The Sunday Salon: Reading Away the Cold

 

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. 

Yes, I brought my beautiful red cape to Thanksgiving in Chicago, but it turns out that you were right, Mae, and I needed a little more. Borrowed hats, gloves, scarves, socks, coats, blankets---these were all things we needed in Chicago winter weather. It wasn't snowing when we got there, but the temps hovered near freezing and the winds were gusting up to 60 mph---that's hurricane-force winds, people! The Saturday snowfall set a one-day record for November---8 1/2 inches---and our flight was delayed. The plane had to be de-iced, but we did finally fly out of Chicago. We made it to Dallas at midnight and we had to sleep in the airport where we took a 6 am flight home to Houston. 

And, of course, the heat and drought we experienced through November is now gone, and we are bundling up in chilly (for us) temps in the 50s and 60s.

What I Read Last Week:

The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy

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 Outrage by 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 

off the year strong.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: I'm Shivering in Chicago

Who Knows Where December Will Take Me?

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny  by Kiran Desai: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

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. 

Challenges:

Victoria Hamel “Holiday Cookie Recipe Exchange“

I shared my husband's family's recipe for Fattigmands,

a Norwegian Christmas cookie. I posted about making

Fattigmands in 2012 here.

Lisa @ Lisa Loves Literature “Holiday Book Scavenger Hunt“

Books Read for the HoHoHo Challenge:

The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy

• 
  

Action for Happiness December 2025 Calendar

All 2025 Reading Challenges are complete!

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:

Jordan loved the Christmas Lambchop we brought him.

Good Thing #2:

We made a Thankful Pumpkin.

Each person wrote down what he/she was thankful for.

Good Thing #3:

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had with our Chicago family.

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.