Today is my last day in Edinburgh for a while, and I’m currently sitting in a small local cafe, sipping a hot chocolate. ’Tis the season. There was blue sky this morning, though now it’s grey and very windy. I’ve been editing some poems, and now I’m taking a short break to write this.
Emotionally, November has felt a little bleak. The end of October too. To some extent, I feel like I didn’t enjoy autumn thoroughly enough this year, and it is my favourite season. It’s definitely winter in Scotland now, and we even got snow this weekend (it’s already long gone though).
But there have been good things this month, lots, and I am actively trying to combat my tendency to focus on the negative things. So, here’s the highlights from November:
The month started off with a delightful new release from Laufey, her cover of Santa Baby and the accompanying music video which is a fever dream of everything I love: Laufey’s music, ballet (and Isabella Boylston!) and Christmas.
On the fourth,
was in town for a talk and signing event with Toppings for her new novella Graveyard Shift. I really enjoyed getting to hear her talk about her writing process, Shakespeare, lichen, and her next book, Hot Wax, which will be out next year.
A week after the election, my mom and sister came to Edinburgh for a visit. It was my sister’s first time in Scotland so we ended up doing a lot of sightseeing, even though we had agreed beforehand that it would be a relaxing holiday for them.
We went to Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, walked up Calton Hill and went to the National Museum of Scotland. We went up to St Andrews for a day, walked through the castle and cathedral ruins. And I took them to Toppings of course, the Edinburgh and the St Andrews locations. I really do get to know cities through the bookstores. The Christmas market opened while they were visiting so we went on the Saturday night. It’s so much bigger than last year’s market! On their last day, we did a tour up through Perthshire which finished at the Glenturret distillery. This was my first time going to a whisky distillery, something I’ve really wanted to do since moving to Scotland.
Other highlights of that week were all the restaurants we tried, since I don’t really eat out much on my own. We had afternoon tea at the Palm Court and it was delightful! Our last meal together was at The Spanish Butcher, a fairly new restaurant in New Town (the original location is in Glasgow, as is The Butchershop, which my parents and I went to when they were in town to see The National last year). Also, Dishoom will always be my favourite restaurant in the city, and I’m still thinking about those grilled prawns.
Last week was my final week of classes in St Andrews, and I finished up my teaching shadowing and had my last workshop of the semester, which felt like it went pretty well.
This next one isn’t necessarily a highlight, but it felt big. I deleted my twitter account that I’ve had for over 10 years. I did download an archive of the data before I deactivated, and I have to say I’m a bit horrified at my early teenage fangirl tweets. Maybe it’s better that it’s been deleted from public eyes.
I made my sixth apple crisp, trying to use up the last of my apples and butter before I leave. Sixth time’s a charm? I think this one was the best I’ve made. I made my way through a pile of library books, including Float by Anne Carson and Modern Poetry: Poems by Diane Seuss.
Earlier this afternoon I went to the National Portrait Gallery, which is all decorated for Christmas in the Great Hall. As I’ve been sitting here in this cafe, the sky has cleared again and it’s light blue with golden hour-tinted clouds passing along. It still looks windy, and I’m going to brave the cold now on my walk home.
What I’m Reading: Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, Garments Against Women by Anne Boyer, this month’s edition of The American Poetry Review
What I’m Listening To: Javelin by Sufjan Stevens, “The Way It Was” by The Killers, A Very Laufey Holiday by Laufey, my “romanticize your life” playlist
What I’m Watching: The Empress on Netflix (rewatching the first season since s2 is out, but it’s been a while)
What I’m Loving: Christmas decorations (particularly the scarves that are appearing on various statues around Edinburgh), snack plates, dogs in jackets, checking out audiobooks on Libby