The holidays are well and truly over now. There are only one or two holdouts in the neighborhood as far as Christmas trees and lights, and what's left just looks...tired. It's back-to-work day for me, although I won't go in until noon because of conflict between the car situation and Gregg's appointment. I was able to sleep in a bit this morning and I still have some time to sip coffee and blog before heading out. A nice gentle way to return after more than two weeks off!
Yesterday afternoon I had my first and only visitor of the holiday season, my friend Martina. We've started a tradition over the past two or three years of exchanging books at Christmas. Normally we get together as close to Christmas Eve as possible (if not on Christmas Eve) but this year we both had a lot going on and couldn't manage it any sooner.
It was nice to have something to look forward to on my last day off, though. Since any holiday treats were long gone, I went to the store and bought an assortment of cookies and a chocolate babka to serve, along with hot chai tea and iced tea. It was good see my friend and spend some time together, and the dogs were beside themselves with joy. They love Martina and all the attention she gives them. Marco likes her just fine, but since she occasionally helps me trim his nails (which he loathes) he always keeps a slightly wary eye on her!
I'm really excited about the books I got! We both try to make sure our "want to read" lists on Goodreads are updated about a month prior to Christmas, and I like the two she picked for me this time.
The first has gorgeous cover art.
Both books look excellent and intriguing -- enjoy them!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debra! I'm sure I will.
DeleteWhat a fantastic idea!
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot of fun!
DeleteThat is a splendid tradition you two have! The books look enticing. Marco make me laugh- I have had so many birds in the past, i loved them all BUT they were quite a lot of work- like toddlers.
ReplyDeleteAren't they just a PITA sometimes? LOL! Marco is a handful. And we've had him for almost 17 years now...a long time to have a toddler!
DeleteWhat a nice tradition! I'm reading Louise Penny's The Grey Wolf. If the latest in her series about a police inspector in Canada. I'm enjoying it! Hope work goes well and you get your car back soon!
ReplyDeleteSeveral of my book club friends read Louise Penny. I'll have to look for that series.
DeleteThat is a great idea. I'm a bit worried about the Globe blurb on Oyemi's book though -- calling it "slow-building" and implying that you might have to "persevere" is a sort of backhanded compliment, it seems to me!
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing, Steve. And I started the book last night and I'm afraid it may be true!!
DeleteThat's a great tradition that the two of you have. The schools here were supposed to go back today, but are closed because we had a snowstorm overnight. A prolonged winter break for my teacher friends!
ReplyDeleteWe keep hoping for snow, but so far we're just forecast to have bitterly cold temperatures. Sigh.
DeleteI love giving and getting books; I think they can be the best gifts.
ReplyDeleteMartina and I are both big readers. :)
DeleteThose both look like wonderful books. Let us know.
ReplyDeleteI sure will!
DeleteWhat a great idea! My tree is still up. Maybe this weekend.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't 'have a tree this year, so missed the bother of having to take one down (always the worst part of having one).
DeleteI'd read them both - although not really a fan of Neo-Gothic. Of course I love the cover for Midwinter :-)
ReplyDeleteDid Martina have Raclette on New Year's Eve?
Lovely way for you to start the first day back at work - so different from your previous jobs, especially when you were still in retail!
I'm not sure what Raclette is, but I'll ask her! I know that her family did have some sort of pork and sauerkraut, although I'm not sure that that's exclusively German. And I meant to tell you....when she went to Germany before Christmas, within 4 hours of arriving her mom fell and broke her hip! So her poor mom spent most of the visit in the hospital, and Martina had a lot of headaches arranging to get her mom back home. Also, I was stunned at how inexpensive all the medical care for her mom ended up being. We could all do worse than having a major medical event happen in your country!
DeleteThat's a fine tradition and having it after Christmas makes it even more special, somehow
ReplyDeleteI think we should consider having it after Christmas going forward...it gave me something else to look forward to!
DeleteWhat a great way to end the holiday.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to see her. We've both had lots of "stuff" going on over the last few months.
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