I read recently that blogs are coming back? I don’t know; this was hearsay from an Instagram caption, so SUPER LEGIT SOURCES HERE. Blogging is (obviously) a platform I really enjoy and prefer. I don’t have any aspirations to become an influencer or Youtuber. I can find little interesting nuggets to write about, but in video platform?

“A DAY IN THE LIFE – YOGA CLASS, WORK FOR EIGHT HOURS, WALKING MY DOG, AND FEEDING MY CATS. SPONSORED BY SCENTBIRD.”

“GET READY WITH ME – I DON’T CONTOUR AND I NEVER LEARNED HOW TO DO A LEGIT SMOKEY EYE, BUT WE’RE GOING TO MAKE AN ATTEMPT AND REGRET IT. SPONSORED BY BETTERHELP.”

At the very least, it may behoove me to write on this blog frequently, since I like doing it and it saves everyone from having to scroll through 46 pages of updates. So I’m bringing something back from my Vox days (anyone remember Vox???) and do a list of three things – things that brought me comfort this weekend. This is where it gets sad – my grandmother in Italy passed away last week, and it’s been a tangled soup of emotions. How do you grieve someone you didn’t really know? I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen her when I was cognizant and able to form memories. I have no doubt she loved me fiercely, as I loved her. But it’s impossible not to feel some emotional detachment since I didn’t get to grow up with her, and I felt like an imposter when people expressed their condolences.

The last time I saw her was when I visited six years ago, and my very last memory of her is not a happy one. It wasn’t our fault – we were both victims of a really shitty circumstance, and the experience was one of the catalysts of the Heavy Things™ that I’ve been working through the past 4 or 5 years. But I wanted to go back – to see her one more time, to jettison that unhappy memory from my mind, and to have her meet my husband. And now I won’t get that chance. I’m just living the universal regret that we all experience at some point in our lives – there’s never enough time and we can’t always make things right.

My aunt invited me to dinner with my uncle and my cousins this past weekend, and family time is just what I needed. We went to a yummy Tex-Mex restaurant and I really enjoyed spending time with them, my cousins, and my cousins’ girlfriends. I can’t change the past but I can focus on the present and build new bonds and connections with my loved ones.

Here are three other things that I found solace in this past weekend:

1. Kittens and yarn

It’s safe to say that my girls are obsessed with yarn. I have a ball of yarn that is essentially theirs now – they took it from my yarn closet and we play “The Yarn Game” with it, which means they just have to make it as tangled as possible. They are definitely winning at the yarn game.

This weekend while Husband and Apollo were napping, the girls had free reign of the house. I am working on a gauge swatch for The Blue Mouse’s Beginner Cardigan. I was very pleased with myself because instead of buying new yarn for the project, I just used what was in my stash. The girls, while very affectionate, aren’t super cuddly on the couch yet. I decided to try and lure Moon Pie on the couch with some yarn. Is it ethical? Questionable. Effective? YES. She was fascinated by my circular needles and the lure of new yarn (just like her mama). She cuddled with me for about thirty seconds, so I think it was a win.

2. Master Pancake

If you’re not familiar with Alamo Drafthouse, it’s a movie theater chain (originated in Austin) that serves food, drinks, and emphasizes the movie experience – so no cell phone use, talking during the show, etc. One aspect that (I think) remains local is Master Pancake. It’s similar to Mystery Science Theater 3000 in which a comedy troupe talks over the movie and makes fun it the entire time. You don’t want to do Master Pancake for a movie you are interested in but haven’t seen before, but you DO want to attend if there’s a movie that you wouldn’t mind seeing skewered.

This past weekend they were doing Sleepless in Seattle, and I excitedly bought tickets. When Husband was out of town several months ago, the pup and I curled up to watch Sleepless in Seattle. There are a lot of classics I haven’t seen, so I thought it would be a cute movie to pass the time with. At the end of it, I thought, this movie is actually deranged? Did I just watch Meg Ryan stalk Tom Hanks for two hours? And the answer is, YES. YES, I DID. The Master Pancake rendition was hilarious, and I’m glad we went.

3. Nearby Trails

It’s been pretty cloudy the past week or so, and one thing I’ve learned from my time in the Midwest is that you have to lean into it. Granted, it’s much easier to lean into this weather when I know it won’t be like this for six months, and it’s still warm enough outside to enjoy hikes and runs. I did a long, slow run on Saturday and a hike on Sunday while the husband and pets were asleep. Being able to have these trails in my backyard brings a lot of joy, and I’m so excited to explore the rest of them.

That’s it for me! I hope you are able to find your own list of things that bring you comfort throughout the holiday season.