These are the other photos that we took. The Tiffany windows have always been my favorite at the Met. The rest of it is a bit overwhelming for me. It certainly was that day. It was awfully crowded. I went to grad school in NY back in the early '90s and often visited the Met. It was never crowded like this. Anyway, I don't remember any Old Testament figures. I just know that I love the Tiffany art. We got some coasters in the gift shop. Gift shops in museums and galleries are always our favorite. We got Tiffany bookmarks also.

"Sarum" is on my list. Honestly, I think that I would like to read all of his books eventually. "Russka" sounds wonderful also, especially since I've read quite a few Russian biographies in the past few years by Robert Massie.

Robin, I had a wonderful cup of Earl Grey tea when I went out with my dh for our Sunday morning coffee out. I like tea so much more than coffee, but it has to be black/regular tea and with milk. Loved that book. I recently started "New York" by Edward Rutherfurd. It's almost 900 pages long, so it'll be a while before I finish it. Loving it so far. I read his book, "Paris" a few years ago, and I still think about some of the characters from time to time. Some pictures to share, since I've been on a roll for several months now. The first one is sunset where we live (Grenada). The other two are when my dd and I went to New York for a few days back in June. Some may recall that it was an unpleasant trip due to the circumstances (estranged brother dying of cancer), but we tried to make the most of our time otherwise. We stayed near Times Square. The third picture is from our visit to the Met. I've always loved the works by Tiffany.

Lovely to see you, Shawne! That book looks good and I'm adding it to my list. Love the cover also. That's perfectly fine. I often do that and I'm sure that we're not the only ones!

I read Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses - 3 Stars - This was a Cinderella-type Christmas read full of hope and romance. Romance is not usually my thing, but life has been quite stressful lately. I needed something light and festive, even though I knew how it was all going to end after several pages. I later realized that there is a Hallmark movie based on this book. I think that I would have preferred the movie since the book dragged on for far too long. The author has lots of summer and Christmas reads with gorgeous covers, and I was about to add those books to my wish list. I don’t think that I’ll be reading them since they look like they’re too formulaic and predictable for me. Then again, who knows? If life gets stressful once again, as it often does, I may need to resort to more of her books. Here are some pictures from our one-night stay in Madrid. Lovely city. We didn't have time to spend more days there. Hope to revisit there someday. We flew out of Madrid and headed back to Miami the next day. I may post some pictures from Miami next week.

Stella, I can't believe that I read them all. I'm annoyed that I wasted my time and money on those. Another one that I forgot to mention. Yep. I didn't make it past the first chapter or two. I didn't even have the heart to give it away to anyone. Threw it in the trash. I didn't get beyond a few pages of that one. Hated it.

Kindle books on sale today. The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America The Unwinding of the Miracle: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After Daisy Jones & The Six

Hate both of her books. I can't believe that I read two of them. The worst part is that I can't get parts of them out of my head. I couldn't get beyond two chapters. Hated it. I've never been able to appreciate Tolkien. Can't stand that book! Other books that may have not been mentioned yet: Any of the Twilight books Water for Elephants The Alchemist - to me, the idea has been sort of plagiarized/copied from the children's book, "The Treasure", they're both very similar, except "The Treasure" was written first Watership Down Picnic at Hanging Rock The Immotal Life of Henrietta Lacks We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Lottery The Power of Now Speak The Thornbirds Love You Forever The Giving Tree Pretty much anything by Dan Brown The Hunger Games

I read Life and Death in Shanghai - 4 Stars - During the Cultural Revolution in China, the author – an educated, upper-class woman, at the age of fifty, had to undergo six and a half years of solitary confinement. I really admire her and think that she was an incredible woman, particularly given all that she had to go through. Her perseverance, patience, and fortitude were amazing. Plus, she was smart as a tack and I loved her zest for living. As far as the book goes, it was fascinating and certainly eye-opening, but after a certain point, it started to get repetitive and I was ready to lose my mind. I realize that her experience in the prison with the endless interrogations was repetitive and she was writing her story. It was just burdensome on me as the reader. China is not exactly a walk in the park when it comes to human rights. No country with a totalitarian regime is. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: in today’s world where every time someone doesn’t like a certain politician or someone disagreeing with them, they’re immediately called Hitler or a Nazi; I say, “Hey, why stop there? Why limit yourself to Hitler? Let’s carry it further!” Most people don’t realize that communist governments slaughtered an estimated 120 million people in the 20th century. They outdid Hitler 20-1! Let us stop throwing these labels around and cheapening them. In Communist China, 70 million were killed. Communism should be hated and feared far more than Nazism. How blessed I am, and how grateful we all should be, to live where we have democracy, human rights, and freedom. I learned so much from this book, but again, I got bogged down with the writing style, repetition, and length of this book. I would give this 3.5 stars, but I’m feeling generous, so I’ll go with four. Oh, and one final point to consider for Amazon – do not put spoilers in the Kindle book description! That was absolute idiocy on their part. Here are some of my favorite quotes: “It's always best to look ahead and not backwards. Possessions are not important. Think of those beautiful porcelain pieces I had. Before they came to me, they had all passed through the hands of many people, surviving wars and natural disasters. I got them only because someone else lost them. While I had them, I enjoyed them; now some other people will enjoy them. Life itself is transitory. Possessions are not important.” “One of the most ugly aspects of life in Communist China during the Mao Zedong era was the Party’s demand that people inform on each other routinely and denounce each other during political campaigns. This practice had a profoundly destructive effect on human relationships. Husbands and wives became guarded with each other, and parents were alienated from their children. The practice inhibited all forms of human contact, so that people no longer wanted to have friends. It also encouraged secretiveness and hypocrisy. To protect himself, a man had to keep his thoughts to himself. When he was compelled to speak, often lying was the only way to protect himself and his family.” “In fact, after living in Communist China for so many years, I realized that one of the advantages enjoyed by a democratic government that allows freedom of speech is that the government knows exactly who supports it and who is against it, while a totalitarian government knows nothing of what the people really think.” Some pictures from our last day in Cordoba.

That would be such fun!

Kindle book on a bit of a sale today.

Kindle book on sale.

Robin, I understand about not being able to read "A Fire Story". Losing everything and going through anything like that is so painful.

I don't pay attention to reading goals or any of that. Here are my favorite books of the year.

Robin, I love your post and that Neil Gaiman quote. Thank you again for everything and wishing you all the best during this holiday season. I'll get back to all the books of the year, etc. I read Stories from the Delight of Hearts - 5 Stars - I read this over two decades ago and loved it as much this time around as I did back then. This is a book that’s most suitable for Baha’is. It’s made up of short vignettes of Haji Mirza Haydar-Ali, one of the early Persian Baha’is, who became known as the Angel of Carmel. I absolutely love this man. As another reviewer said so perfectly, I would be happy just to be “a slug in his garden”. His faith, steadfastness, dedication, and of course his wonderful sense of humor, inspire me to hopefully try to be a better person. Here are some of my favorite quotes: “For God has promised in His Book to be compassionate and forgiving to anyone who approaches Him in remorse and repentance. However, if he had wrongly charged by his enemies, he must remain happy and contented and surrender his will and his affairs into the hands of the All-Merciful.” “His bounties are endless and our words of praise totally inadequate.” “God is the greatest of all helpers; we surrender our affairs into His hands. We must be occupied with our own work and tread the path of servitude, detached from all else but God. Whoever walks this path will surely reap the fruits of his patience and forbearance, and will be counted as my companion in the service of His Threshold. Those who deviate from this path will surely find regret.” A Fire Story - 3 Stars - The author of this book lost his home in the California wildfire of 2017. This graphic memoir tells that story. The artwork was incredible. The story felt personal detailing all the trauma of losing one’s possessions. Having experienced two hurricanes, one of which was extremely devastating, I could relate to much of that. Some pictures from our time in Cordoba.

I don't know much about Botox, but my daughter does. She's really into skin care. The problem with Botox, as I know it. is that you have to keep on doing it and the results are only temporary. Also, if done incorrectly or overly done, it may look fake and all that. Have you tried prescription-strength Retin-A and/or looked into microneedling?

Kindle book on a bit of a sale today.

Thank you. I hadn't thought of that. It would be fun! Talking about calendars, I ordered this for the coming year since I love all things Victorian. My daughter laughs at me with my kitschy taste! I just think it's adorable!

That must have been a wonderful experience!

Happy Sunday, Robin! I've been debating doing a Reading Bingo. I did one several years ago. I read Thank You for Being a Friend: Life According to The Golden Girls - 4 Stars - I started watching “The Golden Girls” when I was in college over thirty years ago, back in the late 1980s. I’d never seen an episode before that, since college was when I first started living in the U.S. I immediately became a Golden Girls fan and Saturday nights were my favorite! Soon after that, I realized that the re-runs were playing every day as well. These were aired during the day, and for all my college years, whenever I had the option of choosing the time slot for a specific class, I would time it so that I could watch the reruns. I remember often rushing home from class in order to make it back to my dorm on time. My former boss and I would often laugh about each episode. Honestly, it was one of my favorite shows ever. Several years later, my husband and I would watch it. Our now adult daughter was a toddler, and she would come running with utter joy towards the TV every time the theme song started playing. It’s one of my favorite memories of her. This small coffee-table type book is fun and nostalgic. The illustrations are colorful and so pretty. It would make a perfect gift for any Golden Girls fan. It’s full of fun little facts, quizzes, recipes, and even a few beauty tips. Now all I want to do is to start binge-watching the series again! The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog - 5 Stars - I love Dave Barry and this book didn’t disappoint. I was laughing for most of it and crying happy tears for the rest. This is a short and quick read and an absolute delight to read at this time of year. Some pictures from our time in Cordoba. Spain.

I love your pictures! Denmark is a country that I would love to visit. We visited Amsterdam a few years ago and dream of going back. That's the only part of the Netherlands that we got to see.

Thank you! This was in Barcelona at the Palau de la Musica Catalana. I highly recommend a visit to this beautiful opera house/concert hall for anyone planning a visit to Barcelona. Seville was our second favorite city. I would also love to go back someday.

Kindle book on sale today.

Thank you. If you do get the book, I hope that your kids and MIL all enjoy it. Thank you also. And yes, it's such a lovely book.

I read A Day on Skates - 4 Stars - This children’s book, written in the early 1930s, is charming and sweet. I don’t usually read children’s books now that my two are grown, but this was well worth a read. It makes me wish that I had known about it back when they were young. It’s fun to get the whole Dutch feel with the story and the illustrations are an absolute delight. Some more pictures from Sevilla. The first two are from a quinceanera or some other Catholic festival. Spain is full of festivals and parades. We loved it. We loved all the warmth and friendliness.