Good Things List No.78: Finished Barn, Fall Garden, Rain Boots, Books & More

A monthly list of good things to see, buy, read and watch. This month’s list includes the finished barn makeover, fall garden tasks to check off, cheap and comfortable rain-garden boots, six book reviews and more!

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And just like that, welcome November and all the holiday hoopla!

Since it was hard for me to say goodbye to our warm weather, I find it’s helpful to look forward to the fun things we have planned in November and December. I hope it’s the same for you!

To help with the transition, I bought this viral barn coat (that’s now sadly sold out) which I’m loving so much that I’m actually glad it’s cool enough to wear it. We all do what we can do, right?

I hope this list of good things helps as we transition into the holiday season!

Good Things List

Barn Makeover DONE

This was probably the best good thing of the last month! I shared the barn progress in the last good things list, but it’s really the finishing touches (those X’s! that light!) that brought this old outbuilding into living it’s full barn life, don’t you think?

You can read about all the simple steps we took, complete with before and after photos and a cost breakdown here (what would you guess it cost us to makeover this building?).

And does my heart go pitter-patter every time I glimpse this out our windows now? Why yes, yes it does.

Fall Garden Tasks Checked Off

While you can use the November garden chores list to see what needs to be done, I always do the bare minimum because the fall is for preserving here in western Oregon – our gardens produce pretty much through October. But those minimum tasks really do need to be done and it’s nice to be able to check them off the list!

Here’s my “bare minimum” fall task list:

• fertilize fruit trees
• unhook hoses
• cover planted beds with frost protection
• harvest all green tomatoes, green beans, zucchini and cucumbers

Notice I didn’t list deadheading or cutting back plants? That’s because my biggest tip is to hold off on cutting back perennials – the birds have been loving the seed heads left on mine!

I usually don’t cut these back until late winter or early spring. The added benefit is that the plants have broken down even further, which makes cutting them down and composting easier.

Chelsea Style Rain Boots

I bought the BEST rain boots and they were only $18! They are a classic Chelsea style with a lug sole that will be perfect for the garden (and cute!).

But what makes them better than my last traditional rain boot is the COMFORT. The lower profile doesn’t hit you at the calf, the top portion is stretchy material so it moves as you do, and the foam insole is cushiony. If you need a pair – for rain or gardening – or know someone who does, definitely check these out!

Bamboo Baggie Storage Boxes

I was REALLY happy to find this set of UNLABELED bamboo storage boxes for baggies! I had been using taped and falling apart baggie boxes that were just slightly too big, hitting the top whenever we opened or closed the drawer. But the labeled boxes I’ve seen wouldn’t work for me – I don’t use all those baggies.

This set of 5 boxes comes with labels you can apply, but I don’t need them. You can see above how my bowl covers fit in one, our rubber bands and small bag clips fit in another, the produce bags in one and the other two for quart and gallon freezer baggies. Perfect! (And everyone in the family noticed how much easier it was to open the drawer – even our visiting daughter, lol.)

October Books Read

Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín. I have heard so much about this book over the years that I finally grabbed it from the library. While I always enjoy reading about places and times I don’t know much about (1950s Ireland and New York), I just didn’t enjoy this book like I thought I would. I never really connected with the main character – what on earth was she about? I never really felt I knew what motivated her, she seems to just go with whatever other people told her to do. And the ending wasn’t any ending at all – never a plus for me, lol.

The Perils of Lady Catherine de Berg, Claudia Gray (#3 Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney). The third book of this series doesn’t have a murder to solve, but instead mysterious things happening that seem to point to someone trying to harm the impervious Lady Catherine from Jane Austen’s P&P. Lighthearted and sweet, the two leads sort of get closer to a romance by the end. I find it refreshing to read about a hero who struggles with neurodivergent behaviors and a heroine who sees past all that to the man himself.

Remains of The Day, Kazou Ishiguro. I remember enjoying the movie with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson and have always wanted to read the novel. It’s of course very good and immersive, describing a part of the world in a time that I know nothing of. Who knew hearing about the running of English manor houses could provide so much tension and wonder? The revealing of the characters connection and motivations is a much slower burn in the book, and the ending was truly bittersweet (which of course isn’t my fav, but I know not everything can be a HEA and could still appreciate it!).

System Collapse, Martha Wells (#7 Murderbot Diaries). We finished this series (as of now, anyway) with this book. This had quite a bit of mystery at the beginning with a lot of “redacted” portions of the diary alluding to something that happened that’s affecting our sec unit’s performance. The story revolves around the crew trying to help stranded people on a planet get out without becoming slaves to the corporation. The only thing that’s disappointing to me is that the F-word is used way more here than in the first books and totally unnecessarily in my opinion.

My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante. Here’s another book I’ve read SO much about – in fact the whole “Neapolitan Novels” is highlighted on many best-of lists I’ve seen. Sadly, though, this book was not for me. I found most of the characters unlikeable and the narrator did things I couldn’t understand. I just found very little to like about the story either. Obviously I will not be bothering with reading any of the other books, ha!

A Girl Called Samson, Amy Harmon. This was a wonderful telling of the true story of Deborah Samson who disguised herself to join the continental army in the last years of the revolution. She was able to keep her sex a secret for 17 months until she was injured and taken to a doctor. The author keeps the story right in line with what we know of her life, adding fictional dialog and reasons why she chose to do this as well as why she got an honorable discharge when they discovered her disception. I listened to this and thought the reader did a great job.

Watching

Wild Robot, theater. We LOVED this movie! So heartfelt and uplifting and a perfect picture of motherhood (the robot running over and over to “launch” her charge while leaking fluid was perfection).

Matlock, CBS. This is a fun reboot that’s not really a reboot. Kathy Bates does a nice job of playing the title role.

That’s it for another addition of the Good Things List!

If you’d like to see more of what I’m enjoying, you can check out all the Good Things Lists here. I’d love to know what you think – if you’ve tried any of these or what you’d recommend. Leave a comment below with your thoughts!

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