December rolled in rather quietly even though we are now under a three week safe at home order. It did occur to me though that I’d like to read a few more books and have them reviewed by the end of the year, so today I have lit a fire under my butt to see what can be done there. I mean, I can’t go anywhere anyway, right?
Right Now:
Just lounging around. No agenda besides watching movies and reading. Well, later my youth group meets on Zoom but that’s a ways away.
This Week:
I’ve got my follow-up appointment to discuss the mysterious ultrasound this Tuesday. Thursday, a dental appointment for my daughter. Is it just me or does it feel weird to do these mundane things now? Plus, two things scheduled and I feel overwhelmed.
Reading:
Still reading Parable of the Sower. It’s very good but it’s not a book you rush through so it’s taking me weeks to finish. I read a couple of chapters and then I have to put it down to think about it. Good for my brain but it’s keeping me from other books. I don’t think I can read anything else alongside this one.
Watching:
I’ve been catching up with The Crown. We are halfway through Season 3 now. Thanks to Bryan, I am also watching all sorts of holiday themed TV shows on Hulu (Newhart, The Golden Girls, The Wonder Years, etc.)
For movies, I just recorded a bunch of movies on Turner Classic Movies but I am breaking out all my holidays favorites because we own a DVD player again.
- The Family Stone
- Christmas Vacation
- Jingle All the Way
- Deck the Halls
- Christmas with the Kranks
- Elf
- It’s a Wonderful Life
They are all stacked up and ready to be viewed!
Grateful for:
- Independent bookstores with kind associates who love books just as much as I do. Shop small!
- Hard to keep track of but my son’s new job was not to his liking so he found another one! Grateful that he could since our numbers in California are way up.
- Christmas lights. The neighborhood is waking up to the holiday spirit lurking about because many more homes put their lights up today. Makes it so cheery.
How are you? What are you looking forward to this month?
Book Chatter 
We haven’t gotten to Elf or Christmas Vacation yet. It feels a little earlier. We finally did watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles this past week, even though it was after Thanksgiving. We still have to watch Pieces of April, another Thanksgiving favorite. And I mentioned The Family Stone to Kim and she said she loves it so we have that one to watch. So other than watching lots of movies to Kim :), I’m looking forward to having about a dozen days when I’m not at work among vacations, holidays and weekends, hopefully giving me time to stop the “doomscrolling.” Today is such a day, with my phone put away (literally in a desk drawer), and I’m looking forward to a little reading, continuing with the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths.
Elf has already been watched in our house – as has Home Alone and the Christmas Chronicles! Hope you are managing OK under lockdown x
We watched ELF on Thanksgiving (I could see again for sure.) I love TCM channel, especially the old B&W movies that my mom loved. Good luck with your medical consult this week; fingers crossed. Thinking about First Book of 2021 yet? LOL
I am thinking about my last book of the year and my first book of the year. I feel like they set the tone for whatever happens next so it’s a biggish deal. I have no idea what they will be though and I didn’t read as much as I wanted to this weekend. Today is gloomy and windy and just ugly. Going to take my walk during my work break and then later finish out Parable of the Sower. That book is holding me up.
We watched Christmas Chronicles part two. Not as good as first one. Still, Kurt Russell is a great Klaus.
Lots of health issues being tackled here. Looking forward to the New Year and a vaccine.
We are finally out of quarantine, our son is back to work, minus his sense of smell, and nobody else that was exposed got sick! We are so grateful.
One of my all time favorite movies is The Family Stone.
I am finishing up listening to The Woman Who Smashed Codes, and just finished reading Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks, very enjoyable. Hanks is a good writer.
Hope the audition for your daughter went well, and it’s only good news at the doctor.
I heard that the loss of smell can last awhile. I am glad he recovered without too many problems. The Family Stone was first seen by me when it came out in the theatre and at the time, I had NO idea about the serious story line. Left the theatre sobbing. I watch it every year, sometimes twice. Have yet to see it this year.
Sadly, Juilliard is not in the cards. On her audition day, they had 150 students in the audition room and only 2 were called back and she was not one of them. They only have about 12-15 in their entire freshman class. Most musical theatre programs are like that too. Very hard to be one of those people. On to PACE which is the next school, then Carnegie Mellon.
Looks like you’re ready for the holiday! We spent the weekend getting our tree and decorating the outside of the house.
I haven’t read much. I have been watching Hallmark movies.
Ah, the So Cal stay at home order. Actually, it won’t change my life much as we don’t really go out. I have a dental appointment later this week and it feel strange that I can do that, but my daughter’s hair appointment was cancelled. Hope you have a good week.
We just shed a senior house guest whom we had expected to stay 6 weeks and ended up being here 14 months. So I’m looking forward to having my home back, cooking for only 2, and quiet time to read
That’s quite an extended stay. I’m sure it will be nice to get back to normal. Quiet, sounds nice.
I hope the stay-at-home order helps reduce the number of cases in California. I’m sure there are many who refuse to follow the Governor’s mandate, especially with Christmas two weeks from Friday. Sigh. Sending good thoughts your way tomorrow and hope that all is well. I know what you mean about feeling overwhelmed. My husband has his post-op visit tomorrow and I had my annual exam last Friday. I know I should schedule a dentist appointment, but I think I’ll wait just a little bit longer. I desperately need a haircut and highlight (should have done it a couple of months ago when we weren’t in the middle of a surge), but I guess that will have to wait, too. I’m hoping to watch Elf later this week. It always makes me laugh out loud. We need that right now, don’t we? Hope your son enjoys his new, new job. 🙂 Have a good week, Ti.
When I first saw Elf I wasn’t all that impressed but over the years that movie has grown on me and it does make me laugh out loud which as you said, is so needed right now. Today, my challenge will be actually getting through my appointment because we have had mandatory power shutdowns due to very high winds. If I get there and the power goes out there’s nothing I can do but it took so long for me to get the appt with all the doctors being pulled for COVID care. Cross your fingers.
We mailed packages today at the post office and I was so nervous you’d think I was running the War Room. But it had to be done.
We’ve been each choosing a Christmas movie (and occasional short audiobook) and that’s been fun. We’ve already seen a bunch of our favorites—Wonderful Life, Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th St., The Holiday, Chritmas Story—but we still have a nice stack to go. Our Alley Theater in Houston is streaming Christmas Carol all this month, so we will probably do that one night.
We’ve got to keep pressing forward. We can get through all this mess. Right?
We can get through this. We just periodically experience waves of remorse over what we can’t do now. I love the holiday traditions we have but I don’t miss the busyness of the season’s past. It is actually nice to not be pressured into filling up my calendar with holiday events and trying to coordinate a Disneyland trip with grown children who have their own lives. These past few days I’ve been very anxious though. Could be the darn weather and all this wind and the threat of fire everywhere.
I hope your doctor’s visit went well, Ti. I haven’t put much thought into my reading this month. I seem to do so little of it, and I don’t see that changing much before the end of the year.
I broke the news to my mom that a Christmas wasn’t happening this year in terms of her coming to visit. It was a difficult conversation. She’s still hoping the numbers and state orders will end by New Year’s so she can come then. I am not so confident. I think her county/area hit the below 15% mark this past Tuesday, so they are now under the same orders we are. We knew it was coming, just a matter of when.
Although I will miss having my mom with us for Christmas, I am actually looking forward to it just being the three of us. No expectations and pressure. No rushing. No entertaining. No small talk. It’s always so exhausting. It’s been nice too not having the Nutcracker this season to prepare for. I’d forgotten what it was like not to always be running around in preparation for a performance. Although this weekend we will be recording Mouse for her upcoming musical theater recital–so there is that.
I’m taking a week off from work around Christmas and promised myself I would not spend it cleaning and organizing (at least not much). I want to watch movies, read, and do fun things with Mouse. That’s the plan anyway. 🙂
I hope you are having a great week. Take care, Ti.
I think 2020 gives us permission to do things differently and that’s okay. I’m sorry your mom is a little disappointed but it’s the right thing to do.
I think your plans sound very nice. Nice to not be rushing around for a show too. No holiday concerts or shows for us either.