Yesterday was a busy easygoing day--wrapping presents, making cookies, reading a book, going for a walk, sitting by the fire, then strolling next door for dinner with our neighbor. Today will be somewhat less  Hallmarky, as my main chore is to clean the basement. Replacing the furnace created an uproar down there, and I've been waiting for Tom to do his part (haul dump stuff out to his truck) before I can do my part (reclaim my laundry area, reorganize kindling, vacuum up cobwebs and varied detritus). Yesterday he finally got Part 1 done, meaning that now I am on the spot to do Part 2. But we're also going Christmas shopping for cheese and smoked fish, I'll likely bake another batch of cookies, and we've got another social evening ahead, so the Hallmarkiness is not finished with us yet.

On my walk yesterday I pulled a copy of Rachel Kushner's novel Creation Lake out of a little free library. Both T and I have read her essays and have been meaning to try out her fiction, so I was quite pleased with that find. Also, it was nice to keep something for myself. As usual, books form a large chunk of the gifts I've bought, mostly novels that I've been wanting to read myself but haven't yet. I am sorry to report that I do not at all enjoy giving them away without reading them first. (Oh, beautiful tale that doesn't belong to me. Sob.) When it comes to stories I am selfish and greedy, and I will never be any different.