– writing –
From late summer into early fall I made a start on a novel manuscript and wrote a few short stories. The rest of autumn was incredibly busy with other things—my family decided to clean and paint the entire house, and at the same time I started working a strenuous part-time job, so I was simply too busy or too tired to do any writing at all (except a short poem). Now, with things quieting down, I want to savor the Christmas holidays, but at the same time I’m trying to work slowly back into writing. I know what I want to work on, but I’m still a bit tired and having a hard time getting my brain to kick into creative gear…honestly, I could use some prayer in this area. Because I miss the feeling of having fun creating. But anyway, I will be sharing a couple of those completed short stories with you sometime in the new year; I just haven’t decided through what channel yet.
In much more immediate and happy news, I found out on Thanksgiving morning that Land of Hills and Valleys had been shortlisted for Readfree.ly’s 50 Best Indie Books of 2021! The final list is being chosen by reader voting—I’m not certain of the exact cutoff date, but I believe it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of December 10th; so to help me make the list, head over and cast your vote today! (For some reason the link keeps redirecting to the Readfree.ly homepage, but you’ll see the link to vote for the 50 Best Indie Books of the Year right near the top of the page.) Select the Romance category and vote for Land of Hills and Valleys from the list beneath. No, I don’t know how it got nominated in the Romance category either—but hey, it does have some romance in it; and whatever category it’s in, it has a shot at making the final list of fifty! Vote now!
– reading –
I can’t remember the last time my book diary had so few entries for one month as it did this November. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t read at all. It means that I mostly concentrated on re-reading a couple of old favorites and actually read slowly, a chapter or two at a time. With my morning devotions I re-read the excellent Knowing God by J.I. Packer, and in the evenings I curled up with Little Women, which I’d had a sudden impulse to revisit. A classic, definitely, in spite of sometimes feeling uneven: some parts a bit patronizing and didactic, but others full of deep feeling and truth. My favorite part of the book is still the first nine chapters—there’s just something so cozy and warm and nostalgic about them—but these days I identify most with the older Jo, wrestling with inward and outward trials and trying to figure out her place in the world.
Today my Kindle suddenly started refusing to charge, which rather fills me with dismay, since almost everything I planned to read or re-read in December is on there. It certainly brings home the fallibility of technology that I’ve always been leery of—to have a whole library of books, and suddenly not be able to access it because your (expensive) device kicks the bucket? Anyway…it’s looking like it might be a battery issue, and the battery may be replaceable…let’s hope so. Meanwhile I do have one new library book on hand, The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay—an English-country-house Christmas murder mystery from the 1930s, which I hope is as fun as it sounds. And I’ve just started reading The Life of Joy by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a study in Philippians which is excellent so far. (I don’t think I’ve ever read or listened to anything by Dr. Lloyd-Jones that was not excellent.)
– listening –
I’m always a strictly no-Christmas-music-till-after-Thanksgiving person, but this year I did start feeling the pull a little early. Maybe because my last few weeks of work have mainly involved cutting up evergreen branches to make wreaths and kissing balls! But my only “cheat” was listening to this beautiful rendition of “The Wexford Carol” by Alison Krauss a number of times because it’s a new carol to me and I wanted to memorize the words and melody.
My favorite new artist discovered recently is singer-songwriter Brittany Jean. A Facebook friend shared a post about her new album Wintertide, and I clicked through to see what it was like just because the cover art was so pretty. Before long I was on her YouTube channel thoroughly enjoying her music—“Dear Heart” was a song that came into my life at exactly the right time to help me through some rough moments; and I also enjoyed “Wildflowers in a Mason Jar,” “Not Afraid,” “Wilderness For Heart” and others. But my favorite of all, and favorite off the Wintertide album, is “That Night.” Oh my—it just so perfectly captures childhood imagination and nostalgia and the magic of winter and holidays. Love it.
– otherwise –
I forgot to mention I also hosted my first “bookstagram” challenge on Instagram in early November, which added to the whirlwind. When I had to work the next day I was typing up drafts of captions the night before and then hastily posting them while gulping breakfast in the morning, and on days at home I was sitting on the floor in paint-spattered work clothes catching up on comments and entries in between spells of house-painting. But it was fun…and I’m glad I took most of my own pictures weeks in advance, or I never would have made it!
Now? Crocheting a cozy red afghan, enjoying (debatable term some days) Bundesliga matches on the weekends, reveling in the scents of fresh evergreens and gingerbread candles, and singing Christmas carols to my heart’s content. Did I mention that I love Christmas?
photo by myself