The Good List: 017

(Formerly known as Five Good Things)

September was a whirlwind. We had one final summer vacation over Labor Day. Two days after we returned, the hubs went to Camp Calumet for a golf retreat. Three days after he got back, I left for Chicago for what will go down in history as the first time I’ve ever met 35+ internet friends who felt like I’ve known all my life. A week after that, my aunt came to visit for a week. And then it was practically October. Whew! Can you feel my exhaustion?

In the midst of all of that, I was homeschooling my two kids while also planning our second Kids Book Club gathering and a 12-week Shakespeare Club. No wonder you haven’t heard from me in more than a month!

My longer newsletter is coming out soon (I promise!) but in the meantime, today seemed like a good day to say, “Hi! I’ve missed you!” Here’s my #thegoodlist for the last few weeks.

A New Dance Studio

After six years at her studio, the oldest switched to a new dance studio. We left the world of dance competitions and moved into the world of more frequent performances in the community. It was a joy to watch her at her first event in the local community. The new studio has brought so much love and life back into her dance life.

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The New Chef in Town

When the youngest quit gymnastics last year, cooking was at the top of the list of things she wanted to do with her free time. She’s been making us dinner every other week or so and I can’t get over how nice it is to let someone else do the cooking once in a while.

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A Mini Co-Op, Kids Book Club, and Shakespeare Club

Doing school with friends is SO much more fun than doing school alone. As my kids get older, the need for co-leaarning opportunities increases, and it has been so fun to create the experiences I want them to have. I forgot just how much I love leading middle school and high schoolers in talking about tough stuff. We’ve started meeting with one other family to school together once a week, and it’s brought so much energy and joy to our homeschool. More about Shakespeare Club soon — we met for the first time last week and it was probably the best part of the week!

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The Beverly Fall

I invented a new cocktail! On a whim! Just because I felt like being fancy, and I wanted to do something a little creative that didn’t take a lot of time. I’m calling it the Beverly Fall.

2 oz Whiskey (I prefer Four Roses, I know—I have expensive taste)
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/2 tsp sage blackberry simple syrup (add equal parts sugar and water to a pot and heat it until the sugar dissolves. Add a large spring of sage and a larrge handful of blackberries and let it steep for half an hour - or longer if you, like me, forget about it)
lots of ice
garnish with a sprig of sage (seriously, don’t forget this part)

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A Solo Date at the Boston Public Library

Since we moved to Massachusetts, I’ve dreamed of writing in the Bates Reading Room, and last month I made that happen. I don’t know what it is about old libraries that makes me feel like a “real writer” but this solo date was exactly what I needed to get the creative juices flowing again. I may have to make this a regular occurrence.

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So many other good things to share, but there’s my top five for now!

Until next time,

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