Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - October 18, 2026: Now for Spooky Season!

While I still claim Halloween as my favorite holiday, I've been unable to get into it as soon as possible for a long time. My son's birthday is October 1, and while he wouldn't mind at all sharing it with Halloween, I'm usually best at focusing on one at a time. This year, we also planned a surprise trip to my best friend's house - 10 hours away - for her 50th birthday surprise party. And it so worked! We pulled in to her favorite neighborhood bar/restaurant on Friday night, so when she saw us there, she thought we were the surprise! Then my daughter and I dragged her around all day Saturday to keep her away from her house - my daughter and I got our nails done, we visited bestie's favorite bookstore, saw some buffalo, almost visited a very crowded tourist town nearby (too crowded to park), had brunch, and went out for fried appetizers in early afternoon. Then when we had the a-okay, we went back to her house for the surprise party. It was a fabulous weekend!

Now we're all back where we belong (daughter's flight back to school delayed by wildfires, but she's there now), and I even did an adulting and got my shingles vaccine on Friday (so far, so good). My declared plans for this weekend were to do nothin
g, and do it well. We went out for lunch yesterday after son's supervised drive for driver's education, then ran a couple errands, and today I plan to visit blogs, putter, and hopefully do a bit of decorating for Halloween. 

After a later start than usual (and some cinnamon rolls), I'm joining Sunday Post with Caffeinated Reviewer, and Sunday Salon with Readerbuzz.  

What I'm Reading This Week:

I'm still enjoying Mystery Play by Elizabeth Kostova in print (published last week, and currently with a giveaway on Goodreads!). I need to finish the audiobook of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (I think 6 hours to go) between today and tomorrow. On my kindle, I'm reading With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee. I'm really determined to wrap that one up because I want to know how it gets to the ending, and how it ends.

Three Good Things:

1. 
   I finished another jigsaw puzzle - almost twice! This one gets a little extra credit, because I had it about half done, then broke it up and put it in the box so we could have birthday parties, then started over again, more or less. I didn't break apart every single piece when I put them back in the box, but it was still a bit of extra effort to start over.
2. I'm still in the running at my office's step challenge. Starting October 5, we need to get in 5,000 steps/day for 20 out of 25 days. I missed three days last weekend (10 hour road trips will do that...), but I'm still on track. They draw for winners from whoever completed, so luckily I don't have to have the most, I just need to meet the goals. I can do this!
3. The roses on my kitchen island are beautiful. My daughter brought some 'conversation starter' cards on our road trip last weekend, and one of the questions was the favorite thing you ever bought for yourself. I buy myself flowers at least once or twice a month. Nothing fancy, just whatever looks nice at our grocery store, but they make me smile to see them. Right now it's white mums (I think?) and red roses.

Three Goals for This Week/Month/Whatever:

1. It is time for me to start holiday shopping! We're doing winter holidays with my parents and my brother's family on November 1.I usually do a LEGO set and a book for everyone's birthday; I think I may get some sort of Ulta or Bath & Body Works set for the girls, and ask around for my nephew (what would you get for a 7th grade boy into saxophone and video games?). I like to try and find a fun advent calendar for my parents, since they're down south by then, and I only get somthing for my brother and his wife if I see something I can't resist.
2. On that note, it's time to get the advent calendar stuff for my family, too. I think the kids will be getting the Red Bull advent calendar, and we're all getting Arkham Asylum LEGO set, since it appears to have 24 bags. Hubs and I also enjoyed the big jigsaw puzzle one I got one year - I'll see if I notice another of those.
3. Continue focusing on the positive. I like to improve the immediate world around me. Bring candy for the Halloween bowl at work, straighten and decorate my house, do things to take care of my family, and help others find something to smile about. Of all the different jobs I've done, being a part of raising my amazing children has been my favorite, and I've absolutely advised them to do this as well. The best way to be happy, is to share happiness. Not toxic, relentless positivity, but true kindness. On a tangent, when I listened to The Secret Society of Irregular Witches, I loved the description of the difference between nice and kind. Nice is what some people want to be known for, when others are watching. Kind is truly making other's lives and comfort what they want them to be. Almost like the golden rule, but not blindly treating other as you want to be treated, but as they've said or clearly indicated that they want to be treated. Some thrive on recognition and closeness, and some shun it. Try to actually appreciate what makes someone else comfortable, content, and happy.