I just wrote and somehow lost a long post so my much more concise version is:
– Patagonia nano puff over the micro puff 100%. Nano puff will be great and last a lifetime. I live in Seattle and am wearing mine daily right now. It will also be a great layering piece for your ski vacation.
– you also need a hooded waterproof jacket as our rainy season has arrived. If you don’t own one, I have (and love) the Patagonia Torrentshell 3L. It’s inexpensive as shells go and completely waterproof.
– Seattlites don’t use umbrellas! We just put up our hoods. If you invest in those two jackets you’ll be set. Plus the rain one is lightweight enough to put on in a Florida summer downpour.
– I second the idea to buy Patagonia. They truly stand by their products. I recently sent in a rain shell I’d had since 1998 because it was no longer waterproof…they sent me $300 in store credit to buy a new one as they could not fix it. Amazing customer service.
Have the best time while you’re here!
Have a wonderful getaway with Josh! I hope it doesn’t rain too much when you are there. We have had similar temps lately here in Minneapolis. I do not own anything from Patagonia, but the comments here make me think I should when I need another coat in the future!
I definitely feel like the remainder of the year is going to fly by!! I’ve booked a few holiday things to do with our older child (Grinch at the Children’s Theater and an outdoor light show). And then December is going to fly since we have our Mexico trip (yay!!!) and need to bring our kids to my parents lake home and then pick them up when we get back. We’ll do an early Christmas with my parents when we pick them up. But I remind myself the calendar is full of lots of good things and we are able to do more than we’ve been able to do in the past when we were more worried about covid – which is a good thing!
Hey, my son’s bar mitzvah is this weekend in Seattle, and our family is flying in from Florida to celebrate with us. Too funny! Enjoy your visit 🙂 Just don’t use an umbrella – it will out you as a tourist. Seattlites don’t use them.
Busy times ahead, indeed! Like you, I technically enjoy so many of the activities on their own, but sometimes it (sadly) can start to feel a bit like death by a thousand paper-cuts. There are just so many little things to remember/do. I’m trying to have a good attitude as we head into Christmas (Thanksgiving is over for us up in Canada!), taking things slowly, buying less – but there is still just a lot of stuff on the calendar!
Hope your trip is great fun and I’ll be curious to see what coat you end up settling on!
Just read this post on time and in the Sekki section thought of your quintiles. Interesting to see how others change the timespan they focus on: https://rosszurowski.com/log/2018/small-seasons-long-calendars?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email