A celebration for New Year‘s Eve, welcoming the turn to a New Year.
From:
The Book Lover‘s Almanac
Year of Wonder
A Tree a Day

https://youtu.be/jE0KWxqG5yg

“Your kind never sees us whole.You miss the half of
it and more. There‘s always as much belowground
as above…If you mind were only a slightly greener
thing, we‘d drown you in meaning”(362).
——- from The Overstory, Richard Powers
#naturalitsy #wintersolace

#ATreeaDay

#12Booksof2025

#top25of25

These books are in no particular order- This was fun to reflect back on such good reads!

Read 26 pages, 26 hours & enjoy! #26for26 #NewYearsReadathon

#Welcome2026Readathon

My Book of the Year, 2025: Things in Nature Merely Grow
-The Frozen River- Historical Fiction
-Sandwich - F
- Memorial Days - memoir
- Witness-NF
- North Woods -F
- Wild Dark Shore-F
- The Ravine -NF
- Whale Fall -F
- I Seek a Kind Person -NF
- Occasional Grace - poetry
- Things in Nature Merely Grow - memoir
#ReadingBracket2025 #MyBookoftheYear

January hopefuls…most probably some will go into February, especially as I will be back at work nect Monday.
#JamesBaldwinsAmerica #libraryfind #JoeSwallowSeries #4 #AmericasMostFamousLibarian #BelleGreene #Proust #literaryCrew #BoicesfromOldForfarshireScotland #ANovelofSuspense #Camplitsy #ThreePines #Gamache #SundayBuddyRead #USPresidents #Washington #Camplitsy

“Sometimes the simplest actions can become a ritual for inviting positivity and uplifted energy into our lives. Use this teaspoon for your morning, coffee or tea, stirring it three times in a clockwise motion, and stating your intention for the day ahead,
Blessed be.”

#bookmail #libraryholds #theBellandRaven

#firstfrost #winter #HowGardensGrowUs

#ChristmasDays12Storiesand12Feastsfor12Days
Day 6 O‘Brien‘s First Christmas #fairy #stars #change
Dad‘s Sherry Trifle #forgiveness

#12Booksof2025
Day 6 : June: Wild Dark Shore
#CampLitsy

Morning coffee & cranberry orange Irish soda bread.

#AmericaMysteryClassics #BizzareMurdersPlaguesOldChicago #1930s #SherlockHolmes #SherlockHolmesMethods

Next up.

I hated to end of this novel!Assistant curator of Egyptology,Dr. Lauren Westlake,is in the process of creating an exhibit on Egyptian artifacts including the mummified Hetsumina.So much of the interior settings in the MET are familiar to me which enhanced my reading experience.”Egyptomania”was at the apex in the City after King Tut‘s tomb was discovered.Enter DI Joe Caravello who joins forces with Lauren to uncover a plethora of forgeries.Deceit⬇️

Day 3: Dark Christmas #creepy
Day 4: Christmas in New York #HartCrane #Theresallofnextyear
Day 5: The Mistletoe Bride #retribution
#12Storiesand12Feastsfor12days

So these Christmas stories are certainly not all hearts & flowers which is what I expected. A pleasant surprise!

#12Booksof2026
#day4 April : Memorial Days #memoir
#day5 May: The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt #graphicnovel #biography

Heartbreaking, riveting, with multilayered characters, elegant writing.The price of justice.Unveiling of dark secrets, 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
War criminal & general based on:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zdravko_Tolimir

There is a rotunda,off of which is Morgan‘s library, his office, his vault, & what was once Belle Greene‘s office. Now besides books,her office is filled with artifacts from various Morgan collections.The ceilings in all these rooms are gorgeous.

#hyggehourreadathon
Mesmerized by this book/catalog of the exhibit we saw today: Renoir Drawings
Accompanied by hot cinnamon milk.

Seeing Renoir‘s progression from drawings to a painting allowed for a richer understanding of his works,be they in charcoal,pencil,chalk,water color,oils.
1) study for The Great Bathers,black chalk on graphite paper, 1886. From Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT.
2) study for The Great Bathers,red & black chalk with white chalk highlights on paper mounted to canvas, 1886.from Musee d‘Orsay, Paris
3) The Great Bathers, oil on canvas,⬇️

Lunch- mine was gnocchi marsala; the men had steak sandwiches au jus with horseradish mayo. A little prosecco, a little red wine,some tea. Delicious!

The Morgan Museum & Library all dressed up for Christmas!
What a stunning museum- the art,the artifacts, its effect on culture, its history.

Breakfast- Starbucks coffee and yogurt parfait- historical mystery for the ride into New Haven. #MET #NYC #Egyptianexhibit #Amtrak

At Windsor Locks train station waiting for Amtrak to New Haven where we pick up the Metro to NYC. Going to the Morgan Library & Museum to view an exhibit of Renoir drawings. I have never bern to the Library so I am so excited!

Watching this on BritBox tonight- just had to capture Holmes‘ “irregulars.” 😄🔍🗝️ Rather a creepy story.👹

We got about 8 inches- our roof is no indicator as it is not insulated- My son & I went outside- he to shovel the walks; me to revel in the snow. It is soft, fluffy, powdery- easy to move around in my snow boots.
Of course, coffee a must to warm me up once we went inside. ❄️❄️🪏☕️

March #12Booksof2025 #day3

#weekendreads

This mornings reads: Dark Christmas & The Three French Henchmen. #3 #day27 #TheTwelveDaysofChristmas

#ChristmasCrimeChallenge

This challenge was so much fun! Thank you to @Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead 🎄🔍🗝️

From my #TBR #10BeforetheEnd

Time for hot cinnamon milk & this book. #moodread

Arrived on my porch in the snow 😄. ❄️ ❄️ #bookmail #blameitonlitsy #sundaybuddyread #porchlife

This book kept me glued to my couch with its complicated & twisty plot.It is set for the most part in the Scottish highlands at a castle & its whiskey distillery, where snow & ice prevailed.Haunting, with glowing ghostly apparitions looming. Holmes & Watson at their most humane best. #SherlockHolmespastiches #Sherlocked

Repost for @Bookwormjillk Read for 26 hours, 26 chapters, 26 pages #26for26 I am in!

#FridayHappyReadingHour #HappyFridaydrinks
Chardonnay with Parmesan & Tapping cheddar from the local Arethusa farms in Litchfield Ct. Hunkering down inside for warmth; 6-8 inches of snow predicted for tonight. We‘ll see. Have not seen that much snow in years…

every one searches
for that which is
tender and true
the quest is
braving the severity
of our most
defended actions
And stripping off
our hardest habits
so that the simple note
of our natural being
may be heard

#story2 #day26 story: The SnowMama. A story of magic, love, belief, transformation. Just loved it. ❤️💚❤️

#5JoysFriday

1) a very merry bookish Christmas
2) the biopic Blue Moon 2025 starting Ethan Hawke- heartbreaking, superb acting by Hawke
3) Christmas Eve lasagna
4)coffee!!!!
5) Meyer‘ s hand creme, snowdrop scent. Love love the smell.

February: #day26 #2 #12Booksof2025

How pretty is this “partridge in a pear tree?”
#atreeaday #naturalitsy

January: #day25 #1 #12Booksof2025
Thank you for carrying on this tradition! @TheEllieMo

#12daysofChristmas #12Storiesand12Feastsfor12Days
12 Stories:
#day25 #story1 : Christmas Tide; Spirit of Christmas: Mrs. Winterson‘s Mince Pies.

Our book stacks, including @TheBookHippie JÓLABÓKAFLÓÐ gift. If you look closely under the tree you can see Poe‘s box of ashes, a Poe painted stone from Chewy, & a letter from Cornell Vet School acknowledging a donation from our Vet in Poe‘s name. Hanging mid tree is a lovely Christmas ornament from @dabbe : an angel holding a cat, our Poe. #Jolabokaflod #preciouspoe #gratitude
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays-

Christmas Eve happy hour. A little Chardonnay, a little Boursin cheese & triscuits. 🍷 🫕 My son is making our meal of lasagna, salad, & bread, a family Christmas Eve tradition passed down from my side of the family. #wednesdayhappyreadinghour #HappyWednesdayDrinks #ChrismasEveLibation

Just bored. #DNF #readyourkindle

The elves have been busy at our house! 🧝🎄

Before bedtime restorative decaf Irish black tea with honey & lemon, accompanied by a gingerbread cupcake. ☕️🧁

Tonight‘s read #10BeforetheEnd #ASherlockHolmesAdventure #TBR

What a delightful read! Great protagonist, lots of action… the short story gift from the Mysterious Bookshop that arrived with my order. 🎄