Hello, my lovelies.
This is one of those weeks where I feel like I have so much to say that I don’t know where to start. So this may be even more stream-of-consciousness than usual.
Spent five hours on the phone yesterday with my bestie. I know…five hours? Seems like torture for most folks, but we have been friends for thirty years, and we have not ever, not for one minute, run out of things to say. She’s a reader—natch—so we spent a fair amount of that time talking about books, like we do, and I now have something ELSE to read.
We used to talk more often…pre-pandemic, we talked two or three times a week, for an hour or so each time…but now that our calls are less frequent, it’s like we have to make up for the time between calls with straight-up marathon length. However, as I said, it feels on the call like no time is passing, so it’s not like it’s a chore. And, honestly, I could probably spend five hours with her again today and enjoy it just as much.
People talk about blessings all the time, but think about what a gift it is to have someone in your life that you could literally talk to for thousands of hours without ever feeling bored, or like you can’t wait to get off the phone, or like there is ever even a momentary lag in the conversation. Everyone should have a Serena.
Which brings us straight into Thanksgiving. Dinner was lovely. We did a tiny Friendsgiving this year, with my friend Philip visiting with his mom and his girlfriend, Jasmine. Everyone cooked something. I was on the hook for the turkey, and mashed potatoes and gravy (which I made differently this year, and the reviews were smashing). The lovely roomie contributed the stuffing, and her homemade corn pudding, which was to die for. Jasmine baked some Brie with cinnamon and pecans that was so good that we almost didn’t get to dinner. And then she fully over-achieved with homemade mac and cheese. And Philip contributed some pumpkin cheesecake.
I’m sitting here wishing for a time machine so I could go back and eat it all again.
One of the things that I am most thankful for, though, is the decision to start a book blog. I whined and complained quite loudly for the first month because wow—book blogging is a TON of work. My friend over at Blogferatu, who is the one who pushed me into doing it, took the brunt of the complaining (“Why did you make me do this? I hate you so much right now.”) but, in the end, he was right. I told Serena that it feels like I finally found the right Sorority—and they let me pledge.
So, yeah…I’m thankful for you, my lovely, lovely book friends.
Having said that, we should really look into getting jackets. Jackets would be cool.
Because the lovely roomie had a few days off over the holiday, I also got to indulge in my other passion, which is board games. We had our friend Lowell over last Sunday and played some Wingspan (which is every bit as good as all the hype), and then we stayed up till 1 am on Thanksgiving playing a new-to-me game, Alien: Fate of the Nostromo, which was surprisingly awesome. And then we played more Wingspan. And then last night, we jumped in a Zoom call with four other people and played…wait for it…WINGSPAN. And after that, we hopped on Board Game Arena for several favorites, including Welcome to…, The Crew, and 7 Wonders.
Imma take just a second to pimp Board Game Arena, y’all. It costs $30/year and you get access to almost 400 games. Full disclosure that you can play MOST of those games for free, without subscribing. But, you know, two things. 1) The best games are part of the premium tier; 2) These people are doing crazy-good work, and supporting them is the right thing to do. Also, only one person needs to buy a subscription for everyone playing to play a premium game. So, if your group is OBSESSED with Downforce (and why wouldn’t you be?), you only need one license for all of you to play.
Current premium games include Azul, Carcassonne, Splendor, 7 Wonders Duel, Agricola, King of Tokyo, Hanabi, Kingdomino, Can’t Stop, 7 Wonders, Potion Explosion, Patchwork, Terra Mystica, Res Arcana, Welcome To, Pandemic, Lost Cities, Viticulture, Railroad Ink, Takenoko, Jaipur, LLAMA, Sushi Go!, Love Letter, PARKS, Roll for the Galaxy, Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers, Similo, Dice Hospital, Downforce, Beyond the Sun, Clans of Caledonia, Nidavellir, Can’t Stop Express, Abyss, Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan, Incan Gold, Codex Naturalis, New Frontiers, Trek 12, For Sale, Via Magica, Forbidden Island, Draftosaurus, Dragonwood, Conspiracy, Railways of the World, Sobek: 2 Players, The Builders: Middle Ages, Coup, Mr. Jack, Onitama, Pingimus, The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow, Samarkand, BuyWord, I’m The Boss, Iwari, Fleet, Medina, Stir Fry Eighteen, Turn the tide, The Builders: Antiquity, Mercado de Lisboa, Pyramid Poker, Rest In Peace, Con Sonar!, Race for the Galaxy (expansions), Puerto Rico (expansions), Chakra (expansions), The Crew: Mission Deep Sea (expansions), Imhotep (expansions), The Crew (expansions), Krosmaster Arena (expansions), Krosmaster Blast (expansions), Dungeon Twister (expansions).
Again, I get nothing out of this. I just really, really, really love these people.
Coming up next week is a ton of holiday shopping, and a real, in-person visit from a friend that I haven’t seen in almost 10 years. So excited about both of those things.
Also, this happened. Guess we are still a ways from the future we were promised.
I read two books last week, which seems like an impossibly light week, but…two books a week still winds up being 104 books a year, so I think that maybe I should give myself a break.
Both of the books earned their own review, so I won’t be discussing them here. The Last Thing He Told Me was last Wednesday’s review, and Beach Read will forthcome this week.
I did finally start Never, and at 846 dense pages, it may be the only thing that I read next week, so I am proactively extending grace to myself on that one, too.
OK, that’s all from the 52 dog-grooming room, where we are doing pawdicures this week.
Till next week, stay safe, wear your masks and be extra-kind to yourself as we enter the most stressful wonderful time of the year.
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Its actually very rare to have a friendship with someone where you can talk for hours and hours and for it not to get boring. Happy to see that you have such a blessing in your life.
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I have Beach Read, but still haven’t read it. Need to do that! I don’t really have a friend like that anymore. I have a newer friend that is close to that, but nothing like friends from college or high school. I wish I did. Sometimes I just need someone like that to talk too. So glad that you have that! That is awesome! And welcome to book blogging. It is a lot of work and time, but I do love doing it. Have a great week!
Lisa Loves Literature
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It sounds like you had a wonderful week. There is nothing like having a friend you can talk to for hours. I remember one time starting a conversation with my friend Jennifer as my husband went to work, still talking to her when he came home for lunch, and still talking to her when he came home in the evening! So I can definitely relate to a five-hour phone call.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about Wingspan. I just got into birding during the pandemic, and I added it to my wish list a few months ago. Not sure if I could talk the people in my life into playing it with me…Zoom is a good idea, though.
Good luck with Never!
And let me know if you decide to do those jackets. Glad you are in the blogging world!
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Oh yes! My daughter and talk all day long as well! She has four kiddos home for virtual learning, so our calls are spread throughout the day and we never run out of things to say! Thank God for headphones!
I think this may be my first visit to your blog and you’re lovely. I’m glad I found your part of the internet!
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Thanks so much for visiting!
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Ah yes, lovely times with the bestie :-). Your two books are in my tbr as well. Have a good week.
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Yikes…let’s not talk about spending hours on the phone talking to a BFF. When I was a teenager in the days before cell phones, It was expensive to talk on the phone. My BFF and I ran up a thousand dollar phone bill. The most terrifying moments of my life were when we got the bill and my Mom went to the airport to pick up my Dad. She was going to tell him the news on the drive home. I waited in my room, crying with fear and dread. Fun times, the old long distance phone bill days…
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I remember those days! My friend Steve was in Boston for a year, and we alternated who called whom every night! Remember when AT&T would have special sales on long distance? Those were the nights that we talked for EVER. Those days seem so…quaint now. 🙂
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That is a blessing. 🙂 Sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too. Homemade mac and cheese? Honestly that sounds really good, haven’t had that in a while.
Jackets… we need a slogan too. Or a logo. I just had the jacket from desperately seeking Susan pop into my mind. lol
I’m definitely going to check out some of those games.
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Sounds like you had a lovely Thanksgiving with some wonderful food 😋. I can talk for hours with my sister and still have more to say. It’s awesome to have people like that in your life. 🤗 Have a wonderful week!
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Sounds like a great Thanksgiving! Glad you had a nice conversation with your friend. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a long conversation, but that’s so nice.
Hope you have a great week!
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What a lovely post! It sounds like you had a really great week 😃 My closest friends and I all live in different countries and it’s hard to keep in touch as often with time differences etc., but ever since the pandemic we’ve been having long calls and they’re most often a min. of 3 hours and one time we even chatted for 6 hours! 😂 I love friendships like that, where it doesn’t feel like time is passing and you can KEEP talking for ages and not feel exhausted! Also, that board game site! My cousin is a huge board game fan and he’s been trying to get my sister and I to play more ever since he moved in with us earlier this year. I played Azul for the first time a few weeks back and it was a lot of fun! He probs will know this site already but I’ll definitely let him know about it just in case he doesn’t.
Hope you have a fab week ahead!
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Azul is awesome!
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Book Blogger Jackets? Like the ones the Pink Ladies wore in Grease??? Hell yes!! I’m in.
I also love book blogging and yes, it is still a lot of work and I just don’t always have enough time to sort the blog as much as I like. But I will do it over the holidays!!
Thanks so much for visiting us and I hope you will have a good week ahead.
Elza Reads
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I’ve heard good things about Beach Read – I shall keep an eye out for your review! Sadly I’m not a huge fan of board games, though I have found myself playing “family” ones with the young people who I work with. 104 books is a great total, I’ve done the reading silly amounts and I can barely remember any of them – quality of quantity is so much better.
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How amazing to have had a close friendship like that for 30 years. That’s truly a gift. And your Friendsgiving dinner sounds divine! (It’s almost lunchtime and now I’m truly starving. lol) Hope you’re having a great week!
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She is pretty amazing. And I am having a good week! I saw a friend yesterday that I haven’t seen in years, and there may have been a fancy dinner involved. Why do all good things include food?
Hope your week is amazing, too!
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