5 Golden Rings

 

It's December 5th.  I have two trees up, more than a few gifts secured, and my cards ordered.  I've attended four holiday events and have some more to go.  There have and will be plenty of opportunities to feel festive and connect with friends and loved ones.  

As my kids get older and I get wiser, pulling it all together gets a little easier and little less stressful and chaotic.  I never quite feel that I have achieved the ideal Advent state of anticipation and stillness, but I've made progress.

However, there are always the extras you hope to add to the mix during the Christmas season that usually don't end up happening.  For example, I always think about how wonderful it would be to  make ornaments to attach to gifts, host a caroling party for my daughter's classmates, take a family drive to hit the coolest Christmas lights, or finally make it to The Walnut Room after 22 years of living in Chicago.  

But ... baby steps. 

This year I'm aiming for five little things ... my "Five Golden Rings" for December 2023.  If I go 0/5 or 4/5, so be it, but I'm sharing them here for accountability and inspiration.

 

My "5 Golden Rings" for December 2023

1.  Walk the Winter Lights at Central Park in Oak Brook.  This is a short but enchanting walk through the woods at the Oak Brook Park District.  Best not attempted on a bitterly cold evening but delightful on a mild night or with proper bundling.  Bonus points if I get a kid or friend to join me, but walking it alone would still count.

 2.   Sit on the couch with my kids and watch the Mickey Christmas special of their choice.  Once Upon a Christmas.  Twice Upon a Christmas.  Mickey's Christmas Carol.  Any one of these gems will do.  It is a cliche, but I feel like it was five minutes ago that my kids had wet post-bath hair and Christmas footie pajamas.  My oldest goes to college next year, and I am craving this moment on the couch with my squad.

 3.  Walk to Elmhurst History Museum and enjoy the Lost Chicagoland Department Stores exhibit.  I drive or walk past the EHM multiple times each day.  I notice the signage for the current exhibit and think, "Oh, that sounds cool, I will check it out."  And then, I don't.  It is free and a five-minute walk from my house.  Again, bonus points if I get a kid or friend to go with me, but solo is fine too.

4.  Do one "extra thing" at church.  Concert?  Prayer service?  Early morning weekday mass?  A talk?  Dealer's choice.  

5.  Make Peppermint Crunch Puppy Chow and share with a friend.  I love making and consuming my own special-recipe puppy chow.  My college roommate blew her family's minds with a Peppermint Crunch Puppy Chow that she debuted at Thanksgiving.  I'm going to give it a whirl.  We don't bake Christmas cookies or make fudge or pour melted chocolate into holiday-shaped molds around here, but we can expand our puppy chow repertoire.  

Stay tuned. 

The Buffett Way (Not Warren)

Can I rightly claim the title "Parrothead"?  I suspect not, but I also suspect Jimmy Buffett would never have asked me or anyone to produce a membership card or state their case with evidence.  I have been a casual Buffett fan since high school.  Growing up in Greater Cincinnati, it was hard not to be.  Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band visited Cincy's River Bend outdoor concert venue for multiple-night stands year after year.  I attended two of those River Bend concerts in the 90s and saw Buffett with my husband and some friends at Wrigley Field in 2005.  I've visited Key West on three occasions (not that I ran into Jimmy Buffett there, but I associate him with the place and its spirit).  I have a magnet purchased at a Cheeseburger in Paradise burger spot, but for the life of me, I can't recall when and where I sampled that famous burger.  I remember that I liked it, as is true for most of my cheeseburger encounters. 

I'm not a deep tracks Buffett fan, but every track on the album Songs You Know By Heart is ... a song I know by heart.  I'd probably be fine if I never heard "Margaritaville" again and I reached my max on "Cheeseburger in Paradise" a few summers ago when I introduced it to my kids and we ended up blasting it in the Odyssey almost daily.

I never thought about how I'd feel when Jimmy Buffett passed away, but turns out, I felt pretty sad and then, after days of listening to my favorite of the songs I know by heart, pretty grateful.  My forty-eight year old self couldn't help but marvel at the cleverness and wisdom of the lyrics.  My friend Kristin (who introduced me to Buffett because she had cool older siblings) and I have been texting about Buffett songs and it's been fun to connect about this music we both love, appreciate, and understand.  It's been over a month since his passing, and no one asked for my deep thoughts on Jimmy Buffett's life and work.  I don't know that I have many deep thoughts, except to reflect that if you've created music that has brought people joy and hope and fun and community and escape from everyday drudgery, you've made the world a better place.  I wanted to record the Buffett lyrics that mean the most to me in the hopes that I'll remember to press play on Buffett when I need him.  Here they are ...

From "Changes in Latitude"

If it suddenly ended tomorrow I could somehow adjust to the fall

Good times and riches and son-of-a-bitches I've seen more than I can recall 

and

Oh, yesterday's over my shoulder, so I can't look back for too long

There's just too much to see waiting in front of me and 

I know that I just can't go wrong

With these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes

Nothing remains quite the same

With all of my running and all of my cunning

If I couldn't laugh I just would go insane

If we couldn't laugh we just would go insane

If we weren't all crazy we would go insane

 

 

From "Pirate Looks at Forty"

Mother, mother ocean, after all the years I've found

My occupational hazard being my occupation's just not around

 

From "Fins"

She came down from Cincinnati

It took her three days on a train

Looking for some peace and quiet

Hoped to see the sun again.

From "Come Monday"

I hope you're enjoying the scenery

I know that it's pretty up there

We can go hiking on Tuesday

With you I'd walk anywhere

California has worn me quite thin

I just can't wait to see you again

Come Monday, it'll be all right

Come Monday, I'll be holdin' you tight

 

 

From "Son of a Son of a Sailor"

 

As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin' man

I have chalked up many a mile

Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks

And I learned much from both of their styles

 

and

 

Haul the sheet in as we ride on the wind

That our forefathers harnessed before us

Hear the bells ring as the right rigging sings

It's a son of a gun of a chorus

 

Where it all ends I can't fathom my friends

If I knew I might toss out my anchor

So I cruise along always searchin' for songs

Not a lawyer a thief or a banker

 

 

And the moment that really choked me up from "He Went to Paris"

Now he lives in the island, fishes the pilin's

And drinks his green label each day

He's writing his memoirs and losing his hearing

But he don't care what most people say

Through 86 years of perpetual motion

If he likes you he'll smile and he'll say

Jimmy, some of it's magic, some of it's tragic

But I had a good life all the way

 

 

I hope I can say the same ... some of it's magic, some of it's tragic, but I had a good life all the way.

2022 Reading Highlights

And, here you have them, my reading highlights of 2022.  I'm just sharing titles, authors, and loose categories.  If you want to know more about any of the titles, message me or check my Instagram @booksandcarbs where I have posted mini reviews of all the books listed below.  Unless otherwise indicated, these books are 2022 releases.   

 

Fiction Highlights 

People Person by Candice Carty-Williams

 

Boy Swallows Universe (2018) by Trent Dalton

 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
 

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

 

The All of It (1986) by Jeanette Haien

 

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

 

Betty (2020) by Tiffany McDaniel

 

The No Show by Beth O’Leary

 

The Maid by Nita Prose

 

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub 

 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 

Memoir/Non-Fiction Highlights

How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis

 

Think Again:  The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know (2021) by Adam Grant

 

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music (2021) by Dave Grohl 

 

I Want to Thank You: How a Year of Gratitude Can Bring Joy and Meaning in a Disconnected World by Gina Hamadey

Breaking Free:  How I Escaped My Father--Warren Jeffs--Polygamy, and the FLDS Cult (2017) by Rachel Jeffs   

 

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

             

Did Ye Hear Mammy Died by Seamas O'Reilly

 

This Will Be Funny Later by Jenny Pentland

 

Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon

"New Books from Favorite Authors" Highlights

 

Smells Like Tween Spirit (Class Mom #4) by Laurie Gelman

 

Meant To Be by Emily Giffin 

 

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

 

A World of Curiosities (Chief Inspector Gamache #18) by Louise Penny

 

2022 Year of Books -- Non-Fiction

2022 MEMOIRS, ESSAYS, and OTHER NON-FICTION

Selma Blair

Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Oliver Burkeman

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals (audiobook via Libby)

 

Allie Casazza

Declutter Like a Mother: A Guilt-Free, No-Stress Way to Transform Your Home and Your Life (audiobook via Hoopla)

 

Liesl Clark

The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan: Discover the Joy of Spending Less, Sharing More, and Living Generously (audiobook via Libby) 

 

Anderson Cooper

Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty (audiobook via Hoopla) 

John Crist

Delete That: And Other Failed Attempts to Look Good Online (audiobook via Cloud Library)

K.C. Davis

How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing (audiobook via Libby)

Minnie Driver

Managing Expectations: A Memoir in Essays (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey

The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There (library book)

 

Lauren Graham

Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

John Green

The Anthropocene Reviewed (audiobook via Libby)

 

Jennifer Grey

Out of the Corner (audiobook via Cloud Library)

Rachel Jeffs

Breaking Free: How I Escaped My Father--Warren Jeffs--Polygamy, and the FLDS Cult  (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Ralph Macchio

Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me

 

Jeanette McCurdy

I'm Glad My Mom Died (audiobook via Audible)

Shauna Niequist

I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet: Discovering New Ways of Living When the Old Ways Stop Working (hardcover)

Zibby Owens

Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Literature (ebook via Kindle First Reads)

 

Seamus O'Reilly

Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? (audiobook via Audible) 

 

Mary Laura Philpott

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives (library book)

 

Christine Platt

The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living With Less (library book) 

Priscilla Beaulieu Presley

Elvis and Me (audiobook via Cloud Library)

David Sedaris

Happy-Go-Lucky (audiobook via Audible)

 

Tim Sommer

Only Wanna Be with You: The Inside Story of Hootie & the Blowfish (audiobook via Hoopla) 

 

Philip Van Doren Stern

The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale (audiobook via Hoopla)

 

Ali Wentworth

Ali's Well That Ends Well: Tales of Desperation and a Little Inspiration (audiobook via Cloud Library)

Casey Wilson

The Wreckage of My Presence (audiobook via Libby)

 

 

 

An (*) indicates a reread.  All ebooks are purchased on sale via the Kindle Store or checked out from the e-offerings of the Elmhurst Public Library.  All audiobooks are from Audible.com or the Elmhurst Public Library's e-offerings (Hoopla, Cloud Library, and Libby Apps).

 

2022 Year of Books -- Fiction

 2022 FICTION 

Lyssa Kay Adams

A Very Merry Bromance (audiobook via Cloud Library)

Alexandra Andrews

Who is Maud Dixon? (audiobook via Libby)

Louis Bayard

Jackie and Me (audiobook via Libby)

 

B.K. Borison

Lovelight Farms (audiobook via Hoopla)

 

Julie Buxbaum

Year on Fire (ebook via Cloud Library) 

Candice Carty-Williams

People Person (audiobook via Libby)

 

Katherine Center

The Bodyguard (hardcover)

 

Ann Cleves

The Long Call (audiobook via Hoopla) 

 

Jennifer Close

Marrying the Ketchups (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Jenny Colgan

An Island Wedding (Mure #5) (audiobook via Libby)

Welcome to the School by the Sea (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Katie Cotugno

Birds of California (audibook via Libby)

 

Sophie Cousens

Before I Do (ebook via Cloud Library) 

 

Trent Dalton

Boy Swallows Universe (audiobook via Hoopla) 

 

Andrew DeYoung

The Temps (audiobook via Hoopla) 

 

Robert Galbraith

The Ink Black Heart (Cormoran Strike #6) (audiobook via Audible)

 

Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry (hardcover)

 

Laurie Gelman

Smells Like Tween Spirit (library book)

Emily Giffin

Meant to Be (hardcover)

 

Nina De Gramont

The Christie Affair (audiobook via Libby)

 

Elly Griffith

The Stranger Diaries (Harbinder #1) (audiobook via Hoopla) 

Jasmine Guillory

Drunk on Love (ebook via Cloud Library)

Jeannette Haien

The All of It (ebook via Cloud Library)

 

Greer Hendricks

The Golden Couple (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Emily Henry

Book Lovers (ebook via CloudLibrary)

 

Sally Hepworth

Unchartered Waters (audiobook via Audible)

The Younger Wife (ebook via Cloud Library)

Kristan Higgins

Out of the Clear Blue Sky (ebook via  CloudLibrary)

 

Elin Hilderbrand

The Hotel Nantucket (hardcover)

 

Sarah Hogle

Twice Shy (ebook via Cloud Library)

 

Linda Holmes

Flying Solo (audiobook via Libby)

 

Abby Jiminez

Part of Your World (ebook via Cloud Library) 

 

Louise Kennedy

Trespasses (audiobook via Cloud Library)

Marian Keyes

Again, Rachel (audiobook via Cloud Library)

Barbara Kingsolver

Demon Copperhead (audiobook via Audible)

 

Jean Hanff Korelitz

The Latecomer (audiobook via Audible) 

Elinor Lipman

Ms. Demeanor (ebook via Cloud Library)

Sarah Lotz

The Impossible Us (audiobook via Libby)

 

Lia Louis

Eight Perfect Hours (audiobook via Libby)

Portia MacIntosh

Just Date and See (audiobook via Hoopla)

The Meet Cute Method (audiobook via Hoopla)

Single All The Way (audiobook via Hoopla) 

Joyce Maynard

The Influencer: A Short Story (audiobook via Audible)

 

Lauren McBrayer

Like a House on Fire (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Mhairi McFarlane

Mad About You (audiobook via Audible) 

Dervla McTiernan

The Murder Rule (audiobook via Audible)

Jean Meltzer

The Matzah Ball (audiobook via Hoopla)

Lydia Millet

Dinosaurs (audiobook via Hoopla)

 

Denise Mina

Confidence (audiobook via Audible) 

Annabel Monaghan

Nora Goes Off Script (audiobook via Cloud Library)

Margarita Montimore

Acts of Violet (audiobook via Libby)

 

Meg Mitchell Moore

Vacationland (hardcover) 

 

Beth Morrey

Delphine Jones Takes a Chance (audiobook via Cloud Library) 

 

Maggie O'Farrell

The Marriage Portrait (audiobook via Cloud Library)

Beth O'Leary

The No-Show (ebook via Cloud Library)

 

George Orwell

Animal Farm* (paperback) 

Louise Penny

A World of Curiosities (Chief Inspector Gamache, #18) (audiobook via Audible)

 

Tom Perrotta

Tracy Flick Can't Win (audiobook via Libby) 

Rosamunde Pilcher

Winter Solstice* (audiobook via Hoopla)

Claire Pooley

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting (audiobook via Libby)

 

Alexandra Potter

Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up (audiobook via Audible) 

Jessica Redland

Making Wishes at Bay View (audiobook via Audible Unlimited)

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Carrie Soto is Back (audiobook via Audible)

Jason Rekulak

Hidden Pictures (audiobook via Libby)

 

Jane L. Rosen

A Shoe Story (audibook via Cloud Library) 

 

Kamila Shamsie

Best of Friends (audiobook via Cloud Library)

Maggie Shipstead

You Have a Friend in 10A: Stories (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Kate Spencer

In a New York Minute (ebook via Cloud Library) 

Julia Spiro

Full (audiobook via Audible)

Wallace Stegner

Angle of Repose (audiobook via Libby)

Crossing to Safety (audiobook via Hoopla)

 

Nina Stibbe

One Day I Shall Astonish the World (audiobook via Audible)

Emma Straub

This Time Tomorrow (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Lynn Steger Strong

Flight (audiobook via Libby)

Elizabeth Strout

Lucy by the Sea (Amgash #4) (audiobook via Cloud Library)

Elissa Sussman

Funny You Should Ask (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Anthony Trollope

Christmas at Thompson Hall (audiobook via Hoopla) 

The Warden (Chronicles of Barsetshire, #1) (audiobook via Hoopla)

 

Anne Tyler

French Braid (audiobook via Cloud Library) 

 

Shelby Van Pelt

Remarkably Bright Creatures (audiobook via Libby) 

Rosie Walsh

The Love of my Life (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Jennifer Weiner

The Summer Place (hardcover)

 

Julia Whelan

Thank You for Listening (audiobook via Audible)

 

Charmaine Wilkerson

Black Cake (audiobook via Libby) 

 

Tia Williams

Seven Days in June (audiobook via Libby) 

Julia Whelan

Thank You for Listening (audiobook via Audible)

Kevin Wilson

Now Is Not the Time to Panic (ebook via Cloud Library)

 

Kerry Winfrey

Just Another Love Song (audiobook via Cloud Library)

 

Gabrielle Zevin

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (hardcover)

 

 

 An (*) indicates a reread.  All ebooks are purchased on sale via the Kindle Store or checked out from the e-offerings of the Elmhurst Public Library.  All audiobooks are from Audible.com or the Elmhurst Public Library's e-offerings (Hoopla, Cloud Library, and Libby Apps).