We hope you enjoyed the October 2021 issue of This Awful Awesome Life. Special thanks to Lilly Kauffman and Orlando Bartro for their contributions.

November 2nd is election day.

I hope everyone takes this opportunity to use the power of their vote wisely. Your vote won’t count if you don’t mail in your ballot or go to the polls.

This month we are celebrating holidays and special occasions from around the world. It’s Movember and we’re streaming Bro movies and featuring actors with the best mustaches. Who have we selected?

Lilly Kauffman shows a little love to the month sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas in “November” and Orlando Bartro examines a Picasso. Linda Cahill has more delicious recipes courtesy of Pampered Chef and our soup in “The Twelve Months of Soup” Is Butternut Squash with a Turkey Sandwich. Spoiler Alert- we get creative with Thanksgiving leftovers and other ingredients for our sandwiches.

The popular Q&A is back and this month we have two. I questioned local author Dylan Weiss about her Skunk Tales Trilogy and other upcoming books. I also talked with local artisan Tracey Lewis about upcycling and repurposing furniture.

Universal Children’s Day is November 20. We have a little history of this day for you including goals set for the education of all children by the United Nations General Assembly. How are we doing at meeting these goals? You might be surprised.

Our quiz this month is about popular diets. You’ll thank me after you finish off the last of the Halloween candy and Thanksgiving pie. Our reading recommendations for kids and adults include some fall cookbooks and works by talented Native American authors. This month, I reviewed Great Speeches by Native Americans edited by Bob Blaisdell and I learned so much about Indigenous Americans and American History.

Don’t forget to check out our Author Page for your next great read and JoAnn Cantrell is still searching for pictures and information about Pittsburgh orphans and orphanages.

Samantha Sayers has been missing since she disappeared on August 1, 2018, after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam grew up in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live. Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home. In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.

If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we can update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page. Thank you!

Please share our link, thisawfulawesomelife.com with your friends and family.

Be sure to subscribe to our free mailing list and each new issue of This Awful Awesome Life will be delivered directly to your inbox with a personal note from me. We fixed the glitches we were having on our mailing list, so you will receive the link for the new issue the same day it publishes. We won’t share your name or email address. Like us on Facebook for the latest from This Awful Awesome Life!

Happy Reading,

Fran