Look What I Got!

Some family members were visiting last weekend so I had brunch on Sunday for John's sister, her husband, their oldest daughter, and her son. They are always wonderful people to visit with and I wish we could have spent even more time together. 

We were having so much fun talking to each other that I didn't take any pictures but I do want to show you the very special gift that my SiL made for me. 

My very own voodoo doll! I love everything about it - the colors she used, the hair, the tie, the tiny hands, and that expression. I have wondered many times how I was going to cope over the next three years, and I think this might actually help. When I read the news about the destruction of the White House, deportations, Venezuela, the demise of the CDC and vaccine policy, and everything else, there is very little I can actually do. But it's surprising how poking a few pins in strategic places can help. 

My SiL has made four of these voodoo dolls so far and gifted them to friends in New Mexico, Sweden, PA, and NJ. We even joked about coordinating and poking our pins at the same time just to see what might happen.

At the end of the day, after we’ve done what we can to make our voices heard in real and constructive ways, I think it’s healthy to laugh together. There’s no reason we can’t also laugh at the absurdity coming at us from every direction these days. Honestly, I think we need laughter more than ever.

Let me know if you’d like me to place any pins for you!

 

Unraveled Wednesday: 12/10/25

I’m happily joining Kat and the Unravelers today, with an almost-completed second slipper and a few rows on my Hitchhikers. 

I had hoped to be done with the slippers, but I've still got 18 rows of ribbing left to go on the fold-over cuff. The winter light was fading fast on Tuesday afternoon, so I took the photo but I'll have them completed by next week. I have a full skein of the soft green Malabrigo Chunky and I'd like to make myself a pair of mittens, but I don't think one skein is enough. I just might have to do some Christmas yarn shopping for myself. 

I did a few more rows on the blue Hitchhiker and cast on (again) for the soft gray one. I've only knit six teeth on the gray one but I'm glad to have it back on the needles. Sometimes I'm in a gray mood and sometimes I feel more like working on something in a cheerier bright blue.

I haven't finished any books this week but I've been reading our current Read With Us book, The Antidote, and several excellent advance reader copies. The ARC s are so good that I want to take my time and savor them, while also reading quickly to see how they turn out. This is a good dilemma to have.  

What are you making and reading this week? 

 

Counting Down to Christmas

I don't decorate for Christmas nearly as much as I used to, but earlier this year I thought about what decorations I really liked and enjoyed. The answer was Advent calendars. We always had them when I was growing up, and they were simple old-fashioned paper ones with little doors numbered 1 through 24. You were meant to open a door each day and a picture would be revealed, often of a cute animal, ornament, or some other Christmas-y scene.

I got Advent calendars for my boys one year, but they weren’t all that impressed with sweet, simple pictures. The next year I tried Playmobil and Lego Advent calendars. They liked the toys much better, but delayed gratification wasn’t really their thing. By the second day, they had opened every box on both calendars, but at least they had a great time playing with the figures and Legos afterward.  

 

I looked around the internet for an Advent calendar that was similar to what I was imagining, but so many of them revolved around "stuff" - jam, tea, wine, beauty products, even fishing lures and rubber duckies. But eventually I ended up at Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. They had just what I was looking for, in fact, so many Advent calendars that I had a hard time making a choice. I ended up getting two of them, Neuschwanstein Castle and Woodland Friends. 

 

 

They have been perfect. I’ve really enjoyed opening the little doors each day. I even remembered a tiny hedgehog from one of my childhood calendars, and sure enough, there it was waiting for me on the very first day.

 

 

It’s not often that something under $20 brings me this much joy, but these Advent calendars certainly have. I hope that you've got some favorite seasonal or holiday decorations that bring you as much enjoyment as my Advent calendars do for me!

 

 

Maybe a Bit Too Much

John has been away for much of the week visiting his cousin in northern PA. I didn't have any desire to go along; it's cold (4° F last night), there's no heat in the upstairs bedrooms in the old farm house, and the family stories are a bit boring to me. All of this means that I've been here at home to mostly do what I want. I've been eating grilled cheese or yogurt for dinner, I cleaned a little bit, decorated a little bit, caught up on laundry, and knitted. I also felt like baking something and settled on chocolate zucchini bread. John isn't a big fan of chocolate, so I saw this as my chance to make something that I wanted. 

I browsed a bunch of recipes and finally settled on smitten kitchen's version. I should have paid more attention to the fact that it was called "double chocolate" but I went ahead and prepared it as written, except I used 1/3 cup fewer chocolate chips and didn't sprinkle any on top.

 

 

I baked the bread for 75 minutes and even then, it barely tested as done. But I took it out, cooled it in the pan and on a rack, and tried a piece once it was completely cool. Whoa, this stuff is seriously chocolatey, in fact, maybe a bit too much if that's possible. 

I know John won’t eat much, if any, because of all the chocolate. Some family members are coming for brunch on Sunday, so maybe I can give most of it away. If not, I briefly considered sharing it with the neighborhood wildlife, until I googled it and learned that “chocolate harms raccoons, opossums, squirrels, and foxes because the theobromine and caffeine it contains are toxic to them, similar to how they affect dogs. Ingestion can cause vomiting, diarrhea, increased heart rate, seizures, and potentially death.” I definitely don’t want to be responsible for that.

 

Maybe next time I’ll make a nice, healthy zucchini quiche. I’ve been trying to align my eating with an anti-inflammatory diet, and that definitely doesn’t include anything labeled “double chocolate.”

Unraveled Wednesday: 12/3/25

I’m happily joining Kat and the Unravelers today, with some slipper progress. It feels as if time has been speeding up this fall, and once I turned the calendar page to December, and realized that there are only 22 days left until Christmas, I knew I needed to get knitting in earnest on Justin's slippers. (Ravelry link)

I've finished the first one and started on the sole of the second. It's relatively simple construction so I'm sure I can get the second one done in plenty of time. I was concerned that they might not be big enough while I was knitting, but they are actually quite large. 

You can't tell exactly from this picture on my size 8 feet but they should definitely fit Justin's gigantic feet. It remains to be seen whether he'll wear them but they should keep him warm if he does.

 

I haven't knit on the blue Hitchhiker for a week, but I did get the soft gray Silk Road Light back out of the stash, thinking that I might actually cast on a second Hitchhiker. I haven't done it yet but two Hitchhikers are better than one. 

We've got wintry weather and I had a wintry theme in my reading this week. The Land in Winter is a beautifully written, quietly observed novel that feels less like a traditional narrative and almost like a series of finely rendered snapshots. Set during the brutal winter of 1962 in England, Andrew Miller brings two neighboring couples, Eric and Irene, Bill and Rita, into sharp focus just as the world around them freezes into stillness. Their lives, already shaped by unspoken disappointments and the quieter strains of marriage, become even more exposed once the snow isolates them from the outside world.

I’ll admit that early on, I wondered where the novel was going once it opened with an isolated incident that I soon forgot about and the characters were introduced. After finishing the book, I’m still not entirely sure whether Miller was more interested in crafting these exquisitely written moments than in building a larger arc around them. The timeline feels secondary to the vividness of each scene, sunlight on snow, a half-heard conversation, the subtle shift of a relationship. And yet, that choice has its own quiet appeal.

What the novel avoids is melodrama. Even when old tensions rise or unexpected discoveries come to the surface, the tone remains understated, almost hushed, as if the cold has muted everything but the essentials. The result is a story that moves gently but with intention, rewarding readers who appreciate mood, atmosphere, and emotional nuance more than plot-driven momentum.

Miller’s prose is undeniably gorgeous, and his attention to the minutiae of daily life is often mesmerizing. While the book didn’t fully sweep me away, its delicate restraint and beautifully textured writing make it a memorable winter read. Three and a half stars rounded up.

Winter: The Story of a Season is a warm, contemplative wander through the season’s landscapes, both literal and emotional. Val McDermid proves she’s just as compelling in creative nonfiction as she is in crime fiction. This slim volume feels like settling in beside a fire: quiet, cozy, and full of small delights.

McDermid moves seamlessly between present-day reflections and childhood memories, capturing everything from the frosty streets of Edinburgh to the bracing Scottish coast, from Bonfire Night to Up Helly Aa. Along the way, I learned a surprising amount, like the fact that snowdrops come in more than two hundred varieties, something I had absolutely no idea about. I also picked up some great Scottish vocabulary: dreich (dreary weather), rouille (sauce made from garlic, olive oil, and cayenne or chili pepper), and shoogly (wobbly or unsteady). These little linguistic gems added charm and texture to her storytelling.

What stands out most is McDermid’s affection for winter’s rituals, some fading, some evolving, and her gentle reminder that this season can be a time of rest and creativity rather than simply endurance. The book never rushes; it invites you to pause, breathe, and appreciate the small mysteries of cold, dark months.

While Winter is a quieter book than some readers might expect, it’s a deeply engaging one, and it left me hoping McDermid will publish more nonfiction. She clearly has a gift for it.

A lovely, thoughtful read, perfect for anyone who enjoys reflective seasonal writing or simply wants to hunker down with something comforting on a cold night. Four and a half stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on January 13, 2026. Just a bit of a wait until publication day and it will definitely still be winter!

What are you making and reading this week? 

 

I'll See in a Month or Two

I have bursitis in my hips and they have been aching, stiff, and sore for a long time (as in several years). I have been to two different orthopedic doctors, gotten cortisone shots three or four times, done physical therapy four different times, I do exercises at home, and figured out how to manage the pain on a daily basis (ibuprofen and Diclofenac gel). It's not ideal, but lots of people have chronic conditions, and there really isn't anything else to do. My current orthopod has said that hip replacements won't help, but he can manage the acute pain with cortisone shots and he will refer me to the chronic pain clinic if/when I feel like I need it.

A little while ago I saw an ad for Osteo Bi-Flex and wondered if it really did anything. I've read several studies on the efficacy and the results are honestly all over the map. It has helped in some studies (often patients with knee pain) but shown little to no effect in other studies. So I decided that I needed to order some and try it for myself. I have 60 capsules so I will take one a day and see if there is any difference in a couple months. I don't take any other supplements or vitamins, but decided that a multi-vitamin couldn't hurt. It was hard to find one that didn't have 300% of some vitamins because that's just too much, but this one is a bit more realistic. 

I'll admit that I'm a bit skeptical, but I also did some reading about the placebo effect. Dr. Ted J. Kaptchuk, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard-wide Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter (PiPS) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has been studying placebos for more than 20 years. He says, "People can still get a placebo response, even though they know they are on a placebo. You don’t need deception or concealment for many conditions to get a significant and meaningful placebo effect, especially in conditions that are defined by self-observation symptoms like pain." 

That sounds promising to me and I'm giving it a try.  

Tradition

It's important to keep some traditions alive to help ensure feelings of continuity and groundedness. I have a piece of birthday cake for breakfast the day after my birthday and a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream is my breakfast the day after Thanksgiving. I’ll probably skip the news for a bit, just to hang onto this feeling of contentment a little longer.

I hope your long weekend is off to a delicious and relaxing start!