Stylish 🍒

Bridge Between Two Eras!

November four years ago was a huge transition period in my life. The company I had worked for had officially merged with its competitor. I learned of the changes in June of that year. The changes that were made were not going to be in my best interest. I tried to embrace the change, but it was clear by now that I was done. Coming off of being hospitalized earlier that year, I would need something more sustainable and with better benefits. But, in the closing days I was able to count a few Rite Aids and work with those whom I had been used to seeing.

That month I had come across some great opportunities to socialize:

I was able to celebrate the new Laurel Highlands Toastmasters club at a red carpet event held at the library in Connellsville.
I had lunch with some of my friends from Cranberry High Noon after visiting their meeting.
I was invited to a fun event with one of my close friends whose wedding I attended in the Spring.

Just after we merged and I was part of the Traditional crew, I began the process of applying for other jobs. This wasn’t the first time I was thinking of jumping ship at WIS. Three years earlier, I had become frustrated with the lack of help in the office and how I was being scheduled. I began to apply at various Giant Eagle locations including Eastgate and Irwin. I also applied at Hempfield.

Eventually, the special projects came to an end and I was happy at WIS again. However, I gave Giant Eagle the benefit of the doubt. When Eastgate called to schedule an interview after Thanksgiving, I went through with it and got the job. After about a month there, I went back to WIS in January 2019 and they welcomed me back with open arms.

It’s not that I didn’t want to work there, I just wasn’t ready to leave.

I put in applications at Giant Eagle and at Goodwill. I went through a good recruiting process at Giant Eagle, interviewing over the phone and online. I went to a job interview at the Goodwill in North Versailles. Both of these interviews took place the very same week. Other companies I looked at included Target and Wal-Mart, and I also thought about applying at Allegheny Health Network and Excela Health had retail not panned out.

That week that I did job interviews also saw me attend my final two work events at WIS. A Rite Aid in Mount Pleasant which was close to home. The final event was in Beaver County, a Rite Aid in Rochester. I remember being on break that morning and we talked about where I might end up. My former colleagues wished me the best. One thing that we should have done was a little get-together as we were pretty close in the last few years.

That ride home from Rochester on my unofficial last day was bittersweet.

So the bridge that I mention in the title of the blog could refer to my brief two week stint at RGIS. But, the upcoming Friendsgiving celebration is also a bridge as well. Plus, don’t forget the month of November as by this point I was between jobs without being unemployed. You make the call.

I got hired on by Giant Eagle. I took a little drive that afternoon through the Laurel Highlands and pulled over on top of the mountain to take the call.

The next day, I attended the Friendsgiving event. I bought a pumpkin bread kit which made two loaves and took one up to that party. Having been introduced to this new tradition, the feast was nontraditional. Peppermint Patty would have had her say and it wouldn’t have been pretty. We played a great game of Cards Against Humanity, and we ended the night by walking to the Johnstown Incline. I might have stayed a little longer than I should have but I still had a great time. It was hard for me to leave as I was around people who understood me at the time.

A few years later I went to another Friendsgiving but this one was in the South Side of Pittsburgh.

Finally, I did my training at Giant Eagle which took place during Thanksgiving week. I did the paperwork the first day. It was a Monday afternoon. Friday morning, just as we were recovering from eating turkey and pumpkin pie, was the training. I watched videos on OSHA, safe lifting, slip and trip, etc. After that, I got my schedule for my first week. These hours were going to take some getting used to.

Just as I began to find myself in 2021, I was going to have to take some time to get reestablished. But, this new era in my life was beginning.

Happy Birthday Stylish!

Wednesday marked six years since I launched this blog. It’s been a little longer since I started my writing hobby, having begun that a year earlier. Since 2019, I’ve been through a lot but the blog still stands.

When I began Stylish, it was under a different name. The new decade arrived with high hopes before things came crashing down when the world went into lockdown. I had to adapt and adjust, attending online Toastmasters meetings.

I began the blog too big and got humbled. The next year, 40 arrived and with it some major changes. The biggest one being the transition to a new job closer to home, after years of travel with WIS.

Eventually, I was in need of a laptop to continue my writing hobby. My cousins came through for me and gifted me a laptop. My Toastmsters fire had gone out during COVID and soon was rekindled as I accepted the nomination for President in the Spring of 2023. I embarked on a magnificent speaking streak from August 2024 to July 2025. Not only did that help me my polish speaking skills, it also proved to be very therapeutic.

I’ve set milestones over time. Now, I’m almost at nine hundred posts.

I must say that I’ve done very well in life.

Rudolph Saves the Day in Pittsburgh!

The Steelers may have won the battle on Sunday over their division foe the Cincinnati Bengals, but Aaron Rodgers got hurt during the game. Thus, Mason Rudolph stepped in and saved the day. The defense really stepped up as well (the true MVP of the game). This team has been a mystery with some real dud games against the Packers, Chargers, and the first Bengal game on a Thursday night in Cincinnati. This win on Sunday was well-needed going into a difficult three game stretch against the Bears, Bills (at home), and resurgent Baltimore. But, anything is possible in 2025’s NFL. Just look at Kansas City being on the outside looking in.

Week 11 also provided some exciting late game matchups that went down to the final seconds. Seattle’s missed field goal keeps the Rams on top, and Denver’s last second game winner keeps them winning and the Chiefs reeling. Mason Rudolph played hero, but can he work that same magic if he has to next week against the resurgent first-place Bears?

Sunday’s matchup in Chicago is a big deal for my family. My cousins grew up in Chicago and are lifelong Bears fans. However, my relatives grew in Western Pennsylvania and rooted for the Steelers. So when the Steelers and Bears get together every four years which has been the case since 2005, they may be rooting for both teams. The last game in the Windy City was just as memorable as we all got together and we even got to Skype with the midwestern Gaffrons during the game. This was the week of the infamous news of the players staying in the tunnel during the national anthem. Not wanting to talk politics on my blog, I’m going to leave it at that. Despite the uproar and a loss for the Steelers to Bears backup quarterback Mike Glennon, we still had a great time.

My favorite Mason Rudolph moment was him replacing Mitch Trubisky in Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season. Pickett was injured earlier in the month and Trubisky was ineffective as the Steelers lost to two teams with ten losses. They also laid an egg against the Indianapolis Colts the week prior to fall to 7-7. Mason Rudolph played lights out and led the Steelers to a decisive victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers’ playoff hopes remained alive at 8-7. The announcer for the game made the remark that “Rudolph saves Christmas in Pittsburgh”. Pittsburgh did get to the postseason but was one and done, losing to the Buffalo Bills.

Mason may start Sunday, but Rodgers may be back. I’m looking forward to the game regardless of who starts. Let’s go Steelers and Bear Down!

Sunday night provided a defensive struggle as the Eagles stifled Detroit’s high powered offense. Philadelphia is my number two team to root for, but watching three games on Sunday comes with a cost. An opportunity cost, that is.

This weekend is the release of Wicked 2, a year after the first movie came out. I didn’t see it on opening weekend as we were in Hershey for the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. Afterwards I was busy or I was under the weather or a little bit of both. Amazon Prime has Wicked and I might consider downloading it to watch this weekend.

Putting a Wrap on Things!

This week saw the end for some books that I read, as well as my seasonal coffee.

I purchased a romance novel online last month, If It Makes You Happy. I read a couple of chapters a day and got it done within a month. I figured I’d like to read it that way to get myself ready for the holidays. The book, set in 1997, was “Gilmore Girls meets ’90s romcom” material. Leaving out spoilers in the book, I loved the story and the character development. I also liked how it tied to Stars Hollow. The novel is set in a small New England town in the fall. Part of the book takes place at the local inn that will have fans of Gilmore Girls thinking of the Independence or Dragonfly Inn. The quirky characters will remind the reader of their own small town experience. The friendship between the two main characters definitely evolves as the story goes on.

After a month long break, I finally wrapped up Obama: A Photographic Journey. This is a book that I got for Christmas several years ago. I read it a few times like his memoir, but never finished it. The picture book takes the reader through Obama‘s Senate run up to the Presidency. There’s some good stories in there as well, including the emotional one just after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December of 2012. This was one of the hardest moments of Obama‘s presidency. The person who put this book together did an amazing job and also was the chief photographer during the Reagan administration.

Michelle Obama’s The Look is now in stores. Is that book on my Christmas list? I’m thinking about it.

I’ve also wrapped up my Fall Coffee run as I finished the last Pumpkin Cheesecake Latte K-Cup. I’ve begun the process of moving onto holiday flavored coffee. I bought two boxes from Green Mountain, one being Holiday Blend and the other Cinnamon Sugar Cookie. Maybe Peppermint Mocha and Gingerbread will be on my radar come December. There are plenty of Cutie’s visits coming up this Christmas, with a few coming up Thursday and next weekend.

Finally, the Christmas music season is going into high gear as we get close to Thanksgiving. I’ll play some of the old standards from Frank and Bing while also jamming to the sounds of Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It’s been a year since I saw them in concert at the GIANT Center. What a show and what a weekend that was. I’ve found some new (yet old) holiday hits (Perry Como and Dean Martin), and enjoy some of the newer songs.

I admit that I’ll also give Mariah Carey’s Christmas album a spin or two this Christmas. It’s Tiiiiiiiiime!

Finding Uncommon Leaders at Laurel Highlands Toastmasters!

We were a virtual crowd on Tuesday night at Laurel Highlands Toastmasters. That meant I could stay warm and cozy while attending the meeting, as it felt more like January than November. Our theme was “Finding Uncommon Leaders”.

We got off to a late start and had to make some adjustments to our agenda, but overall it was still a great meeting. We had a guest in attendance, Terre, from Country Roads Toastmasters. Our word of the day was “Integrity”. The definition of integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. It also means moral uprightness. Used in a sentence, he is known to be a man of integrity.

We had two amazing speakers at our meeting and I led the Table Topics portion of the meeting. I also evaluated one of the speeches, so I wore a couple of hats. At the November 25 meeting, I would like to give a speech as I begin my level 5. Thus, I’ll be getting ready to wrap up the Presentation Mastery Path.

A Toastmaster wears many hats.

For Table Topics, I came up with eight questions and had my participants pick a number from one to eight. All of those who took part gave a great answer. If I knew the theme beforehand, I probably would have come up with some Uncommon Table Topics. Next time I lead the session and we’re online, I’d like to try and do a Wheel of Table Topics.

In Toastmaster business, Toastmasters Leadership Institute is just a few weeks away. It will be at Westmoreland County Community College on December 6. I already know of a couple good presentations taking place there. One from our vice president Membership at Greensburg and another from our Program Quality Director. The latter will highlight some of the new projects in Pathways that we’ll need to do in order to complete a level. Contest season begins this month as we have the International Speech and Evaluation contests. Finally, the Spring Conference in May marks the final event as District 13. In the 2026-2027 season, we will merge with Northeastern Ohio to form the new District 219.

Our next meeting for Laurel Highlands is November 25 and we will have a small potluck to celebrate Thanksgiving. December 9 will be the meeting that follows, and I am uncertain if we will meet December 23.

Beginning Season Two of my Gilmore Girls Rewatch!

Winter officially made its arrival this week. Some of us got a dusting of snow, if any. I didn’t even really notice any flurries Sunday night or Monday. If you were near Lake Erie or in the mountains of West Virginia, then you had more snow than we did. In places like Conneaut, Ohio, and Meadville, Pennsylvania, it was time to dust off the shovel and make room for the snowplows. Davis, West Virginia, in beautiful Tucker County, hit the jackpot with 10-15 inches of snow. DuBois, Pennsylvania, was the site of a few traffic accidents as cars skidded off the snow-covered roads. The I-80 corridor also got its fair share from this storm. Luckily, this weather pattern was short-lived and we have since warmed up (if you can call 50 degrees that). We have a mild stretch coming our way but the catch is it will bring with it some rain.

Last Tuesday, I felt a sense of relief on Election Day. I voted “YES” to retain the three Supreme Court Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht. After the despair from Election Day 2024, I had a good feeling about everything working itself out. But, I also realized that it was just the beginning of the fight. We weren’t out of the woods, but we got a good start. Over the weekend, those good feelings evaporated. The culprit?: Threads.

Now Threads wouldn’t be a problem if politics stayed out of it, and it was sports or another subject. To be fair, that Steeler game on Sunday night was also a ballbuster. There were so many political posts on there that it just drove me to the point of insanity. Haven’t I learned anything from the early 2010’s? I followed political and news pages religiously at the time as I was a serious media junkie. That too made me crazy and robbed me of more than a few nights of sleep, and that was in the beginning of my Toastmasters Era.

That euphoria was broken, and it got so bad early Monday morning that I finally drew the line and gave myself time limits on social media. I think I’m going to cap it at an hour a day for both Facebook and Instagram. That’ll make it hard because I check in on “the socials” when I work overnights. But the early results have shown that it does work. My psyche has improved in the last few days, albeit I’m a little tired from busy nights at work, and that’s because I’ve cut back. I can definitely make this work.

I’ve begun Season Two of Gilmore Girls. This is the time when the show found its home on Tuesday nights. Season One was on Thursday night and had some classic episodes, including the “I Smell Snow” episode as well as the one where they go to see The Bangles in concert. I watched the series during COVID (well, I began it before the pandemic) and was fully invested. Knowing what I know now makes it a little hard to watch the second time around. It’s impressive how I’ve gone from knocking the show during its WB run to absolutely loving it.

By this time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer moved over to UPN for what would be its final two seasons. Thus, making room for what would be an iconic show. Some memorable episodes include: The Bracebridge Dinner and the picnic basket episode. It’s the beginning of the Dean and Jess and Rory triangle. I’m Team Jess all the way. Also, an appearance by Seth MacFarlane late in the season as Lorelai gets her GED. Apologies for the spoilers.

Fun fact: Dawson’s Creek began on Tuesdays before it moved to Wednesdays in the second season and stayed there. I miss the WB and these ‘90s shows. Take me back.

I’m loving Meet Me at Luke’s and about to begin a new chapter. I’m really loving the in-depth analysis of the show. For book lovers (like Rory in the early seasons) and superfans of the show, there is a lot of information pertaining to the show itself. Books, musicals, and TV shows get referenced quite a bit. Watch for spoilers, though, if you haven’t watched the entire series. You’ve been warned.

Finally, I’ve discovered another town that masquerades itself as its own Little Stars Hollow/Hallmark Christmas town. Following the Instagram page ‘gilmorebookclub’ has led me to Medina, Ohio. This town is 2 ½ hours from home and it too has some Gilmore charm. While it’s hard to make it in person, social media makes it feel like you’re there. Other towns with a Gilmore Girls/Hallmark vibe include Ligonier, Canonsburg, and Indiana.

It’s November, but the Holidays are Coming!

The calendar says November, but retailers are already looking ahead to Christmas. Westmoreland Mall held their Light-Up Night festivities on Friday evening as Santa made his way to Center Court. It won’t be long until Downtown Pittsburgh has their celebration (either this week or next Friday). ‘Tis the season.

It’s been a little hard to get into the Christmas spirit because of the state of our union, as well as some other issues. I was happy that my vote counted on Tuesday, though. But I know we’re not out of the woods. It’s a start though.

The Holiday Baking shows are the in thing now as Halloween has wrapped up. Monday night, that favorite baking shows of ours premiered for another season. For me it’s my fifth season watching Holiday Baking Championship. I watched the premiere Thursday night on HBO Max and this one will be just as good. I made the right decision to watch this show, though I’m no stranger to it as I’ve seen it in the past. This was my first season though.

Noel and Allison bring a lot of humor to the show, and Paul and Prue are good judges. The same can be said for the Holiday Baking Championship. Everyone knows their stuff.

Saturday was the launch of the new holiday menu at Cutie’s. I was sleeping after having worked all night but I saw the pics on Instagram and it looked like they got a nice turnout. I came down for some coffee in the afternoon after I woke up and it was still steady. My first drink from the new menu was the Toasted White Mocha and I took it with me as I made my way back home. I’ll return later this week. I’m actually thinking the Cutie Cookie Butter looks good.

With the holidays coming, I’ve began the process of evolving into my Christmas music era. Some albums and songs are great, while others can go away. For a time when I was in college, I played some Contemporary Christian holiday albums. I think we got rid of those. I do my listening via Amazon Music. The $64,000 question though.

Do I like the Queen of overplayed Christmas songs, Mariah Carey?

Working in retail, you’re kind of forced into hearing it. “All I Want For Christmas is You” is all right, in small doses. One album that’s grown on me over the last few years is the Carpenters Christmas album from the late 1970s. The Backstreet Boys’ Christmas album which they recently released is good too. My all time favorite song is “The Christmas Waltz” by Frank Sinatra, a longtime favorite of my grandmother’s.

When is the right time to play the holiday hits?

You don’t want to do it too early but by November, it’s just so tempting. Do it in bits and pieces but close to Thanksgiving, start to ramp it up. That’s just my answer but everyone has their different tastes. One more question to close off the blog.

When will we start decorating?

Around Black Friday, we will take stuff out of the attic and begin the process of putting up lights and getting the tree decorated. We decorate our house to the nines. I need to start taking notes though.

Managing a Difficult Audience at Greensburg Toastmasters!

I did my part on Tuesday and voted in the election. This wasn’t a big election like last year, yet it was still important. On the ballot was the option to vote on retention for three Supreme Court justices in the Commonwealth. I voted “YES” to Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht. Also, I voted for candidates who were running locally. After seeing the results, my overall mood has done a 180 from this time last year. If you know, you know.

Also making news on Election night, Virginia and New Jersey elected their first Female governors. Mamdani won in the mayoral race for New York City. Also, California passed Proposition 50. I’ll do my research to learn more about these laws and political figures. I’ve been trying to keep away from Threads but it’s not always easy. I came home Wednesday morning in a much happier mood than I did last year. Still, we’re not out of the woods yet. But it is a start.

The important thing is that I voted.

Last night, we held our Greensburg Toastmasters meeting. It’s our first of two consecutive meetings in the jury room. I’m suggesting that we possibly go online for the November 19 meeting due to the Greensburg Night Market being held on the same night as our meeting. As the markets usually draw in a big crowd, parking may be hard to come by in downtown Greensburg and we are no exception. I gave a speech with disruptions, as my project was “Managing a Difficult Audience” and our Vice President Membership gave us a preview of the club officer session he is leading on December 6 at Winter TLI at Westmoreland County Community College. I have my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to go. Even if I get just Friday night off, I’ll still be able to make the event.

I handled the disruptions during my speech very well, even getting into the conversation myself. This is the part of the speech that I was worried about screwing up by reacting the wrong way. Maybe I’m better than I gave myself credit for. I do need to break the bad habit of using note cards as a crutch. Also, I shouldn’t wait to practice my speech until I have less than a week left.

Especially since I scheduled this speech three weeks earlier.

Out with the Pumpkins, in with the Holidays!

After a busy month of October that was rife with time off and other activities, the last week of the month saw a return to normalcy. It was ordinary, but I welcomed the tranquility. Working on a Friday and Saturday felt weird as I was spoiled during my last few weeks off. But, I’m ready to work hard and get ready for the upcoming holiday season. We received no trick-or-treaters, but our candy dish is full. Annabelle had a good time though, dressing up as a Hogwarts student, and getting lots of treats.

Yesterday was my first Cutie’s visit of the month and maybe my last… selection from the Cutie Fall menu. I did well with my choices from the Maple Cutie to the Carrot Cake Latte and of course, the Pumpkin Spice Latte to usher in the first day of Fall. When I go on Saturday, I’ll have my heart set on a Christmas-themed drink. I’m trending towards a Toasted White Mocha. I continued my reading journey last week, reading Matriarch and another chapter from Meet Me at Luke’s. I’m inching close to the finish with “If It Makes You Happy”, the cute little rom-com novel with a Gilmore Girls feel. The inn, the coffee, the season, and the romance, it’s all there. I have my heart set on a happy ending. Next week I’ll make a trip to the bookstore in lieu of a Christmas romance novel (Amazon and Barnes and Noble help me out!). I have impressed myself with this Fall read, however.

This week brings with it the usual early November spread of 50’s with a few mild days and rain. Next week may present a different story, at least early on. That being said, we may see our first snow flurries of the season Monday or Tuesday. I’m thinking of a possible Ligonier visit next week, just to see if the Diamond is starting to look like Christmas. Once it gets closer to the weekend, I’ll have a better idea of what the weather is doing.

It’s important tomorrow to get out and VOTE!

Yesterday provided us with a good day of football and close games. The Steelers got back to their winning ways and silenced the red hot Indianapolis Colts, 27-20. After two bad performances against Cincinnati and Green Bay, the defense stepped up and committed six turnovers. A win’s a win even if the score was closer than the game was. The Bears and Bengals had quite the shootout yesterday, combining for over a thousand yards offense and almost that many points in a 47-42 win by Chicago.

The game of the day featured the Chiefs and the Bills in the league’s hottest rivalry and two of the best quarterbacks in the game going at it. Buffalo continued to dominate the regular season rivalry, winning by a 28-21 margin and improving to 6-2. Kansas City is on the outside looking in though as Denver and the LA Chargers won their games as did Jacksonville in a wild overtime performance at Las Vegas. The Jaguars’ win and the Chiefs’ loss puts the former in the driver’s seat for the playoffs if the season ended today. Meaning the AFC Champions would be staying home for the postseason. Is that possible?

This busy stretch of the NFL season continues next week with: the red hot Patriots traveling to Tampa take on Baker and the Bucs, a key NFC West matchup between the Rams and 49ers, and Philadelphia taking to the Frozen Tundra to face the Green Bay Packers.

A Look Ahead to November!

Pumpkin Fall is about to give way to Cranberries, Turkey, and delicious pies. On Saturday, we turn the calendar over to November. Is it too early to start the Christmas Music season? October provided me with some great adventures in Laurel Highlands, Slippery Rock, and the other side of Pittsburgh. How does one follow that up next month?

The color on the trees is going to go from peak to past peak to fading, if it hasn’t already. This hasn’t been the best Fall for leaf-peeping, but you can find some good color if you look hard enough. With this round of rain and windy weather, it’s just about high time to rake the leaves that do fall. Sunday we will get back that hour of sleep we lost in March. While the sun will come up early, it’s going to get dark at 5pm. Hopefully this Election Day won’t leave me feeling depressed like it did last year.

I look back at October and all the fun that I had, whether it was a simple visit to Cutie’s or the books I read. It could be traveling to my family reunion and up to Johnstown. It may have been the Mister Rogers exhibit on the Saint Vincent campus, or being in good company last weekend at the Fall Symposium. I’m ready to make up for it in November and December, preparing for the holidays, and working hard.

I’ve had my share of pumpkin spice this month, enjoying yummy fall drinks at Cutie’s like the Carrot Cake Latte and the Pumpkin Cheesecake Latte. I kicked off my coffee journey with a Maple Cutie drink and celebrated Fall with a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Christmas is coming (but let’s enjoy Thanksgiving first). What am I going to enjoy at Cutie’s when the new menu launches on November 8?

I had a butterbeer chai when I stopped there on Wednesday. Did it make me feel like I was at Hogwarts? The Harry Potter flights would be great to share with a friend, and so would a Gilmore Girls flight. To answer my question, I think my first Cutie Christmas choice would have to be the White Chocolate Mocha. On deck are the Peppermint White Mocha and the Gingerbread Latte. Close to Thanksgiving I’ll have to try the Little Cutie Tree Latte.

I missed out on pumpkin beer this month, but I want to at least try a holiday beer this season. I might have to try Winter Lager and Old Fezziwig. That should get me through the holiday. Onto my reading journey.

I think I picked a few bestsellers. Meet Me at Luke’s is a home run for the person who eats, drinks, and breathes Gilmore Girls. I’m taking my time with the read and will continue with it next month. Perfect for the road trip to Ligonier (though it may be getting too cold to read in the Diamond) or any other Stars Hollow. I’ve also stumbled upon Gilmore-related podcasts that talk about the book and the show.

I’m halfway through the fall romance novel, “If It Makes You Happy”. It’s the Gilmore Girls meets When Harry Met Sally (or any other rom-com you can think of). I want the main characters to have a happy ending. Like Gilmore Girls, this book also has a wacky cast of characters, as well as an inn and plenty of baked goods. It’s the perfect Fall read set during the perfect decade and it takes place in the most beautiful part of New England.

Read like a Gilmore Girl and eat like a Gilmore Girl.

Also, I am enjoying Matriarch by Tina Knowles. I’m currently reading through her childhood growing up in Galveston, Texas and learning about her teenage years. I will eventually get to Destiny’s Child (Tina is the mother of pop music icon Beyonce). However, once Thanksgiving gets here, Matriarch may go on hiatus until after Christmas so I can focus on holiday reading.

In September, I began watching the new season of the Great British Baking Show. I’ve watched it in bits and pieces and have seen older episodes of the show. But this time, I really committed to watching it. It’s down to the final two episodes with the finale set to air next week.

Next week, I’ll begin another season of the Holiday Baking Championship. The series airs Monday night on Food Network and will run up to Christmas week.

As I said earlier in the week, next month in the NFL will be when good teams start to put themselves in position for the postseason. That, or draft positioning for 2026. Coaches on the hot seat are also going to be fighting for their job. There are a lot of big games coming up. NFL-related Instagram pages have been a godsend for me and I enjoy reading all of the insight.

Finally, with the Thanksgiving holiday coming, we need to be grateful for all of the opportunities we’ve been given. Make this holiday a good one free of arguing and political discussions. After the turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie are eaten, we will get our Christmas decorations out and put up the tree.