How the day began:

Potomac Phil predicted six more weeks of winter and six more months of political gridlock. Neither is surprising, since the spring solstice doesn’t show up for another six weeks and no one gets along anymore anyway.

How the day ended:

Hot chocolate bombs in front of the Christmas tree before undecorating it and putting the ornaments away. (I haven’t actually done that last step since 2019, so getting everything boxed up felt pretty good.)

Remember how I pulled out all my Christmas cards to send them off in mid-December?

Never happened.

Then I took them with me to Connecticut to get them out before Christmas — or, at the very least, before I came back to D.C.

Fail!

Did I at least get them out by the end of 2021?

Nope!

Am I giving up on the idea of sending physical cards this season?

No, I am not!

But I am running out of the twelve days of Christmas, so I’d better buckle down and get them out in the next couple days…

For the past few years, I’ve taken part in The Broke and the Bookish Secret Santa (#TBTBSanta for shorthand), now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This year, my package came early and I put it aside as incentive to get through the hard days that were coming in December. Just before heading north, I opened it up:

Very exciting so far! We have a sparkly unicorn, stickers, fun socks, and two types of tea! Plus a bunch of packages to unwrap! And at least one of them will be a book!

Two of the packages were books — and one of those contained a trio of reads! That’s Casey McQuiston’s second novel, One Last Stop, and the first three novels in Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series about what the Napoleonic Wars might have been like had there been a squadron of dragons involved. I’ve adored books by both these authors, so I’m so excited to read these in the new year! There’s also some stationery, more candy (mmm! Reese’s!), and a trio of eos lip balms.

Thank you, Bookish Momma! I love it all!

Category: books,christmas/holiday season. There is/are Comments Off on #tbtbsanta 2021.

Hoping you and your loved ones had a very merry Christmas and wishing you all a happy Boxing Day, as well! Have a bowl of trifle!

We awoke Christmas Eve morning to a couple inches of fluffy snow on the ground, which was pretty, but also meant some time outside with brooms and shovels.

Inside, much of the afternoon was spent in the kitchen baking. There was also some wrapping and a viewing of The Bishop’s Wife.

Tomorrow, we’re hoping for a laid-back day. It’s just my parents, Rudi, and me, so the timetable doesn’t need to suit anyone else’s schedule.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas however you celebrate it and that you get to touch base with those you love most.

We made it! Physically to my parents’ house. And emotionally to Christmas Eve. I hope you’re feeling okay about your path to this moment in time and space, but even if it’s been a bit rocky to get here, pat yourself on the back that you’re here now. You deserve a Christmas cookie.

Behind our final door, we have a post from Bridget at The Ravell’d Sleave about the Christmas Eves of her childhood.

Before you run off, though, let me give a huge thank you to Bridget, chick, Rudi, raidergirl3, my mom, and my dad for banding together to make the tour work this year. I’ve enjoyed each and every one of your posts and appreciate the work and time that went into each one.

Happy holidays!