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Hello Reader,

Can you feel this year gaining momentum in its rush to the finish line? Time is moving so fast, I missed my normal day for sending this newsletter! November will be here tomorrow, followed by Thanksgiving, then -- before you know it -- Christmas and New Year's.

But, while 2025 may be rapidly approaching, 2024 isn't over yet! And there are some other great holidays days to celebrate in November, long before Thanksgiving arrives. So that's the topic of this week's link list.

[Also, don't worry that Thanksgiving didn't make this list. I'll be dedicating a full newsletter to those resources in a couple more weeks. 😊]

Free resources for you this week:

• Nov. 3 - National Homemaker Day – Housekeeping matters and deserves our best effort
• Nov, 4 - National Cashback Day - signing up for a free Rakuten account makes this easy
• Nov. 5 - Election Day - remember to vote (if you haven't already) & pray for our leaders​
• Nov. 11 - Veteran’s Day – check out these military-honoring printables & coloring pages
• Nov. 15 - National Raisin Bran Cereal Day – try baking these delicious Raisin Bran muffin​
• Nov. 19 - World Toilet Day – celebrate with some fun crafts reusing toilet paper tubes​

What I'm reading this week:

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We finished Armstrong Perry's Newberry Award winning Call It Courage over the weekend. It tells the story of a young Polynesian boy's struggle to overcome his lifelong fear of the sea. Maftu's terror is understandable, given the fact his mother died trying to save him from drowning as a baby. Yet he is ashamed to have been branded a coward by his peers and sets out to prove himself worthy of his name, which means "Stout Heart." A short read, this book reminds me of another personal favorite from childhood: Island of the Blue Dolphins. I love reading about the resourcefulness and resilience of both Maftu and Karana.

Progress on last week's goals:

Last week was a bust as far as my published to-do list goes. I got a week ahead of myself listed tasks I had no hope of accomplishing (like ❌ working the polls on election day -- no way that's going to happen until next Tuesday!)

I did ✅ babysit grandkids, ✅ vote early, and ✅ pray for our country, but everything else is getting turfed to this week (only in smaller, more easily manageable chunks).

Personal goals for this week:

• work polls
• empty 2 baskets in closet
• order 2 Christmas gifts
• visit Mom in Dallas
• finish soldering project
• repot 3 plants