Seasonal reading
Good Heavens!
I cannot believe how long it has been since I posted last. Needless to say, I have been quite busy. In a nutshell, we have worked on emptying my mother-in-law's house as it has sold... I have run Elvis in his first 4 Agility Trials (two weekends in October) with NO success... I also developed an abscess that eventually dictated the removal of first one, then two weeks later a second tooth - OUCH! All at the same time, my father had some health issues and I have had to travel down to visit or stay with him twice during that same time period, and then we were at Thanksgiving! It was all I could do to keep body and soul together - and keep the home fires burning!
At a tangent to Elvis' poor showing in Agility, I had entered him and Buckaroo in Rally trials in November. Much better! Both of the boys earned a title over just 3 trials in 2 weekends. I was quite pleased. Elvis is now, officially, Utchati Jailhouse Rock, RA, JC and Bucky is Dual Champion Utchati Buckaroo Bansai, RN.
We have now enjoyed the Holiday; with just 4 of us for Thanksgiving dinner I tried to keep it simple and NOT prepare every traditional dish.... That same weekend, Husband and Son #2 traveled up to Minneapolis to help Son #1 to pack up and move. I had to stay behind and watch over the hounds, and finally to go down to be with my family for that Sunday. This past weekend was to be our first weekend "off" but it was not. I had to work at the Church with the Decorating Committee, preparing for Advent and all the decorating of the church... that continued on Sunday. Husband was booked solid with his activities as well.
My treat through all of this was to read/listen to my favorite two holiday season books: Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon and Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher. (If you are wondering how I could possibly have had time to read, I didn't. I get audio books from www.audible.com and "listen" to the books when I am knitting or driving in the car - I have had plenty of car time!) Each of these books help me to wake up to the Holidays and put me in the correct frame of mind. Jan Karon is a wonderful storyteller that finds the very essence of small-town America and illuminates her stories with wonderful characters. I truly appreciate that her town of Mitford is full of "real people" with real issues and no one is really perfect... not even Father Tim. Her flair for finding the true heart of Christianity and displaying the Christian faith, not in perfect people but in imperfect people is so comforting. Sure the stories have that happy-ever-after kind of ending, but isn't that what many of us want in a "good read"? I do.
Winter Solstice transports me. Literally. I so want to join the household of Oscar and Elfrida that I even looked up the name of the village in Scotland where they set up housekeeping. But I couldn't be sure that I found it... I did find a village of the same name, but the directions and landmarks given in the story didn't match up.... So this year, during my annual read, I shared my thoughts with other Pilcher fans on the email list. One of the other members directed me to a website that gave "Winter Solstice Tours" from Inverness to a village in northern Scotland that is supposed to be the inspiration for the story. Of course I looked it up on Google Maps and have had a lovely time wandering the streets of Dornoch and Tigh, imagining that I might go there one day for a visit. Visit? why not stay for a while? I wonder if either of these towns needs a librarian????
I cannot believe how long it has been since I posted last. Needless to say, I have been quite busy. In a nutshell, we have worked on emptying my mother-in-law's house as it has sold... I have run Elvis in his first 4 Agility Trials (two weekends in October) with NO success... I also developed an abscess that eventually dictated the removal of first one, then two weeks later a second tooth - OUCH! All at the same time, my father had some health issues and I have had to travel down to visit or stay with him twice during that same time period, and then we were at Thanksgiving! It was all I could do to keep body and soul together - and keep the home fires burning!
At a tangent to Elvis' poor showing in Agility, I had entered him and Buckaroo in Rally trials in November. Much better! Both of the boys earned a title over just 3 trials in 2 weekends. I was quite pleased. Elvis is now, officially, Utchati Jailhouse Rock, RA, JC and Bucky is Dual Champion Utchati Buckaroo Bansai, RN.
We have now enjoyed the Holiday; with just 4 of us for Thanksgiving dinner I tried to keep it simple and NOT prepare every traditional dish.... That same weekend, Husband and Son #2 traveled up to Minneapolis to help Son #1 to pack up and move. I had to stay behind and watch over the hounds, and finally to go down to be with my family for that Sunday. This past weekend was to be our first weekend "off" but it was not. I had to work at the Church with the Decorating Committee, preparing for Advent and all the decorating of the church... that continued on Sunday. Husband was booked solid with his activities as well.
My treat through all of this was to read/listen to my favorite two holiday season books: Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon and Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher. (If you are wondering how I could possibly have had time to read, I didn't. I get audio books from www.audible.com and "listen" to the books when I am knitting or driving in the car - I have had plenty of car time!) Each of these books help me to wake up to the Holidays and put me in the correct frame of mind. Jan Karon is a wonderful storyteller that finds the very essence of small-town America and illuminates her stories with wonderful characters. I truly appreciate that her town of Mitford is full of "real people" with real issues and no one is really perfect... not even Father Tim. Her flair for finding the true heart of Christianity and displaying the Christian faith, not in perfect people but in imperfect people is so comforting. Sure the stories have that happy-ever-after kind of ending, but isn't that what many of us want in a "good read"? I do.
Winter Solstice transports me. Literally. I so want to join the household of Oscar and Elfrida that I even looked up the name of the village in Scotland where they set up housekeeping. But I couldn't be sure that I found it... I did find a village of the same name, but the directions and landmarks given in the story didn't match up.... So this year, during my annual read, I shared my thoughts with other Pilcher fans on the email list. One of the other members directed me to a website that gave "Winter Solstice Tours" from Inverness to a village in northern Scotland that is supposed to be the inspiration for the story. Of course I looked it up on Google Maps and have had a lovely time wandering the streets of Dornoch and Tigh, imagining that I might go there one day for a visit. Visit? why not stay for a while? I wonder if either of these towns needs a librarian????
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