Winter

A Lovely, Simple Vacation

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My holiday vacation is over, and what a lovely, simple one it was.

Clif, Dee, and I started out on Christmas Eve with chocolate peppermint martinis. (We had some on New Year’s Eve, too.)

With the martinis, we had lots of nibble and nuts, which I did not photograph.

For Christmas, I gave Clif a game, Horrified, which we played every afternoon during our vacation. It’s a cooperative game where everyone must work together to save the villagers from various monsters.  Sometimes we won. Sometimes we lost. But win or lose, we had such fun.

During my vacation, each morning—with a mug of tea—I settled on the couch and read until everyone was ready for breakfast. The books I read were The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff; Harlem Shuffle by the fabulous Colson Whitehead; and Wintering by Katherine May. Three very different books but all worth reading and a great way to end the year.

We watched lots of movies, but the standout for me was Pig with Nicolas Cage. Pig is about a man named Rob and his beloved truffle-hunting pig. When the pig is stolen, Rob sets out in search of her. He leaves his seclusion in the woods and travels to the big city, where he encounters obstacles but also receives help. Part fable, part meditation on love, grief, loss, and forgiveness, this movie touched me in a way that only a few films ever have, and it is my favorite of the year. The movie’s slow, indie pacing won’t be to everyone’s taste, but for those with patience, Pig is a must-see. 

In the middle of the week, we had a little ice storm, but fortunately we did not lose our power. Clif went out and took some pictures.

And now January is here. It’s back to work for me and the rest of the family. Our restful vacation reminded me, once again, that while it’s good to have purpose and to work hard, it’s also good to take a break now and again.

Refreshed, we can approach what we do with vigor and enthusiasm.

Onward to finishing Book Four of my Great Library Series.

 

66 thoughts on “A Lovely, Simple Vacation”

    1. Fortunately, there wasn’t enough ice to knock out our power. Just a slight coating everywhere. Quite different from what your state had to endure last February. And, what we Mainers have endured in the past. More freezing rain today, but it’s not supposed to add up to enough to knock out the power. Fingers crossed!

  8. Those martinis would set up a real approach/avoidance conflict for me. I don’t favor martinis, but I love peppermint and chocolate. What a quandry! It sounds like a perfect holiday time, with the added gift of no power loss because of your wintery weather. You’re right that it’s time to move into the new year with enthusiasm — I know you’ll enjoy it!

  9. You’ve described an idyllic vacation – so glad to hear you are refreshed! Thank you Clif for braving the cold to get us a post-storm peek.

    P/s your peppermint martinis look so fancy & pretty!

    1. In pre-pandemic times, we would have gone out and about and had friends over. But as the English would say, needs must. And we had a wonderful time. As I noted in another comment, luckily we are a family that enjoys simple fun.

  12. Sounds lovely. I’ve never had a martini of any kind. If I ever did, chocolate peppermint would be in the running! I’m glad you had a good break. I don’t know if I can ever take a break given I am retired and don’t do anything anyway!

  14. A break from routine is refreshing all round and you describe a fine time. Others have recommended ‘Wintering’ too, so I shall simply have to try and get hold of a copy.

  17. That sounds a wonderful break from the daily routine and those martinis are WOW!

  20. Very New Englandy work/play ethic. Given our current on-call situation, I had several evenings at home with the dog and cat (you can see a photo of them on my Instagram o_mans_view) while Linda was with her friend. I started watching The Lord of the Rings movies. Buddy movie with medieval chaos and mayhem! I’ve made my way through 6 hours so far, with 3 to go. I never could get far into reading the book without feeling completely lost somewhere between the Shire and Rohan, or something like that.

    Anyway, I am looking at retirement at the end of April. My plan is to spend most of May with my mother. I have your third Library Lost book on the reading queue during that time. I would like to believe that my time will be less distracted. Right? – Oscar

    1. I hadn’t thought of that way, but I am a New Englander. 😉 In our nerdy household, we are huge LOTR fans, and over the holidays we watched “Fellowship” and “Two Towers.” We’ll watch “Return” this weekend. Your retirement is coming right up. I do hope your time is less distracted and that you have wonderful time with your mother.

  21. It sounds like you had a wonderful holiday together Laurie and the photographs Clif took after the ice storm look beautiful! Wishing you happy writing! 💖✍

  22. You know how to vacation! I love the sound of the martinis and the game. And I just started Harlem Shuffle! I’m going to have a look at the other two you mentioned as well, since I’m doing a lot of reading….Glad the ice was merciful!

  23. Your holiday, enjoying the company of your family, good food, reading, and resting sounds absolutely perfect. I love gathering with family at Christmas, it is a precious time. Best wishes for the New Year.

  25. Sounds like a perfect vacation to me! (And pretty similar, but without the swank martinis!) A nearby restaurant keeps their take-out window open all year, so I must admit, ice-cream and fried onions rings played a fun part of my holiday…;-)
    Cheers,
    Julie

  28. Laurie, I’m glad you enjoyed a restful vacation. Reading and movies worked in around meals sounds relaxing.

    I’m intrigued by your review of Pig and will add it to my list. Best of luck with book four. Happy New Year.

    1. Hope you like “Pig.” As I mentioned in my post, the pacing is indie slow. Not an action movie, that’s for sure, but for me it resonated emotionally.

  29. Lucious martinis! I can almost taste them. Thank you for sharing your reading (I read “Wintering” too!) and your shout-out for “Pig.” I’ll check it out.

    Thanks especially for telling us about “Horrified.” A collaborative game! I’ll definitely look for it. What a lovely holiday you had!

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