bookie wooks

I have just finished The Stand by Stephen King, an enthralling 1164 page apocalyptic novel with supernatural elements. Like most King novels, the build-up was much better than the conclusion that was built up to, but I enjoyed it all the same. It was much better than IT, anyway.

Like most people with terrible attention spans, I always have a zillion books on the go at once. Right now, minus the one I just finished, I am currently digging into:

- Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (a complete and unabridged translation by Signet classics)
- I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison (I'm on the last short story!)
- Dawn by Octavia E. Butler (borrowed from Lizzy, who read it for school)
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (will it be as great as the Swedish film?)
- Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 1 by Alan Moore (Moore's take on this comic book series)

These lovelies are pictured above in a tantalizing stack, flanked by a delicious pot of mango tea. I look forward to a wonderful afternoon.

one week in

Last week, Dec 1, we decorated the house for Christmas. It was great fun. As usual, I was in charge of setting up the tree itself, mum put on the lights, Lana set up the candles and the ornaments, and Bing sang to us about holly jolliness as we did so. Christmas preparation is the most delightful tradition of my household.

The above picture is a shot of the coffee table beside my favorite film-watching chair. Pictured, you can see my Charlie Brown Christmas tree, a mug of chai tea, and the last ball of my second scarf (its pearly-pink, extremely soft, and will be gifted to my Grandmother). I have a plum scarf to whip up after Grandma's is finished and I am still considering whether or not to swap Lana's pomegranite one with the plum? I'm invisioning the latter to go better with the eyes of that sister of mine... but we'll see.

Anyways, I am very excited for Christmas! I've already had three peppermint hot chocolates from Starbucks this month (a seasonal drink I wait all year for), finished all of my Christmas shopping, and I've been singing The First Noel and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas to myself ever since the tree went up. I think it's going to be a wonderful Yuletide this year (I don't know, but that may have something to do with the fact that I can drink acoholic egg nog at last?) and my cousins from British Columbia are coming over for it for the first time since our ages added a number. There will be much hijinks going down this year, folks!

breakfast

Outside it's -18°C, inside it's delicious.

books, tea, licorice, dragons

I did it!

At long last, I creased and twisted and folded paper until it took the shape of a tiny dragon that will stand up on its own --an event which had been a long-term goal of mine. It was thrilling to watch my little square of paper finally take this lizard-y shape, which had only crumpled and slipped into unrecognizable messes for me before. This small but satisfying achievement makes me feel like I am actually capable of folding more difficult things, which is my rather bold motivation to try an even harder pattern: the stand-alone eagle. Wish me luck!

origami atmosphere: The Black Keys, green tea, Capricorn black licorice