September books

September - 3

41. The Murder of a Quack - book 4 in the Thomas Littlejohn series
by George Bellairs
mystery 1943
Kindle
finished 9/22/18
English writer/English setting

40. The Dead Shall Be Raised aka Murder Will Speak - book 3 in the Thomas Littlejohn series
by George Bellairs
mystery 1942
Kindle
finished 9/11/18
English writer/English setting

When I discover a new-to-me author, like Mr. Bellairs, I wonder how many others there are that I've never heard of. I am so delighted with almost every one I've read over the past several years. We readers are lucky, lucky that there is so much choice in our world! I am looking forward to both of Martin Edwards' books about some of these gems from the past, The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books and The Golden Age of Murder. I'm sure I will meet many more writers I've never heard of.

39. Fatal Finds in Nuala - book 4 in the Inspector de Silva
by Harriet Steel
mystery 2018
Kindle
finished 9/3/18
English writer/Sri Lanka setting (Ceylon in the story)

Every book is good in this series, and I've just bought the new one, a Christmas book!

August books

Please don't feel you need to comment on these book posts. My notes are short and sweet without giving you much information. If any book piques your interest, you could look it up on Goodreads.

August - 5

38. Murder in an English Village - book 1 in the Beryl and Edwina mystery series
by Jessica Ellicott
mystery 2017
Kindle
library book
finished 8/30/18
American writer/English setting

A new mystery series set in post World War 1. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and look forward to the second in the series! One of the women is an American adventuress and the other an English lady. They knew each other at school, and now circumstances have brought them together. I just loved the characters.

37. Death Sends for the Doctor - book 27 in the Thomas Littlejohn series 
by George Bellairs
mystery 1957
Kindle
finished 8/23/18
English writer/English setting

It didn't seem to matter that I began this terrific series at book 27. I so enjoy Chief Inspector Littlejohn, and have read a few others. I really can't get enough of these old mysteries.

36. Moving To The Country
by Reeve Lindbergh Brown
Reread
fiction 1983
print
finished 8/22/18
American writer/American setting


I read this book many years ago, and after seeing Reeve at my local library, I decided to find a used copy and buy it. I had told her while she signed my copy of her new one,Two Lives how much I liked her first novel. She seemed happy I had mentioned it and said it had been a while since she had read it. I liked it a lot. It is very true to the time period, and I expect a lot of it is based on her own life.

35. At Seventy
A Journal
by May Sarton
nonfiction 1984
print
finished 8/8/18
American writer/American setting

I had a reading scheme this year to read along with May as she went through the year following her 70th birthday. I tried, but it just didn't work. I ended up reading it all at one time, though I did write about the first month here. I so enjoyed this book, and after reading a part where a little movie was made of her, I went searching and bought a copy. It was wonderful to see her!

34. Dead Cold Brew - book 16 in the Coffeehouse mysteries series
by Cleo Coyle
mystery 2017
Kindle
finished 8/8/18
American writer(s)/American setting

I do so love this series. I have written many book reports about various books over the years. Even after all these books, I find the characters and stories as interesting and gripping as ever. There is a warmth to the series that one doesn't always find in mysteries. The reader really knows the characters and cares for them. Just lovely.

July books

Honestly, couldn't I have found a few minutes each month to write about that month's books, instead of zooming through like this in between making bread and doing desk work, and last night in between episodes of the new GBBO!

July - 6

33. Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek - book three in the Samuel Craddock series
by Terry Shames
mystery 2014
Kindle
library book
finished 7/31/18
American writer/American setting

32. The Last Death of Jack Harbin - book two in the Samuel Craddock series
by Terry Shames
mystery 2014
Kindle 
library book
finished 7/24/18
American writer/American setting

31. A Killing at Cotton Hill - book one in the Samuel Craddock series
by Terry Shames
mystery 2013
Kindle
library book
finished 7/19/18
American writer/American setting

Boy, did I ever love this book, and the others I've read so far in the series. Samuel is an ex-policeman in Texas who keeps some cows and goes to visit them each day. He loves where he lives, and truly cares about the townspeople. They care for him as well, and often call on him for help instead of the often-drunk or hungover new chief of police. Here is a little video of the author (try and ignore the music!).



30. Murder at the Brightwell - book one in the Amory Ames series
by Ashley Weaver
mystery 2014
Kindle
finished 7/13/18
American writer/English setting

What a great and promising beginning of a series! I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the setting, the time period, and fully intend to go on and on reading the adventures of Amory Ames, a really delightful character. This is another series written now and set in the 1930s, a time period I enjoy spending time in.

29. Heart Spring Mountain
by Robin MacArthur
fiction 2018
print
finished 7/6/18
American writer/American setting

Not only did I really, really like this book, but I will always remember it as the heat spell book I read sitting in the living room in front of a fan for hours! I've written about Robin MacArthur's book of short stories here, and her first novel is equally good. She has an amazing eye for the realities of life that aren't always visible in rural Vermont (or any other rural area of this country, I would guess). This is a wonderful book, and she is a terrific author. I can't praise her enough, and Heart Spring Mountain really deserves a long post of its own.

28. Nigel
My family and other dogs
by Monty Don
nonfiction 2016
print
finished 7/1/18
English writer/English setting

This is the year that Monty Don has come into our lives. Britbox began offering the English television program Gardeners' World. It is one of the best shows I've ever seen. Monty Don is the warm, calm, reassuring, enthusiastic, humble host. I bought two of his books, follow him on Instagram, and am also watching some other shows he has done via Netflix. Wonderful how we can get these programs over here now! Nigel is his aging Golden Retriever. He and a younger Golden, Nell are the real stars of Gardeners' World. Don writes about the other dogs in his life, telling him a bit about his own life in the bargain. Really wonderful. I loved it.

June books

June - 5

27. Claws for Alarm - book 8 in the Gray Whale Inn Mystery series
by Karen MacInerney
mystery 2018
Kindle
finished 6/23/18
American writer/American setting

Another good installment in a favorite series. Always great recipes are offered, as the main character runs an inn on a Maine island.

26. Offstage in Nuala - book 3 in the Inspector de Silva series
by Harriet Steel
mystery 2017
Kindle
finished 6/16/18
English writer/Sri Lanka setting (Ceylon in the story)

Such a great new series! Highly recommended by me.

25. Dearly Beloved
by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
fiction 1962
print
finished 6/14/18
American writer/American setting

I've had this book on my shelves for years and I thought it time to read it. I found very good. The book is, as you might guess, about a wedding. The reader gets to see what each person is thinking and feeling. No wonder weddings are so emotional for all of us. A book well worth reading for any time and age.

24. Two Lives
by Reeve Lindbergh
nonfiction 2018
print
finished 6/8/18
American writer/American setting (other than descriptions of places her parents traveled)

As I have mentioned before, Reeve Lindbergh is one of my most favorite writers. I've loved everything she has written, and this new one is no exception. The "two lives" are the life she lives on her Vermont farm and her life as a Lindbergh. She came to my little town library and we so enjoyed her talk. She is completely engaging and unpretentious. She is someone you would like as a friend.

23. Dark Clouds Over Nuala - book 2 in the Inspector de Silva series
by Harriet Steel
mystery 2017
Kindle
finished 6/4/18
English writer/Sri Lanka setting (Ceylon in the story)

As I wrote before, I do love this series. It is rather my favorite kind of cozy mystery. Well described locale and an intelligent, kindly sleuth with a wonderful wife.

May books

May - 3

22. The Native Heath
by Elizabeth Fair
fiction 1954
Kindle
finished 5/26/18
English writer/English setting

A most pleasant book. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. I like the 1950s English setting. This isn't like a Miss Read book. I believe this one is thought of as "middlebrow" fiction. Miss Read isn't, to my way of thinking. She is more "topbrow" to me! However, I am able to enjoy both writers, and have bought another EF book for my Kindle.

21. A Murder is Arranged aka When Thieves Fall Out - book 8 (last) in the Inspector Richardson series
by Basil Thomson
mystery 1937
Kindle
finished 5/4/18
English writer/English setting

Another Basil Thomson! Oh, how I wish he had written more in this series. I love being within the pages, spending time with Inspector Richardson.

20. To Die But Once - book 14 in the Maisie Dobbs series
by Jacqueline Winspear
mystery 2018
Kindle
finished 5/1/18
English writer (who now lives in the US)/English setting

This particular Maisie Dobbs will always be very special to me, for I read it on the plane heading to Texas, and then spent one whole day reading on the porch where I stayed. A neighbor from the next room went by me a few times and said it must be a very good book, and I said it was! I don't know when I've spent a full day reading. The weather was fine, the scenery peaceful and beautiful. I also read when I was eating. Perfect!

April books

Not many books read in April!

April - 3

19. Trouble in Nuala - book 1 in the Inspector de Silva series
by Harriet Steel
mystery 2016
Kindle
finished 4/28/18
English writer/Sri Lanka setting (Ceylon in the story)

This is a terrific new series. I love the tender relationship between the Inspector and his wife. The setting is idyllic. The mysteries are interesting. Really just perfect books! Here is a half hour long podcast with the author.



18. The Milliner's Hat Mystery aka The Mystery of the French Milliner - book 7 in the Inspector Richardson series (though he is hardly in this one) by Basil Thomson
mystery 1937
Kindle
finished 4/24/18
English writer/English setting

17. Who Killed Stella Pomeroy aka Death in the Bathroom - book 6 in the Inspector Richardson series by Basil Thomson
mystery 1936
Kindle
finished 4/9/18
English writer/English setting

Two more Inspector Richardson books. I just love this series. Only 7 in all, but wonderful.

March books

As with the February books, I copied and pasted the information from my book list which is why the color is red, and why the first one of the month is at the end of the post.

March - 4

16. The Dartmoor Enigma aka Richardson Solves a Dartmoor Mystery - book 5 in the Inspector Richardson series
by Basil Thomson
mystery 1935
Kindle
finished 3/29/18
English writer/English setting

15. The Case of the Dead Diplomat aka Richardson Goes Abroad - book 4 in the Inspector Richardson series
by Basil Thomson
mystery 1935
Kindle
finished 3/17/18
English writer/English setting

I do love these Inspector Richardson books by Basil Thomson. You may read more about the author here. Fascinating life story, and such good books. I love every one I read, and expect at some point to go through them again. He is one of the best mystery writers I've read, and I only heard about him recently.

14. The Diary of Two Nobodies
by Giles Wood and Mary Killen
Illustrations by Giles Wood
nonfiction 2017
print
finished 3/14/18
English writers (Mary born in Northern Ireland)/English setting

There is nobody like this couple. I read Giles' column each month in The Oldie magazine. He has very strong opinions which often differ from his wife Mary's. I wish I'd written about this book when I first read it so I could take time to quote passages. For now, I will say I found it to be simply delightful. You might have to be English, or a hopeless Anglophile as I am to love it as I did.

13. Murder on the Bus - book 4 in the Inspector Cuthbert Higgins series
by Cecil Freeman Gregg
mystery 1930
Kindle
finished 3/3/18
English writer/English setting

I so enjoyed this book, and plan to read more in the series. I find this time period  of English mysteries to be very soothing. Perfect for bedtime reading, or if I happen to wake up during the night.

February books

I started off the year with a bang and actually wrote a post on the books I read in January. And that was it. No more. The 11 following months zoomed by with some changes and a big trip and suddenly it is December. I'm going to give it the old school try and see if I can write, very, very briefly, about the rest of the year, and then I hope next year to write more about what I read. Writing monthly about Gladys Taber's Stillmeadow book and Susan Hill's book has shown me that it is good for me to write about what I read. I think more deeply about a book when I write something about it.

Without further ado, here are my February reads. I copied and pasted from my book lists, hence the red, and the backwards order.

12. Stir It Up!
by Ramin Ganeshram
young adult fiction 2011
print
finished 2/26/18
American writer/American setting

A delightful young adult book about a girl who works in the family restaurant and wants to be a celebrity chef. I highly recommend it. Lovely book.

11. Dear Susan
Letters to a Niece
by Ben Hartley
nonfiction 2011
print
finished 2/22/18
English writer/English setting

This was a beautifully illustrated and written book, one of those books I would never have known about had it not been for an English blogging friend. It is a dear, dear book. The drawings are delightful, and his writing is as if he is talking to her, my favorite kind of letter. They are reproduced from the original handwriting. You may read about the project here, and I hope you do. This is what Cath wrote which made me want to read it.

64. Dear Susan: Letters to a Niece by Ben Hartley. Another non-fiction, this time by an artist who moved from The Peak District down to Devon to teach art in Plymouth. Ben Hartley went to live in a rural village and wrote letters to his niece that were illustrated with beautiful little drawings and full of interesting anecdotes. A totally charming view of life in a Devon village in the 1960s. 

10. Snowblind - book 1 in the Dark Iceland series
by Ragnar Jonasson
translated by Quentin Bates
crime fiction 2015 (it is billed as a thriller but I think it is really more police procedural, so I'm going to stick with crime fiction)
Kindle
finished 2/21/18
Icelandic writer/Icelandic setting

I so enjoyed this mystery. It is not Icelandic noir. It is set in a small village that is completely dark for a few months a year, and is rather cut off from the rest of Iceland during the winter. I really liked it, and have since read the second in the series.

9. A Far Cry From Kensington
by Muriel Spark
Reread
fiction 1988
Kindle
finished 2/7/18
Scottish writer/English setting

 I did like this book, but I don't think Spark is really for me. 

8. Mrs. Mike
The Story of Katherine Mary Flannigan
by Benedict and Nancy Freedman
fiction 1947
print
finished 2/5/18
American writers/Canadian setting (with a tiny bit in Boston)

This book really deserves a post of its own. I'm sure many of you have read it. It is the story of a young woman who is sent to live with her uncle for her health. Do people still do this? Go to the sea, or the desert, or the mountains to improve their health? Anyhow, she meets a young Canadian mountie, and they marry and go off to a sparsely populated, wintry part of the country to live. The book doesn't shirk from very realistic details of the hardships and worries and tragedies they see in their new life together. It is really, really wonderful. I loved it so very much.

Christmas corner/crèche scene

When Tom and I were clearing out his mother's home last year, this is one of the things that came back with us. The carving is exquisite.

These are the papers that came with it. Please click on them to make larger. 51 years old!!

I wonder what would happen if I called those phone numbers today? I'd probably be put on some list. And look at the price! I'd bet these figures would cost hundreds now, and truthfully would be worth it! I am so thankful to have them.

Chocolate Nut Drop Cookies

A year ago, my sister-in-law sent me an old cookbook,

knowing my love for books in general, and old books in particular. She was easing her own cookbook shelf, and wanted it to go to someone who would like it. She wrote me a note saying,

I bought it somewhere thinking I'd frame some. All in different handwriting.

I like the framing idea, because there really is something very special about seeing personal recipes.

Here are the opening pages.

And then, these wonderful words of President Calvin Coolidge. They are on the wall of the auditorium where Michael went to high school in Vermont.

Including the advertisements at the end, the cookbook runs to almost 400 pages! 

Chocolate Nut Drop Cookies

I added my notes to the page, saying that the recipe made 3 dozen cookies and that I made some with nuts and some without, and that I didn't use the whole cup of nuts in the cookies with nuts. Also that they were very good, and the date I first made them. I'll be back with more recipes from this precious book.

You may visit Beth Fish Reads for more food related postings.

Virtual Advent Tour - December 5

This is such a special day in our family. On this date five years ago, our first grandchild was born on her grandfather's birthday. The story of her birth is here. Hazel Nina is a miracle that I am thankful for every minute of my life. Her birthday party was on Sunday and I took this little video.

This evening we celebrated with supper at her house. One of the presents we gave her was a matching pajama set for Hazel and her American Girl doll, Emerson.

We were having so much fun that I never got a picture of grandfather and granddaughter.

My heart is full.

Today's picture/the whimsical chicken corner

Virtual Advent Tour - December 1

I asked for December 1 in the Virtual Advent Tour so that I could tell you about something very wonderful on the internet that you can get today! Do you know about Jacquie Lawson email cards? If not, you may visit here. I first heard about the site when two friends sent us the same Christmas card (nearly 20 years ago!). I was totally wowed, and truly still am. It is quintessential England to many of us in the US. You may see it here. If you have trouble seeing it, that may be because until recently the cards depended on Flash. You can make it work by following the pop-up directions for your browser.

For many years now the site has offered an Advent calendar. This year's is here. You do not have to be a member to get the calendar. It is a wonderful way to mark the days coming up to Christmas.

Once you buy the calendar (this year it is $4.99), you have it forever. Ours are stored in our Applications folder. We have many years of Jacquie Lawson calendars there, and over the past couple years, Hazel Nina has enjoyed them tremendously. She even knows how to open the folder and find the calendars, even though she doesn't read yet. We've spent many hours with her on our laps, and now she sits by herself, having so much fun.

The one below is is a special amusement that we bought from the JL site. It's all about a circus. Not sure if it is still available, but there are others like an English garden that you can buy.

After all these years of playing with the past Advent calendars which were all completed, I don't think she would much enjoy the actual day by day opening of one window during Advent! But Tom and I dearly love these annual calendars, and I think you will, too!

How I Spent My 12th Blog Anniversary/Thanksgiving

November 22, 2006 was the first day of Letters from a Hill Farm. I had been getting advice from my friend Les and her husband Rod about how to start a blog, she having started hers some months earlier. My internet connection was slow and I got frustrated thinking it would never work. I remember saying I could just read my Gladys Taber without writing about her! But finally, it was all sorted out, and here I still am, a dozen years later. A dozen years back from that first day was 1994. That puts some perspective on ol' father time, doesn't it!!

We expected to be home just having a regular day, as we often do on Thanksgiving, but a day or two before, Estée, our daughter-in-law told us a story. She said they had been talking to the boys about being thankful, and explained they were going to her parents' house for Thanksgiving and that they were all thankful for them. Campbell Walker said, "are Pop and Nana going to be there, because I am thankful for them." Well, that's all it took, of course! Actually, we had been invited, a sort of open invitation every year, but we hadn't been before.

It was a lovely, lovely day.They are renovating an old house.They have two dogs, Hamish the Bernese Mountain dog, and Angus the Golden Retriever. And there is little Indy Thomas!

There was great food, and tons to eat for the vegetarians! My pictures from the day are mostly in-motion shots, and quite blurry, like the above. There was lots of good conversation and after dinner lots of music and dancing. Here is a little bit of Campbell Walker. I love his expressions!

When we went around and said what we were thankful for, I said, "family."

Virtual Advent Tour - 2018

In case you haven't heard of this, I would like to make a public service announcement (isn't that what they were called on TV when I was a kid??). You may go here to sign up. It sounds like a lot of fun, both doing an entry and reading entries each day of Advent.

virtual advent tour 2018 signups now open

This year marks the fourth time I will play host to the Virtual Advent Tour. I can’t believe it’s time to embark on the process once more!

If this is your first time here at the winter holidays, welcome! The Virtual Advent Tour is a bloggers’ take on the traditional Advent calendar in which each day in December leading up to Christmas Day you open a door to unveil a hidden scene or piece of chocolate or some other treat. In our version, each morning I’ll point you to a post at someone’s blog in which they share something about their holiday season.

While both the tradition of the Advent calendar and the timing skew Christian, the tour is inclusive and open to anyone who celebrates December holidays of any sort — from Hanukkah to Kwanzaa, from Festivus to Solstice, and from Christmas to something I’ve never heard of but that I’ll learn about from you — and who wants to share them with us. We love reading about all kinds of holiday celebrations and the traditions you’ve developed around them!

Would you be willing to share a winter holiday post one or two days next month? You’d know the date(s) ahead of time (and can request a specific one if you’d like), your post can be as simple or as complex as suits you, and there’s no need to tell me what you’re going to write about in advance. Folks have shared favorite holiday music, charities, recipes, religious calendar dates, literature, local events, memories, and traditions both old and new, to name some of the topics from years past. All that I ask is that you have your post published by midnight your time the evening before the date(s) you pick, so I can link to it in my post and direct visitors your way. (Speaking of visitors, make sure leaving a comment on your blog is as barrier-free that day as possible if you’d like folks to respond.)

If it sounds fun and you’d like to participate, please leave me a comment on this post telling me what date(s) you’d like. I’ll update this post as people claim days and will create a 2018 Tour button/badge folks can use if they want to.

Thanks in advance for making this one of my fun December traditions!

Today's picture/4.39 pm

On our way walking down (and looking back to our house) to bring cake and present to Margaret for the 36th Margaret's Day. It was the 19th, but Hazel had gotten up early and was tired so we waited till today. Margaret's Day is the day that our Margaret flew on a plane at one day under four months old to become our daughter.

Today's poem by Ted Kooser

This is actually his poem from yesterday. I found it delightful.

november 18

  Cloudy, dark and windy.



Walking by flashlight
at six in the morning,
my circle of light on the gravel
swinging side to side,
coyote, raccoon, field mouse, sparrow,
each watching from darkness
this man with the moon on a leash.

Today's picture/seen in a school

I saw this in Campbell and Indy's nursery school (I think it is called pre-k now). I had never heard of "mindfulness" until seeing Ernestine's blog years ago. I've done yoga all my life, and I know about meditation but the term mindfulness was new to me, and is such a good one. I try hard to practice it. Not easy.

Jacob's Room is Full of Books - November

I came away from reading the November chapter thinking how much I like this woman. I so like learning what she thinks about all sort of things. This month began with a mention of a hymn, For All the Saints. If you don't know it, here is a version with the words. I'm not wild about the pictures, but the videos from church services didn't offer words.




Personally, I like it sung just a wee bit faster!

Susan Hill writes:

'For All the Saints.' One of the best hymn tunes. As with the Bible and The Book of Common Prayer, you do not have to be a Christian, or even a believer, to appreciate and be uplifted by hearing a church full of people singing something out of Hymns Ancient & Modern. Modern hymns are awful. I don't know why they bothered. If they felt the words were outdated, and so of limited appeal to the young, it would not have been beyond the wit of an Anglican subcommittee to write new ones to old tunes. But no, the baby went out with the bathwater and we got slush and soup and sentimentality.

And to this, I say Amen! This is a subject very dear to my heart. Changing the hymns, changing The Book of Common Prayer, changing the old and beautiful language and for what? Did they really think that young people would come to church or stay in the Church if the language was different? I just don't get it. I grew up in the Episcopal church. I was a child, a teenager, a twenty-something. I never thought, oh, I wish the language was cooler, more colloquial, more relevant, whatever that means. Let's change the language of Shakespeare or Yeats or Wordsworth or Wodehouse so the proverbial young will understand it better. I'll get off my soapbox, but it was nice to hear someone speak about this.

A very funny section that I loved.

There is a shorthand, shared among people who have read the same book more than once, and mostly they are parents. Once learned, the words of the stories stay with you for a lifetime. In the doctor's surgery, I sat near a mother reading to her 3-year-old. 

'So Chicken Licken, Henny Penny, Cocky Locky and Drakey Lakey, scurried off to tell the King that the sky was falling in.'

She turned the page.

'You've missed out Ducky Lucky,' I said, beating the 3-year-old to it by a nanosecond.

And

A friend made a comment on Facebook about someone's new dog. 'It looks like Bottomley Potts,' she said. 

'All covered in spots,' someone chimed in at once.

Someone else contributed, 'Hercules Morse ...'

'As big as a horse ...'

We had finished the entire book in the time it takes to drink your morning coffee, (Facebook being the solitary writer's social break in the middle of work.) How many people know Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy as well as our little gang?

I wanted to raise my hand and say I do! Well, I don't remember all the words, but we read it in this house, and I walked around frequently saying Bottomley Potts. I wonder if the kids remember? I might get a copy for the little ones.

Living on a hill, and not near water, I was amazed to read

There have been morning mists, beautiful soft mounds of it lying over the water, but today there was a dense fog. Apparently, ambulances were not able to go out last night, it was so thick - visibility down to a few yards in places.

Susan Hill, who is in her seventies, writes something all of us who have a few years on us can surely appreciate.

Snow in Yorkshire. Snow forecast nearer here. I hope we are going to get a hard winter. Today the advice of those non-medics employed to nanny us is for the over 65s to keep warm in cold weather, by eating hot meals and drinking hot drinks and wrapping up. I wonder if they ever sit back and ask themselves to whom they are talking? Those of us who lived through the years before central heating, who were not sent out in the morning without having eaten a bowl of porridge, who wore liberty bodices for Heaven's sake, and a vest and a school skirt and a cardigan and a coat with a lining and long socks inside of boots and ... Meanwhile, I sometimes pass school bus stops on bitterly cold mornings and see all the teenagers waiting to be transported to school, without coats and the girls in skirts reaching only to their thighs, hatless, bootless ...

Toward the end of the November chapter, she writes about Christmas lights. Actually this is another thing I have quite a strong opinion on.

The Christmas lights switch on. Always fun, always too early. The lights themselves are hideous, as they all are now, because they are the starry bright white halogen sort, and do that insane chasing round and round. What with that and the electric blue ones, it's enough to give anyone a migraine and epilepsy combined. The churches' lights are always pretty, though, softer, slightly golden - and theirs stay still.

So, you might ask, what does Nan object to in the current Christmas lights? Well, I should begin by saying I am a Christmas traditionalist. I have a real tree. I put it up after Thanksgiving. I have a creche. I play only Christmas music in the house. But most importantly I use the big, hot, primary color Christmas lights. To me they say Christmas. All the other lights I see are small, neon-ish in color, and yes, some of them do chase. I avert my eyes and shake my head. I'm not sure what she means by the "starry bright halogen sort." We have white lights that hang along the porch year-round. We've always called them "fairy lights", I suppose from some reference we read ages ago.Those I love. Not for my tree though.

In light of the news today from England, I thought I'd try and find out if Susan Hill was for leaving or staying. I had a hunch it was leaving. I found a little piece she wrote here, if you are interested. To an American, this divisiveness is much like it is over here between people who are for or against the president. Personally, I don't choose my friends based on their political beliefs. Our very best friends, the people we love best in the world next to our kids, are polar opposites to us when it comes to almost anything political. But it doesn't matter. They know us and we know them. We accept each other, period. No judgement. Just love. (I feel like I'm channeling Gladys Taber here.)

There is only one more month for this book. I'd be very sad if I didn't have The Magic Apple Tree to look forward to.