I celebrate Christmas. I have friends who celebrate Hannakuh. Happy Hannakuh, y’all! I have other friends who celebrate the Winter Solstice and Yuletide. Merry-merry to you! I don’t know anyone who celebrates Kwanzaa, but if you do, enjoy. This time of year is festive no matter what you believe. And it’s a time of year when we should all get along. I had a Starbucks order taker wish me a merry Christmas when I ordered at the drive-thru. I was…pleasantly shocked. And I wished her a merry Christmas right back–and would have no matter what holiday I celebrate this time of year. We need to be more accepting (and forgiving) of others. Year round, but especially now. Okay, climbing off my soapbox.

Christmas is Wednesday. This is the second day of Hannakuh. Winter Solstice was Saturday/Sunday. Yuletide started yesterday. Kwanzaa starts Thursday. I’m not ready for any of it. And I have a cold. Which sucks. Seems like I’ve been sick every year for the past several. I should just be a Scrooge and hole up in my cave starting on the 1st of December so I’m not exposed to the masses. Oh. Wait. That was the Grinch. Anyway…

There was a week. Stuff happened. Nothing exciting, but stuff. Had some fun Stormageddon time. Picked him up from school on Monday and took him to an appointment, waiting until Baseball Boy could get there after school. Tuesday, Lawyer Guy, Only, and I had the postponed Thanksgiving lunch with Stormy at his school. Sadly, BB was giving finals so he couldn’t come. Friday night, Stormy came for dinner and Big Daddy Time (with LG) while Only and BB attended his faculty Christmas dinner. They did a fun thing–parking in the midtown garage by her new office (to be moved in totally after the first of the year), then catching the streetcar to Charleston’s Restaurant in Bricktown. The Thunder game let out the same time the dinner ended. They had to wait in line to ride the streetcar and then traffic getting out of downtown/midtown was a beast.

I did some book listening. Finished the two books available in Asa Maria Bradley’s Viking Warrior series. They had interesting worldbuilding and I liked the characters. The third one comes out next week. I’ll wait until it’s available to read for free. Then, wanting something in line with the season, I grabbed Margaret Mallory’s THE GIFT. It was short and sweet with a hunky Highlander and spunky Sassanach meeting up during the Yule season in Scotland. I’m currently listening to Heather Webber’s MIDNIGHT IN THE BLACKBIRD CAFE. It’s magical realism and I’m enjoying it a lot! I’ll probably finish it today. Have I mentioned that I love my library, Hoopla (which I get THROUGH my library), and my subscription to Audible Escape? Free books! Well, I pay for the subscription but I usually grab enough reads that they might as well be free because I should couldn’t afford to buy them all!

As for TV viewing, you’d think I’d be watching Christmas movies but not so much. Mostly, it’s been the LIVE PD franchise though I did catch the finals of THE MASKED SINGER. That show is my guilty pleasure, though I very seldom come even close to guessing who’s behind the mask. I watch for the amazing costumes, the crazy clues, and the incredible performances. I actually got two singers right this season! Seal (who can’t figure out his voice) was the Leopard and he played that character divinely! The final two came down to the Rottweiler and the Fox. The Rottie, who was runner-up, has the most pure and amazing voice! When he was revealed as Chris Daughtry, my mind was blown! I love Daughtry and have several of his/their albums! But I knew who the winner was. The multi-talented Wayne Brady was behind the Fox. That man can sing, dance, and act. I hope he puts out an album. I’ll totally save up my money to buy it!

Not much in the sports world right now. We’re two months away from pitcher/catcher and OU and OSU don’t play their bowls games until the end of the week. I’ll update them next Monday.

I did mention that Christmas is Wednesday? Having a holiday in the middle of the week always messes me up. Not quite so much now as it did when I worked outside my writer’s cave, but still!

Guess I’m down to my last topic…writing. I’m on track with FIGHTING FOR ELENA (Feb. 2020 release). It’s been edited, copyedited, and proofed. Now I need to add front and back matter, and write the darn blurb. I HATE writing blurbs. I might hate writing blurbs even more than I hate writing synopses. Ah well. Gotta be done.

I’ll leave you with one last thing: If you read and enjoy a self-published author, give them a gift this holiday season. Share your favorite read of theirs in social media. Give a copy to someone you think will enjoy it. And leave reviews on the book’s page at the on-line retailer and/or on Goodreads. Word of mouth, reviews, and getting a friend to share your love of a series go such a long way to help and support the authors you enjoy.

What’s up in your world?