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Read a Little Christmas

12/21/2018

Holiday books are almost more common than the lights I wrote about in my last post. Most are short and of the feel good type. So whether your holiday season is frantic and you can only find a couple of hours for yourself with a hot beverage and a cookie (or more than one), or yours is a quiet season with alone time to fill, there are plenty of choices. I want to share some of the variety of holiday mysteries I have come across. If you have an ereader, many of these are free or very cheap. So grab those cookies!

A View to a Chill: A Cherry Tucker and Maizie Albright Interconnected Mystery (Maizie Albright Star Detective Book 4) by Larissa Reinhart
This book takes an unusual approach by having the main characters from two different series meet up. I haven't read any of either series but I intend to. Maizie Albright is a former child star who returns to her home state of Georgia to become a private detective. Cherry Tucker is a small town girl who meddles some in local crime solving. The book switches point of view between the two women and does a great job of portraying each character. Maizie decides to follow up on a missing granddaughter at no charge because it's almost Christmas and her search takes her to the very small town of Halo. Cherry Tucker, a resident of Halo, is confined to bed with a raging case of the flu and hates Christmas. Since Cherry observes some odd goings-on through her bedroom window and Maizie finds that many of the people she meets are not who they appear to be, the story has a bit of a flavor from the movies Rear Window and Charade. There are some hilarious moments and the characters are great.

Big Top Treachery (Circus Cozy Mysteries) by CeeCee James
Not your usual small town or English village holiday setting but a circus! Susannah (or Trixie as she is better known) is billed as the world's smallest Lady Godiva. When the calliope player is found murdered by a sword that has been missing for some time, suspicion falls on many of the circus members and Trixie must find courage and confidence that she never thought she had. A fun look at a different world.

Candy Canes and Christmas (A Pelican Cove Short Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Leena Clover
Jenny King, who has found a new life on an island off the Virginia shore, takes action to help a children's home have a Merry Christmas. But a mysterious old man, Harry, appears on the beach handing out candy canes. Jenny becomes so intrigued by him that she gives him a place to stay over the objections of her friends and boyfriend. Is Harry as harmless as he appears? What is his story and his secret? A delightful holiday story.

Final Cycle (Logland Mystery Series Book 2) by Elaine L. Orr
This book won't be released until Dec 23, but I had the privilege of doing an advance read. When the body of the most annoying woman in town is found in a clothes dryer in the local laundromat, police chief Elizabeth Friedman has plenty of suspects. Only solving the mystery will bring holiday cheer and security back to the small town. Elizabeth is a wonderful main character--a sensible and competent law enforcement officer who must juggle the local politics, a diverse force and eccentric small town characters to solve the crime.

A Highland Christmas (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, No. 16) by M. C. Beaton
If you haven't met Hamish Macbeth, you are in for a treat. Constable Macbeth deals with a spate of Yuletide crimes, balancing the wish of some for Christmas cheer to brighten the winter and the Calvinist leanings of others opposing such holiday displays. The new schoolteacher is especially fascinated by Hamish, as he searches for stolen lights, Christmas tree, and a cat.

Christmas, Criminals, and Campers By Tonya Kappes
I'm just about halfway through this myself, but of course I can't resist a camping mystery. Mae West, the owner of the Happy Trails Campground in Normal, Kentucky and the Laundry Club ladies deal with the death of a famous author, who isn't what she seems. Romance between Mae and Hank Sharp, local deputy, appears to be heating up and Mae's life is further complicated by a visit from her foster mother--not something that boosts Mae's holiday spirit.

And while we're on the subject of camping (see how I did that?), I can't neglect to mention A Campy Christmas by yours truly.
Frannie and Larry Shoemaker are facing a Christmas alone and decide to join Mickey and Jane Ann Ferraro on a camping trip south. But they get caught in Missouri by a wayward snowstorm and end up snowbound in a campground for the holidays.
When I was writing this three years ago, I put a question on several Facebook camping pages: Have you ever been snowbound while camping? I was amazed by the number of affirmative responses. People who ran out of propane and spent the night in a visitor's center or lost communications and even one who rescued a stranded man! So it's not as farfetched as you think.

So find a book and curl up and enjoy. Don't forget to leave the author a review (a very cheap but appreciated present!) And have a great holiday!

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The Parable of the Christmas Lights

12/10/2018

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We've all been there. The holidays are approaching so we haul the boxes of decorations from the attic, or the basement, or wherever they have resided the bulk of the year. Maybe we turn on a Christmas CD and hum along while we heat up a cup of hot chocolate or cider or other seasonal drink. We get out the lights and try to string them out on the living room or garage floor. The difficulty of this task depends on how OCD we were the year before--carefully winding them on a spool or wadding them up in a sack or some organizing technique in between. If we are wadders, we face the gargantuan task of untangling, and we may switch from hot chocolate to a glass of wine. Just a small one.

Once they are untangled, we plug them in, one by one. They don't all light. Ever. That is a rule about Christmas lights. We get a little more wine and set about checking for empty sockets and misfunctioning bulbs. This day and age, all light sets say "If one or more bulbs burn out, others will stay lit." That is a lie. After replacing some bulbs, tightening others, and shaking the string (gently), the lights come on. Success!

The next job is to hang them. Maybe they go on a tree, or along the eaves, or above the kitchen cabinets, or along a railing. Wherever their destination, the task is usually not a piece of cake. It involves ladders, wire ties, masking tape, a good sense of balance, and greenery--artificial or otherwise. Regardless, once the lights are hung and we plug them in, voila! One section does not light. Or maybe more than one. Right in the middle. Always. Sometimes a little jiggling will remedy that situation, but then the middle of a another string goes out. More wine.

Strings of lights have become so ubiquitous that they aren't just for Christmas any more. So even if you are of a different religious persuasion, or none, you have still had this experience.

I bought three new strings of lights for our 9 1/2 foot tree two years ago. This year, only one string lit up completely before they went on the tree. The other two only lit halfway.

I decided I didn't care--one whole string and two halves would be enough. I strung the whole string back and forth, top to bottom. I added the other strings and wadded up the unlit sections, tucking them back into the center of the tree where they can't be seen. It wasn't the most even lighting job but looked okay. I proceeded to hang fifty-five years of collected ornaments--more if you count the silver-painted pine cone from my grandmother's tree--and finished off with real tinsel. The aluminum kind that I carefully save from year to year, not that new plastic kind. We both approved the final look and sat down to enjoy our evening and the tree.

Two hours later, the top third of the tree went dark. That was the first string that earlier in the day lit completely before it went on the tree. The string that went on before the other two, all of the ornaments, and the tinsel. The next day, I bought another string to fill in, took the tinsel and ornaments off that part of the tree, carefully wove the new lights through the branches, and replaced the decorations. However, I am not foolish enough to believe that all of the working lights will continue to light until after New Year's.

What's the point?

This whole light fiasco can be seen as a parable for our lives. No matter how carefully we buy, store, and test our lights, some will go dark. Usually in the middle of the string. And we are faced with making do or redoing or changing our expectations. Probably all three.

This summer we made plans for the fall that included several camping trips and a grandson's wedding in Mexico. Then my husband was diagnosed with lung cancer. We jiggled those plans and replaced components, but finally had to change our expectations and cancel each plan, one by one. The treatment is going well and we are hopeful for next year. That is what is important in this moment.

We are aware that we are not alone; we know several others with serious glitches in their strings of lights. Some more serious than ours. What we are all left with is the need to enjoy and appreciate the lights when they are on.

Another lesson from the lights is that even though the tree is beautiful, there are those hidden wads of lights gone dark. Just as many of our friends and neighbors are dealing with dark spots that may not be visible in the flashily lit tree. This is the parable of the lights: Hold your loved ones close and be aware of lights gone dark.

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Read a Little Christmas

The Parable of the Christmas Lights

What's the point?

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