 |
| Ho Ho Ho? Bah Humbug. |
CONTENTS:
TENNESSEE LIFE
BOOK REVIEWS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TENNESSEE LIFE:
Christmas morning
I don't think Santa came last night. The cookies were still laid out for him. Or maybe he's full or dieting. Santa dieting? No!
Either way, if it's good enough for Santa, it's good enough for me.
Ahhh, a quiet Christmas morning, with cookies, and coffee in my favorite mug. My parents live at "Lakeview Terrace", so when I drink from this mug, I always think of Mom & Dad.
I am enjoying Christmas in a house rather than in New Mexico in an RV like last year. I am shocked at how severe I was in my purging of our stuff in NJ. I swear Scott forgot some things from the storage unit. But in reality, I think I just really was bold in my purging. We have very little Christmas items left. I am desperately trying to keep it that way. While out shopping for Christmas tree lights, I saw so many cutesy things for Christmas home decorating. NO! The more you buy, the more you need to store, the more you need to display, the more cluttered it will look.
KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid!
We have no need for outdoor lights or decorations. You can't see our house and yard from the street and that's the way we like it. We have 5 large dogs, so that's enough "clutter" around the house.I have managed to just purchase a Christmas Tree for $20.00, Christmas Tree lights at Walmart for $9.00 and a table runner at the thrift store for $2.00. That's it. If I want anything else, it will be crafted with items on hand.
How different Christmas is here. First, since we are away from the larger towns, the only place to really shop is Walmart and it is hardly ever overcrowded. There were only two places to buy live Christmas Trees...Walmart or Tractor Supply. A couple of days after we purchased our tree from Tractor Supply (cheaper than Walmart), I stopped at Walmart and they had already drastically reduced their tree prices. The trees originally $30. were reduced to $5.00!!! Damn!
In NJ, every other corner, masses of Christmas Trees were being sold. No tree under $29.99 and most in the $40.-$50. range. In NJ, store parking lots were so full, you had to wait for an open spot. I really love living here in a quiet part of Tennessee.
 |
| All but the center one hand made by me. |
 |
| What's Christmas without a gaudy Christmas sweater/sweatshirt?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
Cold Fear by Rick MofinaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I looked forward to my time when I could read further into this book.
The book keeps you thinking. What is the monster? Is Mom crazy? Is Dad a child killer?
Reading about the upper Montana area was interesting also. This was one of the places we missed during our RV travels.
A little romance, a lot of suspense, suspicion.
Even better, a 4 star book was a free kindle download!
Crave by Violet VaughnMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Definitely a young adult book. But so what? I'm a young adult in my heart. Some steamy, somewhat explicit sex scenes. I really enjoyed all the characters in this book. Most were likeable and the ones that weren't, is because that is how they were supposed to be portrayed. No silly teenage flirty crap. This is more of a mid to late 20's romance. They are mature enough to not play silly games, but young enough to have the times of their lives. At a time in their lives that they are thinking of the future also.
Set in a ski town in Colorado, much of the subject is about skiing, and the lifestyle of ski instructors. Light reading, enjoyable. Another free Kindle download.
Dark Places by Gillian FlynnMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Not an exciting book, but I definitely enjoyed reading it. Narrator did an excellent job.
A young woman that has been living off the proceeds of her family's murder, has finally come to the end of the cash cow.
She resorts to selling family memorabilia, and giving talks to murder "fan clubs". But in so doing, questions arise as to who really killed her family 20 years ago. In opening up the long ago sealed family items, questions arise and the search of the past begins.
A fairly dark book, with sad characters, but the mystery of & search for who killed her family makes for interesting reading.
Death Dealer by Ashley RobertsonMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
A quick read. Free kindle download.
A different approach than the other paranormal books I've read. I like the take on the grim reaper or guide to heaven or hell, but enough wasn't explained in the beginning.
I still can't figure out if the death dealers are alive or dead or in between like vampires. A little bit more of an explanation into how they evolve into Death Dealers would have been nice. Since this is #1 in the series, I can't use the excuse I skipped the first book.
Nice little romance, with some hot intimate scenes.
We're spending Christmas in our new winter home in Gold Canyon. We did save a few Christmas decorations that we haven't used since moving out of the big house 6 years ago. Seeing my Santa collection again was great. Didn't buy anything new. Will get some balls for the agave cactus in the front years next year. The simple life is great.
ReplyDeleteOur first year as full timers. It seemed strange to not be with family, but we spent an hour watching them open gifts on Skype. Felt like we were there. Our gifts were all comsumeable or useful. Not much, but we feel we have everything we need or want. Went to a Movie in the afternoon. Something we rarely do. The only christmas decoration is a string of lights around the top of the Alfa that Craig put up. I stuck a few snowflakes up above the table, but we won't be storeing any of it. I always dreaded the dissapointments of christmas. Had none of that this year.
ReplyDelete