Best Books of 2024

I try to keep this tradition of the best books that I read in the past year. I so enjoy reading the lists of others and often get ideas .I'm very thankful for my book club which gets me out of my reading ruts. I also enjoy the Literary Life podcast which I try to read along with every book they discuss.

I read 67 books in 2024. I listen to the majority of the books. The total is high because many of the books are fairly short mystery stories which I borrow from the library. I prefer to read a physical copy of non fiction books. 

My favourites that I read this past year are listed.

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

I decided to read this book so that I could discuss it with my son who read it as part of a Great Books program. The problem is this. He's burnt out from book discussions! Maybe some day we can discuss it. This book is about families, marriages and faith. The common misconception is that it only tells the story of adultery. It is a much richer story.

2. Being Elizabeth Elliott by Ellen Vaughn

I read the previous book Becoming Elizabeth Elliott also by Ellen Vaugh. This book concerned Elizabeth's later life including the time she spent nursing her ailing husband Addison Leitch, a seminary professor. This was her happiest marriage. There is another biography of Elizabeth Elliott that I would like to read by a different author. I find her life very interesting.

3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

This was a book club pick. It is very long. I listened to the audio. The primary theme of this book is revenge and justice. The main character Edmond Dantes is wronged and spends the rest of his life in an elaborate scheme to repay those who were responsible. It is a cautionary tale.

4. Tucker by Chadwick Moore

This is a biography of one of my favourite journalists/pundits. J and I used to watch his show every night when it was on Fox News. He is a very interesting person.

5. Hold the Line My Story from the Heart of the Freedom Convoy by Tamara Lich

I had the privileges of meeting Tamara in Victoria this past year at the We Unity Canada conference. She is a hero to me.

6.  In the Lord I Take Refuge by Dane Ortlund

This is a devotional book that I read in the mornings for part of the year. There are only 150 so it doesn't go through the entire year.

7. Beyond Mere Motherhood: Moms are People Too by Cindy Rollins

Cindy is one of the podcast hosts on Literary Life. This book was full of book recommendations. 

8. Our Hearts Were Young and Gay An Unforgettable Comic Chronical of Innocents Abroad in the 1920s. Authors:  Cornelia Otis Skinner, Emily Kimbrough

This was a re read for me. It is a very funny story of two young ladies travelling in Europe. 

I struggle to write reviews. I would like to do more of that in 2025. It helps me to remember books if I write my thoughts out soon after I read the book or while reading. It takes discipline to practice this. I look forward to reading many good books in 2025.

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Christmas 2024

I love Christmas. I admit it. Almost everything about it. Food, gift giving, wearing Christmas sweaters, sending and receiving Christmas cards, decorating, singing Christmas carols, and pondering the Incarnation. I love my Christmas tree.

I'm so happy to have my boys home for Christmas break. Recently, I saw a sweatshirt that a lady was wearing that said "Life is better with my boys." That sums up how I feel. 

This year I was in a Christmas choir. We sang during worship services on December 15th and 22nd. 

The woman next to me in the gold blouse and black skirt is my friend Jill. We are in the alto section.

We attended the Christmas Eve service at our church. It is held at 4 pm which allows people to still have dinner with their families. I like to take the day off from cooking the day before a big meal.  After church we went to a Chinese stir fry restaurant. It was a good choice. Not too fancy but pretty healthy. 

On Christmas morning we ate the Bacon and Cheese Strata that I made the day before. We then opened presents. It was hard to buy for A since he gave us his list at the last minute. He was very busy this month wrapping up his studies. He is now finished with college.

Here are J's presents:

- from A: a case for his rifle 

- from C: an old Life magazine with Winston Churchill on the cover.

- from me: a DVD of the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

- a selection of hot sauces

- from A: a steel target

- from me: a gold tie

- from me: a tie clip. J says he has never owned a tie clip before!

- small food gifts 

Here are C's presents:

- a pouch to hold ammunition

- a pro life t shirt

- a collection of specialty bar soaps

- a shoulder strap for his rifle

- a book about history

- a comic book

Here are A's presents. Some of them will be exchanged later for exactly what he wants.

- a new water bottle (Hydro Flask)

- one of his favourite snacks

- a case for holding his cables and equipment

- a hard drive. He needs to have a lot of storage for the videos that he edits.

- a book about a TV show he likes

- a set of DVDs of a TV show

- a gift card to a supplements store

My presents

- pretty tote bags for grocery shopping

- note cards

- 2 jigsaw puzzles. The one on the left is tea cups and the other is Hercule Poirot a fictional character in mysteries by Agatha Christie.

- from A: an ergonomic keyboard for my computer

- a book about literature

- from C: a tin of tea

- from C: a book about tea

- from C: a notebook

- from Jonathan - an anniversary band (ring). Here is a close up photo that C took. The photo makes it look large but it is not. It is a very slim ring. J and I picked it out together on the Saturday before Christmas.

This was our Christmas menu:

- Prime Rib

- Mashed Potatoes

- Spinach Kiwi Strawberry Salad

- Yorkshire Pudding

- Chocolate Cake from Whole Foods

Here's my plate with the food:

I enjoy setting up a fancy table. 

We did the traditional Christmas crackers but I don't have photos of us with our crowns on. The others were getting tired of me taking photos.

When we were getting ready to take a family photo, C took this photo. I think it is sweet.

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Thanksgiving 2024

This year was a special Thanksgiving for us. Both boys returned from California. Last year A stayed south. This year A was able to spend an entire week with us. He is a senior now and doesn't have many classes. He will be finished with college on December 19th.  C arrived on Tuesday and returned on Sunday. 

C got together with his friends on Wednesday for "Friendsgiving." This is a common event for young people to gather with friends during Thanksgiving week. He was able to see a lot of his friends. Not all of them returned home for Thanksgiving. I did a lot of pre cooking on Wednesday in order to have less to do on Thursday. Wednesday night we went out for dinner as a family to The Keg restaurant.

I enjoy setting a fancy table.

Us:

Here's our Thanksgiving menu:

- Martinellis (sparkling cider)

- Hawaiian rolls

- Cranberry Sauce

- Winter Fruit Salad (A ate the majority of this)

- Mashed Potatoes and gravy

- Dressing/Stuffing

- Green Bean Casserole

- Bacon wrapped Turkey

- Apple Pie and Ice Cream

I bought the apple pie at a craft fair held in early November. I'm not a pie baker. I didn't buy a big enough turkey. It was 10 pounds. I joke that A can eat for three! We didn't have any leftover turkey or mashed potatoes. 

Food:

On Friday, we had our family photo taken outside. I was so thankful that there wasn't any rain on that day. It was cold and sunny. 

On Saturday, J and I had breakfast out with C and a friend of his. Later in the day,  A did some filming for his senior Torrey project on the topic of education. He filmed at his preschool location, his elementary and middle school school, and at his high school. C went along to help him. 

Now, I wait until December 21st when the boy will return by car. 

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