Christmas Eve
Dec. 24th, 2023 11:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillilahFirst off, I tried to watch Die Hard last night, but it was such a pain to actually get access to it with all the restrictions for regions and other stuff that I decided that it isn't worth it. I'm going to skip watching movies. I don't love watching them anyway, so I shouldn't plan on doing something that is a challenge.
Today, I finished reading another novel by Iain M. Banks. It was not as amazing as the last one I read (Look to Windward), but it was still totally enjoyable. Then, after breakfast, we went to the hardware store to pick up the order made online for the varnish I need for the floor at the new house. First, we went to a notions store in the same mall, where I got the embroidery floss for my New Year's project: a cross stitch embroidery of a capybara with a duckling on his head with 2024 over them. Then, we went to the big food store to pick up more peanuts, because I've been stress eating my way through them. Lastly, we went to the hardware store, where they pointed out that I had ordered the varnish to be picked up at a different location, and I had an hour before the store closed. The bus was going to get us there 15 minutes before they closed, which seemed sketchy, so we took an Uber, which cut 40 minutes off the time. We picked up our stuff quickly and then walked home (about 1 hour) through a couple of parks. It was so lovely, as spending time with Joel always is.
While on the bus to the first hardware store, I had tried to find a book for my Christmas Eve romance novel reading. I was getting all kinds of "just published in 2023" lists and "I don't like romance novels, but these are the ones I recommend" lists, which were not what I was looking for. These days, instead of fighting to get Google to give you what you want, you can just ask ChatGPT. I did, and it gave me a nice list. I looked up the first book, which was well-reviewed, and it sounded good, so I got that. Once I got home, I finally had the time to sit down and read it. The book is "A Holiday by Gaslight" by Mimi Matthews, and it was delightful. The best part is that I would be happy to read it again, so if next year's book isn't great, I can read this one to make me feel better.
Tomorrow, we're going to have our one-shot, Christmas-themed roleplaying game. A guy from my writer's group suddenly had nothing to do for Christmas, so he will join us. Should be fun!
Today, I finished reading another novel by Iain M. Banks. It was not as amazing as the last one I read (Look to Windward), but it was still totally enjoyable. Then, after breakfast, we went to the hardware store to pick up the order made online for the varnish I need for the floor at the new house. First, we went to a notions store in the same mall, where I got the embroidery floss for my New Year's project: a cross stitch embroidery of a capybara with a duckling on his head with 2024 over them. Then, we went to the big food store to pick up more peanuts, because I've been stress eating my way through them. Lastly, we went to the hardware store, where they pointed out that I had ordered the varnish to be picked up at a different location, and I had an hour before the store closed. The bus was going to get us there 15 minutes before they closed, which seemed sketchy, so we took an Uber, which cut 40 minutes off the time. We picked up our stuff quickly and then walked home (about 1 hour) through a couple of parks. It was so lovely, as spending time with Joel always is.
While on the bus to the first hardware store, I had tried to find a book for my Christmas Eve romance novel reading. I was getting all kinds of "just published in 2023" lists and "I don't like romance novels, but these are the ones I recommend" lists, which were not what I was looking for. These days, instead of fighting to get Google to give you what you want, you can just ask ChatGPT. I did, and it gave me a nice list. I looked up the first book, which was well-reviewed, and it sounded good, so I got that. Once I got home, I finally had the time to sit down and read it. The book is "A Holiday by Gaslight" by Mimi Matthews, and it was delightful. The best part is that I would be happy to read it again, so if next year's book isn't great, I can read this one to make me feel better.
Tomorrow, we're going to have our one-shot, Christmas-themed roleplaying game. A guy from my writer's group suddenly had nothing to do for Christmas, so he will join us. Should be fun!
