Sunday, December 9, 2012

Sunday Salon - December 9



I kind of panicked this week when it occurred to me that it was little more than two weeks until Christmas (and managed to take several others along with me via Twitter!). I have so much left to do but I'm bound and determined not to stress so I made a priority list and have been trying to convince myself that whatever gets done will be good enough. Of course, that plan meant that I would have to keep moving steadily along - and then I had some kind of stomach bug that meant the only thing I got done yesterday was laundry. Panic is starting to set in again!

Here's What I'm:

Listening To: Trish's playlist - I don't get much of a chance to listen to Pandora so I count on others to lead me to new music I'll like and Trish has now introduced me to The Lumineers. The Big Guy was listening, too, and decided I'm just a rocking folk gal.  On the other hand, Miss H was laughing her head off watching me head bang to Drowning Pool's "Bodies" recently while we were driving.  I just love music, all kinds of music. Mini-him was teasing me earlier, telling me that with all of the songs I've told them I want played at my funeral, it will basically be a concert. That works for me.

Watching: "The Iron Lady" starring Meryl Streep. She's amazingly good at her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher but what really amazed me was what an incredible job she did portraying an old woman.


Reading: This week I started Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers for book club. I also started, on audio, Tahmima Anam's A Golden Age which I'm loving so far. What are you reading this week?

Making: Christmas goodies. I don't like to start too early, otherwise my family will finish all of one thing before we get to the next. Most of the things I make get made by a team of us; the kids always wanted to help when they were younger so I managed to break the job into tasks so they could all lend a hand. They still like to help but even now are not much more help sometimes than they were then.

Planning: Mini-me's 21st birthday. Just as this is a landmark age for a person, it's an age that makes a parent feel older!

Grateful for: Our cats leaving our Christmas tree alone. We put it up in stages: bare tree, just with lights, finally with ornaments. They watched me at every step but seem to have no real interest in it...so far. Still, I'm glad they are shut in the basement at night to they aren't scaling it at night when we're all sleeping.

Loving: Having made such wonderful friends through blogging. Two packages arrived in the mail this week from blogging friends sharing books they've loved. Thanks, Stacy, for Mr. Churchill's Secretary and Princess Elizabeth's Spy and JoAnn, for City of Women on audio (and for the tip not to listen to it until after the holidays!).

Looking forward to: The holidays actually arriving, when all of the work is done and we can all just enjoy time together and celebrate the reason for the season.

10 comments:

  1. I should be in a panic as well, as haven't done much prep for Xmas as yet. Thanks for the reminder,,, Happy 21st!

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  2. Does Trish have a pandora link? I love Pandora.

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  3. I have a kid turning 21 in a couple of weeks too! What are you giving to yours? I am so out of ideas! And it's so hard with birthday and Christmas so close, and no ideas! I would feel so much better about the whole thing, even with all the stuff there is to do, if I only knew WHAT I needed to be getting for everyone!

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  4. We have Iron Lady from Netflix now, but am not sure when we'll watch it... hopefully one night this week! I'm very thankful for my book blogging friends, too. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all meet for a book bloggers retreat :-)

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  5. Well, crap. I WAS trying to ignore the calendar and pretend I had more time than I actually have. ;)

    That being said, I think I'm doing okay. I've ordered a lot of presents online and now get to play the waiting game for them to arrive. The immediate family is done. I'm working on the nieces and nephews now and should have that finished by the end of the week. I was never planning to start Christmas baking until next weekend anyway, so other than getting out Christmas cards (another activity for next weekend), I feel pretty comfortable with how much I've done so far. Try me again next week though!

    I love me some music too. My tastes are so eclectic, so I always have a little something for anyone in the car with me. Like books, there is just so much good music out there to stick with one type!

    Have a great week, and good luck with continuing your holiday prep!

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  6. I am really excited about Christmas this year, because I am hosting, and I am kinds of nervous that I will be doing all of it with the help of a friend. I have a lot of the books you mentioned here, but no time to read, so audio is saving my blog and my life during this stressful time. It's such a special Christmas this year, with the boy being 18. Not many left for us as a family.

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  7. Christmas is sneaking up on everyone this year. I only have 5 Christmas cards in my holder and usually, I have 5 times as much by this time. I have mine all made out, but I am waiting to send them out. I did more shopping las weekend but I still have a little more to get.

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  8. I enjoyed very much A Golden Age, read last March. here is my review: http://wordsandpeace.com/2012/03/05/2012-11-a-golden-age/

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  9. Christmas does seem to be coming up faster than it should. I've always worried about the cats and the tree, but this year they are behaving. Not so much my little Mouse. She's constantly going over and pulling off ornaments. She's also quite taken with the manger. I am very glad I could only find one with rubber-like figures way back when. It means no panicking when she plays house with the little figurines. Baby Jesus goes missing a lot though--and I still haven't found the sheep she ran off with the day we put the manger up.

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  10. I have to watch that now that I know it's on Netflix!!! I love your Sunday posts and reading what you've been up to! So glad that the books got there!! Enjoy!

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