#fridayhappyreadinghour a friend gifted me with a Friday Happy reading hour glass so here I am breaking it in 🍷 with a plethora of candles burning. We had a transformer blow and then a bunch of trees go down in an ice storm. We currently have power but we are surrounded by people who don‘t 😬 the city and hydro workers are not having a relaxing Boxing Day ☹️

#5joysfriday and now the complete chill part of the holidays can begin 1. I went to a candlelight concert last weekend and it continues to make me happy 2. Power line to our house threw a fit and burned out the neutral line 👎🏻 but London Hydro had it fixed in less that 1/2 hour so they are joy ( ice storm took our power again, not just us this time, when I went to post this and again London hydro had us up and running in 30 minutes …cont‘d

9:30 am, no one is up yet 🤦🏻‍♀️ starting another holiday read and eating cookies for breakfast. Happy Merry Christmas Day to all who celebrate.

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house ….. enjoying a wee break after hosting John‘s family for lunch, wrapping all the presents and doing a bit of prep for tomorrow when I host my family. Husband and oldest son have gone to rescue youngest son and girlfriend who hit a pothole and damaged her car - enjoying the ‘not a creature was stirring‘ quiet

#littensloveromance I couldn‘t help myself and read to the end last night 🤦🏻‍♀️😆 I loved this delightful twist on ghosts of Christmas past ❤️ it was magically delicious, as was Nolan who visits Harriet to show her the error of her ways. A grumpy vs sunshine and apparently that‘s my jam 😉

Moving right along with Home Alone Beckett watches the movie while he builds and I listened to this amazing story. I love the idea of this story concept and the story itself ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ bad people don‘t deserve to be here

#fridayhappyreadinghour I‘ve got toast and tea and a seasonal romance ( which is quite sad ) school is out and I‘m battling a cold 🤦🏻‍♀️ it will be early to bed for me, the boys can cook up frozen chicken pot pies and watch sports, sports, sports and I will be in bed, bed, bed

#5joysfriday I‘ve gotten out of the habit of embracing the small joys 1. Impromptu mini snowman art class #snowmuchfun ❤️2. A sweetheart in grade 2 drew my portrait ❤️❤️and I want it on a tee shirt now 3. dinner out last night with my sister and a friend; wild mushroom ravioli ❤️❤️❤️ 4 a new Christmas sweatshirt from a local maker ❤️❤️❤️❤️5. Building the Home Alone Lego set with my 23 yr old ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Audio baking has commenced with Swedish rosenmunnar aka thumbprints - imagine a world where witches made bad men ‘disappear‘ ?! I‘ve got a list for them 😉

#ohcanada challenge to read something by Louise Penny ✅ this is 9th in the series and so dark and twisted 🤯 I wasn‘t sure I‘d survive reading it but LP has been playing a long game with us ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ and I am in it for the long haul ( Rosa is no where near as scary as this cobra chicken)

#littensloveromance December read is so good at only 3 chapters in ❤️❤️❤️

Starting ‘Home Alone‘ as a family build, I got to go first 🎉 bag #1 means Harry and Marv are on the scene in the OH-KAY Plumbing and Heating van. I can‘t believe Jeremy survived what he did but I also can‘t believe things he blew off ( fixing his mouth in the beginning, knee surgery cuz he didn‘t want to go back to the hospital) also the cost of his recovery 💰💰💰💰💰

Santa is finished and has joined his crew. I‘m laughing at Jeremy trying to escape the hospital before he is actually able to

#ohcanada #9 in the Inspector Gamache series - I‘m extra happy cuz it‘s set in December ❤️❤️ so it‘s a seasonal read too ( winning my personal game on all the levels 😆😆) just lazing in bed reading for as long as I can get away with is my main goal today

Ladies and Gentleman, the weekend #happyfridayreadinghour to all who celebrate 🙏🏻 loving being back in Three Pines world but it‘s more like the Upside Down World cuz things are not right 😢😢😢

Santa has arms and hands (bag #4) JR talks about how the breathing lessons he learned going to Lamaze classes with his mom when she was pregnant with his younger sister ( his dad had left ) kept him alive waiting for help after his snow cat accident - he had to force himself to inhale and exhale because of all the damage to his torso, his body wouldn‘t breath without conscious effort

Hanging out at Starbucks before I go into school for the afternoon. This was a delightful sweet romance with Scotland as a major character ❤️❤️❤️

So sad to hear Sophie Kinsella has passed away from the same awful kind of brain cancer as Gord Downie

Next on audio ( it‘s okay - he‘s repetitive with his phrasing) and Santa has legs

This story held me in its grip the whole time!!!! I guessed a few of the twists and turns but not the whys, what a rollercoaster ( Santa bag #2 is done)

My youngest is sick (he‘ll be fine), my oldest has been dumped (he‘ll be fine), my in laws are a pain in the ass ( there is no cure) and my husband is stressed about all of it ( holidays will get here eventually). I‘m just going to be here for the next while

The Botanical Garden is finished so now it‘s time for Santa

Almost done the Botanical Gardens 🎉 Frozen River is soooo good! Thank god for feisty women!

#sundaybuddyread

#happyfridayreadinghour praise be for the weekend! I hope everyone finds some peace and quiet with a book this weekend (with a tasty treat and beverage 😉)

All the stars ⭐️ for this amazing historical story with a fantastical twist! To think I doubted my ability to inhale this 22 hour addictive audio books set in Oxford in the 1800‘s 😆😆! Amateur

Getting my holiday reading started

#finishwhatyoustarted I started this in the summer of 2023, it was a gift from friends who live in Denmark. The author was/is a celebrated new author. This is a slow moving, reflective, poetically written reflection of life and grief and the endings we live through in a long life. It is not really my jam

Enjoying a day at home and knocking off some stuff from the To Do list including Santa making an appearance 🎅🏼I do wonder if Christmas would come if I wasn‘t here ? This book is amazing

#sundaybuddyread unite over their disdain of Picasso

I can‘t get enough of this story! I love how it‘s based on reality with this plausible fantastical twist

It was a good month ❤️ reading with this community makes my heart happy

31% and I am entranced - decorations are out and lights are on the tree but now I have to make dinner 😡 and deal with laundry and put sheets on my bed and go to work tomorrow. 1 air pod is dead and the second will die soon 😆

Christmasizing has begun. I am LOVING this story and loving it so much on audio. I hope I can get it done before Libby claws it back - I‘ve been working away for over an hour and I‘m only at 10% 😬

The Christmas tree has been procurred and set up. So that means my usual reading spot in the window is gone until after Epiphany. This book is just crammed with information; Picasso‘s artistic process, his relationships with women, fellow artists, his caustic, narcissistic gas lighting. I loved getting a glimpse of the artistic process, the artists P interacted with but I can‘t say I like Picasso at all #sundaybuddyread

Making a list and heading to my favourite independent book store to shop for gifts today

Let‘s see how this goes #fridayhappyreadinghour

#finishwhatyoustarted here we go - I was halfway through and now I‘m going to get her done. It is so poetically written, you have to slow down and savour the words which I‘m not good at. I‘m an inhaler of words. And biscuits

I love this book ❤️ being human is so hard but when we connect with someone or some someones it‘s the best

I love Rocky and her family so much. It feels like she has more time in her day ( and more grace) than I do. I hope we get another book

#5joysfriday 1. On Monday the van wouldn‘t start ( not a joy) but our neighbours came immediately to boost us - they are a joy! 2. Annual tradition of going to the Swedish fair in Toronto to have lunch & pick up the fancy foods - that‘s pickled herring 😆😆 I‘m holding 3. I did art on Monday with grade 4s & it was a great day 4. My Lego botanical garden continues to thrive 5. I organized my TBR cart with library books on top & a mishmash below

A very sweet romance with no spice, a grumpy man, an evil assistant/manager and Taylor Swift vibes ( imo) #littensloveromance

I organized the death tower today while listening to this audio book - its giving me Ali Smith vibes and I love it so much

Still plugging away on the Botanical Garden Lego set. I love Ali Smith so much ❤️ I loved Autumn more than this season ( in real life too 🤣🤣) I swear the people are real in these stories

Sunday soccer breakfast and starting a new book. I‘m so happy to be back with Rocky and crew

Yesterday we drove to Toronto to go to the Swedish Fair (largest in North America, who knew?!) to pick up the food my husband ordered ( he‘s half Swedish) and watch the Lucia‘s parade and sing ❤️❤️ and then it was so nice out we sat on the chairs at Sugar Beach and I finished my book. Beach reading in November ✅✅ I liked this 2nd Dream Harbor story better than Pumkin Spice Café, feels spicier too. A book scavenger hunt is my jam

#littenslovesjm I just needed to be done this giant tome 😆 soon it will be time to put the Christmas tree up and that means my reading spot goes kaput - I can not believe all the happened in this book 🤯 and that I remembered nothing beyond witches and that‘s only in the vaguest sense. The next book I haven‘t read so I‘m really looking forward to it

It‘s been 52 days of joy reading this lovely book, reliving artists I already know, meeting some new ones, reconnecting with 3 amazing museums that I visited on trips to Paris and cementing a life long love affair I have had with art and the power it has to inform, move, sooth and challenge. #europacollective

Ch 52: Pierre Soulages Black is a colour. That black is the absence of all colour in art & science is ALWAYS a hurdle to believe. The Dr meets with Mona & Camille a final time, he‘s leaving his practice. He explains that Mona‘s subconscious has attached sight to her shell pendant & every time she removed it she lost her sight. He implored her to remember she has exceptional sight & not be fooled. Last trip to Beaubourg ( upper right) cont‘d

TGIF #fridayreadinghappyhour is officially launched 🍷I really wish there was a potato chip emoji 😢 Cheers to everyone surviving the week 😘 I don‘t know how we do it sometimes