Joy the Baker

It’s November: a series of observations

by 39 Comments

It's November!

This month marks the time of year when questions like, “What are you doing for the holidays” need to be answered with actual thoughts and plans.  I got about 7 minutes into a plan for Thanksgiving before my crazy-brain fluttered off to something far less important. To beg the question… what are you doing for the holidays?  Will you be googling ‘how to brine a turkey’ on Wednesday the 23rd around 9:45pm?  It’s ok.  People like What’s Gaby Cooking are hooking it up bigtime with Thanksgiving mania.  

I feel like November is the month when I need to manage my expectations. It’s not family expectations… those people are lovely and put very little pressure on me.  It’s mostly my own expectations of work and progress, and seeing everyone on the Internet seeming to do things really very well / better than meeee.  The focus at this point in the year is to hustle (drag?) myself to the end of the year feeling like a champ and not a flop.  It’s all perception and managed expectations and I’m in charge of how my brain interprets those things… dangit. 

•  Speaking of champs: the Cubs won the World Series and that’s how all of baseball ended, and no one ever played again because it’s over now right? We all enjoyed it, amen. 

•  Sometimes I put Sia on really loud and sing along and I’m nearly completely convinced that I am Sia…. and then I wonder how I put out so many great albums so quickly… and then I pat myself of the back. Go MeSia. 

•  Sometimes you have to date someone who can REALLY sing to finally understand that you can not sing at all (but you should still do it anyway in your car/house/shower alone).

•  Happy Birthday who our favorite Scorpios, especially those whom we have dated, fought with, and stopped dating.  Just me?  Maybe that’s just me. 

•  On this day in 1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd.  Peace be with them.  Thanks for all the crap you went through to try to make us better. We’re in an awkward phase right now but y’all knew what fear and anger looked like. We still have some of that. 

•  Is Mercury in retrograde?  Just checking. 

•  I would encourage you to invest in yourself this month by watching the Amazon show, Goliath.  It’s beautiful and surprising and so well done and I LOVE when shows actually take place in Los Angeles… and the music is really great too! 

•  Also consider this: Savory Cheesecake with Roasted Vegetables. 

• November means we are days, hours, minutes away from enjoying the best Sweet Potato Pie (without exaggeration) EVER. 

It’s November.  We’re good. We can look ourselves straight on in the mirror and really believe it. 

xo Joy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Karen

    I just saw Sia in New Orleans on Thursday and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen/heard. Your writing gives me similar chills. Thank you for your words and thoughts and food. They are a thing of beauty. Sia would agree, I’m sure.

    Reply

  4. Sara

    I feel like as long as you have the main goal of staying sexy and not getting murdered everything else falls into place. ????

    You have a book you are releasing into the world which gives you the best excuse to do what you can do and no more!

    Reply

  6. Lauren

    You are one of the people on the internet who seems to be doing everything really very well/better than meeee! Always refreshing to read that the bloggers I follow feel the same way about others on the interweb. Funny how easily we lose our perspective when we look at a screen.

    We don’t have Thanksgiving in NZ, but I usually bake some cookies to take to work anyway. Any suggestions?

    Reply

  9. Malisa

    The first thing I thought about on November 1st is your Dad’s sweet potato pie! Can’t wait to demolish a whole pie come Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing the recipe thereby making the world a better place.

    Reply

  10. Tracey

    No turkey for us we don’t eat it and anyways we’re boycotting Thanksgiving this year. #Nomorelies
    It’s a made up holiday celebrating a fake, forced, familial togetherness that does not exist in this country….so many reasons not to participate…not the least of which is in support of our water protectors risking everything to protect water. #NoDAPL
    Donating funds we would have spent on “Thanks”giving to the people at Standing Rock Reservation instead. Feels good. feels right.

    Also…the country is so divided..and yes togetherness is good…but not fake, not lies….not Black Friday and lets all sit around the table pretending Aunt so and so doesn’t support this racist and Grandma doesn’t support the criminal..and pretend that no one will listen to each other..so…making life awkward on purpose for family by not playing pretend any more.

    Still gonna have pie, but dang if it’s not gonna taste like the best pie ever because we’ll have it in genuine affection for pie not “Thanksgiving” and it won’t be attached to any made up holiday etc.

    Just an option.

    Reply

    • SMM

      I salute your choice to take stand. When we stand up to speak our truth people will knock us down . Maybe because it doesn’t align with their truth or they desire to take a stand yet they fear the response of others more than they want to examine what it means to be in agreement with themselves.

      There is no one truth. I think many people lose sight of that all year long.

      Reply

    • Julie

      I don’t celebrate American Thanksgiving being Canadian, and our Thanksgiving is a pretty small ordeal compared to you guys’ but I think what you’re doing is a great initiative, especially since you’re giving the money back to the first nations peoples. I don’t know much about the holiday (it seems we hear a lot of false information on the history of the holiday) but it does seem to be based on a lie so good on you for standing up :)

      Reply

    • JessicaD

      The worst thing is when you’re MeSia and you ALSO imagine yourself the DANCER/GYMNAST in that video where the camera was going from room to room in a single shot and she was singing and the gymnast/dancer was doing the most amazing moves… and then you remember you’re a 44 year old mother who is not the most flexible (of vocal cords or body). Happy November!

      Reply

  13. Thomas Dubiaha

    I think when listening to Sia, I need to be working on something, driving, glasswork, wood, baking. November brings one thought to my mind, apple pies. I just finished a pie course and been practicing, so far so good, but my friends have stated, that the top crust needs more taste. The only problem is, that I hate using sugar, any suggestions?

    Reply

    • joythebaker

      Let’s see, Thomas? Why do you hate using sugar in pie crust? I find that it adds a nice balance. If you want to stay away from sugar in a pie crust, you could make the crust entirely more savory by adding black pepper, using lard as part of the fat, or even adding cheddar cheese. A pinch of sugar though… go for just a pinch! :)

      Reply

      • Thomas D

        We use to much sugar in everything, and sugar hides the true favor of the pie and other foods. I stopped using sugar in my coffee 10 years ago and now I can taste the difference between Colombian coffee and Indonesian. I use a little lard in my crust with the butter. I read a recipe where someone used cream cheese also. How would a mashed peach mixed into the crust instead of some water. I will use a pinch of sugar next time. Thank you!

        Reply

  14. Karen B.

    You are amazing, so don’t forget that. Those of us in blog land that can’t even manage to post once a month anymore and you continue to entertain and provoke thought, not to mention give us the details on how to cook some really great recipes, on a very regular basis prove you are GREAT! :-)
    So there.
    xo,
    Karen

    Reply

  16. Ronni

    You didn’t ask, but if you’re looking for shows to binge between now and the end of the year, Fleabag and Chewing Gum are greeeeat. Yes, weird names – they’re British shows – but both are so good.

    Reply

  17. Jennifer

    Hi Joy:
    I wanted to share something I learned when my three kids were little and I felt like a failing parent because I wasn’t “doing it all” and giving them the “best Christmas ever”. Actually I was barely doing anything, I had three little people to love and cherish. I read a devotional that taught me that I could choose how I embraced the holidays. At this time of year decide for yourself what are the things that matter to you about Thanksgiving and Christmas. what helps you to focus on the meaning of these celebrations, what do you enjoy during these celebrations. Get yourself a 2 cup wide mouth Mason jar and some walnuts, some smaller nuts and rice. For all the things that matter to you most write it on a walnut and put it in the jar, signifying that you are making the things that matter to you most your priority for your time. Then next put one of the smaller nuts in the jar for the things that you might like to do if you have time, you know what they are, you don’t need to write them down. Now if there is any room left in your jar add rice for all the expectations that other people have of you. There won’t be room for many because you have chosen what matters most first. Or another way to do it which is really eye opening is to do it in the reverse order. If you start with putting rice in you see that there isn’t much room for the walnuts, what you care about. I hope this wee activity helps you as you learn to take it easy on yourself.

    Reply

  20. searedandshameless

    Sia. Wow, I do the EXACT same thing when listening to Sia. I can’t even help it!

    Also – November means I am SO CLOSE to making your father’s SWEET POTATO PIE. I swear, it’s the best sweet potato pie I’ve ever had. EVER.

    Reply

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