A Quiet Week in November | 2025

Happy Sunday, dear friends. It’s been quite a week, right? It’s been wonderful to finally get some good news to temper the terrible, which has made a difference in my daily life. Another plus has been the weather – it’s been perfectly fall-like. We’ve had some rainy nights and cloudy days and quite a bit of wind, which has spiced things up. Today we’re expecting lots of rain so I’m really looking forward to my walk – I love walking in the rain!

I’m relieved to share that this week has been much more typical for me, but not happy to share that Matthew has been very sick and uncomfortable. Managing my walks and reading time despite everything has been a challenge but a worthwhile one. Of course, I can’t seem to figure out a way to include everything in a single week, so not much knitting got done. And still, I have some updates on our home life, a little knitting, and a nice stack of books:

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Home:

As I said in the intro, I’ve felt much better this week! School is on track and I’m back to walking, either by myself or with some combination of everyone else. This week was mostly by myself because of Matthew’s illness and the colder temperatures. And that’s okay with me because it allowed for audiobook time, which I’ve been struggling to squeeze in!

Personal Curriculum:
This week I finished reading:

• The sixth chapter of These Truths – The Soul and the Machine, which discussed America’s Great Awakening alongisde the election of Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears;
• The sixth chapter of The 1619 Project– Capitalism, which posits that the reason why America’s economy is consistently ranked severely is due to our slavery roots;
• The fifth chapter of White Trash – called Andrew Jackson’s Cracker Country, which describes the origins of the word cracker describing white people and, of course, Jackson’s presidential actions to “clear” the land for American expansion, allowing for more squatters and “crackers” to fill in the gaps.

Now I’m reading the seventh chapter of These Truths, called of Ships and Shipwrecks. Set during John Tyler’s presidency and concerning the annexation of Texas (so far), with a wide discussion on the debate of states rights. Again — so much ties back into our politics today. It’s hard not to get angry sometimes, isn’t it?

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Knitting:

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Sorry for the shadowy picture, but here’s a finished pair of confetti cake socks to add to the drawer. I love this yarn. It’s Fiber Stash Dyeworks that I bought at the NH Sheep & Wool Festival before Bronwyn was even born. And she was delighted by the sprinkles of color, so:

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I started a hat for her. This is using Sarah’s pattern, Spinning in Infinity (Ravelry link). I struggled with the cast on but her excellent instructions got me through it and now it’s off to the races. I put stitch markers in before the increase stitches so that I’d be able to knit and read at the same time without worrying about missing an increase and that’s been helpful. I love the swirls!

No real update on Lettuce Mint this week. I only worked on it one day and there’s no visible difference. Maybe next week I’ll have a finished sleeve to share?

Reading:

Dominion by Addie E. Citchens
(Amazon | Bookshop.org)

“Naw, honestly right now, despite what I thought of the son or the father, I needed ease and to do what was best for me, and it would definitely be easier to sweep his transgressions under the rug than allow ours to be brought to light.” p 145

This book was a fantastic surprise! It tells the story of the Winfrey family in Mississippi – sort of a golden family with relative wealth thanks to the ownership of properties and a few businesses, along with five sons (teenaged and older) who are very successful in their academic lives. The father, Sable, is a respected minister in town. Things unravel for the family when Priscilla, the mother, begins to suspect that their youngest boy, Emanuel, isn’t as perfect as he seems. This story is heartbreaking, emotional, and full of surprises. And dark!

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Big Kiss, Bye-Bye by Claire-Louise Bennett
(Amazon | Bookshop.org)

In response to a letter:
“I did not like the tone because it was pleasant in such a thoroughgoing way I felt obligated to reciprocate in kind, and I resent feeling obligated.” p 110

This author is totally new to me and I’m already trying to figure out how to fit in her backlist! Luckily this is only her third novel so it should be relatively easy. This book’s unnamed narrator is a writer in her 30s or 40s and is ending her relationship with a much older man (80s??!). It’s told in a stream of consciousness that resembles my own and I loved how the author played with memory in the most realistic way. We’d get one scene, short on details. And then a few paragraphs later, the scene will pop up again, a little more clearly. At first all of the repetitiveness was a little annoying, but it was also very funny and interesting how these images would begin to form for the reader. I laughed out loud several times and have a whole page full of quotes that I just loved. This was a great reading experience for me!

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Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan
(Amazon | Bookshop.org)

“You must understand, there is no single day on which a war begins. The conflict will collect around you gradually the way carrion birds assemble around the vulnerable until there are so many predators that the object of their hunger is not even visible.”

This book is mostly set in the 1980s during the Sri Lankan Civil War. We first meet Sashi as a teenager, along with her four brothers and neighbor K (I listened on audio, so it might have been Kay?). We witness the early days of the war and people doing their best to stay out of trouble. Sashi dreams of being a doctor and struggles through her A-Levels and medical school with the war disrupting every step. She cuts her teeth in field hospitals where she treats everyone regardless of their political affiliation, despite the anger that creates. She’s such an effective storyteller and it makes sense that she ends up helping her beloved teacher, Anjali, write reports to describe the atrocities the Sri Lankan people experienced. This feels like a book for this time and I’m happy that I finally got around to reading it.

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Currently Reading:

📖 The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller: I know, I know. I said I was finished with the Booker shortlist, but then I saw several people say they think this is the winner and I couldn’t help myself. I’m about 1/3 of the way through it and am completely captivated. Hopefully more about this next week.

🎧 The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck: up next. Everyone raves about it and I still haven’t read it! My Libby hold is finally ready.

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And friends, my time is up this morning! I hope you have a great Sunday and that your week treats you well. Take good care!