This is it, guys. We made it to the end of 2022! And wow, what a year it’s been. I don’t know if anyone else has felt like this, but it’s absolutely whizzed by for me. But all that kind of talk is for another post, so I won’t get too carried away!
As with the closing of every month, this post is all about gratitude and talking about the best bits of November. It felt like a lovely transition month from October, a.k.a. the best month of the year, into December, and there were plenty of highlights. But for this post, I’ll be mentioning five things that I was most grateful for, so keep reading!
Bonfire Night – while I’m a bit indifferent with fireworks, Bonfire Night was one of my favourite work days in my ‘normal’ job. I love the days where I get to go out to events and really get involved, and November 5th was a pretty spectacular one (as was the Christmas lights switch on a couple of weeks later at the end of the month!). It had been planned for months and months, so to be involved with the final event and see what all the hard work was for was great. I also got to have a very delicious apple crumble crepe, which I haven’t stopped thinking about since!
A 5th birthday – I’m a birthday person and really love seeing other people enjoy their birthdays, and there’s no one who enjoys their birthday more than little kids. My youngest goddaughter turned five this November and we had lots of fun at her little family tea party. It was exactly the kind of kiddy party you want with lots of beige picky food, pass the parcel and probably way too many E numbers. It was just lush to see her having a good time and being showered with love from all of us.
Pre-Christmas trips out – November is a great time of year for all of the pre-Christmas trips out and I managed to jam loads in. This included a bus trip to Lewis & Cooper in Northallerton with my mum’s WI group, a visit to Whitegates Nursery for Christmas decoration shopping and afternoon tea, and a trip up to Newcastle. It’s a gorgeous time of year to get out and about because all the Christmas decorations start going up and everywhere feels that extra bit magical.
Putting our decorations up early – I don’t care what anyone says, I love it when people put their trees and lights up in November. Why should we rob ourselves of such small joys? After I worked at the Christmas lights switch on, I was feeling so festive that we put our decorations up a week or so before the end of November. Usually, we’re pretty late with putting them up, so I really loved having the house all sparkly so early on. And we usually keep the decs to the living room, but with all our new bits from Whitegates Nursery, we’ve actually spilled out into the hallway this year. It’s felt so festive!
Seeing Red Rum Club in Stockton – I discovered Red Rum Club back at Twisterella in 2019 and have loved them ever since (as proven by the Twisterella review I wrote back then!). And since then, they’ve popped up a few times in the area, but this November, they came to Stockton to play at Ku’s 20th birthday party. I was never going to miss the opportunity to see them, so I grabbed tickets just before they sold out. It was a particularly sweaty gig with everyone sandwiched in like sardines, but RRC were on top form as always and their new music sounded amazing live. It was a definite highlight!
And so, that ends the final gratitude list of 2022. My December gratitude list will come at the start of January, along with my yearly post about goals, so keep your eyes peeled for those. But for now, tell me how our November was!
