November 2025
The beginning of November feels like it was about 25 years ago! But in fact, it was only three weeks? Huh.
Anyway, we went to DC at the end of October for a friend wedding and then stayed a few extra days to visit my uncle and his family and see some of the sights. Of course, we were there in the middle of the shutdown, so a lot of the museums and big tourist sights weren't open, but we still ate some great food, had fun exploring, and bought uhhhhh a few books.
Overall, it's been a busy month around here–as soon as we got back from our trip, it was time for our 8th anniversary, and we have Thanksgiving and R's birthday this week. But with the year drawing to a close, it also feels like time to stop and look back at everything.
2025 Garden
I think it's finally a wrap on the 2025 garden season around here. Of course, I'm already reflecting on everything and making plans for next year, but the last few weeks have turned cold and all the leaves are off the trees.
5 Highlights
Seeing the perennials we've been planting for the past few years really take off
Feeling more confident in choosing varieties and types of plants to focus on
Getting the first berries from our raspberry canes
Staying patient despite a somewhat aggrievating growing season
Seeing all the bees and other insects enjoying the flowers
5 Lessons
Things that worked last year won't necessarily work this year
Things that didn't work last year might take off this year
Adding a backyard pond was worth all the work
However many beans you think you need to plant, add more
Milkweed has a very sweet smell, almost like lilacs
I'm grateful for everything I tried and learned this year, and I can't wait to get started for next year!
Upcoming Books I Want to Read
These are accidentally all adult titles…but I'll be back with more middle grade soon!
When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery | 1/20
This stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stories of long-lived trees.
Why I want to read: 2025 has been my year of dedicated nature book reading, but I want to keep picking up new books on the topic. This upcoming title that combines several of my interests caught my eye!
Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis | Queens of Villainy #2 | 1/27
Queen Lorelei is a notorious fae seductress, with a trail of broken hearts in her wake. But behind her glamorous lifestyle and sparkling mask lurks a dangerously intelligent woman who’d do anything to keep her people safe, including kidnap the empire’s most famous hero.
Why I want to read: I liked the first book in the series a lot, and Stephanie Burgis is a long-time favorite author!.
Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall | 2/19
I joined the hunt hoping to get paid and maybe laid, but mostly paid. Instead, I followed a captain chasing abominations in the skies of Jupiter. We battled the Möbius Beast itself, there in the red eye of the world.
Spoiler: we lost.
Why I want to read: while I've been a bit hit-or-miss on Hall's recent work, he has a really strong narrative voice and I'm excited to see what he does with a sci-fi premise!
Nobody’s Baby by Olivia Waite | Dorothy Gentleman #2 | 3/10
A wild baby appears! Dorothy Gentleman, ship's detective, is put to the test once again when an infant is mysteriously left on her nephew’s doorstep.
Why I want to read: I loved the first book in Waite's sci-fi mystery series, and I can't wait to see what Gentleman and the rest of the Fairweather ensemble get up to in this one.
The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale by C.M. Waggoner | 3/17
A practical witch must sabotage her beloved son’s ascension to the throne in order to keep the kingdom from ruin, in this delightful cozy fantasy.
Why I want to read: Waggoner's books have all been favorites for me, and the zany fairy-tale-esque setup for this sounds like a lot of fun.
Seasons of Glass & Iron by Amal El-Mohtar | 3/24
Full of glimpses into gleaming worlds and fairy tales with teeth, Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories is a collection of acclaimed and awarded work from Amal El-Mohtar.
Why I want to read: I've really enjoyed El-Mohtar's short fiction through the years, so I'm looking forward to revisiting favorites and hopefully finding some new stories to love!
Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer | 4/28
In the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, forty years after the world nearly ended, a worn-out robot is attacked, and realizes old evils are stirring.
Why I want to read: You had me at "abandoned botanical gardens." But also, my pal Renay loves Palmer's writing a lot, and I enjoyed the first book in her Finder series, so this sounds great!
Recent Media
Sinners: We watched Sinners earlier this month! I found it incredibly immersive and thought provoking, even though horror is not typically my favorite genre. Weeks later, I'm still thinking about the cinematography, the music, and the way the movie uses both to tell the story.
Mama's Broke: We were able to see the Canadian folk duo, Mama's Broke, in a local concert right before our anniversary. Since we both enjoy their music a lot, it was a perfect anniversary date! Seeing them live gave me even more appreciation for their talent.
This essay on romantasy was very thought provoking for me, and articulated some of the things I've been incoherently grumbling about for a while.
We went to a special exhibit at the Eiteljorg museum and I found two new Native artists whose work I really loved. Cannupa Hanska Luger’s immersive Future Ancestral Technologies series was a really beautiful, complex way to carry Indigenous stories into the future, with a cool sci-fi twist to tradition. And Erin Ggaadimits Ivalu Gingrich’s spare sculptures, inspired by the beings and nature of Alaska, were completely enchanting. I especially loved these birds, connected by beads so fine and pale that they’re almost invisible.
Apple Crisp
→ topping
1c walnuts, pecans, or a mix
1/2c rolled oats
½ stick butter
1T maple syrup.
½t ground ginger.
pinch salt
→ filling
1 1/2-1 3/4 lbs apples, coned & diced, peeled if you want; I suggest a mix of sweet and tart apples
6-8oz blueberries or blackberries
1/2 stick butter
lemon zest & juice
1t cinnamon
1/2t cardamom
1/2t ground ginger
¼t cloves
1/4t nutmeg
Set a small skillet over medium heat. Add butter and heat until the butter turns light brown and smells nutty. Set aside to cool (it doesn't have to be solid but shouldn't be hot). Chop nuts finely in a food processor or by hand. If using a food processor, add oats & pulse a few times to make a uniform mix of oats and nuts. Add butter, ginger, maple syrup & salt and mix. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375*F. Put remaining butter in an 8x8” pan and put the pan in the oven. Mix apples with lemon zest, juice, and spices. When butter is melted, pour apples into pan and bake 8-10 minutes, until just slightly soft. Remove pan from oven and scatter berries in a single layer over the apples. Dollop the filling on top and smooth out to (mostly) cover the fruit. Return to oven and bake 40-50 minutes, until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden-brown.
Wishing you a warm & cozy season,
Maureen