Christmas Book Review

Per Kathie's request, here is a book review.

The book was "The Towers of Trebizond" by Rose Macaulay.  It was a decent book, but if you want that sort of thing, read Graham Greene's "Travels with my Aunt" because then you will also get a laugh.  "Towers" was rather humorless and I had trouble staying interested.  There was very little dialogue and the characters were not as interesting as they were meant to be.  I think there was meant to be a moral, or at least a point, but I didn't really get it.

I do understand why Kathie may have thought it a good book for me from reviews she might have read, but I'm glad it was a library book!

Gilly

Here is Sally's review.

The book was "Among Others" by Jo Walton.  Sally didn't have time to read it, but I did skim through it.  It was not badly written, but the narrator made numerous references to plots and characters of other books.  This was fine for the books I had read, but annoying when the references were to books I have not read.  Again, a bit derivetive.  (The spellcheck doesn't like that spelling, but I can't figure out how to get it to tell me the proper spelling.)  At any rate, this was another one that was fine to have read, but I'm glad it was a library book.

Thanks, Kathie!  It turned out to be a great idea - we'll just have to start earlier next year.

ADVENT tree

Thanks for the posts Gill and Danny - great pictures!
I was going to get some pix but that'll have to wait til I come back here again with the camera to download, aieee! just now I needed to reconnect this computer! Wireless is not my friend!
We've put together Grampa's tree - set-up took 45 minutes last Sunday, fluffing had to wait until today and took me more than an hour!
Sure is nice to set it up knowing I won't have to take it down, right Karen??? I am right...aren't I?
In order to take it home you'll either need to create a new box - this one has water damage and barely made it up from the basement - or else bring a goodly supply of duct tape!
Anyway, it is an ADVENT tree, since Mama had just chided Geoff for setting up a tree and here Rubén and I are dragging it up from the basement...
Our plan is to cover it with home-made ornaments using up all the crafty junk we were just cleaning out of the basement when Mama broke her hip - we were going to give it all to the kidney foundation (they take everything!) but now it'll serve another purpose. No spending money on new supplies, just use up what we've got!
We aren't decorating our house but when we go home at Christmas break (when you all come!) we'll make a Christmas celebration for Pleasantown in the basement.
Photos to follow,
love;
Agelaius

The Saga of the Christmas Trees or Do the Wilsaks really need three trees?

Once upon a time, the Wilsak clan went out and hunted for trees at Christmas time, just like everyone else.  Then they discovered allergies.  So off they went to K-Mart to bag an artificial tree.  It lived happily in their basement, venturing out once a year, suffering itself to be smothered in tchotckes and festooned with lights.  Somewhere along the way, it acquired a mini-me.  Even when the house grew bigger, the two trees continued to appear once a year; one in the front of the house, one in the back.  Then one day at Christmastide, when the Wilsaks came home from church and the topic was how annoying it was to squeeze past the fat tree in the narthex to get to the bathrooms, they saw another tree out on the curb across the street from their grownup house.  This tree was skinny and had a sign saying Take Me I'm Yours (My Lights Work); so they did (but they didn't).  This new tree languished in the basement until Yuletide rolled around again.  The Wilsaks wanted to bring it to church, but needed first to remove its lights.  What! Twelve strings of lights for such a tiny tree!  Each one was rolled around individual branches about five times.  Yikes! 

Now the skinny tree graces the narthex of St. John's, the old and venerable K-Mart tree shines out of the front window of the Wilsak house and the little tree - well, the little tree was pushed out of the sunroom by a LARGE sofa, so it waits patiently in the spare oom for a good home.  Any takers?