December thoughts...

December is here!

The elections did not go how a lot of us wished they would. Yes, I have genuine concerns about the future of our country and the future of our planet. But one can drive oneself crazy for no good purpose dwelling on what one can’t control. The next few years will probably be a good time to be cautious with our finances. If the orange man follows through on his threats of tariffs across the board, everything that incorporates imports will increase in price. If he deports undocumented workers, it is likely that our food and many other domestic goods will increase in prices as well due to the lack of labor. The markets will tend towards increasing volatility due to his erratic behavior… so this is a good time to get your own house in financial order to whatever extent you can. Our soft landing and escape from a deep recession may not be as soft as hoped once the crazy cabinet gets into place. It very well may be a bumpy four years. Musk may be good at making money for himself, but he single-handedly has destroyed the value of Twitter, and Tesla’s numbers are not great either. It’s probably optimistic that his efforts to make our government more efficient will be very helpful.

So… I’m going to focus on what I have more control over. I want to increasingly appreciate the good people in my life. I want to improve my skills as an artist and as a writer. I want to be smarter with my finances, and with how I use my time. This is not a time for despair. This is a time to continue our work in becoming the best version of ourselves. What does that look like? How are my goals shifting? Becoming our best self is the work a lifetime.

December Reading

The Purple Fantastic Book of the Month

On a Midnight Clear

This is a fun winter holiday fantasy. Charming and funny and light and sexy.

 * * *

It can safely be said that Lord Barnaby Greenwood is not having the best of Christmases.

He’s penniless, up to his eyeballs in debt, and about to lose his estate. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that when a local property developer offers a lot of money to buy King’s Wood from him, Barnaby is very tempted. But his father had always impressed on him that the green wood was sacred and must be protected at all costs, so he finds himself saying no.

He knows this will result in the loss of his home, but duty comes before everything. However, that fateful decision leads instead to a magical Christmas for Barnaby, complete with an old god who grants him a favour, and a beautiful statue that comes to life.

Cosmo is perfect for him. He’s funny and kind and completely enraptured with Barnaby, and for the first time in his life, Barnaby falls in love. But how can this lead to anything but heartache, when on the last stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, Cosmo will go back to being a statue and take Barnaby’s heart with him?

(The Purple Fantastic Steam Meter gives this a 3… it gets a little sexy at times)

More about The Purple Fantastic Steam Meter on the About page.

book-author

Lily Morton

Categories: , , , , , ,

Description

It can safely be said that Lord Barnaby Greenwood is not having the best of Christmases.

He’s penniless, up to his eyeballs in debt, and about to lose his estate. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that when a local property developer offers a lot of money to buy King’s Wood from him, Barnaby is very tempted. But his father had always impressed on him that the green wood was sacred and must be protected at all costs, so he finds himself saying no.

He knows this will result in the loss of his home, but duty comes before everything. However, that fateful decision leads instead to a magical Christmas for Barnaby, complete with an old god who grants him a favour, and a beautiful statue that comes to life.

Cosmo is perfect for him. He’s funny and kind and completely enraptured with Barnaby, and for the first time in his life, Barnaby falls in love. But how can this lead to anything but heartache, when on the last stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, Cosmo will go back to being a statue and take Barnaby’s heart with him?

Additional information

book-author

Lily Morton

Format

Audiobook, Kindle Books, Paperback

Language

English

Pages

640

Publisher

self

Year Published

2019

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“We read books to find out who we are.

What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel…
is an essential guide to our understanding
of what we ourselves are and may become.”

 

Ursula K. LeGuin

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“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature.
If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world,
I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”

 

Maya Angelou

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“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.

The man who never reads lives only one.

 

George R. R. Martin