Reading, Christmas minis

Wow, I had not realized that I had neglected my blog (and minis too for that matter)  for so long.

I have been on a real reading binge. Joanne and I were at the library to take down our miniature display and I picked up four J.D. Robb books that I hadn't read yet so that took care of a couple days.

One of my favourite books is "The Far Pavilions" by M. M. Kaye. I've had her book "Shadow of the Moon" for years but never got around to reading it until recently. It's about the British Raj in India at the time of the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion and a wonderful read. Ms. Kaye herself was an incredible woman whom I would have loved to have met.

Sean and Julie got me Diana Gabaldon's latest Lord John book "The Scottish Prisoner". I prefer the books in the "Outlander" series but this is a good read and will have to do until the next book in the series comes out.

Sometime ago, my friend Eileen of Nana's Minis gifted me with this incredible set of Diana Gabaldon books in 1:12 scale. Her work is meticulous and I'm fortunate to have several of her minis in my collection.

I must admit that the book from Sean and Julie arrived a couple days before Christmas and I opened it early as I knew what it was and wanted to get it read early because I knew Leanne also got a book for me that I was looking forward to reading.

I have been a great fan of Jean Auel since the read "The Valley of Horses" (the second book in her "Earth's Children" series) in 1983. So when Leanne asked me if I wanted the sixth and final book in the series, "The Land of Painted Caves", my answer was a definite YES! It had been nine years since the fifth book was published and I had actually given up haunting her website to see when this one would be released.

It was an okay read but definitely didn't reach the standard set by her previous books. But it did send me back to re-read the earlier books and I still enjoy them as much as I did the first (and second, and third LOL) times.

I had Christmas Eve dinner with some friends upstairs and she lent me the Barbara Walter's autobiography and Lynda Steele's "Laptop Diaries". Both good reads.

I got some lovely miniature gifts for Christmas.

Leanne and Robert had been to the Dominican Republic and got me this wonderful little house for Christmas. It's about 1:48 scale.

DS Marie gave me the guitar and tall case clock. The guitar is actually a watch brooch so I'll most likely use it for its intended use as I have an allergy to metal that prevents me from wearing a wrist watch for any length of time. Haven't decided where the clock will go.

DS Shirley gave me a scalpel with a pack of 100 blades and an eye glass cleaning cloth. The cloth may end up as a blanket on a bed.

Joanne gave me this great little house and furniture, some strip wood and Dollarama gift cards (she knows me only too well!). 

Due to all the reading, my mini-ing has really suffered. My self-imposed deadline for wiring and re-doing the Bombay House was today and it's simply not going to happen. Although I plan on completing the living/dining room wiring today, the bedroom definitely won't be finished until hopefully next month.

I still haven't decided if I'm going to wall of the bedroom from the office at the top of the stairs. A lady from The Camp sent me Dr. Bob's instructions for making a pocket door so I may put in the wall and try making a pocket door. Will have to decide soon if I'm ever going to get the house completed.

Happy New Year to all!