When we were in Asheville for the long w-e, we put up our Christmas tree and outdoor lights. Last night, we put up the tree here in the Hillsborough house. On my walk yesterday afternoon, I saw a couple at one of the big historic homes, putting up their wreaths, bows, and garland trimmings. The town put up the wreaths on our downtown street even before Thanksgiving. So everyone is getting in the holiday mood. I got an email from my sister with her children's Christmas want list. I have to admit that I've never even heard of 90% of the stuff. In fact, I couldn't even tell what category the things were. For example, what's a vew-do? Is it a toy, game, video game or what? It must be very popular because all 3 of the kids had it on their list (they are ages 6, 8 and 15). Anyway, it's nice to catapult from my favorite holiday into the Christmas season. Now that we have both of our trees up, it will feel like Christmas wherever we go. One year I didn't bother with a tree, and I felt like I missed the whole thing. It wasn't right.
I finished a great book last week that I had seen in the New York Times book review. It's called "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout. I got my copy from our library, showing yet again how on top of it our library staff is. They seem to order almost everything I read about in the NY Times. Anyway, the book is a nice collection of interconnected short stories set in Crosby Maine where Olive is the 7th grade science teacher. She is one of those curmudgeon types who doesn't mind telling anyone what she thinks. The author did a good job of showing how our lives change and our relationships mature as we get older. I really enjoyed the way she presented friendships through the aging characters. She has a great line at the end of the book about Olive getting together with another elderly man after her husband dies. She says they fit together like 2 pieces of swiss cheese, the holes being the parts nibbled away by life. That seems very true to me and accurately reflects the way older people love each other when they get together later in life. I love that they don't feel so old that they don't "bother" with that stuff.
I had a nice run this morning under the cold blue sky. My pal Donna W told me that I had inspired her to start doing push-ups. She's already up to 35 from only 4 at the beginning. Glad she likes them too. We got some great photos of her at Thanksgiving being Sister Mary Donna. You have to love someone who's not afraid to look silly and doesn't take herself too seriously.
1 comment:
Ha Ha Ha. I didn't even know what a vew-do is before last Wednesday. (Pronounced voo-do)Henry brought it home from work and the kids fought over it all weekend. It's something you work on balance and core body strength with. It looks like a skateboard top but is placed on a roller. The guys on his team use it to work on their balance for sky diving. They also have a rip stick. With all these "toys" at work, no wonder they aren't home much. Oh yeah, found out it's pretty pricey too so Santa will have to bring that one-or three! Henry's mom (with her german accent) calls it a "view-do".
beth
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