Year: 2016

Dinner for One
No New Year’s Eve without this one – ever!
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Holly: July 2000 — December 27, 2016
My baby’s kidneys had been ailing for the past year, and they finally failed her over Christmas. She bravely fought a losing battle, and I will never forget her love of her humans which she conveyed to us until her very last breath. We took her to the vet this afternoon — she is […]
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Grand Finale and BLACKOUT!
Snow Globes: Reads Bells: Activities I intend to also read a book for the Kwanzaa square and try to get as many of my as-yet missing activities done (Holiday Down Under, Movie Ticket, and Holiday Party), but since completing either activities or reads qualifies for completing a square, as far as the game itself is […]
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Frances Hodgson Burnett: Little Lord Fauntleroy
Task the Eighth: The Movie Ticket: – Read a book that has been adapted to a holiday movie. It took me about three seconds to make up my mind about this one, and I never stopped to think twice – this just had to be one of my all-time favorite stories, which also happens […]
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Ian Rankin: Even Dogs in the Wild
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Fourth: The Gift Card: – Read a book that you either received as a gift or have given as a gift. This task truly came in handy, as my birthday fell smack into the Halloween Bingo and I therefore haven’t made particularly great inroads […]
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Tania (Karen) Blixen: Babette’s Feast
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Second: The Silent Nights: – Read a book set in one of the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and/or Denmark), where winter nights are long! Inspired by Lillelara’s advice to Olga Godim, I changed plans on this one and revisited Babette’s Feast, Tania […]
Read MoreSo, since I went book gift shopping for my friend anyway …
… and because my TBR clearly still has room for expansion … Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/1506602/so-since-i-went-book-gift-shopping-for-my-friend-anyway
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Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol (performed by Patrick Stewart)
A “Christmas Carol” for the 21st Century Part of my annual Christmas ritual – and since this year I’m indulging by way of Patrick Stewart’s splendid audio version and the TV adaptation it inspired, here’s my review of the latter … with the added note that my comments on Stewart’s performance in the movie also […]
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BookRiot: Cracking the Names Behind A Christmas Carol
Source: bookriot.com/2016/12/14/115478 CRACKING THE NAMES BEHIND A CHRISTMAS CAROL Community Dec 14, 2016 This is a guest post from Bryan Kozlowski. Bryan is the author of What the Dickens?! – Distinctly Dickensian Words and How to Use Them. A member of the Dickens Fellowship, Bryan has written on Dickens’ life and legacy for Slate, Country Life magazine, and Anglotopia. Most […]
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BookRiot: Happy 200th Birthday, The Nutcracker!
Source: bookriot.com/2016/12/14/happy-200th-birthday-the-nutcracker At this time each year, thousands of little Claras across the world pull their Victorian nightgowns over their heads, lace up their toe shoes, and prepare to take their place on stage in one of the most coveted roles for an aspiring ballet dancer. But the history of Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet goes beyond twirling […]
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the First: The Winter Wonderland; and Task the Seventh: The Christmas
Task the First: – Read a book that is set in a snowy place. Dylan Thomas: A Child’s Christmas in Wales Thomas’s lyrical memoirs of his childhood Christmas experience, read by himself … truly magical. One of the books (or CDs) that I revisit every single holiday season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Task the Seventh: – Read a […]
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Donna Andrews: The Nightingale Before Christmas
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Seventh: The Christmas: – Read a book set during the Christmas holiday season. The year before last’s entry in Donna Andrews’s Meg Lanslow series: An uninhabited Caerphilly house has been turned into a show house for the local interior designers’ pre-Christmas competition, which Meg has […]
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Dylan Thomas: A Child’s Christmas in Wales
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the First: The Winter Wonderland: – Read a book that is set in a snowy place. Thomas’s lyrical memoirs of his childhood Christmas experience, read by himself … truly magical. One of the books (or CDs) that I revisit every single holiday season.
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — At the Halfway Point
Snow Globes: Reads Bells: Activities Task the First: The Winter Wonderland: – Reading: A book that is set in a snowy place. – Activity: Take a walk outside and post a picture of something pretty you encountered on your way. => A Visit to Cologne Cathedral Christmas Market Task the Second: The Silent […]
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — A Visit to the Christmas Market
… aka Tasks the First, the Sixth, and the Twelfth: The Winter Wonderland, the Hanukkah, and the Wassail Bowl. – If you are lucky enough to live in a snowy place, or even if you aren’t, take a walk outside and post a picture of something pretty you encountered on your way. – Make a […]
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