Photo Credit: Nancy White
Little Whale Cove
Depoe Bay, Oregon
December 2025
And just like that, we have reached the end of 2025. Tempus fugit!
December is always a busy month, but this year I was able to relax and enjoy the quiet days between social events. We hosted a small-ish cocktail party to kick off the Christmas season, quietly celebrated my 64th birthday, attended a large neighborhood holiday gathering, and enjoyed Christmas with my mom, brother, and niece. I managed to read several great books, completed my personal challenge to read all of Maggie O'Farrell's and Elizabeth Strout's works, and started planning for next year's reading goals.
Books Read (click on the title for my review):
The Nix by Nathan Hill (2/5)
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell (5/5)
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (4.5/5)
Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout (3.5/5)
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout (4/5)
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (4.5/5)
A Far-flung Life by M. L. Steadman (5/5)
Movies & TV Series:
A Complete Unknown - I'm not a big Dylan fan, but this was a wonderful movie! Chalamet gives a great performance.
Karen Pirie (Season 2) - We like this series, but after a couple of weeks, the storyline is long forgotten.
Visitors:
64th Birthday:
I had a very nice birthday with lots of cards (I love snail-mail!), emails, texts, and phone calls. Rod ordered a delicious cake (raspberry-filled white cake), and my mom took us both out to our favorite restaurant (Local Oceans) in Newport. I now have 9 months to start researching supplemental health insurance to go with Medicare, which I'll sign up for in mid-September.
Christmas:
Another borrowed photo from my brother. Not only did I not take any photos of our Christmas party, but I failed to take any on Christmas Day!
My mom at 92!
That's it for me. Stay tuned for my yearly wrap-ups where I share my reading stats, as well as my favorite audiobooks and tv shows.
Always a favorite for me, your monthly recap and this one is great roundup. There are movies I had not heard about and I will check some of those out. Good job on completng your personal challenge to read the Elizabeth Stout books. Stedman's new book has been on my radar since before she wrote it......after The Light Between the Oceans I have checked constantly for a new book by Stedman. Glad it's a 5 star.
ReplyDeleteFamily photos are nice, even if you borrowed them, haha. Is this your brother from Nebraska? Our son sure loves it in Lincoln and his only want is to be able to move out of an apartment into a house. He will definitely settle there permanently.
Here's to good reading in 2026!
Tina, I read a lot of great books in December! It felt great to have read all of Strout & O'Farrell's books this year. Now to focus on another author.
DeleteYes, my brother lives in Lincoln. He moved out there from San Diego a few years after Rod & I did. One of his daughters lives there (senior at UNL) and the other moved to Denver last year. We loved Lincoln, but the winters really got old.
Happy belated birthday! I did not read any of your books but I agree with you on the new Knives Out and Karen Pirie. I felt a little let down by both. Fun Fact the James A. Garfield home is in Mentor, Ohio a stone's throw from where I grew up in Cleveland. I used to drive past it all the time. That was a great series.
ReplyDeleteHi, Sharon! Thanks for the birthday wishes. Yes, Death by Lightning is very good. Thanks for the fun fact! If you enjoy Britbox shows, maybe try Quirke. We're finishing up the last episode tonight. Not sure what we'll try next. Thanks for visiting!
DeleteHappy belated birthday! It seems like you had a wonderful month. I hope 2026 is wonderful for you. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lindsi! It was a lovely month of celebrations. I'm enjoying the post-holiday peace & quiet now, though. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteNice pictures, Les! Always good to hear about what you've been reading and watching, but I also love the family talk. Beautiful cake!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Kay. The cake was not only beautiful, but absolutely delicious! It wasn't too sweet, since I really don't like frosting. I could eat what was on the cake. :)
DeleteHappy Birthday, youngster! I turned 67 in November so I am clearly your senior :) Good luck with your Medicare research--we used an advisor who was absolutely essential to navigating all the options.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to watch Death by Lightening, but now that I know it's based on a book, I will read it first--just requested from the Library.
I would like to watch A Complete Unknown. With 5 older siblings, my formative years were spent listening to Bob Dylan.
I think it's very cool that you focused on a couple of authors in 2025. I did that with Gaskell in the early days of my blog, and it was interesting to see her progression over time.
Thank you, Jane! I don't feel my age, but a lot of my friends are in their late 60s and 70s (my husband is 10 years older than me), so I'm well-prepared for Medicare. I do think I'll seek some advice from an advisor for my supplemental plan.
DeleteDeath by Lightning was really good. I never read the book, but it was a One Book One Lincoln selection when I lived in Nebraska. Now maybe I should give it a read...
My mom had a Dylan album when I was fairly young, but I never got interested. We actually wound up with free tickets to his concert in Lincoln many years ago. I think we were on the floor in the second or third row, center. He had his back to the audience for most of the first few songs. The folks in front of us were on their feet the entire time. I'm a little embarrassed to say so, but we wound up leaving the concert. It just wasn't enjoyable!
A few years ago, I focused on Deborah Crombie and Susan Hill's mysteries. I'm thinking about doing the same this year, but need to decide on an author. I might return to Allen Eskens books or maybe re-read Tana French's. I should get back to Elly Griffiths' books, too. Hmmm... Less time on the computer=more time to read. I need to work on that!
Happy belated birthday! Getting Medicare soon is a good thing. I really want to retire in a year and a half, but the thought of paying for insurance for 3 years until I can get Medicare is daunting.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 of your December books on my TBR shelves: The Marriage Portrait and Tell Me Everything.
Thank you, Helen! Yes, Medicare will be so much cheaper than what I'm going to be paying this year since ACA is basically gone.
DeleteYou're in for such a treat with The Marriage Portrait and Tell Me Everything!!
Sounds like a festive December! It's great that you found some quiet time for reading and for planning books for 2026.
ReplyDeleteI'll turn 64 in 2026 and I'm chomping at the bit for Medicare. My husband is older than me, so we've pretty much got that worked out when I finally get my turn in 2027.
Happy New Year!
It was a fun December, Joy. Now it's the new year and I'm relishing the calm, relaxing days. I took our tree down yesterday and am glad to be back to a somewhat clutter-free home!
DeleteMy husband is 10 years old than me, so I know all the ins-and-outs of Social Security, Medicare, and supplemental insurance. I may still seek a broker's advice for my supplemental plan, though.
Happy New Year to you, too!
Happy birthday, Lesley! I'm so glad to be over 65. Medicare helps so much.
ReplyDeleteMy brother recommended Train Dreams to me. I should put the novella on my list to read this year.
Thanks, Deb! I know Medicare (and a supplemental plan) has helped my husband beyond measure!! With ER/hospital visits for gall bladder attack/surgery, broken arm/shoulder replacement surgery, a heart attack/2 stents, and his recent stroke scare which turned out to be Bell's Palsy, he hasn't had to pay anything out of pocket other than premiums and deductibles. What a blessing!
DeleteRod enjoyed watching Train Dreams so much that he's now interested in the novella. I'll bet it's good!
Happy belated birthday! It was my birthday too in December! Looking at the book covers, A Far Flung Life seemed the most interesting and then I saw you gave it 5 stars so that's very promising!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the birthday wishes, Keira. My birthday was on the 13th, and my daughter's was on the 10th. I hope you had a good birthday, as well.
DeleteA Far-flung Life is outstanding. Look for it in March!
Ohh Happy belated Birthday! I'm sorry I blipped on that. Was it the 30th? That's Robert's bday, I was full on bday duty, lol. I'm glad you had a fun day. Nice cake too. We loved A Complete Unknown movie (so good). And I want to see Train Dreams though we're not on Netflix at the moment. Great pix in this post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan! It was on the 13th. :) Happy belated to Robert! You'll enjoy Train Dreams (if you can find it somewhere other than Netflix). Don't you wish all these streaming platforms would let you pay for one big bundle and not so many individual companies. Yeah, I'm a dreamer!
Delete