Day 238: Spending a few days during the inter-holiday week visiting family. First stop: my wife’s dad. Dinner and then sharing cookies while watching the first Mission Impossible film. Overnighting here, then off to our next stop tomorrow.
Photos
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📚 Uncanny Issue 56 edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Monte Lin, and Betsy Aoki
73/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This issue I really enjoyed Mary Robinette Kowal‘s “Marginalia” and Alex Jennings‘s “Lest We Become Posessed”, a review of Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, co-edited by Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams, which has been added to my “keep an eye out for” list.
Year 50 Day 237
Day 237: The Christmas Day pile o’ presents! After a nice quiet morning with breakfast in front of a fire (in a fireplace, not just some random fire), we dove into the present unwrapping. Tip we discovered this year: Instead of wrapping paper, reusable gift bags are wonderful! Easier to “wrap”, and no waste when unwrapping. We’re definitely fans.
📚 Foreign Foes by Greg Brodeur and Dave Galanter
72/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It felt rather rushed and busy for a good portion of the book, as there were several different threads going on that the authors switched among rather quickly, and while the details took some time to come to light, the basic mystery as to what was going on wasn’t all that mysterious, being obvious to the reader (if not the characters) within the first couple chapters. Not a stinker, but not a standout, either.
Year 50 Day 236
Day 236: It’s a cookie baking day! There have actually been several of these over the past week, but those took place while I was at work; today’s batch of gingerbread I was of (some) assistance in creating. They’re quite tasty, too!
Year 50 Day 235
Day 235: Classic vs. Old Fashioned: What’s the difference? Seriously, I haven’t got a clue — aside from different names with essentially the same meaning, they appear to be identical, even down to the marketing copy on the side of the carton (though I’ll admit, I didn’t do a line-by-line check of the ingredients). I ended up choosing by which one had the most forgiving expiration date.
Year 50 Day 234
Day 234: Pre-holiday-break week work shirt number four: peekaboo Santa (the creepy ol’ stalker!).
📚 Storm Front by Jim Butcher
71/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
According to my reading history, I read this 13 years ago. I have no memory of this, even while reading it this time; and after reading it, I’m not terribly surprised that I don’t remember it. Not that it’s bad, it’s just…not really my thing, I guess? I’ve enjoyed urban fantasy, and noir, and noir urban fantasy, so I don’t think it’s the parts, but they’re not summing up as well as they have in other books I’ve read. It was entertaining enough that I’ll likely read at least another one or two in the series to see how it progresses; this is a first book, after all, and the series has gone on long enough and has enough fans that there’s a chance I’ll find later installments more engaging.
Year 50 Day 233
Day 233: Pre-holiday-break week work shirt number three: Holiday gifts, Santa hats, gingerbread people, candy canes, mittens, hot chocolate mugs, and snowflakes.
Year 50 Day 232
Day 232: Pre-holiday-break week work shirt number two: poinsettia, holly, and candy canes.