It's been one of those weeks where it seems so many people I know are struggling. In fact, the world seems to be struggling a lot these days, isn't it? I'm finding joy in the smaller moments, so I'll share some with you now for Friday's Fave Five.
A Christmas Concert ~ My nephew is a senior in high school this year, so each of the concerts he plays in are bittersweet, knowing it's a 'last.' Dan and I attended Tommy's winter concert this week and as always thoroughly enjoyed the music. The highlight was a compilation of Beatles songs, and Tommy's trumpet solo for Hey Jude! He nailed it!
A new book ~ I follow a group on FB called American Historical Novels. It's fun to see what new books are coming out and read about the authors. This week, there was a zoom meeting with Mariah Fredericks, author of The Lindbergh Nanny. It was so interesting to listen in on the discussion of how she researched the book and her writing process. And I was thrilled to learn the next day that I won an autographed copy of the book!
Spoiler Alert ~ Dan and I went to see a beautiful new movie last night called Spoiler Alert. It's based on the book Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies, the true life story of TV journalist Michael Ausiello, played by Jim Parsons, and his husband played by Ben Aldridge. Sally Fields plays Ben's mother. The cast is superb, the movie is beautiful, funny, and (spoiler alert) extremely sad at the end. If any of you follow Claudia's blog, she was directly involved with the making of the movie, and has an appearance in a scene at the end, which was so exciting to see!
Christmas decorations ~ I put our decorations up the week after Thanksgiving. Like most of us, I simplify it a bit more each year, but truthfully I love doing it, so it's never quite as simple as I plan. We've been enjoying our tree each night, lighting lots of candles, and the house feels warm and cozy. My favorite time of year.
Plans for the weekend ~ This Sunday we'll have a family dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday. I always get so excited to have my family together, whether it's the whole crew or as many as we can gather. Joey made the last minute decision to fly out for the weekend, so of course I'm thrilled to see my boy. (And Dan and I are going out next week to see him and Sam, so it's a double treat to have so much time together). I'm blessed to have a loving family.
Happy Friday, everyone.
Karen 🎄
The Face Book group you belong to sounds very interesting. I enjoy historical novels. It would very interesting to hear how an author goes about writing their books. I've caught some talks with Jan Karon, my favorite author. When you really enjoy a book or series, it's fun to hear "the making of it." Have a blessed weekend.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Your Christmas home is so beautiful, festive, and cozy! I can imagine why you enjoy evenings there with the tree lights twinkling. Congratulations on the book! I actually have that book on my nightstand. Can't wait to start! Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy your family dinner!
ReplyDeleteYou're right--Christmas is the best time of the year. I love decorating and usually do it very simply. Your decorations are lovely.
ReplyDeleteFamily meals and times together are wonderful. I'm glad you get to see your son two weekends in a row! And Happy Birthday to your dad.
Have a great weekend!
There is much sadness in the world just now, and I am finding joy in the small things of life, too. I love decorating my home for Christmas, and keep it quite simple. Lots of lights and greenery.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week!
Hi Karen, nice to meet you! I love Christmas too! I think your room looks so comfy! I just saw the preview to that movie and would like to see it. Family get togethers is always nice!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the "lasts" of a senior year. Glad the concert went well! How fun to win a book! I read Anne Morrow Lindbergh's biography a year or two ago and the saga of their baby's kidnapping and the investigation. I always like hearing the "behind the scenes" aspects of a good book.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about weeding out some Christmas decorations, as we really have too many. But I just can't. :-) We have more ornaments than will fit on one tree, but I just let the kids put up which ones they want. I'm thinking about maybe doing a theme each year--maybe snowmen one year or souvenirs--I usually get a souvenir from places we visit in the form of an ornament.
Hope your family dinner went well! How fun to have everyone together!
I tried to win that book on Goodreads but alas I did not. LOL. So I put in a request at the library for it. Hopefully they'll get it in soon. I've been excited to read it. Your room looks lovely and cozy. I love when family gets together to celebrate a special day. Happy birthday to your Dad.
ReplyDeleteI love Hey Jude and can just imagine how moving it must be played by trumpet.
ReplyDeleteI have written down The Lindbergh Nanny because I think I've read every book that Anne wrote and some that her husband did and all that their daughter Reeve wrote about them. I can only imagine the possibilities of a novel about them written by a fictional nanny. (Or at least I'm assuming that this book is about The Lindberghs.) I'm still reeling over the truth that came out about Charles in recent years but Anne has always been a hero to me.