Good bye 2012

Almost 2013- I will not be sorry to see 2012 end. It seemed to be a year of many changes- some good, some not so good. Yesterday afternoon it started to snow and it came down fairly heavy until about 10:30. It is the light fluffy kind and quite pretty. Finished Some Girls... last night. I enjoyed it immensely. Not a long read but you can definitely get a strong idea of the situation in Vienna as Hitler rose to power and took away more rights of the Jews. Intense. Not sure what I'll read next. I am compiling a stack of books for our vacation- among the selected are Steve Jobs (biography), The Dovekeepers, Wolf Hall. I will also bring my iPad in case I want to down load a book. I do know there is a Barnes and Noble close to our rental - just in case.

Finished The Age of Miracles- I enjoyed it, interesting concept. Started Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler a biography of Trudi Kanter living in Vienna, Austria at the start of WWII. I have been curious about WWII and that part of history for years.

Last night it snowed (maybe 3") and then the snow turned to rain. Today is a grey day with drizzle and it is cold outside.

Might be a good day for a cup of tea and my book.

Merry Christmas!

Countdown

Two more days until Christmas, well actually one and a bit. I have one more baked good to make. Every year I made a cardamom braid for breakfast on Christmas day. The cookies are baked, eggnog scones (gluten free for my daughter). The beef tenderloin is defrosting. Just have to wrap a few presents tomorrow.

Started The Age of Miracles. Pretty good so far. Since I usually read at night sometimes it is hard to focus but I was hooked from the beginning of this story.

Snowflakes, a moment of silence

This morning I drove to our town green at 9:25 and listened to the two churches ring their bells in memory of the children and teachers and staff who lost their lives last Friday in Sandy Hook. It was raining so hard I could barely hear the bells and very windy and the weather seemed very appropriate for the moment of silence. Yesterday I learned how to make paper snowflakes. I never made these with my children when they were little. I made 20 and delivered them to the elementary school. The CT PTA has asked people to make the snowflakes so the elementary school in Monroe,where the Sandy Hook students will be attending in January, will be decorated. Seems so little - a few snowflakes, a moment of silence....

A rainy, drizzly,cold, grey day. Have finished In the Shadow of the Banyan. Beautifully written, disturbing. As I have little knowledge of the Khmer Rough/Cambodian revolution I found this very interesting although I feel the need to do a bit of research to fill in the gaps. Have moved on to a lighter, shorter book- Anna Quindlan's Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. Humorous and insightful a welcome respite from the last book.

Christmas Pageant

Today my church held its annual Christmas Pageant with the church school children. I can remember when my children were participants. It was so moving especially in light of the horrible event on Friday. Tears were in my eyes almost from the first carol. This year there was a sheep who baa-d throughout, a goat named Noel and 4 llamas who were very regal (no camels). It was a wonderful introduction to the fourth week of Advent.

A terrible day in Connecticut

As so many know yesterday in Newtown, Connecticut, a terrible tragedy occurred when a lone man walked into the Sandy Hook elementary school and shot 20 students and 6 teachers and staff and then committed suicide. Horrible, unbelievable and terrifying especially for the young students. So innocent. School is supposed to be a safe place and at least one teacher was killed while hiding her students. Awful. It is so hard to wrap my head around this. I don't understand why the United States can not pass decent gun control laws to prevent the sale and use of weapons that can hold so many rounds of ammunition. The guns used were bought (apparently) legally but why should any individual own a weapon that can fire off so many bullets without reloading? These are not sports guns or rifles- they were designed to kill many. They should not be in the hands of individuals. And again, the issue of mental health services is being brought up and the care provided to those individuals who have problems. In times like these one questions why it is so hard to get insurance companies to pay for services and why now is not the time to cut those services provided by the government. I had to turn off the public radio this afternoon as I could not listen anymore. My prayers and thoughts are with the townspeople, the families, the first responders, - everyone who turned out to help....I hope that the families will be able to find some comfort some day. I hope that some good will come of this tragedy.

Happy 12-12-12!

Happy 12-12-12! Two years ago my husband and I spent a month in Florida. I bought this orchid at a roadside stand for $6. Amazingly enough I kept it alive and it has bloomed!!

Have started reading In the Shadow of the Banyan. Not that far into it but so far I like it even though the topic is a blight on Cambodian history.

My book club meets Sunday for the annual Christmas potluck and Yankee Swap. I still have to find a gift- tomorrow is a busy day with my turn on altar guild, errands etc. Have collected items (gender neutral) for 5 bags that represent stockings for the homeless who participate at an outdoor church service. Have to get Christmas-y looking bags tomorrow and package the items in each bag. May just watch a DVD tonight. My choices are Hugo and Sarah's Key. Hmmm....

On my way to church Sunday morning I passed a parish office for one of the other downtown churches. This group of flamingoes was on the grounds. I remember in October the flamingoes were appropriately attired for Halloween. Makes me smile.

I took out two books this afternoon- The Art of Fielding and In The Shadow of the Banyan. Both are on my to read list.