How did it get to be November already?

September and October are gone in flash, filled with stressors both fun -- Horizon Women's Retreat, birthdays, anniversary, autumnal and All Hallow's E'en festivities, early voting -- and more mundane -- worrying about our parents' health (as well as my own; however, nothing a little exercise and meditation wouldn't cure), uncertain economy, corporate restructuring, hyper intelligent six-year-old who ranges from tyrannical to heartbreakingly sweet in a blink of an eye. Anyone want to take bets on how few posts I manage between now and the New Year?

All I can say is thank goodness that we "fall back" tonight and Daylight Savings Time finally ends; I need that extra hour of sleep (although I am already wasting here at the computer). That whole right-wing government plot to extend DST that held off until AFTER Halloween was really stupid.

But November holds my two favorite holidays: Thanksgiving -- all the food and family of Christmas without the gift-related anxiety, and my birthday -- just for the cake. And this year, I might just get an early birthday present of an American President I can feel optimistically cautious about. If the weather would just cool down and behave like fall (sweaters, please!), I'd be thrilled.

Tomorrow, I will tackle a vegan meal for the wonderful young ministerial intern at our church and his wife, along with the three of us and uncle Ron. Part of me wanted to stay "pure" all the way, but G-man wanted a little turkey sausage on the side to stir into his stew -- besides, he said, she's not even a vegetarian! So I am going to adapt a couple of recipes slightly to make them vegan (yes, I picked up special margarine as well as soy milk), and serve:

• Lentil Pate from MSL (have done this before and enjoyed it - will forgo the egg whites this time)
• Homemade Country Bread with Oat Flour from Mollie Katzen's Still Life with Menu (somehow, the thought of home baked bread seemed to anchor the meal for me)
• Green Salad with Fresh Fennel
  
• White Bean and Sausage Stew in Pumpkin Bowls from MSL (with a few adjustments, including sausage on the side)
• High Heat Roasted Green Beans
• Aztec Chocolate Pudding Cake from dear Nigella (with a soymilk substitution), and a variety of ice creams: one delicious non-dairy option for the vegan (and me!), one local sugar free for the diabetic (and me!), one basic standby everyone else (and me!)

To all my friends and loved ones that I am so bad about staying in touch with: I think of you often, and my early New Year's resolution is to take more time to make sure that you know that. November might seem a trifle premature, but given that we didn't get out any holiday cards last year, this gives me a chance to work on that in pursuit of my resolve. (Is dat English? Never mind, T-Rob, don't answer that!)