In My Next Life ...

1. Who are these people?

2. Where are they, and why do they look so content?

3. They are all white - so ... where is this, geographically?

4. Am I the only one who thinks the female patient almost looks like Carmen Miranda, with that plant above her head, looking almost like a hat??

5. Spoiler alert - the person who made this illustration has likely never visited a doctor's office or medical waiting room.

I had an appointment yesterday for my annual mammogram and a breast ultrasound. My appointment for the mammogram was for 9:30 a.m., and the ultrasound was at 10 a.m. I arrived as instructed by 9:15. I got home at 2:30 p.m.

My appointment was in a brand, spanking new, high-end, all-the-bells-and-whistles new building. Previously, I had gone to another building about a block away, and though it was likely about 40 years old, it wasn't an awful place to wait and/or have the appointments. So I was curious to see how the new place was so much better and more wonderful.

By the time I left, I decided that I should become a "patient consultant" to places building new and "better" facilities. Because this one had lots of issues.

Aesthetically, it is fine - new and "modern" looking, but not in an overly offensive way. No one would mistake it for anything other than a 2000s medical building, at least here in the U.S.

You enter into a glass-enclosed atrium. There are upholstered chairs placed in different areas of the lobby, along with the requisite large potted plants. And as you look around, there are kiosks situated along part of one wall, and tucked wayyyyy into a corner is a very small desk console with "Information Desk" on it in barely visible signage. There are three different elevator banks, again with barely visible signage, telling you what elevators go to what floors.

The kiosks are apparently where you initially "check-in." My instructions said to bypass those and head directly to the 4th floor. I was grateful for that, because I could tell that many people trying to use the kiosks (some quite elderly, and some for whom clearly English was not their first language) were having troubles, and there were lines behind them of 4-5 people each, which I'm sure didn't help.

I got to the 4th floor, and for the first time saw a decent sign telling me where to go. However, once there, it was unclear if someone worked there to check you in. I did find that person, behind a screen, and got checked in. 

After waiting a while, my name was called and I was directed to the Changing Room to change into the hospital gown for said procedures. The "lockers" provided to store your clothes, etc., were the size of a cubby at a pre-school. So you were supposed to put your winter coat AND your clothes in there. The person directing me said to bring my purse and any valuables with me, because the locking systems on said lockers didn't work. She vaguely pointed down the hall to the waiting room. And the hospital gown was in fact not a gown, but a cape - I spent an inordinate amount of time looking for something resembling a sleeve until I figured THAT out!

The waiting room as a) tiny, and b) had couches. Only. No individual chairs. Now I don't know about you, but I don't really enjoy sitting on couches with people I dont' know. Plus, couches encourage people to spread themselves and their belongings out, and there was a lot of woman-spreading happening. There was absolutely nothing else in the waiting room - not even a fake plant. And at one point, a couple of people had to stand, because the room was small and there was not any seating left. I was in there for an hour and a half, and let me tell you, I got really tired of just looking at my phone. There weren't even any "paintings" on the wall to stare at senselessly.

Then I got called for the mammogram. Holy crap, that room was HUGE! I am not kidding when I say it was approximately the size of our first floor in our house. And yes, there was lots of equipment, but there was also enough space to host a gathering. 

Then I was sent to another waiting room to wait for the ultrasound. Same set up as the first room. I waited in there for 2 hours. Finally got called to the ultrasound room, which seemed much more reasonable, size-wise. Then sent back to the waiting room to wait for the doctor and get the report from both tests. Another 2 hours. 

Once that was over, I was told to go back to the changing and leave by the "exit door, not the same door you came in when you first arrived." So I wandered down a poorly-marked hallway until I saw a small sign that said "Changing Room." It looked vaguely familiar and fortunately, it was the right place. Then I had to find my way to the exit, which was once again a) circuitous, and b) poorly designated, signage-wise.

When I FINALLY got home, I decided that in my next life, I should set myself up in business as a person who represents "the public" whenever someone is planning a new building. Because this new building may have been bigger, brighter, and contain more/better (?) technology, but it was a disaster as far as design usage was concerned for patients. I was honestly appalled, because the older building I was used to was only frustratingly the same as far as the small, cubby-sized lockers. It was the one thing I had expected to be an improvemenet in the new building.

Once again, I told myself that in a Bridget-centric world, that building could have been so much better. Unlike most of the time, I hope I get one of those surveys they send after an appointment - I have a lot to tell them!

On top of which - I have to go back for another test at the end of the month - GAH! I told The Tim that maybe I should pack a lunch ... 

What, Pray Tell, Have I Been Doing?

Hello all, and I hope where you are is as sunny as it is today in Philadelphia! I have already been out for my walk, and hope to get out again at some point for some more enjoyment of a sunny and cool day.

I thought I'd catch you up on things I've been doing, crafts-wise. It's been a while since I had much to say about my knitting, and even longer since I've done any stitching, so here you go.

A couple of years ago now, I finished stitching this little Rudolph counted cross-stitch ornament. Then I set it aside, and last year when I went to finish it so I could hang it on the tree, I couldn't find it. I found it when we were putting things away, and left it out so that I could have it *completely* ready for next year.

It was seriously a matter of putting the fabric around a little core that came in the kit with it, and then gluing it into this little pie tin and putting a ribbon through the top for hanging. So this December, it will be ready to be included on the tree! (After I put it away safely, I looked at this picture, and realized there was a loose thread hanging out of it. 🙄 Rest assured I'll take care of that when I pull it out with the other decorations.)

These next two things are knitting projects I've been working on. Just below is the start of my Artus shawl.

I'd hoped to start this last fall, but didn't. And trust me, there's a lot of it left to knit - some parts with charts, which means it will take me even longer. But so far, I'm enjoying the knit, and I love this waffle texture that you start knitting. I have no deadline for this - I'm hoping to have it for next fall, but as long as I can use it next fall or winter, I'll be happy.

My sweater is really getting closer to being completed. Right now, I'm working on the sleeves, and am very close to finishing the first one. Then I'll do the second and then finish the body. I am finally trying the method of getting a bit of the body done, and then doing the sleeves before finishing that. It means you have a lot less fabric flopping around when you are doing the sleeves. And it also means that when the body is finally finished, the sweater is finished!

I'm not saying much more about this now, because I don't want to jinx myself. But I am thrilled with how it looks!

I've also been working on a pair of socks, but haven't taken any photos of them yet. (I had to save something for next time, right??)

So I have been busy with some things, and the good news is that I am happy with all of them. 

*****

Other than that, I'm glad all of you took my last post about names in the spirit it was intended, and got a laugh or two out of it. Of course, once I finished the post, I thought of at least ten more names that have amused me, but I'm sure we all have some. I was just worried once I posted it that people would think I was making fun of people. And I guess in some ways I was, but I promise I wasn't intending it to sound callous or vicious. I have no room to talk, having spent my life with people either mangling my name, or calling me something else altogether! 

Tomorrow is the first day of March, and I'm happy about that. March is one of my most fave months. Usually February and I get along just fine, but since the month started in the worst way possible, it was hard to go along as usual. I'm hoping March proves to be as pleasing at it usually does. 

My weekend plans include a trip to a Joann Fabrics near here, to see if anything I usually like to find there is left at all, since they are going out of business. I have to say that the news is discouraging to me. Not that I spent all of my spare time there, but there are certain things I could always count on finding there at a decent price. And I did enjoy looking for fabric there - nowadays, there are so few places that sell fabric that you can see in person. And then if there are, a lot to of times, you can't afford the stuff! A new place opened here in Philadelphia, and it's lovely. But it's extremely high end, and not being an expert at sewing, I won't be spending any money on fabric there! 

Other than that, probably just the usual weekend activities (or lack thereof). I would like to get some projects around the house closer to being finished, but I'm not gonna beat myself up if I don't get to them. 

I hope you have a good weekend, and a good start to the month of March. Take care, and I'll check in again next week.

P.S. Apologies if you have commented recently, and didn't get a response from me if I have your e-mail address. I'm getting those weird error messages in my e-mail, and it seems that the only solution in the past has been to let it resolve itself. So I promise I'm not ignoring you altogether. 😊

Amusing

Today was my weekly shift taking care of adoptable kitties. Usually at least one person stops by to see them, and asks how to adopt them, etc. And of course, because they are people, there's a wide variety of comments, questions, etc. And today, one of them amused me, even if it was for the wrong reasons.

A woman stopped by to see the cats. At the moment, there are three tuxedo kitties, not related to each other, all different ages. One is 4 months old, and as you can imagine, she is bouncing all over her cage, having hilarious times with her toys. Another is a boy, 7 months old, who loves playing with his wand toy. And the third one is a year old female, who is very cuddly and likes to be brushed.

A woman came to look at them, and she was in love with the kitten. She told me that her previous cat got hit by a car because she was outside, and I said if she adopted from our group, she would have to sign a contract to keep the cat inside. She pretty much ignored that and kept going. She took at brief look at the boy, and said she didn't want a male cat, she wanted the kitten. She didn't want the year old cat, because she is "too old, weird looking, and has an ugly name." (Her shelter name is Risa, and she has a spot on her nose where she lost a bit of fur due to a non-serious skin condition.)

Now, as far as looks go, the woman I am talking about was, shall we say, not a head turner. She was probably about 40 years old, with no teeth, dark raccoon eyeliner, and greasy hair. And I know that I shouldn't have, but I found her comments about Risa amusing given the source.

On my way home, I was thinking about it, and was reminded of other times I was amused by people and their names. These are all people my mother knew, and I am 99% certain they are dead now, but if they are relatives or friends of yours, I apologize if you are offended.

My mother had three friends that she would do things with on a pretty regular basis in the years before she died. They were lovely women, willing to take her with them places and deal with her wheelchair like it was no big deal. My mother *always* called them their names in this order: Faye, and Kay, and Dot Mellott (prounounced like "a lot"). I found this amusing, but The Tim was particularly taken with it - telling my mother she was the only person he ever knew whose friends were "an internal rhyme."  He even wrote a poem about them, and I can only remember the first part:

Faye, and Kay, and Dot Mellot went walking to the town. 

Said Faye and Kay to Dot Mellot, "why don't we sit down?"

I don't remember the rest, but it was quite epic, and my mother found it hilarious. I have no idea if she ever mentioned it to Faye, and Kay, and Dot Mellot ...

Then there was the time when I was shopping with my mother - I think I was about twelve years old - and she ran into an old friend of hers from high school named Minnie Mumley. Now, we had all heard of Minnie Mumley, and found her name to be a source of great amusement. Meeting her was disappointing, because she didn't look to me like her name sounded. BUT even more amusing to both myself and my mother is that she said she had changed her name (at this point my mother was in her early sixties, so I guess Minnie was too?). My mother assumed she meant her last name, and asked her what she had changed her last name to, and she replied, "Oh I'm keeping Mumley - I changed my first name to Lillian." And the rest of the afternoon, my mother kept saying, "Well I don't get it - Lillian Mumley doesn't sound much better than Minnie Mumley." And my sisters and I thought this was quite amusing, to say the least.

The last thing I thought of were two elderly women who were in our parish and they were the types that were involved in everything, as well as being really nosy (in my mother's terms they were "nebshits). There names were Cynthia and Anna Bell, and they were regularly referred to by most people as "The Ding Dong Sisters" - of course, not to their faces. Well, one Sunday the priest was reading announcements for the coming week, and said something like, "On Tuesday evening, we will host _____. If you are interested, please contact Cynthia or Anna Bell." To which a very childlike voice piped up, "Mommy! He's talking about the Ding Dong Sisters!" and no one in my family can tell you anything else that happened afterwards because we had to leave (yes, we were all sadly too amused to recover). My father had gone to an earlier Mass, so when we came home a bit early, he wanted to know why, and my mother told him, and he said,  "This is why you're all going to hell," which caused even greater laughter.

Anyway, I thought this might give you a chuckle. I love names, all kinds. I love knowing what people name their babies, I love it when you come across a name that is just PERFECT for a person, or when someone with an even more unusual name than yours comments on how "weird" your name is (this used to happen to me as a kid - there were no other Bridgets walking around then wherever I went to school).

(Then there is the co-worker I had once who had gone to elementary school with a boy named ... Sheldon Fartslinger. We agreed that we hoped he was a mulitmillionare by now, to make up for all the times he was beat up on the playground as a kid ... )

I've Been Thinking

Hello! I hope you are all doing well, or at least as well as any of us can be doing these days. I was in the mood to post today, but didn't have one specific kind of thing to talk about, so you are getting a brain dump. If you are not someone who enjoys brain dump posts, feel free to move along. I certainly understand.

1. I've decided to teach myself how to use Canva. I don't really know why, I just thought it was something I'd try. I made this during the course of the morning, after many many fits and starts. I originally thought it might be a nice header for my blog, but couldn't figure out how to re-size it. I have a Chromebook and photo editing on it is still somewhat beyond my understanding. Which makes me think I should have learned that first. Oh well.

2. In the last month or so, I've seen a lot of knitting podcasts where they are talking about "unpopular hot takes." It's entertaining, but also makes you think about your own opinions and ideas. And I've found my primary hot take for now at least:

I'm tired of people writing patterns that use two yarns together. Usually it's mohair, sometimes suri alpaca, but either way I find it annoying. Yes, sometimes I think the finished object looks lovely. And yes, I've knit something carrying mohair with the main yarn (I made a beret in 2023. I liked it but gave it away, because it just *looked* like something one of my nieces would really enjoy, so she received it as a Christmas gift).

But unless the item is small - a hat, fingerless mitts, etc. - adding another yarn to a pattern makes it even less accessible to most people. For instance, I'm not a huge person, but purchasing a sweater or even a tee's worth of yarn is a lot of money for me. If I have to buy the equivalent amount of another yarn, it's twice as much, and often more. And even if it's something I would absolutely love to have, I'm just not buying the equivalent of two sweaters' worth of yarn, firstly because I can't afford it, and secondly because I think it's stupid. 

You do you of course. I'm not buying *your* yarn! 😊

3. I am proud of myself, because I hated the current lump of orange blobbery in the Oval Office, his vice president, and the owner of Tesla long before it was a thing. As in, years ago I learned that all of them were people with no substance, no moral compass, and no empathy. Not that it's helping now, but there you are.

4. Animals rock. Always.

5. A few weeks ago, I have one of my syncope episodes, which means I fell and made a mess of my face and my teeth yet again. And as of right now, there is still no way any of my doctors have been able to figure out what causes it, though they are all still trying. Fortunately, I was stitched up well and it has been long enough now that I don't look as awful or scary. I'm grateful it happened somewhere where people were around to get me some help. And yes, I know that it's another serious fall.

But you know what I also know? I'm really sick of people telling me that I should 1) be more careful, 2) find out why it keeps happening, 3) "walk around in bubble wrap, hahaha," 4) get better nutrition and sleep, and 5) insinuate that somehow I'm doing it on purpose. I would dearly love to say, "Or you could just shut up about it," but I am making an effort to be a kinder person and keep my mouth shut - much as I wish other people would do on occasion! 

6. I need to give more thought to things I decide I will "definitely do." You may or may know that I have said in the past, that any time I've signed up for a KAL, no matter how much I think I want to do whatever it is, I immediately become disinterested in knitting anything at all. 

Well, I keep doing it all over again with other stuff - small, relatively unimportant stuff, but it is still worth thinking through before I pledge to myself that "Starting on ___, I'm going/not going to do ____ for ___ amount of time." Because it inevitably leads to what I have started to call "The KAL effect."

That's all I have for you right now. I'm washing a few throws, and I just heard the washer signal that cycle is over, so I'm going to put them in the dryer. I've started doing chores/cleaning in small increments, and so far, it's being much more successful than any plan to do major cleanup on any given day. Of course, when we are having company or it's a holiday or something, I can be motivated, but in regular life, the small method is being much more successful.

See you again soon. If you are in the cold weather/winter zones, stay warm!

Valentine's Day 2025

Hello and Happy Valentine's Day! I know that a lot of people have a lot to say about this day, but at our house we love it. As I've said before, I was raised to see Valentine's Day as a day to be happy for those you love - be it family members, friends or romantic partners. So it's always been a happy day for me, with a special treat thrown in. The Tim and I sometimes get little gifts for each other, but we always give each other a card.

This year, Valentine's Day is bittersweet, because it would have been Pip's 14th birthday. But we know he'll still have a good birthday, especially since some of our other kitties he is with now have also had birthdays on this day, so I know they are enjoying it together.

I have some special treats for Milo the Koodle, Alfie, and Esme today, as well as a flavor of canned food they particularly like that I will give them for dinner. I did find a little gift for The Tim today - a bottle of red pepper cooking oil. He is a firm believer in the hotter the better, and I'd never seen this kind of oil before, so I figured I would get it for him. It was a little splurge, so I saved it to give him today. 😊

Today in Philadelphia is also the big parade to celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl Championship. It should be fun. The last/only other time they won, back in 2017, we went to the parade, and even though it was really really cold, it was a blast. This year, The Tim has to work, and I don't want to go on my own, so I'll watch it on TV with the kit kats, while being warm and cozy inside. When the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, I couldn't take a day off to go to the parade, so I'm hoping they will manage to make it happen again so we can go to one of those, then I'll feel like I've managed to be a true Philadelphia fan.

The weather for the weekend looks to be icky, so I have every intention of staying in and being as cozy as possible. My sweater project - which I abandoned for most of January - has been picked up again, and I started a pair of socks the other day, so I have at least two knitting projects to keep me busy. And I have two books from the library to occupy me as well, so even if The Tim decides to nap most of the weekend, I have plenty to entertain myself!

Not much else to report. I did find a little mini chocolate-raspberry ganache cake from one of our fave Italian bakeries around here to have for dessert tonight, so that will be a nice treat. And we will likely drink a toast to our sweet boy, who sadly couldn't be here for his 14th birthday on the 14th. 💔

A person commented on a social media post that she didn't understand why people had pets, because when they die it is so heartbreaking. Well, hello - when anyone dies it's heartbreaking if they meant something to you, right? I didn't want to point that out because a) duh, and b) why acknowledge dumbassery, right? (Maybe that should be a mantra for the next four years ...) Let's face it, people are weird and I often don't think they consider how things sound typed out as opposed to spoken out loud.

ANYWAY. 

Have a lovely Friday, whether you consider it a special day in any way or not. It always leads in to a weekend, and for most of us, that is a good thing. So enjoy your Friday, have a good weekend, and be the person you would like if you met yourself.

FO Post: Burgundy and Blue

Here's a project I finished not that long ago, but am just now getting around to posting about. 

Two things I hoped to do during 2025 were: 1) knit from my stash, especially using amounts that were relatively small, but still worth keeping, and 2) knit more things for charity. This project is part of both of those!

Project: Burgundy and Blue 

Pattern: A mishmash of several things

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted in the Burgundy colorway (#999), and Baby Blue (I don't have the band, so don't know the colorway number)

Needles: US 8/5.0 mm

Notes: I had small amounts of these two yarns left (31 grams of the burgundy, and 44 grams of the blue), and thought it would be enough for a hat, as long as I inserted some color changes throughout. So I took a look at a couple of different worsted weight hat patterns I had, to see what needle size worked best, and how many stitches to cast on, etc. And then I just got started and hoped for the best!

I love the way to crown decreases worked up!

And here's the yarn I had left - 7 grams of the Burgundy and 3 grams of the blue! Not bad, I was happy that I had enough for the hat, and that how I decided to start worked out in the end.

While I had the hat on a medicine ball blocking a bit, The Tim said, "What a great-looking hat! That should look nice on you." I told him that I had actually made it for charity, and he said, "Well you should save that pattern, because I really like the design." Which was nice to hear ... except, well - I didn't write anything down, so although I have a decent idea of what I did, I don't have any specific instructions for myself or even for anyone else to duplicate it. 

I mean, I'll likely be able to figure it out if I try, but right now, it's just floating around in the universe somewhere, perhaps never to be found again ... 😀

But the best things are: 

1. It's finished and looks nice.

2. It will keep someone warm and cozy.

3. I used up most of two scraps that were leftover.

4. The yarn was from my stash.

Any of those would please me, but all of them together make me feel pretty good. 

Small victories, people. Small victories.

Super Bowl Champions, Baby!

Well, I'm sure by now you have heard that the Philadelphia Eagles demolished the Kansas City Chiefs to become the Super Bowl Champions! I mean, I'm not sure anyone but the members of the team were ready for how well they played, but no one is complaining. It's so exciting, and especially after last week's terrible plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia, it's nice that we all have something good to cheer about.

On a personal level, it was just such a relief to have something so happy and so joyous to watch and think about. The beginning of 2025 has been horrible for us so to just be able to watch and cheer and laugh was wonderful. Does it mean the world is immediately better and nothing else bad will happen? Of course not, but it's a small circle of joy that needs to be marked and celebrated.

As I said, 2025 has not been kind to us so far. I won't be going in to detail, but I really can't remember a year that has started off this way. I do want to thank every single one of you who left a comment on my post about Pip. It means so much to know people are thinking of you, and that other people "get" it. We are getting used to not having him here, ready to cuddle, or play, or comment on everything, but there's a long way to go. Alfie and Esme have glued themselves to each other, and Milo the Koodle walks around the house meowing in the most pitiful way that he never did before. It makes it extra hard because they of course don't understand what happened. 

You know, some people complain that too much is made of sports, particularly NFL football, which can of course having lasting, terrible effects on players' brains and bodies. And that is true, but to be honest, I don't see it going away any time soon. And in the grand scheme of things, is sports the most important? No it is not. Things are still horrible in the world, and Those People show no signs of stopping the terrible things they have started. 

But for the past week, at least here in the city, people have been walking around with smiles on their faces, and nearly everyone you pass or have any interaction with would end with "Go Birds!" And last night, The Tim and I sat here and watched the game, and for a few hours didn't have a reason to feel sad or frustrated or bereft. 

And we were so very grateful for that.

Fly Eagles Fly, indeed!

Pip

If you follow me on Instagram or on Facebook, you already know this. But I am heartbroken to tell you that this past Saturday, February 1, 2025, our sweet boy Pip joined his brothers and sisters in heaven.

Pip first came to live with us when he was just short of a year old. He had recovered from having his back left leg amputated, and a friend of mine - Kate Gagnon Osborn - had been fostering him. She suggested that he would be a good fit for our family. (Fun fact: about a year later, she would foster the dog that would become another member of our family, Dug!)

When Pip joined us, we had Jetsam, who had been alone for about a year after we lost two other kitties within a week of each other. They became fast friends, and we could tell Jetsam was glad to have a companion again. Pip loved Jetsam right away, and things felt more complete again. 

Pip never met someone - human or otherwise - that he didn't make friends with. We used to joke that if we brought an alligator home, he'd make it his friend. Anyone else who joined the family was immediately fine with him, even if the others might take a while.

He was our sweet boy, cuddly, purry, and playful. He was also the family narc, making sure that we knew if something wrong occurred. He loved it when people came to visit (more friends!), and loved going out in the garden for a walk around, once he realized (starting over every single year) that it was a safe place.

He had a great Christmastime this year, which made us (and him!) happy. Last October, the vet said he had lost a bit more weight than before. He wanted to do all kinds of tests to see if it might be cancer or something, but we decided that as long as Pip was happy and his usual self, we were leaving it alone. Going to the vet was one of the few things that stressed him out, even more than any of the others, and we wanted to avoid that. 

In the last few weeks, you could tell he didn't feel well. He slept more, and though everything else was pretty much the same, he wasn't his usual Pippy self. And then his back leg - the only one he had - started not working too well. 

I kept telling him that he needed to let us know when he was just too unhappy or sick to go on, because like I said, he was clearly not feeling his best. On Saturday morning, when I went downstairs to give everyone their breakfasts, he was sitting next to the heater, and he looked at me sadly and meowed even sadder. So I knew he was telling me. 

Fortunately, the vet could take us a couple of hours after we called. All the others told him goodbye, and we put him in the carrier to go to the vet, which is about a block away from our house. It was a *very* sunny day, and we talked to him and told him the sun came out for him the whole way there. 

And by the time we went to take him out of the carrier at the vet's office, he was already gone. We agreed that one of the rays of sunshine decided that it couldn't wait any longer for him to join in making the world bright and making people smile, so that's what happened on our way there. I like to tell myself it was quick and he didn't even have time to think about it, because I hate to think he was panicked in the carrier for the last seconds of his existence. 

Pip was a happy boy, and from all that we could see and tell, he had a happy life. We tried our best, and I like to think he knew that - he seemed to know that he was beloved, and he really was.

He would have turned 14 on the 14th of the month - Valentine's Day. So rather than have a little party for him, we'll do our best to celebrate that he was ours for as long as he was. Maybe by then we'll have his ashes here at home with all of us.

 

God bless you, Pip. We will love you forever, and will never be able to stop remembering how you saved our lives. I hope you were extra happy to see your Welcoming Committee in heaven - I know they were happy to see you!

Please give all of your family members some extra love today, however you can. Pip was all about love, and knowing that other people and animals were getting some extra love on his behalf would make him happy.

Next Up - February!

I saw this earlier and it seemed appropriate for this almost-past January. I just hope I'm not tempting fate posting it when there are still approximately 12 hours of January remaining ...

Generally speaking, I don't have a problem with January and/or February, like a lot of people do. And so far in 2025, there were things to like in January. Here in Philadelphia, we got some real winter weather - nothing like the wimpy winters we've had for the past few years. And as you know, I'm one of the weirdos who loves winter, so I am pleased about that. And for the most part, we had a decent month in our family, with lots of cozy time to be together. The Eagles made it to the Super Bowl, which made up for Notre Dame losing to Ohio State in the college championship game (I have a loooong history of not liking Ohio State. And I should move on, but I just can't. So sue me. Anyway.) I finished a pair of Christmas-themed socks, so come December they will be waiting for me, which will make me all kinds of happy.

But ugh, January has been a rough one this year. I mean, not just for me but for most of the people in the world. Which is one thing, but usually when the world is falling apart, I can take comfort in my own life and universe being OK. This time around, not so much. It's been hard to keep going forward, but the one good thing is that every day I've gotten out of bed, washed up, and gotten dressed. Some days - as I mentioned in a previous post - I've even accomplished some small things, which were pleasing to me. 

The past few days, I've had to try really really hard to think of things that are good and worthwhile. My "plan" for February is to see if I can organize some of my thoughts and make some lists. Because I do love a list, and I'm thinking having something to even just look at might be at least a tiny bit motivating. 

I mean, this is a GREAT example, and has inspired me:

Anyway, let's move along and hope that February will give us some good or fun things to talk about. 

I hope that your January has not been completely awful. February starts tomorrow, AND it's a weekend, so that already gives us two things to be happy about, a la the list above, right? 😏

Take care, and next week I'll try to share some knitting with you. I think I'm ready to pick up the needles at least a little bit, which is promising. Hang in there, and I hope you can find one thing to make you smile.

Not Much

(My view the other morning, when Alfie agreed to sit on my lap for a while - it's been a long time since this happened!)

How are all of you doing? Well enough at least, I hope. I've been better, but I'm doing my best to keep thinking and moving forward. 

The hardest part is that I'm in one of those betwixt and between modes. You know, where there are things you want to do, and plenty of things you should do or need to do, and you just can't get going at all. I mean, I manage to get up, get dressed, etc., and feed myself, the cats, and The Tim, but all the other stuff in-between is just ... there. 

Not that I'm ever a ball of fire, mind you. But I am usually good at getting at least one or two things started or accomplished on any given day. And for the last week or so, I just can't get moving on it. 

Now, I can guess why, that's not an issue. And I am telling myself that if I can force myself to do even one small thing, that in a few more days or even next week, I'll be getting back on track. So this morning I took a walk. Not as long as I usually take, but I bundled up and got myself outside, and enjoyed it. 

And just about half an hour ago, I managed to locate the hot glue gun, plug it in to heat up, and then glue two different items that have been sitting for [I don't know how long, choose your own adventure here]. That felt good. And I even remembered to unplug said glue gun and it's cooling as I type this. 

So today? I'm doing pretty well, I think. Granted, Usual Me would be saying "You think *those* two things are major accomplishments???" but Today Me is saying "Hooray!"

You may or may not know or care that yesterday the Philadelphia Eagles football team punched their card to head to the Super Bowl (or was we call it, the Superb Owl)! That was exciting, and it's really nice to see everyone so happy about it, especially since people have been especially stressed or sad for the past week or so, if you get my drift ... 😟

What's been going on with all of you? I've kept up somewhat with everyone's blogs and social media, but that's not to say I haven't missed something. So let me know!

Otherwise, I don't have anything to regale you with or about on this chilly but not cold Monday afternoon. I do hope you are doing well, and if you are in snow or cold areas, keeping cozy. 

First FO of 2025!

Hello from very cold and little bit snowy Philadelphia! I hope if you are in the cold/snow areas, you are managing to stay warm. 

I am happy to share my first FO of 2025 with you. I can't remember if I showed you anything when I started or not, but I do remember that I posted this picture on Instagram:

Project: Twelve Days of Christmas Socks

Pattern: basic vanilla sock with some texture on the leg (see notes)

Yarn: Loch Briar Knits Un-Twisted Sister base, colorway Christmas Bark

Needles: US size 1/2.25 mm

Notes: I bought this yarn in late 2023, when I saw it knit up on the Loch Briar Knits podcast on YouTube. And I knew I wouldn't get to knitting it then, but I purposely left it out so that I would make a pair of Christmas socks this year. 

Well, I had a lot going on and never got to it before Christmas, but on Christmas Day in the afternoon while The Tim was starting on our dinner, I sat down and cast on for a pair of socks. I decided since I was starting them on the First Day of Christmas, and it was Christmas-themed yarn, I would call them my Twelve Days of Christmas socks. I knew I wouldn't finish the pair in those twelve days - though I am proud of myself, because I finished the first sock on January 6, the twelfth day!

I just did a 2 x 2 rib for the cuffs, and then a texture pattern that I liked and had seen the Crazy Sock Lady do - two rows knit, two rows knit 2, purl 2. It makes a nice look, and is easy to remember.

I love the finished socks, though I do kinda wish I'd just knit them plain, because I love the look of the way the yarn is on the foot, which is stockinette. But I'm still happy with the pair, and have tucked them away to wear next year at Christmastime.

The yarn is really lovely to work with, and I will definitely buy some of her yarn again. Though at the moment, I'm trying to work from my stash for a while.

I have a bit more the half of the skein left, so I may make a two-tone Musselburgh for myself (no, not yet for The Tim, just don't talk about it!), because I just love the way the yarn knits up, and at some point I want to make a Musselburgh for myself anyway.

*****

We had a nice, if expensive, weekend. Our third floor sink faucet stopped working, and the drain backed up. So we had to call a plumber, and get a new faucet, etc., which of course cost a lot of money, and means that the next big project we have planned will wait a while. But a) I like the new faucet much better than the old one, and b) it is WONDERFUL to have a drain that works again!

Other than that, we put away the Christmas decorations, and The Tim took the tree to be recycled/composted. We sweated through the Eagles game yesterday, and were thrilled that they won. And otherwise just watched some shows we'd recorded and cozied up with the kit kats.

All day today, knowing that it is the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I've had his quote about not judging people on the color of their skin, but rather on the content of their character in my head. 

I wonder why that particular one is so relevant to me at this moment in time  ... 

Keep warm, and keep going. We have to be ready to save ourselves starting today.

There Are Rules, People!

Hello all, I hope you are well. I hope your weekend was pleasant. Ours was quiet, but it ended with the Eagles winning their playoff game and homemade corn tortillas with our dinner yesterday (courtesy of The Tim), so I'll take it.

Today let's discuss rules. Now, I will admit that I am a conundrum of a person, because a) I love rules and order, and b) I am not good with micro-managers in a work situation, and in general am someone who is highly suspicious of anyone in a top management role (especially wealthy types who are VERY impressed with themselves).  

But I'm here today to show you how something can follow the rules, but still not follow the rules. Even though the only rules I'm talking about are in my head. 

One thing out of the bazillion things that annoys me in the universe is when you go someplace and, say there are streets upon streets of colonial-era houses, and then someone (probably in a top management role, to be honest) buys one or more of the houses, and builds an ultra-modern house there. To quote a long-ago co-worker, it really "jacks my jaws." 

I'm all for variety in a neighborhood, I like seeing different houses and how people fix them up. But I also think that if you live somewhere where 95% of the houses are of a certain style, throwing in something else is just stupid. And believe me, in Center City Philadelphia, where there are a LOT of old houses, people think they are being so creative but instead I think it looks awful. (Certain neighborhoods are protected as historical, but not the whole city.)

Which is why this particular house always makes me happy when I walk past it.

 

Now, you may not like it at all, but this to me is acceptable. This is clearly two rowhouses turned into a single home. And it's modern, but not ultra-modern and when you are walking along this street and see it, it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, really (even though I have isolated it here). You can see in my photo there is a typical rowhouse on one side of it - I didn't manage to get the one on the other side, but it's a typical brick rowhouse that is actually the same height as this one. So as you are walking down the street (or driving, I guess, I never do), you notice it but you aren't hit in the face with LOOK AT MY BIGGER MODERN HOUSE AMONG THESE OLD THINGS.  It uses red brick, like most of the houses on this street, and so it actually blends in while also being different. 

I'm sure the people who re-did the house and/or live there would be happy to know that I approve of their design, because it follows rules that I think make sense. 😉

Unlike some just ugly houses near us that I'll have to show you sometime. In one case, they tore down an entire half block of rowhouses to build new ones that would have elevators and "dip pools." 🙄 In another case, they took an empty lot and built two ugly "rowhouses" on the corner. I call these two sets of buildings "Ugly" (first example), and "Butt Ugly" (second example). 

Don't get me wrong - I love architecture, and a lot of different styles. But I hate things that seem to have been built to not fit into an area. It really annoys me, and as I have told The Tim on many occasions, I wish I could be in charge so such things could be avoided. Which he then reminds me that I want to be in charge of so many things, I wouldn't have time for them all anyway. Which is true. So I guess it's a good thing I'm in charge of nothing ... because really, I don't want to be top management either ... 

What can I say? I'm full of contradictions.

And don't even get me started on a set of houses built in the neighborhood about ten years ago with a numbering system that causes my OCD to take over. (I seriously at all costs avoid walking past them, and if I have to, I walk on the other side of the street. The Tim finds this more than amusing. Which of course irritates me even more.)

Final Book Report of 2024: October, November, December

Books helped to save me, especially in the latter months of the year. Not all of them were winners, and some were fine but not great. But reading keeps me from getting too much into myself, and instead takes me other places. And you can bet that for the last few months of 2024, I was grateful for that!

*****

The Grave's a Fine and Private Place, by Alan Bradley. Flavia de Luce and family are still dealing with their father's unexpected death as the book opens. All of them feel cast about in some foreign land. And Aunt Felicity,  their late father's sister, descends on them from London to sort things. Flavia's sister Feely is engaged to be married,  so her future is set; Aunt Felicity has decided that Flavia's other sister Daffy will go to Oxford for schooling. Flavia herself is still in limbo  - she has inherited Buckshaw, the family home, but Aunt Felicity has plans to sell it and possibly send Flavia to boarding school. 

But before anything else happens, she decides that bye girls should go on a little holiday. So with Dogger - their late father's all-around man - in charge, they head to a lovely little river town, where Flavia immediately finds a dead body. And so the investigation begins.  

Without access to her home laboratory, Flavia is forced to improvise with some of her scientific research.  But she and Dogger are on the case. 

This was a little different than previous books in the series, because the family is away from their usual milieu, and the dynamics have changed somewhat with them all dealing with a huge loss. Having said that,  between family members and the other characters in the book, there's no lack of entertainment.  And of course Flavia herself is still a wonderful heroine, though with some more thoughtfulness than usual and new perspectives on her life.

I love this series, and now have read most of them. A new entry was just recently published, which makes me happy that I have at least two more to anticipate.

Same As It Ever Was, by Claire Lombardo. Spoiler alert: I didn't finish this book. I started it with the best of intentions,  as it had been recommended to me by a couple of people. But after about ten of the chapters I decided it was depressing me too much, so I returned it to the library. 

I may try one of the author's other books, but this one was not for me.

A Cryptic Clue, by Victoria Gilbert. This is a well done mystery, though it takes a bit to get going. 

Jane Hunter is a retired cataloging librarian who has been hired by Cameron Clewe, a young, wealthy,  and very socially awkward young man with an estate.  He has a vast collection of nooks abdominal other materials related to classic American mystery authors, and he wants someone to inventory and catalog them for use by scholars.

Jane is looking forward to her work, especially since she was forced to retire when the administration at her university "rebranded" - she wasn't ready you retire,  and still needs a full-time job and income.

When she arrives for her first actual day of work, shecaalks into the library and discovers a dead body! Apparently a young woman who formerly dated Cameron was murdered sometime during a fall the night before. Cameron realizes he'll get high on the list if suspects, and decides to conduct his own investigation,  and recruits Jane to help him.

Jane uncovers many people who had a reason to want the victim dead, and uncover some other mysteries along the way. Including one that at least partially explains her new boss's odd personality.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton. Aiden Bishop finds himself at a house party at a house named Blackheath. Well, except when we first meet him, he has woken up in a field on the grounds, and in the body of someone named Sebastian Bell.

Throughout the book Aiden inhabits the body of 8 different hosts - some helpful, some despicable.  But his mission is to find out who will murder Evelyn Hardcastle later in the evening; otherwise, he'll never be free to leave.

So he is forced to relive the same day over and over. 

The book's premise intrigued me, but after a while the book did not. I got tired of the same terrible people doing the same things.  I finished the book because I wanted to know who killed/kills Evelyn Hardcastle, but to be honest I really didn't care.

This was a mind-twisting book, and I do give it points for that.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Evelyn Hugo has been a household name and in the tabloids for decades. One of the most famous movie stars of her time, as well as being married 7 times, she's never told her story.

So when a young writer at a lifestyle magazine is told by her boss that Evelyn specifically requested her by name for an article about her, everyone us puzzled.

It turns out that Evelyn wants Monique (writer) to write her biography,  warts and all. Evelyn wants the definitive story of her life to be on her terms. 

As the story goes on, we learn all about Evelyn, and a bit about Monique. But it's the end of their story that is the real reason they are together.

This is a fun, fictionalized story about Hollywood,  the studio system, misogynism, and how hard it was and is for women to have agency. But it's also a story that reminds you that every person has several of their own stories, their own versions of themselves. Sometimes they are not the ones told.

The Lingering, by S.J.I. Holliday. A creepy but readable book. 

Jack, a former police officer and Ali, a former nurse, leave their city lives behind and move to Rosalind House to start over. Rosalind House is in a remote, wooded location, and used to be an asylum. It is now a group community, non-sectarian, encouraging its members to look for "the Light." Many years before, it was the site of a home of a woman burned as a witch.

From the get go, the reader knows there's something suspicious about Ali and Jack. Angela, one of the residents of the community who is trying to prove the existence of ghosts, tries to befriend Ali, without success.

Jack seems to adjust to things much better than Ali does. But once Angela disappears, things get more and more tense.

The ending is not necessarily shocking, but Ali is a worse person than even she seems.

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor, by Bianca Marais. A coven of witches is faced with foreclosure on their house if they don't come up with the money by Halloween. An angry mob of men threaten them, and they have a terrible secret that sent one of their sisterhood to prison for 30 years.

The good news is that the witch who has been in prison, is being released, and the others hope that she will make a revelation that will safe them.  Unfortunately,  she seems to have a condition similar to Alzheimers. And all of the coven are somewhat elderly, so their powers have diminished with age. 

But when a young girl shows up unexpected,  she gives them a reason to keep trying. And through her, we learn about the heist that went wrong and landed one of their own behind bars. As more and more of their secrets come to light, things aren't looking good. 

This was a good read. It's about the invisibility of older women, misogyny, the patriarchy,  and about creating a found family. When things look the most bleak, things also look up and seem full of possibilities.

Walk the Blue Fields, by Claire Keegan. I love the way Claire Keegan writes - she seriously seems to know how to tell a story with just the perfect words.

This is a collection of short stories about various people in various areas if Ireland. Keegan manages to write people in the most real way possible.  They are incredibly imperfect,  often puzzling, but worth your time in the end. These stories are all somewhat sad, but with a bit of humor in turns of phrase that often surprise the reader.

Most of the characters don't have much, but Keegan makes us realize that it doesn't mean they don't have dreams.

Absolution, by Alice McDermott. This is a lovely book, about two women's memories of life in Vietnam in 1963, early in the American involvement. 

Tricia is a shy newlywed,  whose husband is on a work assignment in Saigon. Once there, she meets Charlene,  a corporate wife and "veteran" of life there in a non-military community. Charlene is a mother of three, and insists on doing good for the people there.  She  is determined to make their lives better, but she is more of a 'do-gooder' than anything else. Tricia befriends Charlene's very young daughter, Rainey. The book are letters exchanged between Tricia and Rainey, 60 years later. 

Tricia was extremely young and not very worldly when she was in Saigon - Charlene tried to remedy some of that. But her methods were often puzzling, as was she herself to Tricia. With the perspective of time and age, Tricia can share with Rainey her memories of the time and place. 

Rainey, for her part, fills Tricia in on their lives when they returned to the States. It turned out that when Rainey and her husband moved to a new house when they became empty nesters, they were next door neighbors to a soldier that Charlene and Tricia had known, so we hear about his life after Vietnam as well.

It's a sad but true portrayal of women's lives at the time, but also a story about how misled Americans were about the Vietnam War from the beginning.

The Book Club Hotel, by Sarah Morgan. Well in a shocking occurrence, I didn't pay close attention to the summary for this and ended up reading a Christmastime book before Thanksgiving - the horror! But since I borrowed it from the library, I decided to go ahead and read it, since it would likely be in demand during the actual season.

Hattie is a 28-year-old widow with a five year old daughter who is the owner of the Maple Sugar Inn in Vermont ( Hattie, not the daughter). She and her late husband bought it and renovated it and we're looking forward to a happy life there. But two years ago, he was killed in a freak accident, and Hattie is struggling.

Erica, Anna, and Claudia are three close friends getting to their 40th birthdays. Every year they take a Book Club trip for a week somewhere together. Usually in the summer, but this year it has to be at the start of December. Anna and Claudia are suspicious that Erica has brought them to this inn in Vermont, since it is just not her style. But Erica has her reasons.

This is a book about friendship and hope. And yes, it's a romance but for what it is, it's very well done. The writing is decent, and the story is predictable, but it's an enjoyable read. 

And to be honest, I ended up finishing this on Election Day, so a feel-good holiday happy ending was a good tonic.

Six Feet Deep Dish, by Mindy Quigley. An entertaining and mouth-watering read. I took to looking for something light to read the week following Election Day, and cozy mysteries are comforting to me. 

Delilah O'Leary has moved from Chicago to Point Bluff, Wisconsin, and is opening her own upscale pizza restaurant as the book opens. But on the day of the soft opening,she and her fiance have a huge argument and he storms out. Delilah is concerned, because he bankrolled the place, and her personal funds are next to nothing.

But that pales somewhat when her elderly Aunt's caretaker is shot and killed in front of the restaurant that evening - and even worse, her aunt is holding the gun!

This book had more going for it than I was expecting. Also - don't read it on an empty stomach, particularly if you like pizza!

The Paris Novel, by Ruth Reichl. This book was fairly interesting,  but I didn't really like the main character that much, so it gets three stars.

When Stella St. James' mother dies, she leaves her a sum of money on the condition that she use it to go to Paris. Her mother was a well-known woman with many wild lifetime adventures. Stella is annoyed, because it seems typical that the mother who barely seemed to acknowledge her and then it was to criticize, would demand she do something impractical. 

So Stella, who has created a life of routine and rules, heads to Paris as assigned. After being there for w week and not doing much of anything, she ventures into a boutique, intrigued by a black dress in the window. The sales lady seems to be expecting her. She convinces Stella to wear the dress for an evening, and gives her specific instructions for where to go and what to do while wearing it.

This turns out to be something that changes her life, her whole identity, and her sense of belonging. She is suddenly living a completely different kind of life, with more purpose and joy in it. 

As I said, I liked the book, and it contained all kinds of fascinating information about life in Paris, past and present. I just never really felt like Stella was a person I cared deeply about. But it is a wonderful story about finding your place in the world.

The Golden Spoon, by Jessa Maxwell. This is a very readable story of a show that is a baking competition. Held at the Grafton estate in Vermont, "Baking Week" is hosted by Betsy Martin, who lives on the estate,  is a famous cookbook author, and who uses the income to try and make repairs before the whole place falls down.

When the contestants arrive, they are all nervous and excited to have been chosen. But once the competition begins, "America's Grandmother, " as Betsy is known, doesn't seem to be all that kind and nurturing. And a few weird things happen with the ingredients used by some of the contestants. The addition of a co-host for the show doesn't help things either.  

By the end of the book, let's just say that things are different for mostly everyone.

Good Eggs, by Rebecca Hardiman. Kevin Gogarty has a lot going on. He's lost his job, and has not even gotten any calls about interviews.  One of his twin daughters, Aideen, is causing trouble,and that only gets worse once she is sent to boarding school.  And his elderly mother Millie has now been banned from a local shop after being caught shoplifting once again.

In order to resolve one if the issues, he hires an American woman as a caregiver for Millie. Things go really well ... until they don't.  And wow, the whole family ends up involved.

This is a really entertaining read. The Gogartys do indeed have a lot going on, but they are there for each other, always.

Close Knit, by Jenny Colgan. This book was much better than I expected.

Gertrude "Gertie" Mooney has spent herlife around women. Her father left when she was a baby, and she grew up with her mother and grandmother in the very northern, isolated part of Scotland. She is a daydreamer, and has never quite fit in with her peers.

Working in the local grocery store, she is recruited by two women who were a couple of years ahead of her in school to fill in at the local airfield, checking in customers, etc. One of the women involved is pregnant, and won't be able to work a while after her baby is born.

Gertie has a lot of reasons not to do it (she's never even flown in a plane!), but convinces herself it will be a good change.

Gertie finds that she has a lot to learn about herself, her emotional life, and independence.  She has her heart broken, but rises from it with determination to live life on her terms. And a weather issue makes her realize that she is stronger and smarter than she, or most others, gave herself credit for. 

Instead of being sappy or saccharine, this book told the story of a young woman learning about herself and her place in the world.

The Glorious Guinness Girls, by Emily Hourican. This is an interesting look at the 1920s in England and Ireland.

When Felicity ("Fliss") is sent from her home in rural Ireland to Dublin to be a companion to the Guinness daughters (of brewery fame), she starts a lifetime where she is with the family, but not really a member of the family. From times of dangerous unrest to the crash of the American stock market, Fliss has an inside look at how the wealthy lived.

It's a fascinating story of real people that a lot of us have heard about - The Bright Young Things (Evelyn Waugh, the Mitfords, etc.) - whose lives consisted of house parties, pranks, and lively pusuits of fun, while often not having a lot of interest in the world around them.

The author has researched and written quite a bit about the Guinness family, and the Glorious Guinness Girls did lead interesting lives.

Murder Checks Out, by Victoria Gilbert. This was a much better entry in this series than I was expecting.

Amy Muir is busy as always, what with her job as Co-Director at the library where she works, and keeping track of her young twins. They are currently even more excited than usual, because Richard, Amy's husband and their father has included them in a local production of "The Nutcracker" that he is directing.

But Amy ends up doing even more when her brother-in-law becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a local developer who ruffled some feathers in the community.

The plot and characters here were much more developed and interesting than I was expecting for this book. And set at Christmastime, that was even better!

Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas, by Vicki Delany. This was a good start to reading Christmastime stories.

Merry Wilkinson is busy as usual, since it's Christmastime in Rudolph,  NY, and the height of tourist season. In addition, the local amateur theater group is in rehearsals for a musical version of "A Christmas Carol." Merry's assistant manager is in it (and driving her crazy), and Merry's mother, a famous opera singer, is coming out of retirement to participate. But Merry learns that the new person overseeing things- a wealthy woman with her own ideas - is causing friction.

But when a member of the cast is murdered in Merry's own shop, things get amped up to a whole other level. Will the show go on? And will Merry be able to reopen her shop at the busiest time of year?

I enjoyed the story, and didn't figure out the murderer much before Merry did!

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders, by Alexandra Benedict. Edie O'Sullivan is an 80 year old woman who sets crosswords and speaks her mind. As a result of devastating losses in her life at Christmas,  she tries her best to ignore the entire season.

One year, on December 1, she receives a package in the mail with a few pieces of a jigsaw. The sender says that in order to avoid additional murders, she must prove that she "is sorry." 

Edie adopted her nephew Sean when his father and brother were killed in a car crash.  He is now a Detective Inspector with the local police, and shortly after she shows him the pieces,  a man is found in nearby woods having been attacked,  with jigsaw pieces near his body.

This is an excellent and creepy story. Even if you aren't overly fond of Edie, you want the best for Sean, and you want to understand what the murderer's motivation is. As other victims turn up, it becomes more and more a race against time.  And when Sean is kidnapped,  Edie has a lot to answer for to herself and others.

There's a lot of suspense in this book, and the author knows just how to keep you reading.

Santa Clawed, by Rita Mae Brown. Harry and friends are busy preparing for Christmas, but murder takes over. When Harry and her husband Fair return to the Christmas tree lot to pick up the tree they'd chosen earlier, they find Brother Christopher with his throat slit.

He was a member of Brothers of Love, a local religious community whose members have served prison time, and are now devoting their lives to helping AIDS patients, and working at the local hospice. Everyone is shocked about the murder, but when another Brother is killed the same way, it's clear that more is going on than just bad feelings towards one of them.

Harry, her critters, and the local sheriff's office are working hard to restore peace in the community before Christmas.  But a shocking event leads to more secrets than just those kept by some of the Brothers.

Marley, by Jon Clinch. I have wanted to read this since it was published, since "The Christmas Carol" is such a favorite of mine. This book fills in the story of Jacob Marley, who is already dead at the beginning of Dickens' story.

This book us interesting enough. I'm glad I did read it, but I think it spent a lot of time and machinations trying to develop why and how Marley became so awful a person. I really would have been convinced if half of the story of Marley had been told. And I just didn't like his relationship with Scrooge and family. 

I do give the author credit for using the names of some of Dickens' other characters as "real" people in this story - it was kind of fun to know where you met them otherwise. 

But overall, I'd say you can skip this.

A Christmas Murder, by Mary Grand. This was an excellent read. Though there are clearly earlier entries in the series, I didn't feel that it was a problem reading this as a standalone. 

The premise is that a woman named Meera has refurbished and restored a Tudor mansion, planning to turn it into an exclusive hotel on the Isle of Wight. As a kind of soft opening, arrangements have been made for Duncan Fern and his family to spend the week of Christmas there. When Meera has a fall, the main character  Susan is asked by a mutual friend to help out. Since Susan will not be seeing her family, she agrees.

Duncan Fern and family are similar in lots of ways to Rupert Murdoch. When Duncan is found dead in bed, things get really interesting. Power shifts at his empire are one thing, but also - what happened and who may have murdered him? Add in a snowstorm that shuts down just about everything, and everything is amplified.

What I liked about this book was that it took its time, but never dragged. There were plenty of red herrings, and each character had a lot going on. The story took its time, much like Susan trying to find out what happened.  I don't remember how/where I came across this book, but I'm glad I did. 

Well written and very atmospheric.

Bright Lights, Big Christmas, by Mary Kay Andrews. An enjoyable holiday season read.

Kerry Tolliver has returned home to live with her mother after she is laid off from her graphic design job in Charlotte.  But she still feels out of place in small Tarburton, NC where she grew in and where her family owns a Christmas tree farm. When her father suffers a heart attack, she is recruited to join her brother to go to Greenwich Village, New York, to the corner where her family has sold trees since she was a baby.

To say she is reluctant is an understatement,  but she agrees. She's not that well acquainted with her brother Murphy, who stayed with her dad when her parents divorced,  but suddenly she is living with him in a rickety trailer with no amenities. 

The thing I liked about this book was that the main characters were very imperfect, but they tried hard. It illustrated the importance that neighborhoods have in big cities, where each one is like its own small town. Kerry and her by brother Murphy make it work, and come out of it with a relationship.  Kerry learns that sometimes you just need to believe in yourself and take a leap of faith.

Are things sometimes too perfect? Yes. But it's a holiday story, not a meaningful fable about the human condition. Read it how it's intended to be, and you'll be glad you did.

Kiss Me At Christmas, by Jenny Bayliss. Harriet Smith surprises herself by having a one-night stand. But in her defense, she had just found out that her daughter was staying in New York over the Christmas holiday rather than coming home to England and wax allowing herself to wallow in too many mulled wines. She is definitely not feeling like Christmas this year.

But she wakes up fast the next day when she finds that a group of her [high school level] students have broken into a nearby abandoned theater. And the owner, a wealthy woman, is ready to press charges. That is, until her lawyer - who turns out to be Harriet's one-night stand! - talks his client into a compromise. Harriet's and her students are to clean up the place and put on a production of "A Christmas Carol." The woman thinks it will make the property more attractive to potential buyers. 

So now, Harriet has even more stress. Can she rely on her students?  Will they be able to pull it out in such a short time? What about the lawyer, who is tasked with keeping things going?

The story is well-done. It's not too sappy, not completely unlikely,  and predictable but not boringly so. I enjoyed this book.

The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore. When Barbara Van Laar disappears from her family's camp in the Adirondacks, everyone is reminded of her brother Bear's disappearance years before. Her very well-to-do family seems to be pulling out all of the stops to find her, as they did years before for her brother. 

But this book is as much about the gulf between rich and poor as it is anything else.  The Van Laars wield power with their money and their pedigree, and it gives them the ability to completely control any narrative that involves them.

The people who work for them, and the people in the town near their summer camp home, are more or less dismissed as unimportant other than how they can serve the thyfamily's purposes.

When investigators start digging into Barbara's disappearance, they start to learn as much about those involved in the previous investigation as they are learning now. And there's a lot to uncover.

This book keeps you guessing,  makes you angry at what wealth can do compared to what most people have available to them, and it also makes you appreciate Barbara's behavior when you learn how her family views her. 

A good story, well-written.

*****

I'm looking forward to the books that await in this new year. Some will be things I have just never heard of, that were discovered by serendipity, which is one of my favorite things. Others will be ones that are new, or that others are already familiar with. But I know they are waiting for me to find them and pick them up. I hope we'll be able to make friends.