Bibliosphere

 Today is December 31, 2023. As some might say, 123123. The New Year has transformed over the years from a big party to a personal celebration. I might toast the new year now, but with sparkling cider, and usually around 10 pm. By midnight I'm snuggled into bed, ringing in the new year with a solid night's rest. Growing up, my family always had new year's eve parties. We'd drink and play games and stay up late into the night (or early the next morning), from the time I was probably 11 or 12. We'd watch the ball drop and toast with sparking cider or, later, more adult beverages. Every year brought an evening with friends as we started the new year at midnight. Now New Year's promises a more relaxed, less raucous celebration. I often think about resolutions, eat some tasty food, and toast to myself. The evening is quiet, relaxed.  One isn't inherently better than the other, just different. My new New Year's Eve is much more in line with who I am now, and e...

 I think that the holidays are special to be because of our family traditions more than anything. I'm agnostic, so I don't believe in the religious aspects of the holiday, just the cultural ones. I also love the symbols, but more than anything I want the familiar family activities. I didn't get them last year as much as I wanted, as I was at the beginning of recovery from a nasty respiratory infection and wasn't feeling well. But this year they're there.  So, my favorite holiday traditions, in no particular order, are: Baking cookies, whether it's gingerbread or sugar, and especially ones you cut out and decorate. Our Christmas eve snack fest and bûche de Noël (had to google how to get the accent marks because Blogger was not playing nice, even on the French keyboard). The tradition of handmade PJ pants for a Christmas eve gift (not every year, but most). Cinnamon rolls and egg bake for Christmas morning breakfast. Amy Grant Christmas CDs (don't judge). Play...

 Wishing you a merry and bright Christmas day!

This year I read many books, including many memoirs. I read three memoirs that were about self help - one general and two about specific kinds of self help. The books were Help Me by Marianne Power, 10% Happier by Dan Harris, and The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan. Each was written by a journalist, each about the same length (I will admit that 10% Happier was an audiobook, but equivalent length).  I like reading self-help books. There's no end to what we can learn about ourselves, and looking at it through others' eyes is always worthwhile, even if we eventually disregard their advice. I read other self-help books this year, but these were the three that were styled as memoirs, with more personal connection. Overall, The Gratitude Diaries was my favorite, easily. I've been practicing gratitude for a while, but it was really good for me to see the true impact of the practice. Help Me was arguably the one I looked forward to the most, and it was even one that I asked the ...

 One nice thing about my job (or actually a couple of nice things together) is that I have a ton of PTO (25 days a year, not including sick time, because I've been there over 5 years) and while I'm not able to take it as frequently as I'd like, I am able to take off the entire week before Christmas, in addition to getting the week between Christmas and New Year's off as a holiday week. I use this time to go to Wisconsin, spend time with my family, meet up with friends, etc. I am grateful to have a job where I can do this because I don't get to see my family a whole lot, and I've come to really enjoy my time with them. Sometimes I do feel a little left out - my siblings did a whole lot of growing up and bonding with my parents that I just didn't have growing up, so they have a different vibe with the four of them vs the five of us. But I'm working on developing those relationships, and so far it's slow going, but a start. I wrapped up work this year w...

 This holiday season, I want to extend a special happy holidays to families who are new to childhood cancer, families undergoing treatment, families who are new to remission, and families who are bereaved. These holidays are not like other holidays. There is a before, a during, and an after. Before diagnosis, during treatment, after treatment ends, whatever the outcome. The holidays before are light. The holidays during and after are wondering if this is the last holiday for all of you. When you reach the after, if you've reached the remission stage, for a while it feels like it could all come back. The holidays may go back after a while, more like the before, but it always is something that happened, something that could come back. So wishing all those in new stages of the childhood cancer journey a happy holidays. May your December end smoothly, safely, and be full of light.

 I'm getting ready for my travels, which is how I spend my holidays every year (except 2020, but that's a longer story). The past two times I've visited my parents I've been sick: last Christmas I caught a respiratory infection right before traveling and in August I caught COVID on the plane on my way to Wisconsin. So, and hopefully this isn't jinxing it, but I'm hoping I am well and get to enjoy my visit without snot and coughing and all the other delightful aspects of respiratory-related illnesses. Overall the holidays are a good time of year for me, although work did not really wind down like it has in years past. Busy, busy, right until the last day. But it's time to relax, to spend time with family, to enjoy the winter holidays. Wishing you and yours a lovely and bright holiday season, from me and Hippie!

 I've been busy reading this fall! I've read over 50 books in 2023, between audio and print, and I have to say that this is the most I've read since... middle school? High school? I've spent so many hours curled up with a good book and it's been lovely. So here are my books since the last post: Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Drs. Amelia Nagoski, Emily Nagoski  The Things We Make by Bill Hammock (audiobook) The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan (got its very own post) Swallowed Light by Michael Wasson  Art for Self-Care: Create Powerful, Healing Art by Listening to Your Inner Voice by Jessica Swift  Stressilient: How to Beat Stress and Build Resilience by Sam Akbar  10% Happier by Dan Harris (audiobook) Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew  How to succeed with your Home Owners Association : the complete HOA guide for owners, boards, and managers by Linda Perret (read in two sittings) Oak Flat by Lauren...

 Great news from New York state! From ACCO, "Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan) announced [on October 27, 2023] that her legislation (A1302/S1898) to increase funding to the state’s Cure Childhood Cancer research fund has been signed into law. The law will create a check-off box on state income tax forms through which taxpayers who wish to can easily contribute. The law was sponsored in the state Senate by Senator Toby Ann Stavisky." While much funding for childhood cancer research comes from the federal government, states are also able to offer grants and other funding. I'm unsure on Utah's grant availability, but I do know that our state heavily funds our health care system's cancer center, which is state of the art.  I encourage you to check out the full article here .

 For those of you unaware (as I was until November 2), November is National Clean Your House Month, going with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writer's Month). While I'm not much for novel writing, I did feel like cleaning was a good thing, as I am not a big cleaner and projects tend to pile up. So around November 3, I decided to participate, and started working on a list. In the end, I made a list of 34 household tasks that don't get done regularly (or I've never done them in the three years I've been here). Some highlights included: Putting away all the items in my two junk boxes (I found an absurd amount of spare glasses) Vacuuming so so many things Cleaning my washing machine, coffee pot, and oven Cleaning the faucets, tub, bathroom and pantry floors, and and around the litter box Organizing under the bathroom sink, including throwing out old nail polish (don't worry, I got the under the kitchen sink when I replaced the disposal) Paint touch ups to cover up an ass...

 If April showers bring May flowers, what does December bring? December, the last month of the year, is both slow and a blur. At work, things tend to wind down, except for preparing for January, which brings cookie season. We tend to work less hours all the same, but I feel like it will be different this year with some of the drama happening. There's truly never a dull moment when working with a combination of volunteers and children at an organization with a somewhat complex structure. In my personal life, December passes quickly. Holiday activities give way to holiday travel, a visit to Wisconsin that always goes by faster than I think it will. This year I'm traveling for 11 days, which is longer than I have since college, when I'd spend the entire three week break at my parent's house. I'm looking forward to going back, although not the actual travel process. December brings the winter as well, with snow already started in my area. While I know in my heart that t...