Blog Widget by LinkWithin

Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Sunday Salon and NaBloPoMo

This seemed to be more of a reading week for me. I finished two books- Complications (review here) and Fearless Fourteen by Evanovich. Both of these will be included with a Christmas gift, so it was nice to knock them off my list. I also started The Freedom Writer's Diary, and made a pretty good start in it. I'm starting to get a little torn between things that look great and finishing up some of the things I've already started before the end of the year.

Fearless Fourteen was ok. It wasn't any different than any of the others in the series though, and it seems like maybe it's time for Stephanie to change a little. The Ranger/Morelli conflict is well done, but it's been a lot of books now, it's time. I did not miss Stephanie's sister or her kids at all. Grandma Mazur starts playing online games, which is possibly the best part of the entire book. I heard a rumor that there will only be one more in the series, and I think that's probably for the best.

In other news- today is the last day of NaBloPoMo and I managed to post every single day! Let's see if I can do it through the end of the year, shall we?

We put up most of our indoor Christmas decorations today and it looks great. I did a few things differently this year and will take some pictures once all the boxes are back in the basement. My advent calendar turned out great and if the Pirate ever naps I'll go find some little goodies to put in it. I found some cards I bought on clearance last year in the boxes, so will just print a photo to put in them, not photo cards.

We went out and cut our own tree out of the Black Hills National Forest. We live fairly close to the forest, it's a nice drive through some very low hills. There was snow on the ground, so it felt all Christmas-y. It's a steal at $10 a tree, but you have to take your tree how nature makes it. We have a great one this year- tall and skinny but kinda sparse. We don't put a lot on our tree so it looks good this way.

On the way to get the tree we were one of the first cars to arrive on the scene of an accident. It was very clear that someone had been thrown from a vehicle into the road. He was covered so the Pirate didn't ask questions, but it was very sobering to be on the way to a fun family event, and be faced with this instead. The paramedics and cops arrived very soon after us and it was about 45 minutes before we were able to leave the scene. It was surreal to be singing and talking about Christmas in the truck, knowing what was happening just a very VERY short distance away. Thankfully, a fire truck parked in front of us, blocking our view. From what we pieced together, it was just a freak accident at 8 am on a Sunday. It looked very likely that the people in the two vehicles involved knew each other. My family was together having fun, while in town another family was getting the worst possible news. It really hit home that we need to be present in the present, and really savor every moment. And also, wear your seatbelt EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Now go hug your kids.


9 comments:

  1. My son's on his way back to school and he's already seen several accidents. :( On a happier note, I love a sparse Christmas tree - it's my favorite kind.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Our tree is definately sparse! We started leaving anything special off when T was a baby and just never put them back on. So it's lights, red bows, colored balls (the silky ones), and snow flakes. That's about it. No tinsel, a very VERY few unique ornaments, no glass balls, no Hallmark ornaments.

    This tree is so bare it makes me see the wiring for the lights though, so I might have to fuss with that a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think I will read Fearless Fourteen just to read about Grandma Mazur playing online games!

    When that first snowfall comes, there seems to be a period of adjustment, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with you about the Stephanie Plum series, and I stopped after 6 !!

    The accident must have been shocking. I'm glad you were able to shield the kids from it. Certainly a sobering reminder about seat belts and driving safety.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congrats on posting every day this month. Quite an accomplishment. We put up our tree yesterday and now it feels like Christmastime.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Accidents like that really make you stop and think. I'm glad that the Pirate didn't really understand what was going on, but I'm sorry you guys had to witness it.

    As for the tree.. sparse trees remind me of the one in that Charlie Brown Christmas special. A Christmas tree is what you make of it no matter what it looks like. It's what it means to you... sparse or not. It must be neat to cut your own down!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats no NaBloPoMo! There's a sense of accomplishment too it, at least for me :)

    Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I would like to link my blog site to yours. The View From Hemingways Attic. http://www.williamhazelgrove.blogspot.com
    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. But I love Stephanie Plumb.
    I want to be Stephanie Plumb.

    seriously tho... I understand completely.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting, please leave a comment! Whenever possible I reply to comments via email, so please leave an email address if you want a direct reply. Anonymous users, I'm sorry, but until you stop leaving spam, you can't comment.

  © Blogger templates Psi by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP