December 27, 2025

Life and other stuff

It’s 10:45pm on December 27. I would normally have been in bed for almost an hour, but LSU is playing University of Houston in the Texas Bowl. Unfortunately, the Tigers are down 28-21. It’s been a rough year for the Tigers but now we have Lane Kiffin, so all will be right with the world!

We moved from our house on Main Street in a tiny little town to a subdivision in a larger town, about 7 miles away. We love the new house. I never thought I would be so excited to have the washer and dryer on the main floor! It’s the little things.

One not little thing is that I have shingles! They started the week before Thanksgiving, so it’s been about five weeks. It’s so painful and frustrating to deal with. The medications make me tired and my ankles are so swollen that they are painful. I’ve also been using lidocaine patches and my TENS unit. And, yes, I did have the vaccine. The vaccine is quite effective, but there are people who still sneak through and get shingles, like me. If you are eligible for the shingles vaccine, you really should get it. You don’t want shingles!

I love to read, and I read a fair number of books every year. This year it’s close to 40 books. My favorite non-fiction book that I read in print was Money, Lies, and God by Katherine Stewart. Stewart has become something of an expert in Christian Nationalism, and this book is the result of her researching Christian Nationalism and our current moment in politics.

My favorite fiction book was The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray. This novel is a story in Jane Austen’s universe, and include the characters and settings of most of Austen’s novels. I felt very comfortable in that environment, so it was an easy read. The author used her characters cleverly while writing an engaging mystery. I have another book that I can’t call my favorite, but was still a good book. Flesh by David Szalay won the Booker prize this year, so I thought I should be an educated person and read this book. During the first one third, I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue reading, but I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did. I’m not sure I would have given this book an award, but I’m also not very educated about literature. I mention it because, if you decide to read it, understand that the first half might be a rough go. You should also know that they whole book is not dedicated to sex like the first section is. I never know if I should keep reading a book when I’m not enjoying it. I have been moved by more than one book with a slow start. I think we all have our own answer to the question of how long to you read a book you aren’t enjoying before you give up. For me, it’s about 50 pages or so. Now, I kept reading Flesh because the reviews were so amazing. I wanted to know what all the hubbub was.

I also listen to a lot of audiobooks. My favorite non-fiction audiobook for this year was A New World Begins: A History of the French Revolution by Jeremy D. Popkin. It was long, but the author made it engaging and worth the time, especially for someone like me whose education in European history is minimal. I feel like my favorite audiobook this year should be The Widow by John Grisham, but it’s not. Instead, it’s a novella called The Dispatcher by John Scalzi, narrated by Zachary Quinto. It’s less than three hours long, but it had me riveted. I know that Scalzi is known for his science fiction, and The Dispatcher might be considered a little sci-fi, but I still think it’s an excellent book. (Also, Scalzi has some really funny books that are barely sci-fi, but definitely comedy. Check out Starter Villain and Agent to the Stars. They are both hysterical!)

Patrick and I don’t go to the movies often, but I recommend two movies: “Wicked: For Good” and “Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.” Wicked: For Good was an experience of color and beauty and music. I just loved it! It’s not perfect. “No Place Like Home” that Cynthia Erivo sings, I just didn’t think it brought anything to the film. Erivo’s performance, and Ariana Grande’s, were excellent. They inhabited their characters and made us believe in that alternate reality.

“Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is a movie that we streamed and watched at home. The first 20 minutes were rough. I got bored and was wondering when the whole murder mystery was going to start. And then, it started, and I really enjoyed it. The story is of a murder of a priest in a small town. It is told from the perspective of the priest who was serving under the one who was murdered. It was satisfying just as a murder mystery. There were plenty of plot twists and hidden clues that it’s just fun. But, what I loved was its presentation of faith. It took the Christian faith seriously. The detective gets to make his speech about why is an atheist, but none of his comments are presented as the ravings of a mad person. Yet, neither are those of priests and others who speak about their faith. And we see the younger priest be reminded several times about why he entered the priesthood. His deep love for Jesus and other people contrasts with the priest who was supposed to be supervising him. It was a good movie. Go watch it.

Patrick and I made knitted gifts for family members this year. My husband made a bunch of generic beanies out of some high-quality yarn. No one in our family is going to be cold. I made socks for everyone, but I’m ambitious, so I did fun patterns for everyone. And, I was rewarded for that by not finishing by Christmas. I’m currently knitting socks for my son and my oldest child’s spouse.

Because things were still crazy at Christmas, we didn’t do a traditional sit-down at the table altogether meal, Instead, we made homemade pizzas. On Christmas Eve, Patrick cooked up sausage in one pan and chicken in another. Together we made a couple of recipes worth of pizza dough made with some of the sourdough discard that’s sitting in my fridge.

My favorite thing about Christmas was having both my kids and their spouses over at the same time. They both had other engagements and had to leave after lunch, so we didn’t get to play games, like we usually do. Lydia and Claire are definitely coming over to play games on New Year’s Day, and we’re hoping that Chris and Jenna can make it as well.

This season has been tough for LSU fans. The team didn’t do as well as expected. Brian Kelly got fired. Lane Kiffin got hired. Everything is all up in the air. What I do know is that LSU lost to University of Houston. Do better, next year.

I have never been able to keep a journal for any length of time, until this year. I’ve been writing what’s happening, how I’m feeling, and general thoughts about life throughout the day and then finishing at night. So, I bit the bullet and ordered a planner. I’ll put my daily appointments in it, but I keep things organized in my phone. A planner allows me to put my to-do list separate from my feelings about a new recipe and how long I walked on the treadmill. We’ll see if it gets me to write more or less.

So, what’s new in your life? It’s midnight here, so I’m off to bed. Two and a half hours late, but we’ll try not to let my body know. But, I’d love to know how things are in your neck of the woods. (And with that sentence, you know that I’m a Southern raised by rural Southerners!)

Happy New Year!