Saturday, December 26, 2020

A Fabulous Book About...Moss? and Adios, 2020; and Annie's Shiny, Shiny Shoes

 








The best book I (almost) finished* last week was Gathering Moss. Now please don't run screaming from the room. Gathering Moss? A book about what? Moss, you say? I can almost hear you questioning my bookish judgment. It's my naturalist book club book for January, and it is about moss, but, trust me, it's scientific and it's poetic. You will fall in love with moss.


*I shall be reading the last page of several books, including this one, on January 1st, 2021, to start my new year with a bang.




The collection of Mary Oliver poetry read since April? Done.
The intro to classical music that I read while listening to each selection? Done.
War and Peace that I literally read every day for the last twelve months? Done.

I'm free. I can read whatever I want. 

Talk about reading-at-will. I'm darting between a book about ways people enjoy happiness around the world to my brilliant Classics Club spin novel to a book of quotes compiled by the Today Show's Hoda Kotb to How to Be Happy (or At Least Less Sad): A Creative Workbook....I'm all over the place, and I love it.





Waving a fond adieu to a departing year...eagerly greeting the incoming year...these have traditionally been some of the delights of being an ardent reader. 

To say goodbye (and, honestly, good riddance) to 2020:
My Life in Books, 2020 Edition (posting next week)
Small Joys of 2020 Tag (posting next week)
New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2021 (posting late January)


To greet 2021 (O bearer of so much hope!):
First Book of 2021 (posting next week)
Resolutions for 2021 (posting early January)







Don't know which challenges to take on? How about a choose-your-own-adventure sort of challenge from Modern Mrs. Darcy? Take a look at it here.








Bonnie at Bonnie's Books offers up Focus for 2021. Take a look at this poster and the first four words you see are your focus for 2021. Mine? LOVE. CONNECTION. PURPOSE. BREAKTHROUGH.




Good Thing #1: Annie's Shiny, Shiny Shoes


Yep, blame those shoes on her Nana.


Good Thing #2
I must have been a good girl this year.
An espresso/capucchino maker. 


Good Thing #3:
At last! An explanation for 2020: this Match.com commercial:
A Match Made in Hell



See you in 2021!





I'm happy you found your way to the Sunday Salon. Sunday Salon is a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. It's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:

  • What was your week like?
  • Read any good books? Tell us about them.
  • What other bookish things did you do? 
  • What else is going on in your life?

Other places where you may like to link up over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.


My linkup for Sunday Salon is below.

51 comments:

  1. Self-care, miracles, connection, breakthrough :) I'm interested by your book on moss ! I'm even interested in mushrooms, trees, wildlife and all that, so I'm definitely interested. Those shoes are very shiny, I bet Annie loves them ^^ Happy holidays, Deb, see you in a better year (fingers crossed) !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I forgot to say that Gathering Moss is written by the person who also wrote Braiding Sweetgrass. Happily, I got Braiding Sweetgrass for Christmas, so that will be popping up soon on my Currently Reading list.

      Yes, yes, fingers crossed here for a better year.

      Delete
  2. Deb, thanks for sharing this whole post! I love the shiny shoes! Bet Miss Annie will want to wear them all the time - Ha! I enjoyed the Focus for 2021 and thank Bonnie for sharing that. My words were 'family', 'gratitude', 'health', and 'self-care' - in that order. Seems like a plan to me and perfect for 2021 and my life. Also, thanks for the Modern Mrs. Darcy link and I think I'll use that worksheet as well. Enjoy your new espresso machine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The worksheet is marvelous at Modern Mrs. Darcy even if you don't do the actual challenge.

      Delete
  3. Thanks for linking to my blog post, Deb.

    Hi, Kay, I'm seeing your "thank Bonnie" right now. I found the poster on Facebook, so the thanks may go way back. But it was fun finding the words.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You always find such lovely things around the blogosphere, Bonnie.

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Deb. Being retired, I have time to read blogs and other interesting things online.

      Delete
  4. I love Annie's Shiny Shiny shoes! So cute. I'm trying to decide if I should join in on the First Book of the Year. I just can't decide what that will be yet. It looks like fun, though.

    Hope you have a great week! Happy 2021!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure why there are so many new books out on pie, but I shall go that route for First Book of the Year. You should definitely join in, Yvonne.

      Delete
  5. The first four words I saw were pry, lessons, creation, love. Hmmm...

    Those shiny shoes are adorable as is the girl who is wearing them.

    I'm still struggling with coming up with my best of the best reads for 2020. So hard!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you will make a long best-of-the-best list, Dorothy. You read such wonderful books.

      Delete
  6. My 1st 4 words that I saw were: Creation, Family, Health and Miracles.

    I hope you Christmas was nice Deb.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the Match commercial! Made me giggle.
    Annie's shiny shoes are wonderful and I hope you enjoy your coffee maker!
    Happy New Year when the time comes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's hope Satan moves on from his current fixation on 2020, and it isn't to a chick named 2021.

      Delete
  8. I always loved moss, when I'd go in the woods it was always so cool looking. :) Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A fancy espresso/coffee maker sounds like a great Christmas present! Hope you had a lovely day.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Debs! Oooe I love those shiny shoes! But I love and yes, I do wear - shiny shoes. Give me a sandal with some bling on, and I will buy it for sure.

    My first 4 words were: Change, Health, Gratitude and Power. And then I saw mud as well. Hopefully some delicious mud pies!

    Enjoy your week and I can't believe it will be 2021 in just a couple of days....

    Elza Reads

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In our family it was Aunt Marie who was the shiny-shoe, sparkly-jeweled, animal-print maven. I hope to have her crown passed on to me.

      Delete
  11. I’m not convinced I would find moss poetic in any circumstances but I’m glad you do!
    Enjoy an expresso from your new machine with your first book of what will hopefully be a wonderful new year!


    Wishing you a great reading week

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I need to copy down some of the quotes from the book when I post my review. I know. Moss is surprisingly poetic.

      Delete
  12. I’d definitely read a book about moss. It sounds interesting. Enjoy your coffee machine, and have a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm happy, too, because I got another book by the same author for Christmas.

      Delete
  13. When I read Signature of All Things I became interested in moss. I'm fasincated my fungi too. I hope you have a wonderful new year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When we walk this week, I hope to take photos of some moss.

      Delete
  14. I need to get my reading mojo back!!!
    Let's hope 2021 is kinder to us all.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love that coffee maker! The little cup and saucer take me back, as I had Desert Rose dinnerware for years...and then I had the Franciscan Apple.

    Enjoy your week and those books. I am eager to enjoy the upcoming events of 2021. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Desert Rose dinnerware was my mom's, and it was something she left to me when she passed away.

      Delete
  16. Cute shoes for sure. I got my own little ones some shoes for xmas, but he seems to love his moon boots more.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I want to know more about your book on moss! The coffee maker looks cool too. And the shiny shoe looks adorable! Have a good new year's eve.

    ReplyDelete
  18. My husband's grandfather who lived out in the country, collected moss and made pillows out of it. He made quite a bit of money doing that but of course it wasn't his main job :) This was in the early-mid 1900's.

    I have Hoda Kotb's book I Really Needed This Today and plan on reading one quote a day during 2021

    The first words I saw were Family, Purpose, Change, Health

    I LOVE Annie's shiny shoes! She is adorable!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, that's fascinating about your husband's grandfather, Vicki.

      That Hoda Kotb book is very uplifting.

      Delete
  19. I think I would enjoy the book on moss. My words were: creation, alignment, gratitude and health. Your granddaughter and her shoes reminds me so much of my daughter at that age! Such a darling age. Enjoy your new coffeemaker!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I need to copy down some of my quotes from the moss book.

      Delete
  20. Haha, one of my favourite things this year was my new coffee maker as well!
    You told me you were participating in a Japanese Literature Challenge, that sounds very interesting, can you give me some more information?
    Thanks for recommending Humans, it's sounds like something I would love. Plus I had to teach about Humans in New York this month, which makes it extra special!

    Have a great week and a happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I will send you some more information on the Japanese Literature Challenge. And I'm very happy you like the idea of the Humans book.

      Delete
  21. Hope you've had a lovely holiday! And, congrats on that coffee maker. I bet it's awesome. One of these days I'd like to upgrade from my Keurig. I'm also trying to finish a couple of books before the new year so we'll see. Have a great week ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Woohoo! Congratulations on completing all your daily reading books! I've got Year of Wonder in my Amazon cart as I type this.

    My focus words are CREATION, LOVE, MIRACLES, and ALIGNMENT. Hmmmm... It feels like an odd grouping.

    Oh my! Those shiny shoes would make any girl proud! Great job, Nana!

    My sister sent me that match.com commercial and we agreed that it explained a lot of things about 2020!

    Happy New Year! Enjoy your week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do hope you will enjoy Year of Wonder. Be sure to find the Spotify list of classics to go along with the book, too.

      Delete
  23. gathering moss now added to my tbr.. and while i am glad i am officially finished reading for cybils, there is so much i want to finish reading...
    looking forward to reading your posts this coming week..

    ReplyDelete
  24. I'm still not sure about the Moss book, but I am so impressed with how organized you are. You have posts figured out going through late January! I can barely keep up on a week by week basis. Love the espresso machine.

    ReplyDelete
  25. It is nice to have goals and a focus for a new year. Looks like you are ready. I'm always intrigued by your eclectic taste in reading. Come see my week here. Happy reading and happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hmmm...moss? I mean, maybe? In any case, I hope you have a happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  27. LOTS of good things going on this week.Setting up the new bookshelves and moving furniture and redecorating the whole house (Well, I HAD to take the Christmas down anyway!) in this past week. I've already started my semester. I have nine women getting a head start during the holidays. Already grading assignments! YAY!
    Started the bookstore dream in motion--more later!
    Making sour dough bread. Too busy to breathe, but meditating each day.
    Tell Annie her shoes beat Dorothy's hands down!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I think you need to write and illustrate a picture book about Annie's Shiny, Shiny Shoes. :)

    Enjoy your espresso machine. We have one by the same company, but it's a little bit different. I do love to make an espresso after lunch for a little pick-me-up.

    LOL. I've watched that Match.com commercial a couple of times and think it's hilarious!

    My first four words were: Connection, health, care and strength. Very cool!

    ReplyDelete

I hope you will leave a comment so I know you have visited. If you stop by my blog, I will always stop by yours.

Note: Disqus commenting is only available on the web version of the blog. Please switch to the web version if you are using a mobile device.