Welcome! I am delighted that you joined us here at the Sunday Salon.
What is the Sunday Salon?
The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.
Bailey, in 2022, when she graduated from high school.
We went to Dallas this week to see our granddaughter, Bailey, receive awards and graduate from nursing school at University of Texas in Arlington. We will be there through this weekend.
What I'm Reading Now*:
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (fiction)
Saint Francis of Assisi by Demi (nonfiction picture book)
The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrageby Richard Rohr (spirituality)
Dear Writer: Pep Talks and Practical Advice for the Creative Life by Maggie Smith (writing)
The Penguin Book of Haiku edited by Adam L. Kern (poetry)
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (classic; writing)
Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green (nonfiction)
String Too Short to Be Saved: Recollections of Summers on a New England Farm by Donald Hall (memoir)
Warrior Scarlet by Rosemary Sutcliff (classic; children’s)
Bird Talk: Hilariously Accurate Ways to Identify Birds by the Sounds They Make by Becca Rowland (nature)
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love by Samin Nosrat (foodie)
A Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare (play)
*I do not plan to finish any of these books until January 1st.
This is the way I trick my mind into thinking that I am starting
I am participating in the 2025 Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon, hosted by Kimberly at Caffeinated Reviewer. The event runs from Wednesday, November 26 to Wednesday, December 17. Read or listen to as many holiday or winter themed books as you wish. Share your progress using #2025HOHOHORAT. Take part in at least one challenge and read two books to be eligible for the grand prize. Link up here to join in the fun.
Here are the challenges I shall participate in during 2026.
I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:
Good Thing #1:
Stockings.
Good Thing #2:
The tree.
Ornaments we love.
Good Thing #3:
My ideal world under the tree.
Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.
I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.
Many congrats to Bailey! Your decorations both at your house and on the blog header are lovely. Nice list of challenges. I have joined the nonfiction challenge for 2026. Others are still under consideration. Great strategy for starting 2026 reading with a bang!
Your reading list is impressive. I have never been able to read multiple books at one time, so I could never do what you are doing. I hope you enjoy your weekend of celebrating and then also enjoy all your Christmas preparations and decorations! I have two posts for this week. I had just one prepared, but when I read articles about the undermining of vaccine programs in the US and abroad, and jeopardizing years of progress against preventable diseases, I. had to do a second post. Have a great time and thanks for hosting. best…. mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Congratulations to Bailey! I remember my own graduations from nursing school fondly. I hope they had a unique capping ceremony for the new graduates (I don’t think they do this these days however). Have a great time!
Congrats to Bailey! What a beautiful tree and decorations you ahve here. This year we decorated outside, first time in over 33 years. But this year we did not put up a tree. I have so many goat ornaments and maybe next year I will get it all organzied. Thank you for hosting and bringing us all together!
Congratulations to Bailey! I know you are so proud of her. Our daughter graduated from that same nursing school, so I have been to the graduation ceremony there. Nurses are so necessary! Lovely Christmas decorations and tree, etc. Hope you guys have a great weekend!
Congratulations to Bailey! I should think nursing is a tough program and we need good ones. Three cheers. I especially love all this week's good things!
I'm curious about your thoughts on the Saint Francis of Assisi book! My daughter considered him as her confirmation saint but went with Mary instead. Enjoy Dallas! That's close to where I grew up.
Yay for getting to see Bailey graduate nursing school. Have a fantastic weekend with your loved one. I have already decided I will not be doing any official reading challenges next year, although I will continue to read from my own shelves. I did Mt. TBR this year with a goal of 48 and have currently read 63...which is very exciting. A goal of 100 intimidates me, good luck :)
Congrats to Bailey! How exciting! Your Christmas tree and decorations are beautiful! Nice challenges for 2026. Good luck! I still need to choose mine. Have a great week!
I am stuck in molasses of reading these days but as soon as I break out of the muck I plan to start my 2026 reading, too, before the end of the month. Good plan.
Love seeing the Christmas decorations! Pretty and festive. Also way to go to Bailey. That's impressive she's graduating from nursing school. Congrats to her!
You must be very proud of Bailey, congratulations to her! You must be looking forward to spending some time at home soon though :) I love your decorations, I’m planning on doing ours tomorrow
It makes me happy to see my little world. My neighbor, Marjorie Lawrence, had a world of her own on her piano when I was a young mother, and it was that lovely world that inspired me.
Wonderful your grand daughter has graduated from nursing school. I love how you start off the new year really strong! That's quite a few challenges, see you on two of them.
I hope your weekend away in Dallas was fabulous - how wonderful to have such a star as Bailey to celebrate:)). I'm impressed at your list of books you wish to read and my attention was snagged by the John Green book about TB - I may get a copy of that one:). Your Christmas tree is stunning - we still havne't put our decorations up - partly because I'm sure we'll find Amari has busily rearranged everything to end up on the floor. Have a wonderful week, Deb:).
Yay for Bailey! You have lots of nice Christmas decorations. I find your desire to start the year off strong interesting. I couldn't leave so many books nearly finished. I'd go mad. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Congratulations to Bailey! You have such a wide genre of books going - looking forward to reading your reviews. Don't you just love stockings? They are not only fun to look at, but also a reminder of our family. You have suchprecious ornaments and I love your ideal world! Merry Christmas!
Deb, I love ❤️ the photo of Bailey. Beautiful and heartwarming Christmas 🎄 decorations.
ReplyDeleteThank you! We are so happy for her.
DeleteMany congrats to Bailey! Your decorations both at your house and on the blog header are lovely. Nice list of challenges. I have joined the nonfiction challenge for 2026. Others are still under consideration. Great strategy for starting 2026 reading with a bang!
ReplyDeleteI created a few challenges for myself to remind myself to diversify my reading and to focus on trying to read some good books.
DeleteCongratulations to Bailey. AI may one day replace some surgical practices but nothing will ever replace the care and attention of a nurse.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, I think!
DeleteYour reading list is impressive. I have never been able to read multiple books at one time, so I could never do what you are doing. I hope you enjoy your weekend of celebrating and then also enjoy all your Christmas preparations and decorations!
ReplyDeleteI have two posts for this week. I had just one prepared, but when I read articles about the undermining of vaccine programs in the US and abroad, and jeopardizing years of progress against preventable diseases, I. had to do a second post.
Have a great time and thanks for hosting.
best…. mae at maefood.blogspot.com
We must do what we can to inform people of truth.
DeleteCongratulations to Bailey! I remember my own graduations from nursing school fondly. I hope they had a unique capping ceremony for the new graduates (I don’t think they do this these days however). Have a great time!
ReplyDeleteThere was a beautiful and touching pinning ceremony. The new nurses expressed their gratitude for those who have helped them along the way.
DeleteCongrats to Bailey! What a beautiful tree and decorations you ahve here. This year we decorated outside, first time in over 33 years. But this year we did not put up a tree. I have so many goat ornaments and maybe next year I will get it all organzied. Thank you for hosting and bringing us all together!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing your goat ornaments next year.
DeleteCongratulations to Bailey! I know you are so proud of her. Our daughter graduated from that same nursing school, so I have been to the graduation ceremony there. Nurses are so necessary! Lovely Christmas decorations and tree, etc. Hope you guys have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI love it that your daughter went to nursing school there, too, Kay. Nurses are essential.
DeleteCongratulations to Bailey! I should think nursing is a tough program and we need good ones. Three cheers. I especially love all this week's good things!
ReplyDeleteNursing is a tough program, requiring both the learning of a lot of important information and the expression of care and concern.
DeleteHow fun to see Bailey graduate! And I remember her as young; how is she already an adult?!
ReplyDeleteShe is an extraordinary person, with a huge abundance of compassion and generosity to others. I am so glad that she is part of our family.
DeleteI'm curious about your thoughts on the Saint Francis of Assisi book! My daughter considered him as her confirmation saint but went with Mary instead. Enjoy Dallas! That's close to where I grew up.
ReplyDeleteLindsi, I will be happy to mail this book to you after Christmas, if you like. It's a lovely book about a lovely person.
DeleteYay for getting to see Bailey graduate nursing school. Have a fantastic weekend with your loved one. I have already decided I will not be doing any official reading challenges next year, although I will continue to read from my own shelves. I did Mt. TBR this year with a goal of 48 and have currently read 63...which is very exciting. A goal of 100 intimidates me, good luck :)
ReplyDeleteI hope to read more from my shelves, too, in 2026!
DeleteCongrats to Bailey. I love the stockings on the door.
ReplyDeleteIf we have to add any more stockings, I will have to get tiny ones.
Delete
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your granddaughter! My daughter was going to be a nurse but changed her mind and decided to be a teacher for trouble teens instead.
That is a challenging job, too.
Deletecongrats to Bailey! and merry festives.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sherry!
DeleteCongratulations to Bailey!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your Christmas decorations -- so festive! I love the door of stockings.
The oldest stocking is the one my sister-in-law made for my son forty years ago.
DeleteCongrats to Bailey! How exciting! Your Christmas tree and decorations are beautiful! Nice challenges for 2026. Good luck! I still need to choose mine. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI need to do a little more work with my challenges. It's fun for me to plan them out.
DeleteWay to go, Bailey! Love your Christmas decorations, tree, and village!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful week!
Thank you, Lori!
DeleteI am stuck in molasses of reading these days but as soon as I break out of the muck I plan to start my 2026 reading, too, before the end of the month. Good plan.
ReplyDeleteIt always makes me feel good to start strong.
DeleteWhat a wonderful accomplishment for Bailey! You must be so proud! Hope you enjoy your time in Dallas!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachel!
DeleteThat's a great list of challenges. How do I sign up for the Historical Fiction Challenge?
ReplyDeleteThere is a link to Marg's blog, Intrepid Reader and Baker, on my page for challenges: https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/p/2026-reading-challenges.html
DeleteCongrats to Bailey!
ReplyDeleteAnd here you go, you will already have 12 books done early January!
Yes!
DeleteCongrats to Bailey!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteLove seeing the Christmas decorations! Pretty and festive. Also way to go to Bailey. That's impressive she's graduating from nursing school. Congrats to her!
ReplyDeleteSusan, thank you!
DeleteYou must be very proud of Bailey, congratulations to her!
ReplyDeleteYou must be looking forward to spending some time at home soon though :)
I love your decorations, I’m planning on doing ours tomorrow
Wishing you a wonderful week!
I am definitely looking forward to spending time at home!
DeleteI fancy quite a few of your reads! Definitely the birds book. Lovely decorations!
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying reading the birds book while listening to bird sounds on my computer.
DeleteGreat job to Bailey for graduating with awards/honors! I'll be interested to hear what you think of Dear Writer in the new year :)
ReplyDeleteI am almost finished with Dear Writer.
DeleteEnjoy Dallas! Your Christmas tree looks like mine - filled with lots of memories!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
My Christmas tree is filled with memories.
DeleteHooray and congratulations to Bailey! We need good nurses. (BTW, my daughter went to UT-Arlington before transfering to TCU)
ReplyDeleteYou are reading a lot of good-sounding books. I'm curious about the Maggie Smith book. Would someone who isn't interested in being a writer enjoy it?
Pretty Christmas tree and decorations, Deb!
What a good question! I think it is primarily aimed at people who write, and you are a writer, Les.
DeleteIt's so cool that your daughter went to UT-A a bit, too.
Congratulations to Bailey! What a great idea to "save" books to finish after New Years... I always feel like my new year of reading starts too slowly.
ReplyDeleteIt used to feel like I had gone from being at the top of a mountain to being back at the trailhead with a long climb ahead.
DeleteCongratulations to Bailey! I love your world under the tree.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me happy to see my little world. My neighbor, Marjorie Lawrence, had a world of her own on her piano when I was a young mother, and it was that lovely world that inspired me.
DeleteI hope you have a lovely time in Dallas!
ReplyDeleteI did!
DeleteAhh, Warrior Scarlet is so good. My mother's favourite Sutcliff, though I favour The Eagle of the Ninth.
ReplyDeleteI loved them both. Both are on the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up list.
DeleteWonderful your grand daughter has graduated from nursing school. I love how you start off the new year really strong! That's quite a few challenges, see you on two of them.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Bailey.. enjoy spending time with your family.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of books.. good for you.
I hope your weekend away in Dallas was fabulous - how wonderful to have such a star as Bailey to celebrate:)). I'm impressed at your list of books you wish to read and my attention was snagged by the John Green book about TB - I may get a copy of that one:). Your Christmas tree is stunning - we still havne't put our decorations up - partly because I'm sure we'll find Amari has busily rearranged everything to end up on the floor. Have a wonderful week, Deb:).
ReplyDeleteCongratulations are in order. You must be proud. Hugs.
ReplyDeletersrue.blogspot.com
Yay for Bailey! You have lots of nice Christmas decorations. I find your desire to start the year off strong interesting. I couldn't leave so many books nearly finished. I'd go mad. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteHey, we have to do what we have to do to trick the brain.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Bailey! You have such a wide genre of books going - looking forward to reading your reviews. Don't you just love stockings? They are not only fun to look at, but also a reminder of our family. You have suchprecious ornaments and I love your ideal world! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Bailey! Also, I love your Christmas decorations. We have our tree up, but we let the 6-year-old decorate it, so it's . . . . interesting.
ReplyDelete