Happy December and welcome to today’s December Sunday Letter! I’m so glad you are here.
If we were sitting together having coffee this morning, I would ask about your Thanksgiving. Who did you spend time with? What did you eat?
Thanksgiving is fabulous in its simplicity, and I hope yours exceeded all expectations, beyond a super-moist turkey and your favorite dessert. Whether you traveled or stayed at home, I hope you ended the holiday with a list of brand new things to be thankful for.
I sure did.
Now, I am looking toward Christmas and hoping to savor every magical moment between now and year-end. I believe December truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
Felix the Thanksgiving Cactus
If you’ve been a regular follower of Grace Grits and Gardening, you might recall meeting Felix in the fall of 2022. I adopted him when he was a tiny thing, taking him home from a gardening event where I was the speaker. (And yes, I name my plants. Don’t you?)
He was a cute guy from the get-go.
Even as a wee fellow, he put on a few tiny buds his first Thanksgiving. This thrilled and amazed me to no end.
All throughout the past year, Felix has been living on the kitchen windowsill where the sunshine is bright and his view of the bird feeder is unobstructed. What a perfect plant he has been, so easy going and content with just a dribble of water now and then.
It’s true, the saying—what a difference a year makes! Since Halloween, I’ve been watching him put on fuchsia buds. I mean seriously, he has perfect timing, knowing exactly when Thanksgiving would come without any reminders from me.
John and I spent Thanksgiving with our son & bonus daughter in Colorado. Honestly, I felt a little sad leaving Felix behind during his favorite holiday, but since the TSA frowns on traveling with plants, he celebrated at home in his own quiet way. When we returned, he was waiting for us, full of stunning bright blooms with more buds soon to open.
If Felix had a voice, he would have been singing Joy to the World, I feel certain.
Yep, proud cactus momma here.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas cacti, but this article from Farmer’s Almanac makes it pretty clear.
I highly recommend adopting a cactus this year for Christmas.
Colorado Thanksgiving
It’s a fun thing having adult children who love hosting Thanksgiving.
I don’t mind being a guest at all. In fact, I think I prefer it.
Merry & Bright Christmas Cocktails
Need a festive cocktail to serve this holiday? Ho-Ho-How about a Mistletoe Margarita or a Christmas Cookie with sprinkles?
My daughter-in-law, Laura, made both of these drinks last week, and they were big hits!
Mistletoe Margarita
- 1.5 oz tequila
- 3/4 oz Cointreau or triple sec
- 3/4 oz lime juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup or agave
- 2 oz cranberry juice
Shake and pour into a glass rimmed with sugar. Garnish with rosemary and fresh cranberries. (Recipe from @thespritzeffect)
Prefer a non-alcoholic version? Substitute a little orange juice and sparkling water instead.
Christmas Cookie
- 1.5 oz vanilla vodka
- 1 oz amaretto
- 1.5 oz Irish cream
- 1 oz milk
Shake and pour over ice in a glass rimmed in vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles.
Serve either of these drinks on Christmas Eve and Santa will be his jolliest self.
Favorite Reads of 2023 (so far)
I’ve read 54 books so far this year, and I’ve enjoyed most all of them very much. (FYI—If I’m not enjoying a book, I usually don’t finish it unless it’s for book club.) Today I’m sharing a few of my favorite reads of 2023.
These sixteen books topped my list for different reasons. Some were brilliantly written or wholly immersed me into another time. Others provided a fabulous story or a quirky escape. All included characters that unpacked a suitcase and stayed with me. I suppose it’s obvious my preferences lean toward fiction (historical, mainstream, and literary) and stories rooted in nature. And it’s interesting to me, my favorites in 2023 included a variety of ‘unlikely’ animals—penguins, a horse, giraffes, and wolves (sort of).
If I had to choose, my top two favorites were West With Giraffes and Tom Lake.
For ALL of my book reviews, visit my Goodreads page.
Questions:
- Have you read any of my 2023 favorites?
- Do you give books as holiday gifts?
This would be a good time to say, there’s still time to gift a signed copy of one of my books to yourself or a friend for Christmas. Order HERE.
Things Momma Says:
I outgrew my coat over the summer.
***
As another year (and another Sunday Letter) comes to a close, again I thank you for joining me here. Your comments, page likes, and shares, AND the reviews you’ve written and posted for my three books are a gift to me every day.
I wish you a very merry month full of Christmas cheer, and hope you share a bit of your good fortune with those suffering from loss, illness, and unfortunate circumstance.
And remember…
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Spent Thanksgiving at my Sisters, did not travel far. There were about 27 of us, my Chocolate Pie and my husband’s Pecan Pie was a totally failure but it was quite alright we had plenty of Food. Thankful to gather with our loved ones, my grandsons first Thanksgiving! I’ve read Tom Lake and West with giraffes this past year both were good reads. Highly recommend The Girls in the Stilt House and Black Cake. Look forward to Christmas especially the 29th, I told you I had a secret, after losing both my schnauzers this past year we are going to being adding anew one to our family Stella Rose she is 4 weeks today!
We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving and worked on Christmas decorations.
I love the old black and white Christmas movies, but, some of the new ones are good too. Since November 1, they have competed wit the British tv that I live stream for about 20 hrs a day (my husband refers to the background noise of the TV as my life support system)
I have two books that I read without fail during the season the first is “The Physics of Christmas” (yes, I am a nerd.) The second is “A Christmas Carol” It was the first real book I ever read by myself and it spoke to my heart. I even use the quote “I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.” As the wallpaper for all my electronics.
Last year, my husband gave me a beautiful framed, hand drawn copy of it surrounded by drawn and colored, hand drawn cotton bolls for my desk. It reminds me that the great fortune I have been given that allows my philanthropic endeavours (my dream since fifth grade) came from the labors of the many generations of my family who labored in those cotton fields of Mississippi County, Arkansas and Dunklin County, Missouri. And I am forever grateful.
I did purchase and send a copy of “Her niece Runs Away to the daughter of my heart (bonus daughter), just because. She loved it.
I wish you and your a wonderful,and safe Christmas and a coming year filled with only good health and joy.
Glenda🌹
Her niece, not Her Niece.
You should have told the TSA that Felix was your emotional support cactus!
I haven’t read any of your 2023 favorites, but several of them are on my TBR list. I’ve been blessed to be on the launch teams for some fantastic books this year: Rescuing Rose and Loving Lydia, both by Susan Pope Sloan; Beyond Wounded Hearts by Cynthia Roemer; Falling Between the Pages and Movie-made Romance, both by A.M. Heath (I also helped edit both of them); Chaos We Unravel by Chelsea Michelle; In the Company of Cows by Sequoyah Branham; Chiseled on the Heart by Elaine Marie Cooper, Kelly Goshorn, Cynthia Roemer and Candace West; Be Still, My Soul by Faith Blum; and A Thrill in the Air: A Mosaic Christmas Anthology V by Milla Holt, Lorna Seilstad, Eleanor Bertin, Sara Davison, Brenda S. Anderson, Deb Elkink, Candace West and Johnnie Alexander. I’ve also read some fantastic local authors: The Killing Spree by Anita Paddock; Going Snake by Royal Wade Kimes; Strangled by LaDonna Humphrey and Alecia Lockhart; and of course, Bernice Runs Away by one of the best authors ever!
I give books as holiday gifts if it’s something that’s been requested, or if I know a particular person will enjoy a particular book. My daughter’s best friend just celebrated her 18th birthday, and my daughter picked out three books for her that she thought she would enjoy. She got so excited when she unwrapped them!
I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
Well we were so non traditional this year. Because our adult kids had other places to be on Thanksgiving, we thought about dressing up and going to a nice restaurant but then we said ‘nah’ let’s just go to Cracker Barrel on Wed night and it was awesome. We did go to Whitney’s for dessert. 😜
The most important part is we were all together!!!! That’s what it’s all about.
I love your Sunday letters. They are comforting and positive like conversations I have with my sister who lives away. I have only read your first book but look forward to the other two. I wish you and your readers a wonderful holiday season.
Oh thank you so much! This makes me happy.
Great fortune as in being able to achieve my dream, not a huge amount of money.
Your Thanksgiving looked rich and happy! We had part of the family here but really missed Maria and her family. They’d been here a few weeks earlier for a long weekend, and poor Eric who was sick.
I haven’t read any of your favorite books but I plan to now that you e recommended them.
I have my mother’s Christmas cactus that has been known to bloom in the spring in addition to Christmas. Amazing little girl. Maybe I should call her Cacee!
I’ve read Horse and Veronica, both excellent books that could not be further apart in subject or theme! That’s what makes books so interesting and important!
We spent Thanksgiving in Memphis, then met Alyssa and her hockey team in Nashville for a showcase/tournament, which they won! It was fun seeing her and experiencing Nashville, especially with 4-year-old Clara!
But your Thanksgiving looked way cool too!! 🦃
Yes, variety in reading keeps things interesting! So glad you had a great Thanksgiving. And I’m glad Alyssa’s team won!! Yay.