Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Sarah, Rudi, and I rang in the New Year the same way we have for years now — at the movies. This year two of us were a bit under the weather and two of us (I am at the center of this particular Venn diagram) spent part of the afternoon at the DMV getting a car registered, so we only caught a double feature. However, both A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Knives Out were quite enjoyable, and I recommend both.

2. Rudi and I also spent part of our New Year’s Day at the cinema, watching Spies in Disguise, which is partially set in D.C. We greatly appreciated the authenticity of their animated city, laughed at the idea of Will Smith’s spy driving in front of the Lincoln Memorial and up the nearby sidewalk, and mulled the plausibility of the CIA having a headquarters located beneath the Reflecting Pool. (Movies love to put intelligence agencies in or near our waterways. Marvel placed theirs on Theodore Roosevelt Island.)

3. One of our local bookstores was having a New Year’s Day sale on everything in the shop, so I took myself off to Petworth after the parade ended to buy a book — The Starless Sea — I’d intended to get back in the fall, when I missed the author’s visit to D.C.

What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

I approached my first read of 2020 — the first book I’d read from in the new year — with seriousness. I hoped it would set a good tone for continuing to read on a daily basis, which meant it needed to hold my interest even when my brain was tired. I struggled to find the mental space for recreational reading in the first few months of my new job; I’ve learned a lot since starting, but it took a toll on what my brain wanted to do when I came home each night.

So, the book needed to be interesting, but not overly challenging. I got several new books for Christmas and considered cozying up with one of them. But new relationships can be a lot of work. For every kindred spirit we encounter at first meeting, there are dozens of awkward conversations about the weather and what we do for a living. Ultimately, I decided, in keeping with the season, an “auld acquaintance” was the right choice.

Charlotte Holmes, who solves mysteries while contemplating whether another slice of cake will bring her too close for comfort to her maximum tolerable chins, was just the ticket. Charlotte would take no pity on my slower mental agility, but she would tolerate it as long as I made an effort to keep up. After all, she has genuine affection for her dear friend, Mrs. Watson, and for her sisters, Bernadine and Livia.

Plus, The Art of Theft, the fourth book in the Sherry Thomas series, is set at Christmastime, so it’s even seasonally appropriate to read it now. And I’d bought it back in the fall, when Sherry Thomas came to town, so it was just waiting on the shelf for me to have the time to spend with its cast.

I did not read much, but I did get through the first couple scenes of the book. And I think it will be the right choice. I look forward to spending more time with Charlotte as she leaves England behind for France.

What was your first read of the new year?

Happy 2020!

Like many of you, I’m hurriedly trying to wrap up loose ends that have been lingering through this year so they don’t follow me into the new year.

Simultaneously I’m also working on putting things into place so that I start 2020 off on the right foot.

Unless I should be starting it off on the left foot.

Hmm…

Either way, I’ll definitely begin it in motion — maybe with a pirouette or by doing a step-ball-change with some jazz hands thrown in for flair.

In the meantime, I need about a dozen hands, preferably doing things like typing or binding off a shawl in order to get things done around here before we head to the movies this afternoon with friends.

I wish you a peaceful end to 2019 and a new year filled with joy.

This weekend included:

• Sleeping in.
• A lot of reading.
• A little shopping — mostly groceries.
• Going out to see Last Christmas at our local second-run theater.
• A nice long walk in the ridiculously warm weather.
• Knitting — my sock is about twice as long now as it was in that picture from yesterday afternoon.
• Drinking tea.
• Painting my nails.
• Hanging up my Christmas cards.
• Snuggling with Corey.

I have three more days before life returns to its workaday normal. Some of that will be spent with chores, some with friends watching films, and some relaxing. But I’d like to go back to work feeling like I’d made the most of my time off, so I plan to spend the time deliberately, no matter what I’m doing.

How was your final weekend of the year?

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Because I was sick and working too much just before the holidays, I didn’t get as much of a chance to check out the neighborhood’s Christmas displays as I would have liked. Today I went on a bit of a walkabout and got to see one of the local restaurant’s tree theme for the year:

Last year, Floriana had a Nancy Pelosi-themed tree, but this year they opted to celebrate Sesame Street‘s 50th birthday.