Saturday NIne

Saturday 9: Bye Bye Bye (2000)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

This song was chosen because it's time to say goodbye to 2025.

I'm linking up with other bloggers to participate in the Saturday Nine questions.  I liked them today and our plans to go to a party fell through so I have a free morning!

1) In this song, a man predicts his lover will start an argument. Is there anyone in your life who can be quarrelsome?

oh yes.  I won't mention on here who it is though.  Let's just say it's an extended family member. 

2) He says he's had it, he's checking out and signing off. Can you think of a time you were glad you walked away from something?

YUP.  More than once, many years ago,  I've walked away from either a toxic relationship (in 1985)  or in one case, a toxic church (2005).  Lately, I've had to walk away from a toxic extended family situation. I won't go into details. 

3) This week's song was performed by the band NSYNC. The group was formed in Orlando, FL, which is world famous as home to Walt Disney World. Today there are 12 Disney theme parks located around the globe. Have you ever visited one of these Magic Kingdoms?

nope not a one! Dave and I don't really have the desire to do so. 

4) They made a celebrity appearance on The Simpsons. What's your all-time favorite cartoon show?

My fave would be from childhood as I don't do animated shows now. (other than Charlie Brown Christmas) ...it's Bugs Bunny. I LOVED it as a child. 

5) In 2000, the year "Bye Bye Bye" was popular, Brad Pitt was named People's Sexiest Man Alive. Are you crushing on anyone right now?

"Crushing on someone"?? haha um I'm 66 and happily married. but if you mean like  a famous actor, etc I'd say Hugh Jackman. LOVE that dude. 

Let's look back on 2025 ...

6) What's the farthest from home you traveled in 2025?

Albuquerque, New Mexico in May for a week!

7) What was the biggest purchase that you made in 2025?

My brand new Kia Soul bought in the beginning of November. 

8) What was your favorite book of 2025?

That's a tough one because I'm an avid reader and have read a LOT of books this year (57 to be exact).  I'd have to say I have three top faves: (but there are about 5 more I really loved) 

Heartwood, Horse, The Frozen River

9) What are you looking forward to most in 2026?

Trying a new to me winter  sport: Snow-shoeing

and planning a mom-daughters vacation to NH for summer

also we (Dave and I) are tentatively planning an Alaskan cruise although I don't know if it will be June 2026 or June 2027 yet. We shall see!!

HAPPY SATURDAY!!

CHRISTMAS WEEK FAVES

 

Wow.  Christmas has come and gone and this year's was busy and then super relaxing.   

Christmas Eve after 6 pm was just Dave and I for the first time since 1992!!  But there was a blessing in that....we were both exhausted from singing in the choir for all 3 services and being at church from noon-6:15 pm that we just crashed on the  couch after changing into cozy pjs and we didn't eat any dinner until about 8 pm while watching our fave Xmas movie musical:  White Christmas.  It was so different without the girls but they had their own plans with the boyfriend and friends.

 Along with that blessing, I have 5 more to share that make my faves list.  How about joining in and linking up at Susanne's site where a group of us are intentional about giving thanks every Friday? 

neighborhood cul de sac/historic cemetery 

• SUNSET WALK: On one of the last days of Autumn last week, before all of our snow melted, I went on a very late afternoon walk when the sun was just starting to set in the west. It was so pretty and the fresh air after being busy with Christmas prep was just what I needed.  I'm so thankful for beautiful sunsets and the fresh crisp air. 

Claire is 27!

• BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION:  Winter Solstice, on December 21st, was our youngest daughter's birthday, but she requested the family celebration for Saturday evening as she had plans with her friends Jonny and Colleen on her actual birthday.  I was fine with it as we had a very long rehearsal on Sunday afternoon anyways. I made her the requested Vegan chocolate crinkle cookies and they came out perfect!  I sent a bunch home with her and also set some aside for Christmas Day. We had gifted her with an oil painting of her cat Karma that I commissioned her good friend Rebekah to do.  We also gave her some cute Christmas cat socks and an ornament that says "Merry and Bright" with her name on it.  Dave gave her half the amount of 4 new tires for her car. She was very thankful and I was thankful we had a nice dinner together and that Courtney and Tyler could also join us for dinner. They had Popeye's Chicken, Dave chose Chinese and Claire and I had food from this fave vegan place! It was divine!! 

  

  Karma
  painted by Rebekah O. 

• SURPRISE GIFTS:  I had a surprise gift in the mail from blogging friend and prayer partner, Deb from Days in my Life blog. I was also surprised with a gift for our family from Evelyn, my new hiking buddy and friend. She happens to be Tyler's (Courtney's boyfriend) mom. Deb gave me a huge water bottle which I now keep in the car as I love drinking  cold water all day long and it's perfect for an entire day of errands and traveling. She also sent two historical fiction books which are on my nightstand all set to begin sometime this Winter. Evelyn gifted us with homemade cranberry orange bread with a lemon glaze which  was so different from any I had had before. It's super dense and very good. I'm so thankful for people who show their love in special ways. 

from Deb my blogging friend

homemade breakfast bread

• CHRISTMAS EVE!!  I have always just loved Christmas Eve. I spent the morning getting chicken pot pie ready for our Xmas Day luncheon. I also made Homemade Truffles to bring to a party we need to attend on Saturday. I  wrapped one last gift and did some yoga and then it was time to shower and get ready for our THREE Christmas Eve Services at the church where the choir was leading worship. How I loved every minute of  each service. Words don't suffice.  We were treated by the  church to a catered late lunch between services from this local place which was outstanding.  SO much food and desserts. I ended up bringing some home to enjoy later in the week. Each service was packed out as in some people had to sit in our "overflow room" (the church gym) to hear and see the service up on the big screen. I'm so thankful we got to sing and be with our brothers and sisters in Christ for most of Christmas Eve. Later that evening, Dave and I curled up on the couch together drinking hot herbal tea and watching White Christmas. A perfect ending to a perfect day.  Our hearts were thankful. 

In our church lobby
Dave, Courtney, me
Tyler, and his mom Evelyn 

Dave, Courtney and I
(Claire had to work until 4:30 and she said it was crazy busy at the eye center) 

• CHRISTMAS! Dave and I were up rather early, around 6, and had coffee together and read the Word. I finished up a Bible study I had been doing online. We had croissants and jam with coffee for breakfast and showered, etc.  I made the vegan pot pie (same as chicken pot pie but with the plant based chicken tenders and oat milk vs cream of chicken soup) and got everything set up on the dining room table. Courtney arrived, and shortly after that Claire who made us her famous mimosas. We then opened our stockings and gifts to each other and just talked and talked. We had dinner together as a family and it was so very nice!  No one wanted dessert as we were full so I sent plates of cookies home with both girls along with Claire taking the rest of her vegan pot pie. Courtney left around 3 pm to go to her boyfriend's family and Claire stayed to watch the Xmas Eve service with me online via You Tube. She didn't get home in time from work on Wednesday to catch us live. The recording is ok but it's so much better when one watches it in person or live via our church website while it's actually happening. She really liked it and I was so happy she wanted to watch it with us. She stayed until about 4:30 and then wanted to get everything home so she could get everything out of her car before darkness hit. I'm so thankful  we had a relaxing Christmas with just the 4 of us. Later that evening, Dave and I watched the Downton Abbey End of an Era movie that is now available on Netflix. SO well done. It's the middle movie in the trilogy.  Very poignant.  Highly recommend. 

Courtney had Dave and I hold up my candy cane tea towel as a backdrop
these are the mimosas Claire made for us with delicious champagne
I provided the cranberry, orange juices and the fresh cranberries.
My drink is the pink one as I prefer more cranberry to orange. 

Christmas Morning

Dining room is all set for our late lunch/early dinner

Courtney!

Claire!

And that's a wrap my friends! 

Courtney and Tyler walking through our church lobby
to get ready to go on stage before the 2 pm service 

I hope you all had a very special Christmas (if you celebrate) and that you took some time to reflect on all the good things God brings into our lives. 

For those of you here in NYS and points south-east, be safe tonight!  We are expecting a snowstorm........my guess is Albany will get about 6 inches (my daughters think it will be less) .....at least I'm hoping.....I wanna try my snowshoes on a trail!! We had a green Christmas here........

Have a  wonderful, safe and healthy weekend!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

Merry Christmas to all the blogging community and friends who visit this space. 

I pray God's blessings over you and your loved ones this day.

May you sense God's Presence in a very real way this Christmas week and may you rejoice in the Birth of His Son Jesus, come to earth in human form, to experience what we experience,  die a horrible death on the cross and be resurrected again to live eternally!  We too can live eternally by confessing our sin, accepting the free gift of Salvation and following Jesus. 

If you'd like to tune in to hear the Christmas Choir that my husband, oldest daughter, her boyfriend and I are singing in this afternoon, head to Grace Fellowship Church  .  Click on "Watch" and then click on "Watch" and then click on "Watch Live".  You might want to do this about 10 minutes before the service as we begin promptly with the choir singing a cappella!  

The service times  are 2 pm, 3:30 pm and 5 pm.  Carols, an advent reading by our site pastor,  old hymns and a Christmas message given by our senior pastor. 

Have a blessed Christmas celebration and see you for the Friday Faves!!

2025 Book Review #57: The Winners

 

This is the final book in the Beartown Trilogy.  I really enjoyed this series and although this book was super long/thick at 670 pages, I am finally done with it.  It's an excellent book with beloved characters and my sister Joy and I both read the entire trilogy.  I've enjoyed a few of this author's books with my fave still being A Man Called Ove. 

STORY SUMMARY

It has been 2 years since the events that happened in Beartown and Hed have occured that no one wants to ever talk about. Everyone has tried to move on with their lives.  But there  is just something about this place in the forest that prevents anyone from doing so. 

The early autumn storm arrives and with it a death and two funerals on the same day. 

One of the person's life is being celebrated by everyone in Beartown. 

But another person's life is being forgotten.  

Maya Andersson comes home from her college dorm and joyfully reunites with her best friend Ana. Maya fled Beartown for music school far away. She's searching for a new life. 

Benji Ovich also comes home and reunites with his best friend Bobo. 

Both Maya and Benji see how much Beartown has changed.  There's a new sense of purpose.....an optimism and it's tied to the impressive new ice rink that's been built down by the lake. 

But the storm reignites all the old rivalry between Beartown and Hed and it's always been fought through their hockey teams. 

Peter and Kira, Maya and Leo's parents, are dealing with an investigation of the hockey club's sketchy finances. 

Amat, the former star of Beartown hockey, has seemingly lost his way after an injury and his failure to get drafted into the NHL.  

Tensions arise between the two towns and soon turn into acts of intimidation....and then of course violence. 

Meanwhile, 14 year old Matteo, the son of parents involved in a weird religious cult, becomes more and more alienated from the hockey-obsessed town.  He is determined to get revenge on all the people.....young men.....whom he holds responsible for his older sister Ruth's death.  She died of a drug overdose in a foreign country far from Sweden but he blames her drug use on the events that happened to her in Beartown before she turned 18.  Events that also happened to Maya. 

Matteo has a plan....and...a pistol and this will leave Beartown with a loss that is almost more than anyone can stand. 

MY THOUGHTS

This was a really good trilogy but this last book was very long. I feel like the author did a superb job with wrapping up all of the teenagers/young adults first introduced in the first novel, Beartown.  However, I also think this story could have been told in a quicker, shorter manner. But yet.....it's chock full of drama, a bit of mystery, complex feelings and relationships and the exploration of friendships, loyalty, self identity, loss and forgiveness. And most of all love. Love in its purest form. 

It teaches us to re-examine what it means to be a winner. 

It teaches us to learn what it means to lose.

And it teaches us what it means to finally forgive. 

This would be a perfect 10 but  for all the editing mistakes!  There were so many editing errors in this novel!  S's left off of words that were meant to be plural, articles missing such as "the" or "a". 

However, overall, this book is truly a winner! 

My heart was broken when I learned of the demise of one of my very favorite characters.  But it's in this loss, that many of the characters grow up emotionally. 

I don't want to reveal too much in case you read it. 

There were several quotes that jumped out at me but I will share one: 

"We try to just live our lives, live with each other, live with ourselves. Accepting joy when we find it, bearing grief when it finds us, and being amazed at our children's happiness without falling apart when we think that we can never really protect them."  (pg 649, The Winners by Fredrick Backman, c.2021)

I absolutely loved how the author ended this trilogy and summed up each main character's life.  Well done! 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content). 

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.