When The Hodgepodge Gives You Lemons

Welcome to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. Do your goals and dreams energize or exhaust you? Elaborate. 

I tend to set smaller, more manageable goals these days, so I wouldn't say they exhaust me. In this season I want to live with intention and focus my energies on what's going to matter for eternity. I would say I do feel a greater sense of urgency about some things because time is a tickin'. For all of us actually, but once you hit a certain age you're more aware of it. 

2. July 23rd is national lemon day. Are you a fan of this flavor? What's a favorite dish or beverage you enjoy that calls for lemons? 

I love lemon flavored anything. One of my favorites. I make a lemon pasta with shrimp, a lemon garlic shrimp, sweet iced tea with lots of lemon (gotta have the lemon here!!), lemon crepes, chicken piccata, lemon bars, and good old fashioned lemonade. 

Oh and let's not forget icy cold limoncello made with lemons from our lemon tree-

3. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"...is this something you're pretty good at managing? Have you had to do this recently? If so tell us about it. 

I think I'm pretty good at this. I mean we don't usually have a choice, right? I'm normally that person looking for the bright side in every instance, which I think fits here. 

Now. I did have a situation not too many years ago, where I wish I'd been a bit better at making lemonade right off the bat, but will confess it took me a while to get there. Let's just say it was a learning experience and leave it at that. 

4. Something you love that is lemon yellow in color? 

The sun. Italian pottery. A bowl of lemons sitting on the kitchen counter. Daffodils.  A NYC taxi. 

5. How would you describe your attention to detail? 

Excellent if we're talking the written word. Something less than that if we're talking house cleaning. Hubs is a 10 in this department so I don't have to be. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Who's watched  I Will Find You on Netflix? We're more than halfway through and it's good. I love Harlan Coben's books and the television adaptation of this one is well done. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 663

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (July 21st)  to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. Do your goals and dreams energize or exhaust you? Elaborate. 

2. July 23rd is national lemon day. Are you a fan of this flavor? What's a favorite dish or beverage you enjoy that calls for lemons? 

3. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"...is this something you're pretty good at managing? Have you had to do this recently? If so tell us about it. 

4. Something you love that is lemon yellow in color? 

5. How would you describe your attention to detail? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 652

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (May 6) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. What's something you may do this month?

2. Hola! Hodgepodge Day lands just after Cinco de Mayo... how do you feel about Mexican food? What's your favorite dish? Do you make it at home or is it a strictly dine out option? 

3. When the children of today grow up what do you think they'll say about this time period? What do you most hope they remember? 

4. What advice would you give a new mother? 

5. What's a phrase your mother often said to you? If you're a mom do you say it to your own children? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Looking Back And Springing Forward

With spring officially on the calendar it's time to re-visit my winter list, then come up with something fresh for spring. I know I don't have to make a list, but it helps

Especially if you look at it once in a while, which I need to be better about. I'll put that on my list teehee. Here's what my winter list looked like-

Read the first quarter of Grudem's Systematic Theology-Ive read not quite a quarter. The book is meaty and I don't want to rush. I've given myself the entire year to get through it which means reading approximately 89 pages each month. I'm enjoying it, savoring it really, and feel good about my progress even though I am not on page 267. Yet! 

Try a new recipe ✅...more than one actually and they were keepers. 

Try a new restaurant ✅ 

Celebrate Sugar's 2nd birthday ✅

Visit my mama ✅

Celebrate Valentine's Day ✅

Book hotel and details for wedding travel this summer ✅ so happy to have this one settled and off my brain. We're tying wedding travel in with a few days at the beach and now that it's all booked we can get excited. 

organize laundry room cabinets, bedding, and linens-question for you...how many times can you put something on a to-do list, then not do it, then move it to a new to-do list, but still not get to it ? Asking for a friend. 

shop for new bedding-I've been looking but haven't purchased 

clean out vanity, nightstand, and kitchen drawer (I know the one)-giving myself a C on this one as I did clean out my vanity, but still haven't tackled that kitchen drawer. 

hike a trail new to us ✅

see/hear live music ✅

Now to spring forward. There are some fun things to celebrate this spring and I've kept my list simple which is how I like it. No pressure. 

Except for maybe that attic and laundry room. Feeling some pressure not to add those to my summer list too. 

Do you have a seasonal-monthly-yearly-lifetime bucket list? What's something on your to-do or your want to-do list in these next three months? 

Linking today with Joanne for Talking About It Tuesdays 

Happy New You!

That's how we say it in our house. Happy new YOU! When our oldest grandson was two years old this was how he greeted the new year, and we still love it. 

So will it be a new me, or the same old me in 2026? I'm hoping for a slightly improved version, but I suppose I'm the one who will need to make that happen, so the answer is still up in the air. 

We put a boatload of expectation on the turning of a calendar page, don't we? 

Before we move forward let's look back at the week that was. Monday around 5 hubs had a thought about whether or not his passport was expiring this year or next so he went to check. He returned shortly and asked, 'Where's my passport?' 

I don't know. I mean we keep them locked up always in the same place, but when he went to check it wasn't there. So we backtracked in our thinking trying to remember when the last time was that he flew, until I remembered we had taken the passports (and every single identifying piece of information we own including our birth certificates and our marriage license) to the DMV in August when we went for our Real ID. 

Hmmm...so what did I do with them? I mean we both knew I'd been the one carrying the bag and hubs kept his cool but y'all it was a problem. A PROBLEM!! 

We knew they'd been in a tote bag and we spent the next couple of hours turning our house upside down looking for that bag in obvious and ridiculous places both, because at this point I figured I must have put it somewhere that made no sense. 

We had gone to breakfast after the DMV and even though it was all the way back in August I still phoned the restaurant and the sweet hostess went and looked in their office and under the counter and anywhere she could think of which I appreciated. I knew I hadn't left it there because I'm kind of paranoid about this sort of thing, although apparently not paranoid enough to put it all back in the spot we have for important documents. 

At some point I got on the computer and asked what to do and the internet very helpfully laid it out for me.  I went ahead and ordered a copy of my birth certificate and our marriage license because those things were easy. Hubs birth certificate would be another story, because he was born outside the US in a military hospital that no longer exists. Whoo boy. 

We finally went to bed. Hubs said we'd figure it out and let's just go to bed and see it with fresh eyes in the morning. Neither of us slept much, and when I got up he was already on the phone trying to sort out his paperwork dilemma. We both were sure the bag was somewhere in the house as opposed to truly lost or stolen, but we couldn't think of any other place to look. I decided to go look once more in one of the places I'd already looked three or four times, but this time I methodically took each thing out of the space, and hallelujah! there it was.  

Honestly I felt like I had a little PTSD from the whole experience. I know this experience falls under the heading of first world problems, but it was a problem nonetheless.

Tuesday was nice. I piddled around the house, made a big pot of lemon chicken orzo soup, caught up on blogs, and played Mah Jong with some neighbors. 

On the last day of the year (Wednesday) we went for a walk. It was cool but not windy and the sky was so blue. Some of us chased chipmunks...

we smiled at the cherry tree beginning to bloom-

...and we spent the afternoon watching football. I made a Mexican style spinach dip to take to the next door neighbors that evening. They invited us, along with another couple, to ring in the new year with dinner and cards.  

It was fun and we didn't have to drive anywhere which I consider a win on NY Eve. 

We haven't taken down a single decoration yet and I'm not mad about it. We're relaxing and enjoying sitting by the tree still, so probably won't worry about it until next week. 

On the first day of this brand new year we took another walk and watched a lot more football.  'Tis still the season. I blogged a little , and we made a semi-traditional meal for dinner. Hubs grilled pork chops and made black eyed peas and I made cornbread and cooked cabbage to go with. Technically you're supposed to eat greens and I often do spinach, but I had a head of cabbage in the frig I wanted to use so we made it work. 

If you don't know what I'm talking about you might not live in the south. 

I played around with a winter bucket list and also took a look back at fall to see how I did. Remember fall? I kept my want-to-do's back then pretty simple-

Not sure why I made a list of the odd 11, but of the 11 I checked off eight. I didn't get my photo book made, I didn't memorize three verses (although I did memorize one) and I didn't make soup in my pumpkin tureens. I will definitely get the book made this winter, there were too many other holiday related tasks to be done this fall for me to spend a lot of time making a book. I'm not fast. 

Hubs and I tackled the attic but there's still more to be done there and we'll continue working on that job this winter. Good times. 

Moving forward into the new year, new season with a new list which I'll post soon. It's a work in progress. Like me. I hope your new year is happy and bright. 

Merry 2026! 

A Freshly Painted Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you so the hop keeps hopping. Here we go-

 

1. Do you make an effort to see/hear live music? Last time you went somewhere for the live music? 

We love live music and I'd say we make some effort. Tickets to popular well known acts are ridiculously expensive these days so that's a factor in who we see perform live. We enjoy live music at several local venues where local artists play, some of whom are very talented. We have tickets to see one of my favorite bands in December and I'm looking forward to that. 

Last time we saw live music would be this past weekend. We went to the Fall Festival event in the nearby city which featured three days of all day music on five different stages. We heard some good bands. 

 2.According to HGTV the colors of the year for 2026 are mostly decided. Top paint companies declare a color of the year, and decorators will incorporate that into their new year home and room designs. Here's what's on tap in terms of paint trends for 2026 (check out the link here to see photos)

• Sherwin Williams-universal khaki (inspired by heavy canvas and outdoor gear)
• Behr-hidden gem (a confident shade of teal)
• Valspar-warm eucylyptus (a warm sliver tinted green)
• Dutch Boy-melodious ivory (a honey tinted beige)
• Glidden-warm mahogany (a classic brick red)
• Krylon-matte coffee bean
• Clark and Kensington -Hazelnut Crunch (warm reddish-brown)
• Graham and Brown-Divine Damson (cherry red with a subtle violet undertone)
• Dunn and Edwards-midnight garden (the green that works everywhere) 

First question-did you know there were so many different paint manufacturers? 

I'd heard of more than half of these companies, but two or three were new to me. 

Which color on the list most appeals to you in terms of your own decorating style? 

The walls in my house are mostly a soft neutral-Sherwin Williams Canvas Tan. It's very livable and we still like the color. We have a lot of windows and you see the lake out of most of them so we purposely chose a wall color that wouldn't compete with Mother Nature. The Universal Khaki is a little darker, but similar so maybe that one. I like the matte coffee bean too in terms of a neutral. 

I love dark dramatic paint but it doesn't feel right in this house. 

Do you have plans to do any painting in your home in the coming year, and if so might you choose a color from this list? 

We need to repaint some rooms more than others, but one room moves in to another then another and before you know it everything has to be painted or it looks funny. Maybe in the coming year. Maybe. Hubs says the exterior needs painting too and this would all be a huge project so we'll see. I see it as a two year project-interior one year, exterior the next. Hubs probably sees it more as a two-week project because once he gets hold of a home improvement project he's like a dog with a bone. I'm still recovering from the backyard re-do. 

Now, forget painting walls, which color name appeals to you most? 

Do the same people who come up with nail polish names also weigh in on paint. It seems so. I like the sound of warm eucalyptus. 

3. What's something in your life you have to do-watch-or participate in that's about as exciting as 'watching paint dry'? 

Taxes and insurance. Either and both. 

4 . Tuesday, October 14th is/was National Dessert day...did you/will you celebrate? Tell us how? What's your absolute favorite dessert. Yes, just one. I know!! 

I'm answering these questions on Tuesday morning and probably won't celebrate because I have book club Tuesday afternoon and play Mah Jong Tuesday evening. I did have dessert on Monday night at our wine club dinner...a very light cheesecake with a strawberry topping. It was yummy! 

I have a sweet tooth so choosing just one favorite is hard. I'm going with crème brûlée. 

We make it at home occasionally for dinner guests, and if I'm dining out and see it's on the menu I'll be ordering. 

5. Perhaps today is the day I will __________________________________. 

Organize that out of control cabinet in my laundry room. Except probably not because both my Tuesday and my Wednesday are already pretty full. The question did say 'perhaps'. If it doesn't happen Wednesday it's on my calendar for Friday so it will happen this week. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Are you familiar with something called a Day In The Life post? I've wanted to try one and I invite you to try it too. In a nutshell, you chronicle your thoughts, activities, and experiences throughout a single day. Any day. Nothing big needs to be happening, just everyday ordinary life from the time you get up in the morning until you go to bed. 

Most of the bloggers I've seen do this take a picture every hour or two and then add some words to go with. They're fun to read and you really see how, although our lives are our own, there is much we have in common. I'll be setting an alarm to remember to snap pictures on the day I choose, because that's usually my downfall. 

I'm going to host a link up for anyone who wants to play along on Thursday, November 13th, which is almost a month away. You can pick any day between now and then to blog about, then come back here and share your post on the 13th. See you there! 

And also here because like I said, it's a month away. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 624

Here are the questions to this week's random fun aka The Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here on Wednesday (of course!) October 15th, to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. Do you make an effort to see/hear live music? Last time you went somewhere for the live music? 

2.According to HGTV the colors of the year for 2026 are mostly decided. Top paint companies declare a color of the year, and decorators will incorporate that into their new year home and room designs. Here's what's on tap in terms of paint trends for 2026 (check out the link here to see photos)

• Sherwin Williams-universal khaki (inspired by heavy canvas and outdoor gear)
• Behr-hidden gem (a confident shade of teal)
• Valspar-warm eucylyptus (a warm sliver tinted green)
• Dutch Boy-melodious ivory (a honey tinted beige)
• Glidden-warm mahogany (a classic brick red)
• Krylon-matte coffee bean
• Clark and Kensington -Hazelnut Crunch (warm reddish-brown)
• Graham and Brown-Divine Damson (cherry red with a subtle violet undertone)
• Dunn and Edwards-midnight garden (the green that works everywhere) 

First question-did you know there were so many different paint manufacturers? Which color on the list most appeals to you in terms of your own decorating style? Do you have plans to do any painting in your home in the coming year, and if so might you choose a color from this list? 

Now, forget painting walls, which color name appeals to you most? 

3. What's something in your life you have to do-watch-or participate in that's about as exciting as 'watching paint dry'? 

4 . Tuesday, October 14th is/was National Dessert day...did you/will you celebrate? Tell us how? What's your absolute favorite dessert. Yes, just one. I know!! 

5. Perhaps today is the day I will __________________________________. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Grading On The Curve

Joining Joanne's Talking About It Tuesday today and The Quarterly Bucket List Bloggers

Summer is officially at an end (on paper anyway) and fall is upon us. I've put off revisiting my summer bucket list because it's a bit of a disappointment, but I also don't like to leave things undone so let's go ahead and discuss. 

I wanted an active summer and instead declared it the summer of the slug. While most of it was spent in a boot I still enjoyed lots of porch time, let hubs wait on me hand and (literally) foot, read books, went for boat rides wearing my 'accessory', wore a wrap to hang on a raft in the water, and spent time with family and friends which always makes for a nice summer. 

Sometimes you have to roll with what life brings, and this summer was one of those times. In case you've forgotten my overly ambitious bucket list, here's what it looked like-

I actually did quite a few things under what I consider the most important category-Family and Friend Gatherings. We had a wonderful family beach trip...

Dined al fresco with the grands here for outdoor griddle breakfasts. 

Had the most fun with college girlfriends here for a weekend. 

And we of course celebrated the mancub's birthday. 

I still haven't managed to get it together for a smashburger/corn hole party but I also haven't given up on the idea. We didn't have a low country boil either, but there's always next summer for that one. 

Under outdoor adventure we did fly kites while at the beach, but I didn't fish one time or play any mini golf. And I really dropped the ball under culinary creations. I mean we had some really good meals, just none of the dishes I thought I'd try. 

My daughter1 brought dessert on the 4th of July and it was patriotic but I didn't make it. I made peach bars instead of a cobbler and they were a big hit with everyone. We didn't attempt pizza on the green egg, but maybe this fall? 

Forget about health and fitness. I wasn't walking, wasn't allowed to swim, and standing on a paddle board didn't seem like a good idea either. We didn't visit a single Farmer's Market this summer, but since they run into October I hope to still get to that one. The lower patio is still artless, and while we had a nice dinner out to celebrate our anniversary we didn't do an overnight trip. 

A lot of things felt overwhelming to me this summer, and because walking wasn't enjoyable we mostly stuck close to home and hubs was a trooper. 

Onward to autumn..

Keeping my expectations at a manageable level this fall. If I can do a 5 K I will, but it's not going on the list-ha! I love the beauty this season brings, the way it invites coziness and contemplation and hot tea sipped in the waning afternoon sun. Fall is my favorite and I plan to savor it.  

'There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been."~Percy Bysshe Shelley  

A Summer Bucket List

The calendar says summer which means it's time to revisit my spring bucket list and move on into this new season. This was my spring bucket list...

I kept it short and sweet and still didn't do all I'd planned. I did a lot though, and there were so many fun spring happenings that didn't make the list which means I pass. 

Not that it's a test, but I don't like leaving lists uncrossed. 

Go to a Farmer's Market...not yet. I'm adding this to my summer list because I still want to get there. We just did not have a weekend where it worked this spring, but summer's my favorite for fresh produce and lots of grilled fruits and veg. 

Tackle the attic. Oops. Nope. And now it's hotter than h e double hockey sticks up there so I think we'll push this task off until autumn. Pretty sure last winter I moved the task to spring and since I'm not worrying about it in the heat of summer I guess you'll see it again when autumn rolls around. Hi hubs! 

Kayak. Done. Once but at least we got out there. We'll do more kayaking this summer and nobody will love it more than the little brown dog. 

Dye eggs with the kids. Celebrate Easter. Host dinner. Wow, raise your hand if it feels like Easter was a hundred years ago? In reality just two months. Well, technically a lot longer than two months, but you know what I mean. 

Anyway, this one was done-done-and done and I loved it all. 

Write a love letter. Hmmm...I'm going to say yes because I wrote my grandson a birthday letter four days before summer rolled in. I think when I put this on my bucket list I was thinking more of the hubs, so maybe I can still make that happen. I like writing letters and we still need to officially celebrate our anniversary. 

Hike a trail new to us. Nope. I wish we'd been able to do this, but between the weather and my ankle we didn't get to this one. We don't do a lot of hiking here in the summer because it's so hot, but never say never. 

Host a Derby party. Yup. Whoohoo! It was lots of fun too. 

Pick strawberries and make jam...fail. There's always next year, and thankfully daughter1's mother-in-law makes strawberry fig preserves and always shares. 

Visit a garden. Does my daughter2's raised beds count? Ha! 

Probably not, but I loved seeing all her plants and look forward to tasting something she's grown. 

See a ballet. This was one of my favorite springtime activities. Daughter1 and I went to the International Ballet's performance of Don Quixote to celebrate her birthday. The costumes were beautiful, the dancing exceptional, and there's nothing quite like a mother-daughter day to bring the smiles.  

Spring was busy. While I only managed to complete half my list, there were lots of fun spring events that happened, but weren't listed....my sister and niece came out to the lake one weekend for brunch, the 'kids' moved out and into their own home, we had a whole week with both girls and all the grands in the house, took our first boat ride, celebrated a soon-to-be new momma, a grandson turning three, 41 years of married life, and more. It wasn't dull. Or quiet. 

Now bring on summer...

Linking today with Joanne for Talking About It Tuesdays...hop over to her blog (Slices of Life)  and see what everyone else has to say on this last Tuesday in June. 

Springing

Spring has sprung which means it's time to check in on the winter bucket list, and add some new to-do's for spring. Out with the old and all that jazz. 

Let's review. My winter bucket list looked like this-

1. Spend a day crafting each month. Nope. Nada. Zilch. Did not happen. Not enough hours in the day, too much going on, not inspired to pull out my crafting bits and bobs when there are already lots of extra bits and bobs out right now. 

2. Try a new soup recipe. I give myself an A+ on this one because the recipe I tried was so good and definitely a keeper. Everyone, kids and adults alike, loved this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup-

3. Organize the laundry room cabinets. Didn't even try. There were a lot of things happening here this winter that were not on my list so something had to give. A whole house clean will be happening soon, so this chore can be a part of that.

4. Hike a new to us trail. We didn't hike any new trails, but did revisit one of our favorites that we hadn't been to in a while, and we enjoyed that a lot. 

.5. Read a classic. Done. I read one in January (The Good Earth), one in February (Wuthering Heights) and I'm wrapping up my March classic now (Pride and Prejudice). I've enjoyed these books so much, and am in awe of the language. I plan to read a classic each month this year and so far I'm on track. 

6. Clean out the kitchen drawers. Giving myself a B- on this one. I got to some, but not all of the drawers but since it's a relatively quick chore I'll finish it up in the next couple of weeks. 

7. Celebrate Sugar's first birthday. Of course this happened and we had the best day celebrating our little sweetheart. I wrote a whole post about it here (My Tuesday Version of Hello Monday). And I always write my grands a blog letter on their big day and this is hers-Sugar Sugar

8. Buy something pink. Yes. I bought a pink sweater to wear to Sugar's sweetheart themed party. It was a little on the warm side that day (it was supposed to be cool and cloudy, not warm and sunny), but I wore it anyway because it was on point with the party theme. 

This is the sweater, but this is not Sugar. I don't have a single picture from her birthday where I'm in the sweater, but I promise you I was. All the pics I have with me in them were taken before I changed. Whatever, here is the sweater and this is Little Miss. Pink everything is her favorite so she is a fan of my sweater too. 

9. Choose Valentine treats for the grands. This one also happened. We were in charge of the grands the weekend of Valentine's Day as my daughter and son-in-law went to an out of town wedding. I bought some fun little things for them to have including magnifying glasses, sunglasses, little boxes of conversation hearts...that sort of thing. 

10. Write a love letter. Hmmm. This was a nice idea but I never sat down and made the time to do it. Love is in the air in the springtime too though, right? I think I'll add this one back in to my spring list. 

11. Stay on track reading the Bible through the year. Check. Hubs and I started the Bible Recap reading program Jan 1st, and so far so good. There have been one or two misses which meant reading double duty a couple of days, but we don't let ourselves miss more than that. We're on track and it's been really good. 

12. Bake the Southern Living cake of the month in Jan-Feb-March. I baked both the January and February cakes and have plans to make the March recipe this weekend-a Lemon Meringue cake. It looks to be a little more involved than the January/February recipes but I'm committed. Plus I have a houseful and somebody's gotta eat what I bake besides me. 

In summary I completed 7.5/12 so just over 60%, which would be a failing grade if this were a test. 

Except it's not, so I'm not mad about it. The first three months of the year have been uncharacteristically busy with many other to-do's that needed doing, and I wanted to roll with it. Here's to spring daydreams, fresh starts, and a brand new list-

Happy Spring! 

Share Your Shelf-December

Kicking off the new year with a book post. It's the first Thursday of the month which means it's time to share our shelves and what we read in December. Before I do that let's talk Goodreads. Are you on Goodreads? If you're not, how do you remember what you read and who wrote what? 

I enjoy participating in Goodread's reading challenge each year, and in 2024 my goal was 34 books. I read 44, a mix of historical fiction, non-fiction, memoir, contemporary fiction, and mystery/legal thriller. I always struggle to answer the question, 'which one was your favorite', but those near the top of that list would be Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, and Foster by Claire Keegan. 

Now on to December. Back to December? Whatever, here's what I read in December, fewer books than other months but the holidays didn't leave a lot of open space on the calendar. 

I'm linking this post today with the Share Your Shelf girls-Joanne (Slices of Life), Marilyn (Memphis Bridges), Tanya (The Other Side of the Road) and Jen (My Joyful Life). 

1. Joy To The World: Daily Readings For Advent by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon was a preacher in the mid 1800's, and this collection of daily short readings taken directly from his sermons still rings true today. Some of the language feels 'old', and after reading day one I wasn't sure I'd like it, but am so glad I stuck with it as I ended up loving it more each day. He made me think, which is what I want in an Advent devotional. I gave this one 5 stars. 

2. The Lost City Of The Monkey God: A True Story by Douglas Preston

Hubs and I listened to this one on Audible as we were driving here there and everywhere during the month of December. We both enjoyed it. Mostly. The author got a little 'preachy' in spots toward the end, but overall this true account was really, really interesting. 

This is the story of a project by some documentary filmmakers (Steve Elkins and Bill Benenson) who used a technology called LiDAR to search for archeological sites in the Mosquitia region of Honduras. The Mosquitia region was one of the last scientifically unexplored places on earth, and basically I knew zero about any of that, including Honduras. The author, Douglas Preston, has written a number of fiction books, but has also written for National Geographic and The New Yorker. The story flows and was very readable. Listen-able? 

Elkins search was inspired by rumors of a lost city called La Cuidad Blanca or The White City, mentioned by Spanish conquistadors back in the 1930's. The stories and rumors surrounding this 'lost city' talked about a pyramid topped with a giant stone statue of a monkey god somewhere in the Mosquitia region, and this book tells the tale of Elkins and his team's attempts to locate and unearth it. A privately funded LiDAR survey showed complex archeological sites under the rainforest, and Preston (the author) accompanied the group of scientists, geologists, archeologists, videographers, etc to investigate and verify the findings. 

A fair bit of the book deals with the hardships (that's putting it mildly) of jungle life including a disease called leishmaniasis several of the group contracted and continue to deal with still today. Let me just say, reading this book confirmed my suspicion that I'm not cut out for jungle life. Have you ever heard of a snake called the Fer-de-Lance? Well they're a fixture in this particular part of the Honduras rainforest and they cause more human deaths than any other American reptile. Details of their trek into the rainforest were gripping and I am always fascinated by people who live lives of exploration, adventure, and risk. I gave this one four stars. 

3. The Southern Criminal (Joe Hennessey Legal Thriller #2) by Peter O'Mahoney

I like a legal thriller and enjoy this series featuring the lawyer Joe Hennessey. The books are set mainly in Charleston, but the author also mentions the Upstate, which is the part of SC where I live, and I enjoyed the references to familiar spots. This is the second of six in a series and I will probably read them all. I think the individual cases in each book stand alone, but Joe Hennessey's personal storyline is a thread carried through at least the first three books, maybe more.

In The Southern Criminal a high profile lawyer is charged with murdering his wife and Joe agrees to join the defense team since he owes the lead attorney on the case a favor. There's a side story playing out too, as Joe also agrees to separately defend a well known folk singer on drug charges. These two cases intersect, the plot lines are interesting, and the characters well-developed. There's a great deal of corruption, back room dealing, and shady lawyering (not by Joe) along the way, as well as the continuation of Joe's personal tragedy storyline (his ten year old son was murdered 20 years prior). Bits of that story are parceled out and it sounds like Book 3 (The Southern Killer) will tell much more. Joe is a likable lead character and this is a genre I enjoy. I gave it four stars. 

So what did you read in December? 

What's one book you're really excited to read in 2025? 

Three Days In June by Anne Tyler is one I'm looking forward to. I love her writing and the plot appeals to me. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy coming out in March sounds really good too, and  The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff is also on my to-read list. I  love a generational tale. Frederik Bachman has a book coming in May that I'll be waiting for, entitled -My Friends.

My to-read list is long, and I could go on, but I'll leave it there for now.

Will you be participating in any book challenges this year? I will definitely set a Goodreads goal for 2025, and this year I'm also considering the 52 book challenge. I might give myself a bit of latitude on that one, but it sounds like fun. 

New year, new books...happy reading everyone!