Carnet de gratitude : November 2025

This November, life went on as usual at Maison Legrand, with highs and lows : birthdays, dentist emergencies, Potichats feline antics...
Just like in Talking Heads song Heaven, "Heaven, Heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens".

But there are moments to record and enjoy everyday, because even in harsh situations, one can feel inside or outside, that something strange and wonderful is going on. What happened that made me feel like that ? I think that I can point to this Carnet de gratitude sketchbook ! It has unexpected powers and it can very well change one's perspective... ;-)

If you want to know more about my Gratitude sketchbook practice, I answered an interview for Domestika's blog at the end of 2024. https://www.domestika.org/en/blog/13539-stig-legrand-s-journey-turning-daily-gratitude-into-illustrated-masterpieces

This project is published monthly and you can access the archives beginning in November 2021 from the Projects section on my Profile.

This time, I'm showing you my "rescued" palette on which I mix colors, for instance this light and this darker teal water based Tombows...
It is a fragment of a broken beer mug from Germany, which was decorated with a Nuclear Energy theme.
I'll show you the other side of the fragment at the bottom of this page.

November 1st was a busy day ! I got the idea of vignetting by looking around at others layouts. I reduced palette too, all this for a different result than my usual pages ;-) I also watched Slow Horses and bingewatched a french series I recommend called Bistronomia.

November 2nd, I ate this sweet little fruit, perhaps named Sweetsop, or Custard Apple ? I updated my Bujo that was stalled at the end of October with placeholding pages until the end of 2025. At long last, I began moving cardboard boxes around my work room to try and make some space. And for dinner I cooked lovely homemade ramen of the dry variety (without broth but a seasme oil based vinaigrette).

On the 3rd, we received a large order of cat food with toys, and the Potichats loved the new red velvet octopus. Little Wabisabi made her bed in a small cardboard box just her size. And I talked with ChatGPT for the first time. I compared his and Gemini's poetic styles, it was interesting and fun.

On Tuesday 4th, there were a lot of dead leaves in the catio, so I swept them all clean. Later, while I was drawing, little Wabisabi tried to climb the CD shelves next to me, she was so cute I took pictures for Carnet de gratitude. And for dinner, I made tuna sashimi and onigiri, really yumy.

Wednesday 5th, after an hour of online Happy Yoga, I listened to Thylacine's new album "Roads Vol.3".
Later Wabisabi rested next to me on the sofa, safe from her brother and sister who always chase her around.
I joined Theater Therapy online early evening and we did an exercise with vocabulary, meanings, using interesting online tools.
And for diner, I prepared the great Marc Winer's fried rice, with squid rings and sauteed pakchoi, on top I sliced a very spicy red chili from Thailand, just to my liking.

For Thursday November 6th, I tried this new comics layout, everybody found it very interesting. I love it too but it means going for very simple and stylized drawing and it is not my favorite way...
As you can see, I exercised with online HappyVisio physical activites around strenghtening and balance. Then I spent hours trying to sort and empty my email box, it is full to 95% ot its capacity ! And it takes ages to try and reduce this, by sorting and emptying. But that's what I am trying to do.
Then after a brunch of pink shrimps shared with the Potichats, we had to give them anti-parasites on the back of the neck as the poor babies had worms for the first time.

On Friday 7th, I followed some of the Domestika course I am watching actually, about Painting Expressive Eyes. After that and some administrative chores, I chatted a bit with ChatGPT and asked for a portrait of Tanuki in such and such setting and style. It was interesting to prompt and see the results, even though it makes it very clear to me that it doesn't satisfy my creative process and that I'm much more fullfilled by drawing in a traditional way.
But I like to draw models that were generated by AI sometimes, just like this Tanuki that it produced from a photo. I like to add my quirks and imperfections. Then for dinner, we had our first raclette cheese party of the season.

Saturday November 8th, I began the day by half an hour of Revitive Medic, this electrostimulation device for feet and legs. While I was doing that, I scanned my photos and found an interesting one : a screenshot I took when I was drawing my sketchbook page very very late at night, so tired that I feel asleep but continued drawing and writing in a dreamstate. I wrote a sentence that was total gibberish, and that's so weird...! (the sentence is : Cous nez encore did')
Then in the evening, I went to a concert for the first time in years ! It was next door, on the other side of the street, and it was a friend playing with two other musicians, a dancer and a painter that worked with India ink on a very large rotating canvas. It was a big success and a very happy moment <3

On Sunday 9th, I cooked a lot, first thing in the morning, then I rested on the sofa. When the Potichats woke up, we gave them again treatment for the worms with a pill-launcher, they complied better than expected. In the evening, I used my new tofu press for the first time and I made a lovely Chinese hot and sour soup that we enjoyed while watching the great animation movie "The Wild Robot".

Monday November 10th, I tried tidying some more in my work room but it is a very long and difficult process as it has been used for storage in the last few years. The Potichats rested and slept on their log cushions while husband went to fetch a lot of breads. And I chanced upon this illustration by Anthony Machuca, another inspired AI artist that I love to redraw from.

On Tuesday November 11th, Kurumi was super sweet and in a funny position when I passed next to the cat tower <3
Then I listened to a playlist based on the band Elbow, and there I discovered José Gonzalez, I fell in love with his guitar playing.
I began one of my numerous Domestika course, "Surrealist Portraits", I have some projects I would like to complete with this training and I began by writing Mind Maps. The in the evening, I chanced upon a talk with Tilda Swinton on Nowness and she read her Notes for Radical Living. It was so inspiring that I wrote them down and treasured it in Carnet de gratitude.

Wednesday the 12th, after online Happy Yoga, I filled a large bag with books to donate at the local Book Box. In the afternoon, Tanuki and Yuzu went to the vet for their shots and they also got professional cat grooming on their hindquarters as they are the bushiest of the Potichats.
I was late for online Theater Therapy but I made it and we had an interesting session sharing about each others capacities, values...
Then at night, I saw a very beautiful photo of one of my daughter's artistic setting for a participatory show and experience "Trace your dance" <3

Thursday November 13th was the anniversay date of the terrible attacks in 2015 Paris, so I listened to a podcast of a play that relived the events, and began watching "Des Vivants" a series about survivors from the Bataclan, the famous concert hall.
Before that, I had began the day with Happy Boxing, a great online training that was designed for elderly or handicaped people but still quite taxing as I felt aches and pains all over for days afterwards. Shadow boxing is a great physical activity !
I snacked on crispy spicy seaweeds and was glad to see a new object by Petr Valek.

Friday 14th, I listened to the album "Every Kingdom" by Ben Howard, then the postman brought me the Shovava shawls from Byron Bay Australia that I had ordered, even though I had to pay importation taxes... They are so beautiful, they are worth it anyway <3
Then in the evening, I made myself a vegetarian bowl that was fast and easy and delicious, while husband got himself a pizza.

Saturday 15th, I made preserve with quinces and it was delicious. Husband took Tanuki down the stairs in a container and she loved it, it was the funfair for her ! I sang the song "Lionheart" by Of Monsters and Men, over and over again LOL
Then, I began watching the series Pluribus, it is really strange and has an interesting premise. Meanwhile, Tanuki nested behind me on a log cushion, she enjoys getting close to human bodies when temperatures drop ;-)

November 16th is the day when I began having problems with my teeth. I was in very much pain from the top of my head to the bottom of my throat.
Kurumi watched me with a quizzical air, he seemed a little distressed... I listened to the spoken words poetry of Kae Tempest.
I had tofu flan in the fridge but didn't know what to do with it, so I asked ChatGPT and it gave me two options : a savoury and a sweet recipe; I made both and they were delicious and easy : Cold Douhua Sichuan style, and Ginger syrup Douhua.
In the evening, I prepared a little gift for my friend Deer Bartok's birthday... <3

On Monday 17th I woke up still in pain, but my dentist friend managed to get me an appointment for the next day.
I listened to Philip Glass, let Tanuki follow me in my work room, then found enough energy to vacuum with my headlamp on. All this while Wabisabi slept peacefully on the log cushions. In the evening, husband brought back nice burgers so I didn't have to cook.

Tuesday November 18th, I woke up early to go see my dentist friend. At first, she couldn't see anything on the XRay, but she tried to apply cold and one of my teeth didn't respond. She also discovered a piece of dental root that was sticking out of my gum on that side ! Ouch ! Gross ! She gave me antibiotics and scheduled me for next week. Back home, Wabisabi was asleep in the log cushin next to me while I practiced dictation on HappyVisio. It took my mind off my teeth for a while ;-)

November 19th was husband's birthday so he opened presents, we had a nice brunch of nordic bread and smoked trout, despite my teeth.
Then we played with the Potichats, and evening came around, when we had a lovely dinner topped with a chocolate cake with candle.

Thursday 20th, the teeth problems continued with another development on the other side of my mouth : the root of a crowned tooth fractured and it all came down a bit preventing me from cloing my mouth properly. I was feeling better on the right side but the left was very painful.
So I began eathing only soft food, until I could get in touch with my implantologist the next week...

On Friday November 21st, it has snowed a little during the night !
I began antibiotics and painkillers and ate soft food but in a creative way. It can be soft and tasty ;-)
I even got some Toblerone chocolate from husband and ate it by very small pieces and let it melt.

Saturday November 22nd, we had homemade fish spread and avocado on small blinis pancakes, that's soft food and tasty too :-)
It was a day for rest and during the night it snowed again, enough to powder our garden with white. The Potichats prefered to stay inside, warm and cozy, except Miruku who went in the catio and spent time on the highest bridges just under the snowed on roof.

Sunday November 23rd, I listened to the beautiful album by King Creosote "Any port in a storm", I continued with the tidying of my work room, sorting a small corner of the place, and I stored our Halloween masks and attire in a paper bin that was never used. Optimisation !
I also chanced upon the amazing plush creatures by Aunty Beast, an artist from Philadelphia.

Monday November 24th, I was very lucky that my implantologist could see me on the very day ! We drove there and he extracted the broken root tooth that was preventing me from closing my mouth and causing so much pain. What a relief ! Back home, I rested, slept, then watched an epsiode from a series with the Potichats surrounding me on their log cushions on the couch. Then in the evening after asparagus soup and quiche, I dove into the book by Nnedi Okorafor that I'm reading and enjoyed.

November 25th my mouth was still sore and healing so we had soft lovely brunch again with wraps, and corean marinated eggs. We played with the Potichats, it is iimportant for their mood and physical wellbeing. Then I made spicy tchoutchouka, that's a dish of scorched peppers, baked in tomato sauce with smoky paprika and garlic, in which I add some red thai chili that makes it all the more interesting to me. Husband hates peppers sadly, he is allergic so he can't have any. And I drew another of Machuca's illustration "Flight of the jellies".

Wednesday 26th, I planned to begin the day with Happy Yoga, but just before the online course, they played some new movie trailers and there was "The Voice of Hind Rajab", a movie that I very much want to see but that made me cry and broke my heart. I'l get this movie as soon as it is available on streaming. How can we live in a world so cruel ?
I didn't share how I felt with the people of Theater Therapy later that day, even if it was a nice session, I nibbled cripsy seaweed all the while.
Husband brought back good tangerines, the Corsican sort, with a greenish bottom.
And I searched for more info about Artem Sherstobitov, a balance artist who uses beams and sticks for his beautiful and graceful shows.

Thursday 27th, my dentist friend removed the sticking out root from my mouth, she gave it to me in a tiny fluo yellow box. On the way back, we stopped a moment and watched a funny looking pigeon, mottled and carefree. Back home, I took care of the Potichats then swiflty cooked some ramen, but the Mild version powdered broth I used for husband wasn't bland enough so he couldn't eat it... Mine was spicy and just fine.

Friday November 28th, I read a lot of stories and saw many photos from the Hippie Trail back in 1978, just before I was myself in Katmandu Nepal. Lovely memory lane... Of course we played with the Potichats, Miruku and Nori enjoyed playing in the cat tower, a different playground than the usual.
Wabisabi spent a long time around the frog terrarium, she would like to "Touch the Froggy". Then I made a root vegetables stew.

Saturday November 29th, I listened to the Year Favorites Songs that Amazon had compiled for me, it was good, starting with Kurt Vile "Pretty Pimpin"...
For the first time in two years, I indulged in a new Zuri dress that was on sale for the Black Friday weekend, I chosed a model called "It's Electric".
Husband made cappuccinos with the new Sweet Almond & Hibiscus coffee I had just received. The I began the corean bestseller called "I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki", it isn't as good for me as I had hoped but Miruku seems very interested.

On Sunday November 30th, I woke up and wen straight into my work room to build a stacked shelf for my shoes that I had received in parts and tubes. It was quite easy and fast to assemble it and I did it by myself ! Then I made a brunch fit for kings <3 We played with the Potichats, and even Yuzu came to play, which doesn't happen often. I loved seeing the ginkgo biloba leaves all over the street in New York on photos by my friend Ellen Kushner, and just like that November was over.

Here is the other side of my palette, the broken fragment from a beloved beer mug from Germany, with Albert Einstein and Otto Hahn.

Very nice for me to retrieve memories from the past when they are drawn into Carnet de gratitude <3