Lesson learned: no more catnip toys in Daisy‘s stocking. I hope you all have a great day. I‘m going on strike a little bit and letting others take over for me today. There are 7 people here all over the age of 13 and it‘s time some of them learned there is no such thing as Santa 😂

#12booksof2024 @Andrew65

I think the introduction of SA Cosby to my reading life is one of the best things Litsy has done for me. I love his books, including this one, my favorite read from January.

There‘s still 10 minutes left of Christmas Eve and I‘m finally sitting down to open my swap present. Thank you so much @BookwormAHN This book looks great and I‘ll have a nice little chocolate stash for the new year. Thanks for hosting @MaleficentBookDragon

For my bookworm daughter. Do you think she‘ll guess what it is?

One last quiet hour in my kitchen before guests arrive for two weeks. This might be as close as I can get to #hyggehour

I‘ll take it!

Catching up on Udolpho at an indoor field hockey tournament today.

I‘m still working on #FoodAndLit Canada. Pearly Everlasting is about a girl who rescues her brother who just happens to be a bear. It was a good listen! Set in New Brunswick during the Great Depression- it would have made a great family road trip audiobook.

Look what came today @BookwormAHN @MaleficentBookDragon

I love love love to re-read favorite books. These are my favorite re-reads from 2024.

In no particular order these are my 5 star reads from 2024 (so far.)

I wanted to read more non fiction this year so I‘m happy to see a handful of those titles on my list.

This doesn‘t include re-reads which I‘ll do next.

It‘s already time for the #SnickerDoodleSpirit #Readathon

Make your own goals, eat or make some treats, share your pictures. I‘m looking forward to it!

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) I accidentally took today off instead of next Monday but I‘m not mad- I‘m off when everybody else is working and I should have a quiet day on Monday
2) fresh fruit
3) practicing field hockey in the rain with my daughter
4) cat cuddles while watching Charlie Brown
5) working at the library when my house got too loud

Stay sane this week everyone!

Does anyone know if I can send my cards to Canada from the US now?

This was my most anticipated read for #WinterGames2024. I listened to the entire audiobook yesterday when I was working and cleaning and preparing for a million things only a small portion of which I actually care about. This book is filled with so much optimism though it was impossible to be in a bad mood. This is a hug in book form. #MidWeekMuddle @TheAromaofBooks

This is the second time I‘ve read this and I find it oddly touching. I think it‘s a family of 4 wives and 28 kids but I kind of lost track.

“Sons of beekeepers!”

This book is full of the best swear replacements I‘ve heard in a long time.

Busy day today but first things first- my total for the first half of #WinterGames2024 is 4,865.

#XMasChaCha @StayCurious

(I didn‘t total up BINGOs or word search points. I‘ll do that at the end.)

It took me a while to get through this weird little book, but I did like it. In the face of a weird fog/plague/catastrophe the main character does her best to care for her mother, her ex husband, and the little boy placed in her care. #ToBLonglist but not #ToBShortlist I‘m surprised by that.

The mystery in this one didn‘t reveal itself until halfway through, there were some really questionable medical situations going on, and it seemed like Christmas was just stuck in there to make the title work, BUT there were kittens so that redeemed the book for me.

I read this earlier today for the Nancy Drew Buddy Read. I always like when Nancy‘s adventures involve a boat and this one had a boat plus a fake identity so that was fun. I enjoyed this one more than the last couple.

Happy Friday!
#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1) brought my daughter (aka my broke bestie) out shopping and to get her nails done after a very stressful week for her. I‘m glad some problems are so easily fixed still.
2) cats at Christmas
3) spectacular sunsets all week
4) my city goes way out with lights this time of year
5) finally got holders for my advent candles so caught up on lighting them
Enjoy the weekend everyone! We earned it!

It‘s almost Friday the 13th where I am, so time for another Readathon! Eat or bake some cookies or other treats (if you want) and make your own reading goals. It‘s the holiday season! Anything goes!
I plan on making frosted oatmeal cookies and listening to many audiobooks, but first there‘s a little matter of my work holiday party to attend. It‘s Friday the 13th. What could go wrong?
Everyone is welcome!
#OatmealEscape #WinterGames2024

@AllDebooks I didn‘t get out until sunset tonight, but I did get out! My favorite walking route is my block. It‘s exactly a half mile per lap, and I love seeing what everyone has going on in their yards and what their dogs are doing. #Naturalitsy #MidWinterSolace

I liked the message of this book but found the reading part so boring 😴😴

Just not for me I guess.
#ToB

This steampunk Nutcracker retelling was perfect listening for baking and cleaning. I thoroughly enjoyed it. #WinterGames #XmasChaCha

Starting my hygge hour a bit late tonight, but I‘m finally in the kitchen with my book and a snack. I‘m feeling good, but also starting to get a bit worried about everything I need to get done this week. #hyggehour #MidWinterSolace

My first batch of cookies for the season made while listening to the tagged. I mostly froze the dough for later, but had to bake a few for us. My favorites are the Finnish Cardamom Cookies - perfect for pairing with coffee or tea. Links to the recipes in the comments. #FoodAndLit #GingerbreadJourneys #XmasChaCha #WinterGames2024 #ChristmasCardReadathon

Taking a break from a busy day with this #AuthorAMonth Terry Pratchett. I love short stories this time of year.

I picked this randomly from Everand and really enjoyed it. Lucky bonus that it‘s number 9 in the series so I get to go back to the beginning. #WinterGames #XmasChaCha @StayCurious

#GingerBreadJourney Readathon starts today! Everyone welcome, cookies optional 🍪

This week was a blur! But it was a joyful blur judging from the pics in my phone. #5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) I cleared off a shelf and set up a wrapping station in an attempt to be more organized
2) Dodging giant piles of leaves on my walks
3) Prepping for cookie baking this weekend
4) We got a tree
5) Washing slipcovers and other general sprucing up for guests coming later this month

Happy Friday 🎉

My mood on this cold and windy day. I really appreciate having a warm place inside. #MidWinterSolace #Litsolace #Naturalitsy

One of my favorite short stories. I treated myself to a copy for kindle so I could read it when I had a few minutes on the go.

Thanks @Andrew65 for hosting #20in4 and @StayCurious and @LiseWorks for hosting #FirstSnowReadathon last weekend. I was thrilled to finish up 3 books I had been in the middle of!

I had to squeeze in some Anne of Green Gables for #FoodAndLit #Canada

I just love this book. Anne and her scrapes are so much fun.

Now on to Finland!

Last night‘s #hyggehour - the last of the pie, reading, and some ginger ale. Such a good way to end the weekend.

First read of December goes to Between A Flock and a Hard Place. We picked this book for our book club at work because we wrongly assumed it was about Thanksgiving. It ended up being a fun enough read though. #WinterGames #XMasChaCha

My last Nonfiction November read for 2024. This book was excellent. It was about Janesville, Wisconsin and what happened in the 5 years after the GM plant in town closed. I‘m glad I got to this one finally.

My top 12 reads from November. Everything I read this month was 4 or 5 stars!

How did Nonfiction November go for you all? I‘m in the middle of a book I‘m hoping to finish today so I‘ll post final stats later. I added so many new and interesting books to my list!

@Seabreeze_Reader
@JenReadsAlot
@TheDaysGoBy
@bthegood
@CatMS
@Willaful
@kelli7990
@OutSmartYourShelf
@zezeki
@Liz_M
@DogMomIrene
@librarybelle
@MonicaLoves2Read
@kwmg40
@inthegreensandblues
@TheBookHippie
@Larkken
@AnneCecille
@kspenmoll
@ChaoticMissAdventures

#WinterGames2024 #XmasChaCha @StayCurious

☕️hot chocolate
🎁Christmas day
🌲Angel
🥡Chinese food
STAY AT HOME (I feel just a little bit strong about that)

I love to re-read in December. I have so many holiday or holiday feeling books I love to visit each time this year. I usually re-read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in December but decided it was time for a visit with Joy In The Morning instead. This is my most anticipated December read this year. #WinterGames2024 #XmasChaCha @StayCurious

@Andrew65 has brought back his #20in4 Readathon. My goal is to make a dent in as many of these as I can. Thanks for hosting Andrew!

Happy Friday! I‘ve been mixing up my days all week because of the holiday but I think it really is Friday today.

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) raking leaves and a fire last weekend
2) cats doing cat things
3) a bit of snow this week
4) amazing sunrise
5) a peaceful, calm, and relaxing Thanksgiving with just the 4 of us. No expectations, everyone just pitched in, and we all took naps after. Just what we needed.

It took a minute to get to the point in this one, but once it got going it was great. So fun to read this right after Dracula. I‘m impressed that King has had a consistent voice and style for over 50 years. #LosersClub

I loved this memoir. Jedidiah and his mom drive from Louisiana to Oregon to retrace the route she walked in the 70‘s. They have fundamentally different beliefs but their love for each other and their willingness to keep talking is inspirational and hopeful, especially at this particular moment in time. #NFN

I couldn‘t narrow my list down to twenty so I decided to make two #BookSpinBingo boards. One for my 2024 challenges, buddy reads, Tournament of Books, and so on. Then I made another for the #WinterGames seasonal reads I want to get to. Yes I did go a bit overboard, but that‘s what December is for! #XMasChaCha #Bookspinbingo

The story lines in these later books are kind of off the wall, but I still love every minute of them. This one didn‘t have as much Three Pines action as I like, but I did love revisiting some of the monks from A Beautiful Mystery. Sounds like a new one is already in the works.🌲🌲🌲

Started this today and the forward read by the author was so good. It was about his mom and her willingness to get him what he wanted to read when he was young. #LosersClub

Experimenting with recycled cards for the winter card swap.