End of January Faves

 

Here it is the end of January and a bitter cold one but hey!  The Capital Region of NY got some significant snowfall last weekend and we are happy as we need the moisture and it's nice to have a real winter. Now if the temps could just get up past 25 degrees F, I could go and snowshoe!  But way too cold for me for that activity.  

Since it's Friday, I'm here to share FIVE of my FAVE blessings from the week. Susanne continues to host this important meme and I'm thankful she does as it gets me into  the habit of finding blessings in the every day.   Head here to learn more. 

now streaming on Netflix 

based on the book by Leo Tolstoy 
the original from 1948

• MOVIE NIGHTS:  Since we were snowed in from Sunday to Monday and Saturday night was also a stay home day due to the frigid temps, I watched the entire Season 1 of Finding Her Edge in about 3 days (it's excellent and I highly recommend).  It's a good, clean, family friendly mini-series.  And on Saturday evening, we had a "Date night" in the family room.  Because we still have a good blu-ray player, Dave pulled out some old DVDs we hadn't yet watched.  We collect  movies and musicals from the 1930s-1960s and this one about AnnA Karenina was a version we had never seen.  I much prefer Doctor Zhivago to this story but it was pretty good.  Vivien Leigh of course was the big draw back then. I'm thankful for cozy nights in with my husband watching some good quality flicks. 

• CUTE CANDLE: I found this cute candle for my kitchen corner shelves at this place. It was only $5! When you light it, the snowman appears and the stars seem to sparkle/dance in the light. The scent is a bit too "perfume-y" for me so I can't have it lit more than an hour but it's so pretty in the evening when I'm cooking dinner. I'm thankful for inexpensive winter decor.  I don't have much, but I thought this was a cute addition to the kitchen. 

Tuesday morning after 1.5 days of falling snow!

• SUN ON SNOW:  We are finally having a real winter here in eastern New York State! YAY!  To me, if it's gonna be cold, I want snow and sunshine. God delivered both this week. We had more sunny days than grey and my heart was thankful. And for those of you who sent me texts or emails asking how much we received: we measured 14 inches on the deck. Light and fluffy so Dave's small snowblower was able to do the job plus we did the first 7 inches on Sunday evening.  I pushed the snow off part of the deck so I could get to the bird seed that's housed in a metal can during the winter months on the deck. I'm thankful for a real winter with snow for the water tables and for the beautiful sunshine. I'm also thankful I'm retired and don't have to go out at 7:15 AM to drive to the classroom. 😃

image courtesy of unsplash

• PRAYER POWER:  there is power in prayer and meditation. I don't know if you're a Believer but I am convinced that my week would have been emotionally draining if it wasn't for the power of prayer. One young member of my hiking group had to have a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery (her husband has given permission for me to share) due to her first ever mammo revealing cancer. (family history so she had to have one younger than the norm). Her surgery went well on Tuesday (5 hours) and she is now home and recovering well so far.  Another friend who is close to my age, my very dear friend C lost her oldest son to suicide on Sunday. My heart breaks for her and her husband and the other young adult children.  It is a tragic loss but A and K, the young couple, reported that they felt everyone's prayers and although I haven't heard yet from C I know that our body of believing friends are praying for them to have strength to get through the next few weeks which will be so difficult with all kinds of emotions. I have another college friend(Paul) who lost his oldest son to suicide and he said I had his permission to share his contact info with my friend C in case she and her hubby want to talk. Paul speaks to colleges around the Rochester area about suicide and the mixed emotions that come with it. I'm so very thankful for being able to get some peace through prayer. 

 

almond milk latte

• BREAKFAST DATE:  Yesterday morning, my cousin Trisha and I had a breakfast date per her request.  She wanted to run some things by me on a personal level and I was happy to listen.  Folks, all I can share is:  Marriage is hard work.  After she shared her heart and concerns, we also talked about the various things we have been doing in regards to the small groups we both lead (she attends a different  church from me) and what our young adult children are up to.  It was great to get together with her and introduce her to my fave coffee/breakfast place. I had an avocado on an everything bagel and it was delicious, along with my latte. Now that I'm retired, I head here once a week. I'm thankful my cousin lives close enough to me that we can get together a few times a year. I'm also thankful for the great coffee and food at Mocha Lisa's. I love supporting local businesses over chain stores. 

That wraps up my fave blessings for the past week.  

Heartache for Another

 

One of my favorite authors and poets wrote a poem about death. 

My heart aches this week for my dear friend C.  She and her husband were informed on Sunday that their oldest son committed suicide.  I found out about 2 hours after they did. It's shocking. 

I have no words of comfort to offer. I can only offer prayer for strength that they get through the next couple of weeks. 

There will be shock, guilt, anger, deep sadness, possibly depression, and then hopefully hope, cherished memories, comfort in God's arms, and some day.....one day.......peace. 

There's no reason to ask why. We just don't know. 

But God in His sovereignty knows. He sees. He weeps. He comforts. 

I pray my dear friends can receive the peace that passes understanding. Because this is certainly a heavy trial. 

If you think of it, please offer up prayers for my dear friend C and her husband. and the remaining young adult children. 

Thank you. 

January Hodgepodge

part of our deck after the 14 inches fell
on Sunday/Monday...this is Tuesday late morning

I have laundry going and while I wait for it to be time to stick it in the dryer, I thought I'd answer the Hodgepodge questions for today. Learn how to hop in by  heading to this site. 

1. I live in the south (this is the author of the meme talking, not me Faith from eastern NYS) so we're pretty much only talking about the weather right now. Give us a weather report from where you live. Does the kind of weather you're having today affect your mood in some way?

Kind of weather: currently at 2 pm it is Sunny with a gorgeous blue sky. The temp is currently 21 F and when I woke up at 6:30 it was -2. Today's high expects to not get above 21. 

Mood: it's Winter. I choose to live in the Northeast because I love the 4 seasons and I love the snow. I also love the cultural diversity of our Capital Region area and living so close to 3 different mountain ranges. However, it's annoying me that it's too bitter frigid to go snowshoeing. Hopefully next week! So my overall mood is one of impatience. I'm impatiently waiting for temps to creep up into the higher 20s and 30s so I can do some activity outdoors. (winter hiking, snowshoeing, power walking). 

2.  Avocados, kale, cauliflower and cottage cheese have all had their time to shine. 2026 brings us the year of the cabbage. Is this a vegetable you like? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes that call for cabbage?  

Not sure who says it's the year of the cabbage. HAHA but cabbage is not something I normally cook with.  I do like a good coleslaw and there are 2 places that make it to where I'd want seconds. One place is just to the north of us at this summer place to be. Yummy! I mainly use (from the above) Avocado and Kale. Cottage cheese hasn't entered my body since I was about 14. I don't do cows milk.  And now that I know PJ's BBQ has closed permanently as of last Sept (we went in July and I had no idea until I just linked to it that it was closing) I'll have to find a new place that sells GOOD coleslaw. 2nd fave place to eat it is a little dive on Cape Cod that sells fish n chips (fish and french fries for those of you not used to Cape Cod lingo). 

3. Was a Cabbage Patch Doll a part of your childhood? Or maybe your children's childhood? What's a toy trend from your childhood you remember wanting for your own? 

Oh thank God no.  I was a little girl in the 60s so thankfully didn't have one of those hideous and ugliest dolls on the planet. My daughters though had the 2nd ugliest dolls on the planet: ghetto Barbie aka Bratz dolls. Some still live in our basement. Bratz dolls where quite the trend when my oldest was about age 8-11.  So of course lil sis had to have them too. Cabbage Patch was for my youngest sister who was born in 1975 when I was 15.  I know she had at least 1. 

The toy trend that was one of the rages in my childhood was the Chrissy doll where you pushed a button and her hair grew. I had the brunette one since my hair was brunette (with red highlights) when I was young. And let's face it: Chrissy is way classier and prettier than a cabbage patch kid. 😏

Another toy trend was actually super creative and I don't think it's even a thing anymore: The Spirograph.  How cool was that when we were about 7 yrs old and just HAD to have one. And yup. I did. 

4. Something you've spent a lot of time doing lately? 

Playing Sims 4 in the evenings when I don't feel like watching Netflix, Hulu/Paramount +, Prime or Disney + and when Dave is busy doing his own thing and I don't  feel like reading. Our oldest daughter got me into The Sims a few years ago and I have to say it's quite creative. 

I've also been doing a lot of organizing in the kitchen getting rid of old things we no longer need or use. 

5. Somehow it's the last week of January...sum up your month in just three sentences. 

• We finally have a real winter. 
• I have loved the slower pace of January.
• Thank God for good books. 

6.  Random thought: 

a fun candle from Target!
as soon as you light it, the snowman shows up
I love candles on a snowy evening

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!  Stay Warm!

2026 Book Review #3:The Hidden Child

 

I discovered this author via our oldest daughter a couple of years ago. This is book 5 in the Patrik Hedstrom detective series set in Sweden.  Every winter I love reading a book set in Alaska or Sweden or elsewhere that is "snowy".  This book didn't disappoint.  So far it's my fave of this series followed by The Ice Princess (book 1).

Book 2, The Preacher continues to be my least fave so far. Books 3 (The Stonecutter) & 4 ( The Stranger) were also very good. 

I have now read 3 books for the month of January.  

 STORY SUMMARY

Erica Falck is a true crime author and mommy of now 1 year old Maja.  Erica is married to Patrik Hedstrom a well known detective in the Tanumshede police force. 

Patrik is currently taking his one year paternity leave while Erica, just off from her one year maternity leave, is back to writing in the upstairs office. 

She is also going through her mother's old diaries and items she found in the attic. They are living in her mom's old house and there's still a lot of things to sort through since her mom's car accident that killed her about 4 years ago.  Erica has a sister named Anna who is living with her boyfriend Dan and her two children Emma and Adrian whom she had with her first husband, now her ex, due to physical and emotional  abuse.   Dan has custody of his 3 daughters from his first marriage. Now, Dan and Anna are expecting their first child together so Annie is very busy managing her life, her children, her partner, and her new stepchildren.  She can't really help Erica sort out their mom's things. 

Erica finds an interesting looking medal  among the diaries. It's a Nazi medal!  Why in the world would her mother, Elsy, have a Nazi medal??  

Erica and Anna were  emotionally neglected by their mother all through their childhood. Their father Tore did the bulk of the emotional support for them. Their mother did not and Erica is determined to learn why.  

Why was her mother so cold and distant?? 

Her questions lead her to the home of a well renowned historian and retired history teacher. His name: Erik Frankel.  But he is very evasive about answering questions regarding Elsy even though they were close childhood friends well into their teens.  In fact, his older brother Axel, who was somewhat of a resistance fighter for Sweden against the Germans, was also part of their friend group as was a girl named Britta and another boy named Frans. Britta is now diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and married to a wonderful man named Herman. Britta, Frans, Erik, and Elsy were all friends throughout the 1940s.  And there was another friend that comes to light during some of Erica's research into her mother's past.  A boy named Hans. 

Some of the answers Erik gives Erica are downright bizarre.

Two days later he is found dead.  The medical examiner says it was murder. 

Patrik becomes involved in the murder case as he just can't seem to stay away from investigations. Who in the world would kill this gentle old man so viciously to bury secrets that are so old? 

Soon, Britta is smothered to death with a pillow while napping.  

Then, Frans is found dead by an apparent suicide. 

What is going on?? 

Patrik begins to help Martin and Paula with this case. (fellow police detectives) with Mellburg, the chief, overseeing things. 

Meanwhile, Erica begins to dig through more of her mom's diaries and soon learns something that reveals a painful revelation about Erica's past. With what little she knows, also become a danger to her husband and baby girl? 

MY THOUGHTS

This was my fave book so far in this detective series. I'm glad I have read them in order because each book reveals new things about the ongoing characters of Patrik, Erica, Anna, Mellburg, and their family members/friends.   The characters are very well developed. 

The author did a great job with the back story of Elsy and her friends in the 1940s.  Every other chapter was set in the village of Fjallbacka where the present takes place but with a title of the chapter signifying the town and year (example Fjallbacka 1945).  It kept the writing  smooth and the pace moving forward.  I found my self loving the sub plot as much as the main plot and of course they tie together in the end. 

I also loved that in this book there was far less use of the "f  word" than in the previous ones.  I'm glad.  When an author oversues that word, it shows me (this is my opinion ) that he/she isn't very creative with coming up with other expressions that are far less low class. 

I did guess correctly some of the plot of this book....the actual murderer of Erik. It was so well done and had a poignant ending with Erica's mom from 1975 reflecting on just why she was the way she was.  I don't want to say too much because it would ruin the story for you. 

This book is a thick one so it took longer to read than some of the other books I've read so far this winter. But it's one of those fiction stories that has grains of truth in it.  

Two quotes really stood out to me: 

"it was easy to leave this place that my country had become, but difficult to leave the country that it had once been." ~ (pg 323, The Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg, c. 2007. )

 (this resonated with me because if I was ever was to move out of this nation, it would be how I feel about the USA currently). 

and this quote: 

"Because if you didn't allow yourself to love, you didn't risk losing everything." ~( pg 526)

 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older. 

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