Psst ... hey! It's Scottie Andrew, subbing in for our dear AJ. Cute animals to follow.

What’s your favorite fall comfort food? Mine is, hands down, butternut squash mac and cheese. It’s a decadent, gooey entree that combines so many of my great loves: pasta, copious amounts of cheese and the superior autumn vegetable. I like to make mine with cavatappi because squiggly noodles, to me, taste fancier than plain elbows. For cheese, you can’t go wrong with sharp cheddar, but I’ve also experimented with gruyere, muenster and gouda (the results: delicious!!!). Maybe next time I’ll sprinkle in some cayenne for a kick. And now I’m hungry. Happy feasting!

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Our favorites this week

Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week

A love that saved a life
When you know, you know, and Reid Alexander knew from his first date with Rafael Diaz that he’d met his potential soulmate. The pair hit it off upon matching on Tinder in August 2020 and got married the following April. On their wedding day, though, Reid received a call he'd waited for since he was a teenager: A hospital in Indiana had a kidney for him, but it had to be transplanted immediately. Reid, who has a genetic condition called alport syndrome that can damage blood vessels in his kidneys, couldn’t make it to Indiana in time, so Rafael gave him a heckuva wedding gift — he’d donate his kidney to Reid, if he was a match, without a second thought. And just a few months later, the married couple are healthy and recovering after the transplant operation. Reid said receiving Rafael’s kidney has drastically improved his health — he can hike and eat mac and cheese again, his favorite — and deepened their love. “Nearly 107,000 people nationwide need a lifesaving organ transplant,” Reid told CNN. “I was so lucky I got mine from the love of my life.”

Boxing for inclusion
Whether you’re into Olympic curling or the NFL, you're familiar with the camaraderie and thrill that come from watching or participating in sports. That’s part of the reason Martin Stark (pictured in the ring, with blonde hair) founded the World Gay Boxing Championships, a tournament for LGBTQ boxers. Stark created the tournament to “disrupt homophobia, transphobia, hatred in sport,” he told CNN. Stark wasn’t even interested in boxing until he overcame a chronic illness, two induced comas and PTSD — but when he’s boxing, he feels both strong and comfortable. He wants to share that feeling with other LGBTQ boxers (especially after the event was eliminated from the upcoming Gay Games, an LGBTQ Olympics counterpart). “Boxing is for everybody," Stark says. There's still time to get in fighting shape, for prospective boxers — the World Gay Boxing Championships aren't happening until 2023.

Raise a glass to...

Debbie Blount, a 63-year-old college sophomore with a killer golf swing. Yep, this sexagenarian collegiate is a star of Reinhardt University’s women’s golf team. She’s got about 40 or more years on her coaches and teammates, but they don’t sweat the age difference — not when she’s this good at golf and this supportive of a teammate. When she’s not hitting in the mid-80s every tournament, she’s supporting her sisters on the green, reminding them to stay positive and enjoy it — they’re playing golf, after all! Debbie had long dreamed of going to college, but it wasn’t until she lost her husband and found herself rudderless that she took the leap. After impressing her recruiter, she’s now a full-time student, collegiate athlete and beloved friend. "I'm getting to live the dream," she told CNN. "I look around here and I can't believe I get to do it." Oh, and she’s been nominated for homecoming queen, and the gals on her golf team have already agreed to help her pick out the perfect dress. Cheers to you, Debbie!

A bright idea

Ah, the age-old dilemma: I love my home, but I don’t love the view. Such was the case with Vojin Kusic’s wife. She could never decide which view she preferred — their house is in the countryside of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Eastern Europe — so Vojin, ever the doting husband, solved her problem by building her a rotating house. It benefits Vojin, too, who said he was getting tired of his wife’s “frequent refurbishing” of their home. The speed of their spinning home is adjustable — at its fastest, the home can do one full turn in 22 seconds (do you wear a seatbelt in bed for that?) and 24 hours at its slowest. Vojin even joked that he can ward off unwanted visitors by simply turning the home so the front door disappears. Or … was he joking? And could he perhaps replicate this in the States? Asking for no one at all.

You gotta see this

Remember a few weeks back, when we shared some snaps from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year nominees? Well, the winners have been crowned, and their photos are as stunning and life-affirming as you'd expect. Here are a few of the most awe-inspiring images, starting with these two polar bears (pictured above) palling around. Martin Gregus won the “Rising Star Portfolio Award” for capturing this playful moment between ursine companions.

Heroes among us

Made Janur Yasa, a vegan restaurant owner on the Indonesian island of Bali, watched as his neighbors moved away, struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic, leaving trash behind. It was a doubly upsetting dilemma — but "inside the challenge there is an opportunity," Made (pictured center, in grey) said. So, as a solution to the economic downturn and the environmental crisis in his community, he began a barter program in which residents could exchange plastic for rice. It was a win-win, he said: His neighbors are fed, and he recycles their plastic. It's a system that's worked since May 2020, Made said, and has since extended to more than 200 villages. In under two years, he's collected around 500 tons of plastic, and he's not stopping anytime soon. "My goal is really to spread this movement," he told CNN. "We're trying to change behavior ... my method is showing them an example through action."

Wanna get away?

National parks have come to China! This week the country announced around 88,000 square miles of land will be protected as national parks, including the Giant Panda National Park (and yes, there are pandas there). China’s one of the biggest countries on Earth, so its national parks are fittingly diverse: There’s the rainforest home of the critically endangered Hainan black-crested gibbon (a long-armed primate with orange or black fur) and the snowy, northeastern habitat of Siberian tigers and leopards. There’s a national park here for everyone, no matter your favorite animal or preferred climate.

Who knew?

If you’ve ever found yourself with some loose, helium-free balloons and some spare time, you’ve likely played that game where you bop the balloon around the room without it touching the ground. This game was never named, as far as this writer is aware, and yet many of us have played it, accidentally destroying fragile home decor in the process. Maybe some of us should brush up on our balloon-bouncing technique, because now, a Balloon World Cup exists. The inaugural tournament took place this week in Spain, attended by players from 32 countries. The organizers pulled out all the stops for this international celebration of balloonery, even strewing a bunch of living room furniture on a stage where the final game took place for authenticity. No word on whether players were punished if they broke vases or precious family heirlooms while leaping across furniture to keep their balloons in the air. Peruvian teen Francesco De La Cruz won this year — but maybe next year’s champ is reading this very newsletter!

Rec of the week

Brought to you by CNN Underscored

24 items you should buy from Nordstrom's holiday guide

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Shameless animal video

There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.

Meet one of my favorite oddball animals, the tamandua, a tinier relative of the anteater. This wee baby likes hitching a ride on its mom's back and generally being perfect, and we're all better for it. (Click to watch.)

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