November Book Review

November... I swear this month absolutely flew by! Apparently I was flying through pages as well! I figured I wouldn't read quite as much this month, but here we are! Only one more month of reading for this year - I've long since met my goal, so now I'm just padding the numbers, ha-ha!  

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig - When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean Island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend's life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past. 

Rating: ⭐of five - Oh goodness; I'm glad this was my freebie book for my birthday month because I almost couldn't finish it! This book started off really interesting but quickly became a little too odd & just seemed to drag along... it was a slog to finish it & it may be my least favorite book I've read all year. *sigh* 

The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand - Nantucket is only two and a half hours away from Martha's Vineyard by ferry. But the two islands might as well be worlds apart for a set of identical twin sisters who have been at odds for years. When a family crisis forces them to band together - or at least appear to - the twins slowly come to realize that the special bond that they share is more important than the sibling rivalry that's driven them apart for the better part of their lives. 

A touching depiction of all the pleasures and annoyances of the sibling relationship, The Identicals proves once and for all that just because twins look exactly the same doesn't mean they're anything alike.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of five - 2024 is the year I discovered Elin Hilderbrand & I really love her style of writing! This book was great; a light read, filled with family & frustrations & eventually, happy reunions & happy endings - it was a great read & I cannot wait to read more of Elin's work! She may be my new favorite writer! 

P.S. I Hate You by Lauren Connolly - Maddie Sanderson would be proud to honor her older brother's dying wish, that she scatters his ashes over eight destinations that the adventurous 29-year-old never got to visit before he died from cancer. But in his will, Josh assigned her an impossible partner to help complete the mission - Dominic Perry. Seriously, if Maddie weren't already at this funeral, she would have killed him for this. 

Sure, Dom was Josh's life-long best friend. He's also the infuriating man who broke Maddie's heart back when she was naive enough to give it to him. But since insists on following the rules and Josh didn't leave much room for Maddie to argue the matter, they embark together on a farewell trip that spans thousands of miles, exploring new places and revisiting their complicated history along the way. 

After a snowstorm leads to a shared bed, Maddie starts to wonder if her brother might be matchmaking from the grave. But when grief also reopens old wounds between them, Maddie will need more than Josh's ghostly guidance to trust Dom again. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of five - I enjoyed this book; it was my November pick for Book of the Month. The storyline is different from many romantic comedies & while I really loved the story & the characters, I could have done without all the smut. Just saying. 😁I would probably give it four stars without all the unnecessary sexual situations...

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand - Kelley Quinn is the owner of Nantucket's Winter Street Inn and the proud father of four, all of them grown and living in varying states of disarray. Patrick, the eldest, is a hedge fund manager with a guilty conscience. Kevin, a bartender, is secretly sleeping with a French housekeeper named Isabelle. Ava, a school teacher, is finally dating the perfect guy but can't get him to commit. And Bart, the youngest and only child of Kelley's second marriage to Mitzi, has recently shocked everyone by joining the Marines. 

As Christmas approaches, Kelley is looking forward to getting the family together for some quality time at the inn. But when he walks in on Mitzi kissing Santa Claus (or the guy who's playing Santa at the inn's annual party), utter chaos descends. With the three older children each reeling in their own dramas and Bart unreachable in Afghanistan, it might be up to Kelley's ex-wife, nightly news anchor Margaret Quinn, to save Christmas at the Winter Street Inn.

Before the mulled cider is gone, the delightfully dysfunctional Quinn family will survive a love triangle, an unplanned pregnancy, a federal crime, a small house fire, many shots of whiskey and endless rounds of Christmas caroling, in this heart-warming novel about coming home for the holidays.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ of five - Such a great book to kick off the Christmas season! This book was a lighthearted little tale with some Nantucket charm and holiday shenanigans! This is the first of four books in a series and I started book two as soon as I finished book one, ha-ha! So delightful!

Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire - When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man become a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ of five - This is technically a re-read, & I also listened to it on Audible! I read Wicked years ago (I think in my early 20's) & was inspired to read it again before seeing the new movie that was released this month. I enjoy Wicked & love the alternative look that it gives at all things Oz! 

*************************************************

One more month of reading to go and the 2024 reading challenge will be done... and on to a new one!

November ... What A Month...

Oh me - November has just been a month y'all. I don't know that I mean that in a bad way, there have just been a lot of things happening and some of them were pretty tough! However, as much as I feel like November has been pretty chaotic - there was plenty of good in the mix as well - so I try to focus on that and let the less than wonderful aspects fall away! 

Ryan and I discovered the Yankauer Nature Preserve in nearby Martinsburg; while not a fancy location, it does have a system of trails through the woods and it runs alongside the Potomac River (with Maryland on the other side). We poked around there one Saturday afternoon when the weather was nice! 

Ryan and I also made the decision to be baptized together at our new church. We loved that baptism fell the Sunday after our second anniversary and we just really felt like it was a call to (re)commit ourselves to the Lord - first and foremost - and also to one another. It was such a special moment and I love knowing that forever we have this beautiful memory of our dedication to Christ and to one another.

One of the less delightful things that happened mid-month is that we had to say goodbye to Loki. He was continuing to drop weight, barely eating and his breathing was still a struggle - so after a talk with our vet, we decided it was a kindness to let him go peacefully to Heaven. He is no longer in pain, healthy and running free. It's always the hardest decision to make - but I know we did the best for him, so that he can be without pain.

Spook definitely seemed a little lonely after the loss of Loki - he has had someone to play with and keep him company since the day he was born (since he & Loki were litter mates) and so suddenly being on his own made him a lot more clingy. He spent his time during the day helping to decorate the Christmas tree (as evidenced above - with a ball and catnip mouse) and climbing on the kitchen counter to investigate what might be in the sink. He's such a good little cat - he has come out of his shell and is truly so sweet, with a great little personality that keeps us laughing. 

This past Saturday (November 23rd) we were able to attend the dedication of the Winchester and Western caboose that my Dad and the members of his VA Train Club (that's not the correct name) were able to restore and place in Old Town Winchester. The caboose has a history with the town and it's railroad, so being able to see it returned to the place where it once transported people to and fro - that was really cool! And it was cool to know that my Dad had a part in making that a reality!

Our other Saturday adventure was to go to the Warren County Humane Society to look at kittens - because we wanted to get Spook a friend and knew we didn't want to wait too long. Once our application was approved, we were ready to start the search! We knew we wanted to see a group of kittens called the "Winter" kittens - because the five of them were named for winter accessories: hat, gloves, scarf, stockings...

While we had initially thought we'd adopt a girl this time - once we met the three kittens from the litter that were remaining, the little kitten who had been named "Hat" immediately stole our hearts. He was outgoing, friendly (his intake form says "very friendly") and just acted like he owned the room, ha-ha! We were smitten with him and his chubby little belly from the start and so we decided he was the kitten to bring home. It doesn't hurt that he and his siblings look a lot like our little Loki did! We named our new addition Maverick - to stick with the aviation theme set in place by Spook (named for the F4 Phantom) - because Maverick seemed to own the room when we met him!

Spook was initially not sure what to think of this new addition - they had moments where they would hiss and slap at one another, but I am pleased to say that now with a few days together under their belts - they have become the best of friends. They chase each other through the house and even though their combined weight can't be more than 15 pounds - they sound like a herd of elephants when the go flying through the upstairs hallway!

We have joked that we should have named Maverick "Velcro" instead - he is the snuggliest little cat I've ever come in contact with! He loves to make sure we know he's right there and always available for pets and cuddles! And like Spook, he is also very talkative! I'm sure when we aren't around, they have all kinds of conversations that we can't even begin to imagine! 

So - November has been a little nuts. I got a virus, we celebrated our second anniversary, we found out our kitten was deathly ill and then had to say goodbye, we got baptized at church, we welcomed a new kitten to the family... and that was all before Thanksgiving, and doesn't even take into account the motions of every day life, whoosh! 

November - Nonsense & Cats

Well - it seems we are going in reverse this week as I play a little game of catch up! Life has been a little bit chaotic the last few weeks... work has been busy, life has been a little more crazy than normal and we've ended up getting less than stellar new about one of our kittens. Suffice it to say - November has been wild so far! Please enjoy this picture of Spook looking super cultured and listening to jazz.

Let's get the sad news out of the way right from the start - shall we? We noticed over the last week and a half or so that Loki's whole personality just seemed to completely disappear. Instead of our spunky and sassy little guy who is usually hopping across the furniture and chasing his wand toys, he seemed content to just sleep or lounge around all the time. Then he started eating less and less... and we noticed he seemed to be breathing a little more awkwardly, so we called the vet, loaded him up and prepared to get some answers - and whoosh - the answers we got were not what we wanted to hear!

Loki had lost two pounds in less than a month - and while all his bloodwork came back great, his x-rays did not! They showed that Loki's heart is enlarged; he was officially diagnosed with pulmonary edema. The worst thing about this diagnosis is that there is nothing they can do for him, it is not something that is curable. Loki's heart muscles will slowly harden until his heart stops - and while he isn't in pain - he will now have a significantly shortened life span. Talk about the worst anniversary present. 

Spook continues to be wild and crazy - there are no signs that the heart defect impacting his brother will be an issue for him - so we are thankful for that. But man, our hearts are broken over our sweet Loki. We don't yet know if we have weeks or months with him, that will depend on if the little man decides to keep eating and taking his medication. Thankfully, this is not something that will ever cause him pain and we think that is a blessing. We will just keep loving on the little guy for as long as we have!

We celebrated our second anniversary on Tuesday the 12th - the sad news about Loki put a little of a damper on the day, but my sweet husband still came home with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for me that have been brightening the house all week long. We altered our dinner plans and instead stayed in, spending time with Loki and one another after the crummy diagnosis that our sweet little guy received. We are so blessed and we decided we'd celebrate another day - spending time with our furball was more important than dinner out! So - year three is off to the races and year two is in the memory books!

Spook has continued to come out of his shell in pretty incredible ways - and man, he's a little bit of a psycho I think - in the cutest way possible. He loves to follow me around the house, "talking" to me about his day and flopping onto his back, baring his fattening tummy to me and tapping my legs for pets. When I come home from work at the end of the day, he makes every step I make whether it's going upstairs to change, starting dinner or even just plopping onto the couch to chill. I had the day off on Monday the 11th (Veterans Day) and when I went to read on our bed - he stretched out and took an afternoon nap right there with me!

Spook also continues to be utterly fascinated with the Christmas tree and has successfully made the climb all the way to the top of the tree! There are pictures to prove his feat farther down the post; I'm just glad the whole tree hasn't fallen over yet - there are very minimal ornaments on the tree and the ones I've chosen are either cloth or wooden, so that they can't really be too damaged if he doesn't manage to bring down the tree! It's only a matter of time with this wild little weirdo racing around.

Seriously - look at that guy. What a loony tune he is. Loki always had quite the personality but he wasn't wild... he was just interested in everything, all the time. They are so similar and so different - just like any set of siblings, I suppose. Spook is our water cat because if someone is in the bath or shower, he wants to be there too. He likes to watch the water in the shower; he sits outside the glass shower doors and just watches the drops slide down the glass... and if I'm in the bath, he's always hanging off the side of the tub - taking it all in. Loki could care less about the water - he fell in once & that turned him off of all things water and wetness.

Honestly - a majority of this post is pictures of the cats being hilarious and goofy. As you can see, the promised picture of Spook at the top of the tree. He really is quite the climber and I have to say that I've been pretty impressed with our tree's ability to withstand his climbing... so far. Granted, I think he might weigh a whole nine pounds at this point but I didn't factor in a cat (or two) climbing the tree when we bought it - so points for that additional quality. 

One thing I have learned about cats is that the whole "if I fits, I sits" is absolutely accurate. If they can plop their little furry behind into something, then it becomes a perfect seat for them! Loki loves the basket in the half bathroom and Spook has recently become fond of the second shelf of the towel holder in the guest bathroom. I guess whatever works, right?

Loki has - from the start - been much calmer about the Christmas tree. He admires the lights and sparkles from one side or the other, while Spook tries to tempt him into climbing right in. It's a little sad to realize that maybe the reason he doesn't scale the tree with Spook is because he's not feeling his best, poor little guy. I have to say - the pictures of Spook poking his face out of the tree would make quite the Christmas card, ha-ha!

I leave you with some pictures from a recent work walk to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley to find a security and technology clue. The City of Winchester posted a clue each week and once it was found, you were entered to win a day off - so that was neat! Now, no one in my office won the prize but it was cool to figure out clues about the city and race around trying to find the code to scan. All in all - a unique and different activity that broke up the work day from time to time.