Enjoy Life!

Welcome back to another episode of A'lil Hoohaa's monthly photo blogging challenge. 

Our prompt for the month of November was "Enjoy Life!"

The first backstory may be a huge stretch, but hear me out. I had to attend a weekend business meeting. 

As you may know, I work for hubby's IT company, and I consider my role the lowest on the food chain. it involves purchasing toilet paper rolls. I hope this makes you smile because of course that's just one of many things I am in charge of. Anything event organization and holiday related falls into my scope, too. Plus it's part time, and it's a five minutes' commute from home, so I enjoy a lot of freedom and flexibility.

So why did I have to attend the quarterly board of director's meeting? Hubby didn't tell me beforehand, he just said "you're invited, and you can't say no".

It meant we had to leave Colin behind. It was his first time home alone overnight, and while I totally thought he'd manage, I still didn't like the thought of it. Hubby's late business partner's widow, who still owns 50% of the shares, was of course going to attend, and the thought of her being chatty and noisy over the course of two days wasn't helping. Plus I hate to pack. I really do.

However, since there was no way out, I decided to embrace the whole thing. The location sounded promising! Plus we were going to be back home in time to take Colin to his Sunday night hockey game.

It went surprisingly well. I actually felt there was a lot I could contribute, and I ended up with a huge to-do list (which was probably hubby's secret agenda), and by the second day, the rain stopped, the fog lifted, and look at this panorama!

On November 12 we got our first snow. Of course after a few hours, the temperature went up, and it was gone. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts! 

Late October through mid-November two major events take place in the town Colin plays hockey at: Fall Fair and the Circus! I didn't attend either, I did, however, immensely enjoy the absolute luck I had by scoring the impossible: a parking space! I treated myself to a bunless burger with avocado at the sports bar.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I was running errands in a neighborhood that has been redeveloped, and look what they were about to set up: An outdoor ice rink, framed by wooden chalets, where they will probably sell Raclette and Glühwein (mulled wine).  

Elf on the Shelf season is upon us! Cookie and Biscuit moved into their new hangout space - a fabulous tree house, created by a skilled person (not me!!)

If you are interested in their adventures, check out this post.

Guys, this post didn't come easy to me. Usually I'm all about enjoying life. 

Recently though... My heart has been heavy. 

My brother and his family live in Israel, and my nephew completes the second of three compulsory years of military service. He works 16 hour shifts in aircraft maintenance. My relatives know people who have been abducted or killed. So heartbreaking and upsetting.

My cousin, who struggled with depression and substance abuse over a decade ago, who we all thought was happy and stable... ended her life.

A coworker's rent went up so massively that he can't pay all his bills anymore. Even if we gave him a hefty pay rise, it still wouldn't be enough. He may look for a job in a better paying field / geographical area.

As for myself, I somehow managed to fall / roll down a few stairs at the hockey arena. Lots of bruises and contusions on my left arm and right thigh. I wasn't kidding when I said "rolling". Coworker is on vacation, and even though I have a doctor's note that says no work, I have to go to the office every day. I work for hubby, remember? I can't let him and the team down. I am practicing one-handed typing as we speak.

I hope you enjoyed my pictures and are now headed to check out my blogging friends' contributions.