Monday, December 26, 2016

Monday Musings: Mele Kalikimaka

christmas tree picture 2016

My week: We had a lovely, quiet Christmas. On Christmas Eve we got holiday drinks from Starbucks, then went to see Hanapa'a Christmas, a cul-de-sac that goes all out for Christmas in Clark Griswold-esque style, and the crown jewel is a huge Christmas tree made out of Heineken bottles synced to flash in time with Christmas music. Then we went headed back in the opposite direction to see the Honolulu City Lights display and, of course, Shaka Santa.

I got some wonderful Christmas gifts, including a massage appointment from Jarrod, a niffler Funko and some Harry Potter playing cards from my parents, a gorgeous handmade personalized clutch from my best friend, and a variety of Lindsay-brand olives from my brother-in-law! And my parents got us a fancy stainless steel trash can, which I was really excited about. We'd been using the same kitchen trash can I got my sophomore year of college (many, many years ago now), and it was about time we upgraded to a grown-up version!

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Reading: Last night I finished "The Bear and the Nightingale" by Katherine Arden, a novel set in medieval Russia and inspired by Russian folktales, which comes out January 10. I really enjoyed it, and even though the first half was a little slow I really loved the atmospheric quality and the good writing. (Review to come soon; I gave it 4 stars.)

Next up is "Vassa in the Night" by Sarah Porter. I have to read "Vassa" (another novel, this one YA, inspired by a Russian fairytale) for the adult book club at the library, which I'll be co-facilitating the first week in January. Have you read it? I'm not too keen on YA (I only read one YA book this year, and probably not coincidentally it was my best reading year yet), but a co-worker loved it so I'm trying to keep an open mind.

After that will be "The River at Night" by Erica Ferencik, a thriller set in Maine involving a white water rafting trip gone wrong, which also comes out January 10.

I'm still trying to get into a good routine (that doesn't involve falling asleep on the couch at 10 p.m. every night) with my new work schedule, and my reading has most definitely suffered. Normally I'd have read three or four books in the 11 days it took me to read "The Bear and the Nightingale"!



Knitting: I finished the knitted Christmas ornament (from the "55 Christmas Balls to Knit" book) I started last Sunday and I really like the way it came out!

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Watching: "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Home Alone," you get the idea.

Listening to: Christmas music, obviously! ;)

Eating: Our Christmas feast included ham, which Jarrod did on our smoker, sweet potatoes, corn pudding, green bean casserole, sweet Hawaiian rolls and apple crumble. Yum!

Looking forward to: Five days off from work to start the new year!

I'm linking up with Kathryn at Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

9 comments:

  1. What a lovely sounding Christmas! We had smoked ham, too, from the grill of my new son-in-law. My daughter cooked all the side dishes.

    Lovely knitted ornament!

    The River at Night looks like one I'd enjoy. I'll be watching for your thoughts. Enjoy your week!

    Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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  2. I love your knitted ornament!
    I'll be curious what you think of The River at Night. I've gone back and forth on whether I want to read it or not.
    Have a great New Year!

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  3. What a great Christmas! That bottle tree!! That is something else! I really love your knitted ornament. You know, I have crocheted ornaments, but I've never knitted one. That is on my to-do list for this year. That looks fabulous.

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  4. Sounds like you had a great Christmas. I read a lot of YA - usually half the books I read each year. I'm a school librarian but I also just love the category. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  5. It sounds like a lovely Christmas. My mother lived in Hawaii for a couple of years (waaaaay back before Hawaii was even a state!) and she said that they did Christmas there better than any place she has ever lived!

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  6. Glad you had a merry Christmas in HI!

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  7. Glad you had a great Christmas and those Santa Claus floats look fantastic!

    Here’s my It’s Monday, What are You Reading!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog

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  8. I've heard good things about Vassa in the Night so hopefully you'll like it. I hope to read The Bear and the Nightingale soon. Sounds like you had a great holiday.

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  9. Watching Christmas movies is one of my favorite parts of this time of the year! We spent Christmas in a hotel room this year, watching movies on our iPad, just for tradition's sake! 😊

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