From time to time I have the opportunity to point my readers and followers to a few new authors and a few new books. In honor of the holidays, I have a slew of them!
Click on the pictures and ENJOY!
The books here represent a variety of genres.
For most of my adulthood, I’ve had a vision of the holidays. Picture this: Sitting in front of a fireplace, looking out of a large (well-insulated) picture window as it snows. On the coffee table is a bowl of popcorn, my mug of hot chocolate (overloaded with marshmallows), and my book. My partner and I spend days on end reading, snuggled with each other, our dogs, and our favorite comfy throws.
What’s your holiday fantasy?
We’ve gotten close in some years, but the days have always been so hectic. As odd as it sounds, this year we’re going to finally do it. The odd and fragile year has give us the gift of time. The gifts of a slower pace and opportunity to focus on our true priorities. Health, happiness, serenity, and love. Oh—and there’s a snow storm coming.
We’re taking advantage of these gifts. I wish you the same.
Wise County, Va.
Admittedly, I have a love/hate relationship with the weather. I cherish the scents and sounds of the ocean, so I appreciate the summer’s warm, sunny days at the beach—as long as it isn’t too warm. I love the smells and scenery of the fall, although the days are often dreary, especially when the leaves turn from colorful to brown. And the winter…Oh, it’s so frustrating.
I do love the snow. It’s so beautiful as it comes down and when it lands. I have an ongoing fantasy of sitting on the sofa with warm fuzzy socks and a cup of cocoa or coffee, holiday music on the stereo and my beloved snuggling next to me, watching the snow fall. Thankfully, I’ve been able to turn it into a reality from time to time. We also love putting on winter duds and sitting on a bench with a thermos of hot chocolate or taking slow walks down our street to take in the view.
Wise County, Va.
Unfortunately, my partner and I both spent years driving in winter weather, in deep snow and ice. I remember nights of white-knuckled fear trying to make my way home from work, seeing numerous cars spun off to the side of the road or in ditches. We’ve both also had too many close calls to count. Even glorious, rejuvenating winter has its downsides.
Then there is spring. Not too cold. Not too hot. Flowers in bloom. Sunny and enough warmth to enjoy the outdoors. Oh wait…It’s also allergy season. And when we’re fortunate, lots of rain.
I suppose the lesson is that I—all of us—have to appreciate both sides of the coin. After all, we don’t get flowers without rain and pollen. And we don’t get snow to enjoy without snow to drive in.
I have my hot chocolate ready. Bring it on.
Between the two of us, my partner and have 40+ masks. We’ve collected them since March starting with two a friend sweetly dropped off to us. She knew we didn’t have any so she asked her mom to make them. Soon we heard that masks have to be washed after each use—we needed more. That was fine, since information was changing about which material and what thickness worked best. Ultimately, we began searching out masks we simply liked.
One could say we have a tendency to go all in.
Nothing like the sound of music on vinyl.
When we decide to embark on a new exercise plan, we buy all the equipment we could possibly need and new outfits. (You can’t exercise without the right clothes, right?) One weekend we watched The Blacklist with James Spader, fell in love, and bought every movie he’d ever made. We watched The Masked Singer and rushed to iTunes to buy Jesse McCartney’s live albums. Many years ago, I saw Prince in concert and IMMEDIATELY had to have his entire catalogue. Then I had to find everything in multiple formats and collect every magazine that had him on the cover. We all know where things went from there.
We do have fun, from time to time, putting all our energy into something. The only downside is that sometimes, looking back on our quests, we wonder things like, “NOW what do we do with this stuff?”
What kinds of things tempt you to go all in?
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