"Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson

My Childless Collective Nomo Book Club co-host and I are always looking for potential books the group could read and discuss together. So when she told me she was currently reading "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson and thought it might fit the bill, I decided that I would check it out too.   

I vaguely remember seeing "Major Pettigrew" on the shelves and hearing good things about it when it was first published, back in 2010.  As the story begins, 68-year-old retired  Major Ernest Pettigrew -- the very picture of a proper English gentleman -- has just learned of the death of his younger brother, Bertie.  (His wife, Nancy, died several years ago.)  Reeling from shock, he answers a knock on the door: it's Mrs. Jasmina Ali, a widow who runs the local convenience store, and she's collecting on behalf of the paper boy, who is sick. She quickly recognizes the Major's distress, makes him a cup of tea and stays to chat and offer her sympathy. 

This marks the beginning of a seemingly unlikely friendship:  the two come from very different cultures and different social classes, but they share a common bond of grief and loneliness, as well as a love of books. 

Of course, not everyone approves of this budding relationship -- including many of the villagers (who have been promoting one of their own single ladies as a perfect match for the eligible widower). It includes the Major's adult son, Roger, who works as a London financier, but has decided to rent a nearby cottage for weekends with his American girlfriend.  And it includes Mrs. Ali's young adult nephew, Abdul Wahid, a devout Muslim, who lives with her and helps her run the store since the death of her husband. There are a number of subplots interwoven throughout the book, including Abdul Wahid's estranged girlfriend and her young son (whom Mrs. Ali adores), a prized set of valuable antique guns that once belonged to the Major's father, the golf club's annual dinner and dance, and a proposed development of luxury homes on the estate just outside the village.  

Beneath the wry British humour and gentle social satire, the book deals with some serious themes, including grief and loss, family conflicts, clashes between generations, city versus country living, aging, classism, colonialism and racism. The writing is great, the characters are vividly drawn, and (bonus!) Mrs. Ali is that rare creature -- a warm and sympathetic CNBC character -- an older one, too!  

On the minus side of the balance sheet:  several of the characters, most prominently the emotionally repressed Major Pettigrew, seem solidly stuck in a rapidly fading past. I had to check a couple of times to remind myself that the book really IS set in present-day England! (My co-host thought the same thing!) Maybe I'm naive, but I cannot imagine anyone in Britain -- even 20 years ago -- would have thought the colonial Indian theme (including costumes) of the golf club dinner & dance was appropriate! -- or that the relationship between the Major and Mrs. Ali would have caused such a stir among the villagers. And the climactic scene of the book was a little melodramatic. 

For those reasons, I can't give this book a top rating. After some internal debate: 3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded down to 3 on Goodreads. 

(Apparently, the book was optioned for a film adaptation that, to date, has never been made. Too bad!  I think it would make a great little movie, or a mini-series on PBS Masterpiece.)  

This was Book #35 read to date in 2024 (and Book #3 finished in December), bringing me to 78%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."    

Odds & ends

• Well, the federal government has ordered Canada Post workers back to work as of today -- but the post office is warning that it will take quite a while to deal with the backlog of incoming and outgoing mail.  Too little, too late for Christmas cards & packages. The strike began more than a month ago, on Nov. 15th. I didn't even buy any cards this year, because I knew these things sometimes tend to drag on, and I didn't want to knock myself out trying to get them done (at an already busy time of year) when they might not even be able to be sent until well into the new year. 
• So for the first time in my adult life, I'm not sending a Christmas card. Not sure anyone will miss it!  (lol) but I always enjoy doing them and look forward to getting them in the mail (although the number I get has been dwindling over the years).  I posted about this on Facebook. (I'm guessing some of our friends & relatives outside of Canada probably didn't even know there was a strike going on.)  
• A few people have urged me to send out cards/letters (even via email) in the new year instead. I might, but it definitely wouldn't be until after the new year...! 
• I'm feeling a lot less foggy from my cold today -- but still coughing a lot (which has kept me awake at night for the last several nights). So I called our dentist's office this morning to rebook my rebooked appointment for tomorrow -- one less thing on my to-do list to deal with! I'll now be going there in early January. 
• The bruises and scrapes from my tumble last week are also fading, and should be just about gone by the time we fly to see my parents. (I haven't told them about what happened. "Why stir the pot?"  my sister said when I asked her if I should.)  
• Jody Day flagged this Substack post, saying "Sue Fagalde Lick NAILS it about the complex emotions on the effort/cost of sending gifts when you're a solo elderwomen... and the tiny amount of recognition or reciprocity we often see..."  (Partnered and/or younger childless women too, but I recognize it's especially difficult when you're solo and older!):  "Santa, I need some help over here!" 
• Jody also wrote a piece for the World Childless Week website that a lot of us might need/want to read right about now: "No Room At The Inn For People Without Children." 
• Y.L. Wolfe about being a perennial outsider in her new (and aptly named) Substack "On the Outside."  Needless to say, I could relate...!
• From the Life Without Children Substack: "Tears, Sweat and Blood — Seeking an Answer to Unexplained Infertility." Subhead:  "How an ancestor helped to solve the eternal question, ‘Why me?’ " 

#MicroblogMondays: Adding insult to injury....

Thanks to those of you who empathized over the fall I took last Tuesday. I have to say (again) just how lucky I feel. It was a scary experience -- but it could have been so much worse!  

I'm actually kind of amazed at how quickly I'm healing.  I still have a faint purplish shadow and some abrasions on my left cheek (which, at a glance, could probably pass for rosacea...!), but they're healing fast. There's another abrasion above my left upper lip that's healing too -- less and less noticeable every day.  It looks like I'm recovering from a large cold sore!  The lip itself is a lot better too.  The scrapes on on my hands are still noticeable, but they're gradually healing.  The bruises on my knees too, but they're not so noticeable under my clothes!  

I did feel a lot of fatigue for a couple of days afterward, which I chalked up to the shock & trauma. But then I started having a lot of sinus drainage (more than usual)... which caused a scratchy throat, and triggered coughing.  By Saturday, I suspected I was coming down with a cold. By the time I woke up on Sunday morning, I knew it. I developed an awful cough, had a crappy night, and feel pretty crappy this morning too. (Thanks a lot for passing it on, dh...!)(eyeroll) 

My first instinct was to take a covid test yesterday, which was, thankfully, negative. I repeated the test this morning (also negative). So I guess it's not covid, which is a good thing -- but it is still nasty! 

Then (yesterday morning), BIL called. It was Older Nephew's birthday. We hadn't heard anything about a celebration, either at BIL's or at their place -- not surprisingly, since Older Nephew's wife is less than a week away from a scheduled C-section! and obviously has other things on her mind!  ;)  Now BIL was proposing to drive up there with a cake, and they wanted to know if we wanted to come. 

Well, of COURSE we wanted to come! -- BUT. There was no way on this green earth that I was going to expose a 39-weeks pregnant woman to my germs. I always worry about any pregnant woman until the baby is here and I know both of them are okay -- but obviously, this is my niece-in-law (and Great-Nephew #2), which ups the worry factor considerably (not to mention the incredible GUILT I would feel if one or both got sick because of me!). 

So dh went with them, by himself -- and I stayed at home and felt sorry for myself, lol.  

What's REALLY frustrating is that this always -- always!! -- seems to happen right around this time of year. I don't know if it's because there are lots of bugs going around, if pre-holiday stress lowers the defenses of your immune system or what -- but THIS IS NOT A GOOD TIME FOR THIS, BODY!! 

It's a busy week ahead.  We'd planned to go to the mall this morning to do some more Christmas shopping, and get in some of that EXERCISE we're supposed to be getting (to lose weight & lower our cholesterol, along with eating better). Needless to say, with dh sick and now me, that hasn't been happening. I would say I'm 85-90% done shopping, but I still have two gifts and some more stocking stuffers to get.

I'm supposed to head back downtown to the dentist on Wednesday for the checkup and cleaning I missed.  Hopefully, I will be able to make that appointment, because I really don't want to postpone it until January -- but I'm having my doubts...!  (I'm pretty sure there was no real damage done when I fell last Tuesday, but it would make me feel better to have that confirmed ASAP.)  

Our new great-nephew is also arriving later this week!  Unfortunately, even if I was feeling better, it's doubtful we'll be able to see him before we head off for the holidays. :(  But the night before the operation, Older Nephew & his wife are bringing Little Great-Nephew (and the dog!) to stay with BIL & SIL, so we may be able to see LGN then -- again, so long as I'm feeling better.   

Based on the timeline of how dh's cold ran, I *should* be feeling better by the time we're scheduled to fly. I will, of course, wear a mask in the airport and on the plane. Too many germs around right now (and I don't want to add to them, or pick up any new ones!). 

Wish me luck...! 

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here. 

"Miss Buncle's Book" by D.E. Stevenson (re-read)

My D.E. Stevenson online fan group recently wrapped up our chapter-by-chapter reading and discussion of "Miss Buncle’s Book" (an early DES novel, first published in 1934), which began in early October.

(I first read this book not long after I joined the group back in 2014 -- my original 2015 review is here.  I re-read the book myself before our group read began, and that more recent review is  here.) 

Quiet, guileless, unassuming Miss Barbara Buncle has been forced to look for ways to increase her income, as her dividends have been rapidly shrinking (no doubt because it's the Great Depression).  She decides to try her hand at writing a book -- which turns out to be a thinly disguised portrait of Silverstream (the village where she lives) and its residents (all assigned different names, but still highly recognizable). 

Not only does Barbara's book (aptly named "Disturber of the Peace") immediately find a publisher, it becomes a bestseller -- nowhere more so than in Silverstream, where the enraged residents immediately recognize themselves and set out to learn the true identity of the author (who goes by the obvious pseudonym of "John Smith"). 

"Miss Buncle's Book" is a classic DES novel, often the first one by this author that people read.  Stevenson's books are very much products of the time & place they were written -- a little old-fashioned, perhaps -- but well-crafted, funny, charming romances, comedies of manners and family dramas featuring engaging characters and lovely descriptions of the natural world.  (This book in particular contains a lot of social satire!)  I can easily see this one as mini-series on PBS.  :) 

Stevenson wrote two sequels to "Miss Buncle's Book" -- "Miss Buncle Married" and "The Two Mrs. Abbotts,"  both of which are on our schedule of upcoming reads for 2025-26 (and both of which I previously reviewed here).  (My previous reviews of those books here and here.)  So is "The Four Graces," where Miss Buncle makes a brief cameo appearance. (My review.) 

Our next book, however, will be "Peter West" -- Stevenson's first published novel from 1923, which originally appeared in serial format, and was republished in 2013. It's the one DES book the group has not read in its 26 years of existence!  We'll begin in January. 

I wasn't on Goodreads the first time I read "Miss Buncle's Book" in early 2015, but I retroactively logged it and assigned it a 4-star rating. I kept that rating when I re-read the book earlier this fall, and it still stands now.  :)   

4 stars on both Goodreads & StoryGraph. 

This was Book #34 read to date in 2024 (and Book #2 finished in December), bringing me to 76%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."    

Odds & ends

• In a 2023 article from The Guardian (which only recently came to my attention), author Emma Gannon offers some thoughts on building a childfree life full of joy and meaning and alternative milestones. 
• I can't remember where I found the blog/website "Life Done Differently," but it's written by a childfree woman in New Zealand who has been travelling around the country and living out of her van for the past few years!  She hadn't posted in a while, but a new entry popped up in my blog feed recently -- she's currently settled in Christchurch, and has some thoughts & advice on "A Year of Making Friends and Building Community" that I thought was very relevant to  CNBCers! Enjoy! 
• "Being an aunt is not the same, but it’s pretty darned good," says Sue Fagalde Lick on her "Childless by Marriage" blog. (I heartily agree!)   
• Y.L Wolfe, whose work (often about childlessness) I've been reading on Medium for a few years, now has a Substack, "On the Outside." Check it out!  
• Caroline Stafford, who runs a bakery called The Kitsch Hen in the U.K.,  wrote a guest post last summer for Emma Barnett's Substack ("Trying with Emma Barnett") about "Trying... to build a life without children." (Jody Day recently shared it via Substack Notes.)  
• I highlighted a special Instagram post from The Kitsch Hen on this blog back in 2020.  :)  
• Jody Day, on her Gateway Elderwomen Substack, examines "The 3am bag lady blues" -- the fear many women (and childless/single women in particular) have about growing old in poverty. 
• This brought to mind a post I wrote after seeing the movie "Blue Jasmine" -- which won Cate Blanchett an Oscar -- 11 years ago now!  -- "Bagging my fears."  
• Having lost my own job less than a year after writing this and spending 10 years in early retirement so far, I'm not *quite* so fearful of winding up a bag lady today as I was then. (So far, so good...!)  But the fears of growing old, alone and isolated, remain.  

Pre-Christmas annoying things & small pleasures

REALLY annoying thing:  I took a tumble today (no stairs involved this time, though) & banged up my face.  :(  :(  :(    Just before Christmas, of course...! (Just call me Klutz Kringle.)  It could have been worse, I guess, but combined with my rosacea/redness (see "Other annoying things," below), let's just say I've looked better. 

 

We had dentist appointments in the city today -- got there early and parked in a lot near both our dentist & optometrist. I left dh in the car to head to the optometrist's office (right across the street from the lot) to get some lid/lash wipes for my eyes. Most of the lot is surrounded by a low fence, but I headed for the street through a narrow gap between a parked truck and a concrete planter. 

 

And tripped, went flying, and fell. Bit my lip and banged my left cheekbone. (Big red bruise/abrasion. A few small cuts/abrasions on both my palms, too, and I later discovered a mildly skinned left knee under my jeans.)  Can't remember if I knocked off my glasses, but the lens on the left side got all scratched up with gravel (fortunately, on the outside edge, side, so I can still see OK, but...!) -- and I could see the lens had come a little loose from the frame.  

 

I picked myself up, dusted myself off and went back to the car to inspect the damage. (Poor dh! He felt so guilty that he hadn't come with me!)  I was a pretty pathetic sight, and needless to say, I was pretty shaken up. I had some wet wipes in my purse, so I wiped off my face with them (dirt, bits of gravel & some blood -- almost entirely from where I bit my upper left lip). Felt my teeth with my tongue and they were all still there and all seemed intact, thank goodness. I thought, well, at least I can get the dentist to check them out!  Put on a mask (thank goodness I had one with me; it hid just about all the damage) and headed for the dentist. 

 

I told the woman at the desk what happened and asked if she had a cold pack I could use. Took off my mask to show them and boy, they jumped into action. She got me a cold pack and asked the dentist to come see me right away. My hygienist took me into her little cubicle and had me lay down in the chair with the cold pack on my face. The dentist came in & poked around my teeth, and he got me some Advil. He said he didn't see any damage (thank goodness!);  a couple of the bottom teeth were maybe just a LITTLE loose, but he felt they'll be OK over time. He did say sometimes when you take a blow to the face like that, teeth can sometimes discolour or die (!) but we'll keep an eye on it and cross that bridge if/when we get there.  

Both he & the hygienist said they didn't think they could (or should) do the full exam & cleaning today;  my lip was already swelling up. I told him it felt like when he puts freezing in for a filling!  So now I have to go back next week! (so long as I'm feeling better & the swelling has gone down). They will probably do some X-rays then, just to make sure all is well. They just let me lay there, holding the cold pack on my face, while dh had his appointment. (His dentist -- a super nice man who has also done work on me -- came in to say hello and ask how I was before we left.) 

After we were done, we headed over to the optometrist's office. I kept my mask on and got my wipes, and then asked if he had a couple of minutes to look at my glasses. I explained to him what happened and showed him my glasses (while keeping my mask on!). He fiddled with them, had me try them on three times until he was satisfied with the fit. He said to come back & see him if I want to replace them. The lenses ARE 10 years old;  I broke the frames about 6 years ago and luckily was able to replace those and use the same lenses -- but I've been thinking that even if my prescription hasn't changed, it's probably time for a new pair (don't you think??).  Dh's glasses are almost that old too, and he's been itching for new ones.  So I may make appointments for us when we get back from Christmas. (They'll be fine for now.) 

 

We stopped at a drugstore on the way back to the car and I bought a cold bottle of water -- I drank some but  mostly held the bottle to my face, like an ice pack. When we finally got home, I washed my face and put some witch hazel and polysporin on my bruises, and I've been using an ice pack, on & off. It looks a little better than it did, but still not great. Hopefully I'll be mostly better before we head west to see my parents! (I suppose I could always use some makeup to cover up or at least minimize the bruising.)   

 

Dh told me it was on the news that U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell tripped and fell today too. I said, "Yeah, but he's 82!"   

We have haircuts on Friday. I told dh that I'm going to tell our stylist that my fat lip is the result of a filler injection gone bad, lol.  

*** *** *** 

Other annoying things: 

• Hitting "mark all as read" (as in ALL the unread emails in my inbox -- and there were a LOT) instead of marking one particular email as UNread. Grrrr.....
• The Canada Post strike (now in its 4th week -- going on since Nov. 15th! -- and not looking like it will be resolved anytime soon...) -- which means I probably won't be sending out Christmas cards for the first time I can remember since I started doing it as a kid (probably ever??). Or receiving any either -- one of my great pleasures at Christmastime (although, granted, there have been fewer and fewer every year in recent years...).  
• My rosacea has been acting up again, especially since it turned colder. I think the lack of humidity in our condo has a lot to do with it (although we've been running the humidifier constantly). I don't mind the fine lines and grey hair that comes from aging, but people used to rave about my beautiful skin, and I took pride and comfort in that -- so this is a real blow to my ego! 
• In the latest installment of "Adventures with my Kobo E-reader,"  lately, when I try to sync my reader and download my latest purchases, the sync progress seems "stuck" on "Updating books."  
• I've waited up to half an hour or 45 minutes before cancelling the sync -- and then tried again, two or three minutes later. Weirdly, I've found that often does the trick -- it almost immediately starts downloading my books and completes the sync! (Knocking wood...!) Definitely better than signing out of my account and then back in again -- and then having to download all the books I want downloaded all over again, so they're ready to read when I want them! -- but still annoying...! 

Small pleasures: 

• A photo on Instagram of Little Great-Nephew with Santa!  :)  
• Stopping to take a peek at Santa myself whenever I'm at the mall. Always a day brightener!  
• Having our Christmas tree up and decorated, and the extra light it gives off at a dark & gloomy time of year. 

#MicroblogMondays: Blue skies

I recently signed up for Bluesky, the much saner (so far, anyway...) alternative to the cesspool that has become Twitter/X.  So far, so good!  and many of the people I follow over on X have similarly made the move. (I haven't deleted my Twitter/X account yet, but rarely visit these days, and likely will delete soon. I want to check my "following" list there vs Bluesky and make sure I won't be missing out on any favourites before I cut the cord!)  

One of the few things I find I don't like about Bluesky, though, is that your profile is completely public: unlike Twitter/X or Threads or other social media platforms, there is no ability to accept or refuse/delete new followers. You just get a notification that you're being followed.  

I don't have a huge amount of followers -- 56 at the time of writing -- but of those 56, 44 (almost 80%!) are complete strangers to me -- most of them men. (eyeroll)  (Just 12 are people I know, from online or "in real life.")  I haven't posted anything original there yet (and likely won't do that too often, if at all), but I have "liked," "shared" and (very occasionally) replied to others' posts (generally people I know). It's one thing to know that anything I reply to is up there for all to see, but quite another to know that my profile and all my activity is completely open for total strangers to peruse. I'm not a public figure;  why they would want to follow me (and how they found my profile) is a mystery to me. (Yeah, I know  -- they're hoping I'll follow them back -- and a lot of them are likely bots, right?) 

(As I was writing this, I got another notification of a new follower:  Elon Musk. On Bluesky. Yeah, right...  THAT was an immediate block!  lol)  

You do have the ability to block people on Bluesky, and while I haven't blocked anyone yet, I'm considering doing so. I figure that someone who's following a couple thousand other accounts won't miss me if I block their ability to see my stuff in their feeds. (I doubt they're really interested in what I'm sharing there anyway;  as I said above, they probably just hoping I'll follow them back to boost their follower numbers. And I'm certainly not doing that.)  

Thoughts? 

(I realize this concern about privacy sounds completely irrational when I've been spilling my guts here in this blog for the past 17 years to all and sundry (albeit semi-anonymously)...!  lol  But I don't expect too many people are hanging out here if they don't have some connection to pregnancy loss, infertility and/or childlessness themselves.)

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.  

"The Windsor Knot" by S.J. Bennett (re-read)

"The Windsor Knot" by S.J. Bennett is the January pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club (previously read in May 2021 and reviewed here).  

At first glance, this book might seem like an odd choice for a group of CHILDLESS woman, looking to read about non-motherhood-related topics and childless/free protagonists.  The Queen, of course, was a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother before her death in September 2022 at age 96. However, her new Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, is single and has no children, and plays a pivotal role in helping the Queen with more than just her royal duties -- and I enjoyed focusing a little more on Rozie as I read the book this time around.   

The plot:  It's spring 2016, and Queen Elizabeth II is at Windsor Castle, getting ready to celebrate her 90th birthday, when an overnight guest is found dead in his room. Initially it's thought to be suicide, then an accident (with some kinky overtones) -- but it quickly turns into a murder investigation. Dissatisfied with the direction the investigation is taking, Her Majesty enlists Rozie's help to make some discreet enquiries on her behalf. 

I first read this book shortly after Prince Philip's death in April 2021, which gave his appearances here a special poignancy. (Also making appearances: the Obamas! the corgis!! and plenty of horses. :)  )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book the first time I read it. It's still an engaging read (and I had forgotten a lot!), and I loved the behind-the-scenes glimpses of palace life.  :)  

My original rating of 4 stars (on both Goodreads & StoryGraph) stands.   

This was Book #33 read to date in 2024 (and Book #1 finished in December), bringing me to 73%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 9 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."    

*** *** *** 

There are three other books in this series ("Her Majesty the Queen Investigates") -- so far!  Here are the links to my reviews:  Links to my reviews of previous books in this series: 

• #2:  "All the Queen's Men" (alternate title: "A Three-Dog Problem") 
• #3:  "Murder Most Royal" 
• #4:  "A Death in Diamonds" (which takes place in 1957, early in the Queen's long reign, with a different assistant private secretary, Joan McGraw, who is also single and childless).  (The author herself actually popped into the comments on my review to address a complaint I had with this one! -- and I wrote about it in another post, here.)  

A fifth book, "The Queen Who Came in from the Cold,"  set in 1961, is expected to make its debut in February (2025) -- in the U.K., anyway;  North American publication date still to be confirmed. I can't wait!  : ) 

Advent calendars

Mel was posting about advent calendars -- how long they've been around, and how it seems like people have gone from having one to having several.  Which got me thinking...! 

I remember having an Advent calendar when we were kids -- but I don't remember any chocolate. The one we had was a Nativity scene on paper/cardboard, and we used it every year. It looked like the outside of a stable -- but you opened up one little door or window every day to reveal a cow, a donkey, a sheep, an angel, a shepherd, a wise man, etc. etc... and of course, Baby Jesus in the manger, last of all. (It may still be in one of my Mom's boxes of Christmas stuff...!)  

I bought a cloth Advent calendar years ago (post-Katie but still hoping for other kids, I think). It had a Christmas tree on it, with grommets, and each day, you would hang a little ornament (tucked inside one of the 24 pockets of the calendar) onto the tree — each one came with a little loop. The problem being they were constantly falling off, especially if you brushed past it on the wall or door, even when I tried putting scotch tape or masking tape on the backs. 

Me & my old Advent calendar, no ornaments on it yet, December 2016. 
(Our first Christmas in this condo.) 
You see what I mean about the grommets. 
We don't have a lot of wall space, and every time we'd open the fridge door
(we also tried it on a wreath hook on the closet door)
the ornaments would come flying off...! 

I still have that Advent calendar, but a couple of years ago, I retired it and bought a new one. Similar idea, but the tree has velcro strips on it and so do the ornaments, on the back. Not quite as pretty, but much better in terms of staying power!

Current Advent calendar (old photo), 
with all the (velcro'd!) ornaments on the tree.
It hangs from a wreath hook over the laundry closet door.  

I do love the variety of adult Advent calendars that are available these days! There are calendars with cheese, tea, perfumes, cosmetics, essential oils, puzzles, books... and chocolate, of course..! 

For the past few years, I’ve been indulging in an "Advent calendar" assembled by a friend of a friend (a former blogger, actually!), who has a small business making & selling beautiful sterling silver jewelry. For a couple of years, she did a full "Advent calendar" -- a box of 24 (beautifully wrapped) packages to be opened, one per day. (Obviously, that was a LOT of work!) 

Since last year, she's switched to a box of her "Favourite Things" —  12 packages to open (i.e., 12 days of Christmas), with about half of them pieces of her jewelry and the rest things that she loves from other makers and Canadian companies. They usually include some homemade cookies and a stained glass ornament made by her mom, a tube or two of fabulous lip balm, teabags (a local cafe's house blend), chocolate and hand cream, for example. (She also does a smaller/less costly "Merry & Bright"  box, with four different jewelry options.)  

I love treating myself like this!

This year's "Favourite Things" (Advent calendar) box. 
12 packages of goodies inside to open! 

How about you? Do you have an Advent calendar? Chocolate, or...? 

#MicroblogMondays: Bah humbug? Or hohoho?

It's December. It's Christmastime. Quite possibly my favourite holiday of the year. 

But... 

I'm trying, but I'm not feeling the joy yet. :p  

• I like to put the tree up on the first weekend of Advent, if possible. It's still not up.  Dh has had a bad cold for the past few days (wouldn't take a covid test, and it's probably too late to do it anyway...), and he's miserable.. and I need his help to assemble the tree and haul the boxes of ornaments upstairs from our storage locker in the parking garage. Maybe tomorrow... 
• I have more shopping to do, and we usually go to the mall on Tuesdays, but likely not tomorrow, because, see above. 
• I'm feeling the itch to do some Christmas baking -- but we're trying to lose weight a lower our cholesterol. Sigh...
• I haven't bought any Christmas cards yet. (Those of you I send cards to, take note!)  Canada Post is on strike -- has been for almost 3 weeks now. It seemed kind of pointless to buy cards when I'm not sure if or when I'm going to be able to send them out. I don't think I've EVER NOT sent cards out at Christmastime (and I started doing my own when I was a teenager, I think?).  
• We haven't had a single flake of snow yet (which always makes things feel a bit more Christmas-y). 
• (On the other hand, the Muskoka region/cottage country, about two hours north of us, and western New York State, across Lake Ontario, have been WALLOPED over the past few days. We're talking 100-140ish cm/50-60 INCHES in some places.  There has to be a happy medium, right??)
• (Maybe I should be careful what I wish for?!  lol)  
• BIL & SIL are heading off to Florida this week with his & dh's cousin and his wife. We were invited to go along, but declined -- not a good time, for various reasons -- but a week in the sun would have been nice... (perhaps another time...). 
• For reasons anyone reading this blog likely understands, I am feeling nervous about Older Nephew's Wife's impending due date, and hoping/praying/crossing all the crossables that everything goes well for both mom & baby.  

On the bright side: 

• I enjoyed the American Thanksgiving weekend. :)  I'm Canadian, so I wasn't celebrating (and dh's cold put a damper on things) -- but there was a definite lull in online activity and, as a result, I was able to catch up on a lot of reading (both online & off). 
• I did put up my Advent calendar. :)  I bought a new one two years ago. It's a Christmas tree with velcro strips on it, and little "ornaments" (backed with velcro). I love "hanging" a new ornament on the tree every morning.  :) 
• I bought some cheerful new seasonal placemats (woven, with red and white checks and Christmas trees) that make me smile every time I put them on the table. 
• My favourite sterling silver jewelry maker personally delivered my box of her specially curated Favourite Things 2024 yesterday -- 12 carefully curated and beautifully wrapped surprises (including several pieces of her jewelry, as well as things she loves from other local craftspeople) -- such a great treat for myself!  
• (It used to be an "Advent Calendar," with 24 packages... obviously, that was a LOT of work for her to put together -- and more expensive for us to buy -- so she downsized last year to just 12 days' worth of goodies.  It's still worth it!)

Are you feeling the Christmas/holiday spirit yet? 

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.  

Right now

Right now...* 

*(an occasional (mostly monthly) meme, alternating from time to time with "The Current"). (Explanation of how this started & my inspirations in my first "Right now" post, here. Also my first "The Current" post, here.)

November was mostly grey and gloomy (as November usually is...!). But grey skies aside, for a month that I have historically NOT had a good relationship with (lol) it wasn't too bad -- some fun family time, some hints of Christmas coming... (Also, it went by pretty fast! How is we're almost at the end of the year?? And Christmas??) 

Pandemic diary/update: November was month #56 since the covid pandemic began in March 2020 (now in Year FIVE). :(   We (still!) remain covid-free (knocking wood, loudly...) -- although dh came down with a nasty cough/cold within the past few days (and brushes off my suggestion of testing...). We continue to mask in stores, malls and (most) other such indoor public spaces hereabouts, especially if/when there are lots of people around. (Well, I do -- I know dh has been slacking off, whenever I'm not around to hand him a mask...!) 

On top of the usual worries about seasonal colds, flu and covid, we now have to worry about H1N5 (avian/bird flu). Canada had its first confirmed case this month -- a teenager in British Columbia, who wound up in critical condition in the hospital. They're not sure about the source. 

Among other things we did this month, we: 

• Went to Chapters (bookstore), Carters (children's wear), Reitmans (women's wear) and Shoppers Drug Mart on Nov. 4th. 
• Back at Chapters and Shoppers on Nov. 13th. 
• Went to the mall on Nov. 5th to walk & shop for a few hours (and escape the U.S. election news coverage, lol). (Regretfully bypassed the pizza place and had a healthier lunch when we got back home. Maybe in January we'll treat ourselves, if we get a good report on our cholesterol levels...!)  
• Returned on Nov. 12th, 19th & 26th to do the same. (Each time we went, the mall got busier and busier... and we had to park further and further from the entrance!  lol -- the holiday madness has begun...!).  
• Headed back to our old community on Nov. 8th:  took Christmas decorations to the cemetery for Katie, had lunch at Tim Hortons in the food court in the mall, then had haircuts and did a bit of walking & shopping. (We'll be back in mid-December for trims, before heading west for the holidays.) 
• I attended a "baby sprinkle" on Nov. 9th for Older Nephew's wife -- i.e., a small shower to celebrate their second baby, due by scheduled C-section just before Christmas. There were about 20-25 women & children total -- including a half-dozen of her friends and a couple of her cousins  -- all in their early 30s, all either having babies (two other pregnant women there) or thinking about it.  
• Needless to say, I mostly stayed away from them!  lol  I wound up spending a lot of time playing with Little Great-Nephew ("I'm a professional at Lego," he told me, as I helped him assemble his latest project, lol) and Little Great-Niece, and taking photos of them to show dh later.  We didn't play any dumb games (yay!), it was at Older Nephew's MIL's spacious house so there was plenty of room to walk around (and escape, if necessary! lol), and the food was really good (see "Eating," below). (I even managed to (mostly!) make good choices!  lol)  
• Bonus: BIL drove me & SIL to the shower, and came to pick us up again later -- at the same time as Younger Nephew came to pick up his wife and Little Great-Niece. I suggested that they could drive me home, since they live quite close to us, and thus save BIL & SIL a longer trip home. LGNiece kept saying, "Aunt Lori! Aunt Lori coming! Aunt Lori here! Aunt Lori!"  all the way out to the car and then half the way home, lol.  MADE MY DAY.  :)  
• A week later, on Nov. 16th, we headed up to Older Nephew's house with BIL & SIL to celebrate Little Great-Nephew's 5th (!!) birthday party. Younger Nephew, his wife & Little Great-Niece came too, and we all had such a good time together. :)  
• We got a last-minute invitation to dinner (along with BIL & SIL) to dh's cousin's for dinner (the same cousins who have the cottage we've been to the last couple of years in the fall). Her parents were also there. Prime rib, potatos au gratin (I had a small helping), sauteed rapini, salad and tiramisu for dessert (small piece).  This cousin's wife loves to cook and entertain. Lucky us!  :)  

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Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 1 book in November (reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2024 books").  

• "The Christmas Orphans Club" by Becca Freeman, for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club for December. (I read this one earlier this year -- and suggested it would be a good December pick for the group! -- and reviewed it here.  My most recent review here.) 

This brings me to 32 books read so far in 2024, 71% of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books.  I am currently 9 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(   (Too many distractions this month, plus I'm (still) trying to catch up on my Hilary Mantel reading -- see below!) 

Current reads: 

• "The Windsor Knot" by S.J. Bennett, the January pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club (previously read in 2021 and reviewed here).   
• "Miss Buncle’s Book" by D.E. Stevenson, for my DES fan group. We began reading this together on Oct. 7th, and will finish in mid-December. I'll count this as a re-read then. (Original 2015 review here;  most recent review here.) 
• "Living the Life Unexpected" by Jody Day.  I'm once again taking part in a chapter-by-chapter group read of this CNBC classic!  The most recent meeting covered Chapter 3.  This is the 5th (!) time I've read this book, or the earlier version of it ("Rocking the Life Unexpected").  (Most recent review, with links to earlier reviews, here.)  
• "The Mirror and the Light" by Hilary Mantel (book #3 in the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy) -- part of a year-long "slow readalong" hosted by Simon at Footnotes & Tangents (which participants have dubbed "Wolf Crawl,"  lol) -- about 40 pages per week.  :)   
• We started during the week of July 21st.  I chose to focus on some of my other books over the late summer/early fall, and as a result, was 9 weeks behind the posted reading schedule at one point (erk).  I've been doing a bit of catching up, and am currently about 8 weeks behind, at about 51% read. We will finish at the end of December. 
• Simon will be repeating the Cromwell Trilogy slow readalong in 2025 for paying subscribers. I highly recommend the experience! (and am considering whether I'm up to another round of it myself...!). (Yes, I'm nuts...!)  Details here!  
• "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (!). As I wrote here, I needed another book club/readalong obligation like a hole in the head  ;)  but nevertheless, I'm taking part in a year-long readalong of this book, hosted by Simon at Footnotes & Tangents -- a chapter a day for a full year, which began Jan. 1, 2024. (And I'm really enjoying it!)  Currently at about 92% read.  
• If you've ever thought about reading W&P, Simon will be repeating the readalong in 2025 for paying subscribers -- and I highly recommend the experience! (and yes, I'm probably doing it again!). Details here!  
• "L.M. Montgomery and Gender," an essay collection edited by E. Holly Pike & Laura Robinson. Slowly working my way through, in between the other books...! 

Coming up: Most of my book groups have their next reads plotted out for a few months in advance -- and listing them here helps me keep track of what I should be reading next. ;)  

• My L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook group is reading assorted short stories by the author right now.  We'll begin a new book in January (to be announced soon). (I love LMM, and her books are usually fast, easy reads -- but I have to admit, it's nice to have a bit of a break to catch up on other reading!) 
• For my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club: 
• "Others Like Me" by Nicole Louie. (Not a book club selection, but Katy Seppi has said she will be interviewing the author in January!) 
• "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang (February). 
• For my D.E. Stevenson group:  This list of upcoming books should keep us busy through 2025 or even into early 2026!  (A couple of the books are ones we covered shortly after I first joined the group back in 2014 -- you know you've been around for a while when....!)  
• Peter West (the one DES book my group has NOT read together, in its 25+ years of existence! -- likely start January 2025) 
• Miss Buncle Married (original 2015 review here).
• The Two Mrs. Abbotts (original 2015 review here).
• Crooked Adam
• The Four Graces (original 2015 review here). 

• Footnotes and Tangents slow readalongs in 2025 -- besides repeats of the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy and "War and Peace" for paying subscribers (as mentioned above) -- will include:
• "The Siege of Krishnapur" by J. G. Farrell -- starts Jan. 6th, for 9 weeks. 
• "A Place of Greater Safety" by Hilary Mantel -- starts May 5th, for 20 weeks. 
• "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe -- starts Sept. 29th, for 5 weeks. 
• "The Blue Flower" by Penelope Fitzgerald -- starts Nov. 3rd, for 7 weeks. 
• Other books on my priority TBR list: 
• "We Solve Murders" by Richard Osman. (Because, obviously...) 
• "What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust" by Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce #11).  
• "Bury Your Dead," by Louise Penny (#6 in her Three Pines/Inspector Gamache murder mystery series, and the next one I haven't read).  
• "I'm Sorry for My Loss" by Rebecca Little & Colleen Long (which I've written about here, here and here -- but still haven't read myself!  lol) 

A few recently purchased titles (mostly in digital format, mostly discounted ($5-10 or less) or purchased with points):  

• "How the Light Gets In" by Joyce Maynard
• "Democracy Awakening" by Heather Cox Richardson 
• "Demagogue for President" by Jennifer Mercieca 
• "Abortion" by Jessica Valenti
• "Margo's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe 
• "One Nation Under Guns" by Dominic Erdozain 
• "Eyeliner" by Zahra Hankir 
• "How to Age Disgracefully" by Claire Pooley 
• "Palace Rogue" by William Coles 
• "North Woods" by Daniel Mason 
• "All the Colors of the Dark" by Chris Whitaker 
• "We Oughta Know" by Andrea Warner
• "James" by Percival Everett
• "All Fours" by Miranda July 

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Watching:  

• "The Marlow Murder Club" on PBS, adapted in four parts from the Robert Thorogood novel, which I started reading before the first episode aired on Oct. 27th (and finished just after that). 
• Nice as it was to see Rita Tushingham back onscreen after so many years (I remember watching her and Lynn Redgrave in "Smashing Time" when I was a kid), her character was not in the book, and she seemed to be there only to provide a few brief moments of comic relief, even though she received prominent billing in the credits.  It does bug me when TV does stuff like that!  
• "Wolf Hall" on PBS, based on the books "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" by Hilary Mantel, both of which I read earlier this year (click on links for my reviews).  The first of six episodes aired on Oct. 27th;  the last will air Dec. 1st (tonight!). I am hugely enjoying this.  Mark Rylance is wonderful in everything I 've ever seen him in (and this role, as Thomas Cromwell, is no exception), and Damian Lewis makes a great Henry VIII, both charming and menacing. It really brings the books to life! 
• An adaptation of "The Mirror and the Light," the final book in the Cromwell Trilogy (which I'm reading right now -- see "Reading," above), with most of the same cast members, will begin airing in March 2025. Looking forward to it! 
• Ken Burns's new two-part/four-hour documentary about Leonardo da Vinci, shown on PBS on Nov. 18th & 19th. 
• Too much American/election-related news (CNN).  :p  :(    
• The 111th Grey Cup, championship game of the Canadian Football League, featuring my beloved Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who went down to defeat versus the Toronto Argonauts, in Vancouver. (Kind of the Canadian version of the Super Bowl, but with slightly different rules, less glitz and a much longer history.)  
• Missed the pre-show, which apparently featured an interview with Prince Harry (!), in town to promote his Invictus Games, which will also be held in Vancouver, in February.  (This article from People magazine says he was at "Toronto's Grey Cup"   -- it was actually in Vancouver.) 

Listening:  To the Eighties Stingray channel a little more lately. (Trying to boost my 80s Heardle scores!  lol)  Soon:  Christmas music!  :)  

Playing:  

• Heardle Decades: Stats as of Nov. 30th: 
• Heardle 60s: 76.5% (595/778, 238 on first guess), down 0.1% from last month. Max. streak: 15.
• Heardle 70s: 78.8% (406/5151, 227 on first guess), down 0.3% from last month. Max. streak: 18. 
• Heardle 80s: 40.1% (156/389, 58 on first guess), down 0.8% from last month. Max. streak: 4. 
• Heardle 90s: 27.9% (137/491, 27 on first guess), up 1.2% from last month. Max. streak: 5 (up from 4!). 
• NYT Connections: 
• At the end of October, I'd completed 95 games and won 78% of them, including 46 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors and a maximum winning streak of 15.  :)   
• By Nov. 30th, I'd completed 125 games and won 79% of them, including 62 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors and a maximum winning streak of 15.  :)   

Following:  

Eating/Drinking:  

• More beans and lentils, more fresh fruits & veggies, fewer convenience foods, fewer cookies, since getting our cholesterol readings...!  I'm not cutting out sweets entirely, but we've definitely cutting down/back!  and I'm down a little over 4 pounds so far.  :)  More bloodwork to come in January (and hopefully not another prescription)! 
• That said...!  I can't say we've really been depriving ourselves either...!  
• The food at the baby sprinkle/shower on Nov. 9th was really good, mostly catered from a local Italian restaurant.  Lots of charcuterie/appetizers (I just had some pita bread & hummus). There was chicken piccata (which I had) and beef (which I didn't), along with little roasted potatos, rapini and asparagus, green salad (had all of those), spring rolls and chicken fingers (for the kids, mostly). Huge sweet table for dessert. I had a small piece of the cake (strawberry filling), one cookie and some fruit.  
• Older Nephew's wife is a great cook :)  and we had a nice birthday dinner for Little Great-Nephew on Nov. 16th:  orecchiette pasta with rapini, followed by baked boneless chicken thighs, potatos & (more) rapini (plus birthday cake, of course -- and yes, despite the diet, I did not turn down a piece!).  :)  
• We had dinner at dh's cousin's house (the one with the cottage), along with BIL & SIL and the wife's parents on Nov. 23rd. It was a spur of the moment invitation (I had one hour to get ready to go!):  she had a large prime rib roast she wanted to use, and cooked it along with potatos au gratin (delicious!), sauteed rapini and a salad. SIL brought a tiramisu (from the supermarket) for dessert. I had a small helping of the potatos and tiramisu. (Sigh!) 
• Takeout: The usual soup from the supermarket takeout counter, once a week or so; a pizza slice for dinner (ditto, Nov. 15th), a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket (Nov. 24th), which created some leftovers for another dinner and lunches! and a chicken teriyaki rice bowl  (also from the supermarket takeout counter, Nov. 30th). 

Buying (besides books, lol):  

• Christmas and birthday presents, including things for dh, Little Great-Niece, Little Great-Nephew and his baby brother, who will be arriving soon...!   
• A black peacoat from Old Navy (in-store). I didn't really NEED a new winter coat (and the sleeves were a bit long -- but that's the story of my life...), but I don't have anything that's even semi-dressy anymore, and it was 40% off an already-low price. I wound up paying about $47 for it!  I also bought a new black tuque to match. 
• (It's a "tuque," NOT A "beanie!"  lol -- at least, it is here in Canada!  I always cringe whenever I hear anyone referring to it as that! -- although, sadly, I am hearing more & more Canadians use that term too. It just sounds WRONG to me!)  
• A couple of pretty "textured lace" scoop-neck tops in different colours, also from Old Navy (online purchase, on sale). 
• A pretty metal snowflake photo frame, and some Christmas-y placemats (two different patterns) for the table at Homesense. 
• Skin care and cosmetics at 30-50% discounts from Clinique's website. (I don't wear a lot of makeup these days, but there's a family wedding coming up next year and a lot of my makeup -- even the stuff that survived last spring's purge -- is pretty old, so this was a great opportunity to restock a few of my favourites!) 
• (And I HAVE been buying a lot of ebooks in Kobo's Black Friday sales these past few days, lol. Some of the titles listed above are ones I bought then!) 

Wearing: 

• Fall/winter jackets (sigh...) 
• Eased into my sizeable collection of seasonal/winter/Christmas-themed PJ tops from Old Navy by the end of the month!  :)    

Enjoying:  The lull in online activity/emails these last few days ( = fewer distractions!), as Americans celebrate their Thanksgiving!  

Appreciating:  Retirement!!  Never more so than this month, as HALF A MILLION Swifties (and their chaperones) descended on downtown Toronto to attend one of six Taylor Swift concerts at the Rogers Centre/SkyDome between Nov. 14th and 23rd.  I don't get downtown much these days, but I've been there (when I was working) when other big events have been happening -- and the congestion (on the roads, on transit and in the downtown area generally) has been absolutely and increasingly brutal since I retired (endless construction and roadwork). No thank you! (But I'm glad everyone who was able to get tickets had a good time!)    

(Still) Trying: (as noted in "Eating," above)  To make better food choices and be a little more active = lose some weight and lower that cholesterol!  (I'm already taking prescriptions for high blood pressure and a sluggish thyroid -- I do NOT want to add another one!)  

Noticing:  Down 4+ pounds on the scale (so far!) since our visit to the family doctor on Oct. 23rd (4+ weeks ago), where our cholesterol levels were flagged. I need to lose a whole lot more, but hey, it's a start...!    

Hoping:  To lose a few more pounds before we head west to my parents for two weeks over Christmas/New Year....! (Especially since I'll probably gain a few back while we're there...!) 

Remembering:  The small mall that opened in the town where we were living in late 1978/early 1979, when I was in Grade 12/senior year of high school -- which recently announced it will be closing its doors at the end of December. (I heard this from my cousin's wife, who grew up in another town nearby. I asked about it on my high school class's Facebook group, and a classmate there directed me to a news story online.)  

• I got a part-time job there before it even opened, at the Woolco store, which was one of the two anchor stores at one end of the mall -- a Safeway supermarket was at the other -- stocking shelves, pre-opening, and then working in the hardware department (!! -- lololol...).  I continued to work there over the summer of 1979 and as seasonal staff during December that year (home from university early and feeling at loose ends), and also had another part-time job at a clothing store in the mall (Mariposa) the next summer (1980). My sister also worked there, at a photo studio/camera shop, and at two different restaurants there.  The end of an era... 

Prioritizing: Christmas shopping!  Rounding up stocking stuffers in particular.  Still trying to figure out what to get for a few people... 

Wanting: To get the Christmas tree up soon!  I was hoping to do it this weekend, but dh is miserable with a cold right now, so I decided to drop the subject for a few days until he's feeling better...!  (I can do most of it myself, but I need his help with a few things, particularly getting the boxes of decorations from the storage locker in the parking garage and bringing them upstairs.)  

Anticipating: The arrival of Little Great-Nephew #2, in mid-December!  

Wondering:  Whether we'll be able to see him before we leave for the holidays? 

Also:  When the Canada Post strike will end, and whether I'm going to get Christmas cards sent this year?? I haven't bought any yet, because it seemed kind of pointless until I knew whether I was going to be able to send them out. I don't think I have ever NOT sent Christmas cards out, since I started doing them for myself as a teenager/young adult.  

Loving:  Seeing more and more Christmas lights and decorations as we drive through the nearby neighbourhoods at night.  Gets me in a festive mood!    

Feeling: A little nervous about Older Nephew's Wife and the impending arrival of Little Great-Nephew #2 (as I always am whenever someone I love is expecting).  Glad November is over. (It's not as bad as it once was, but it's still not my favourite month...!)  Looking forward to (more) Christmas-y things in December, and spending time with my family!