Welcome back to Day 2 of the Virtual Advent Tour!

If you are a return reader of this annual tradition, you will be familiar with today’s writer. Bridget of The Ravell’d Sleave is often kind enough to take on the writing for several dates in December, and today is her first of this year.

If you’d like to join our small, but sincere group of writers bringing this event to you, please leave a comment on the sign-up post. We’d love to have you.

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Karen and I pushed our get-together back a day to let her cold pass. It ended up being a much nicer day to be outside, and she was feeling well enough to stroll the length of the riverwalk.

2. Rudi and I attended a virtual talk about doing a smarter job search, and the speaker had several suggestions each of us found helpful. I took down her contact information, in case it makes sense for either of us to reach out in the new year.

3. My friend Anna and her partner Greg came over for supper and a board game night. They introduced us to a new game and brought a second one as a gift, which was both unexpected and quite kind.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Greetings and welcome to December 1, our first day of the 2022 edition of the Virtual Advent Tour.

Growing up, we had several decorations that got hung on our walls each year.

First, on the back of the front door was a gigantic card that I think my uncle (apologies, Mum and Dad, if I’m misremembering and one of you made it) drew for my parents the Christmas they lived in Oregon.

Second, in the hallway were a series of cardboard elf stands (huts, cottages?) from the North Pole.

And finally, on the wall of Josh’s and my bedroom, was a cardboard cutout of Santa with his sleigh and his reindeer, each pair of which was separated by a yarn ribbon. If I remember correctly, some portion of Santa was slightly fuzzy — maybe the fur of his hat?

Somewhere along the line, I believe all of these decorations were lost. But they remain in my memory.

Nowadays, we hang fairy lights around the perimeter of the living room before we get the tree. That will be one of today’s tasks, so we can get our tree before Sunday afternoon.

And this print, a gift a few years back from my best friend, Karen, will go up on the wall:

It’s a print by the late Carol Spinney, who played Big Bird and Oscar on Sesame Street. He lived in a town near where Karen and I get together when I’m up north, and the toyshop sold prints of his each Christmas. I admired them when we were shopping together and she and her family came back the next weekend to buy it for me.

See you back here tomorrow!

Join us! We are still looking for hosts for many of the days of the Virtual Advent Tour. You don’t have to write anything fancy (see above), and it can focus on any aspect of a winter holiday and your celebration of it. Thank you to everyone who has already volunteered to write posts. I’ve given you the dates you’ve asked for and will circle back to those who volunteered to write additional posts in the next couple days to find dates that work for you.

I struggled with this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl, which asks us to share cozy reads. I mean, do you want unscary mysteries? Books you want to drink with a cup of cocoa? The Hallmark version of romance novels? Finally, I settled on ten books that I recommend that focus on things I personally find cozy:

1. If you like baking: With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
2. If you enjoy watching baseball: Summerland by Michael Chabon
3. If you like going to the library: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
4. If you enjoy playing volleyball: Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate
5. If you like music: Solo by Kwame Alexander
6. If you enjoy playing games: Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
7. If you like drinking tea: Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop by Rebecca Raisin
8. If you enjoy spending time with your cat: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
9. If you like swimming: The Lido by Libby Page
10. If you enjoy traveling: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Friends, we’re looking for people to write posts as part of the Virtual Advent Tour. If you’d like to participate (review a Christmas book or movie, share a personal tradition — including your own holiday blog series, or hype a local holiday event), visit the sign-up page and leave the date you’d like in the comments.

I’m not going to lie: this is going to be a busy week for those of who dwell in the Burrow. What am I hoping to get done, all before my annual tree-trimming party next Sunday, you ask?

• Head back to D.C. from Connecticut
• Learn how to use the 3D printer at the library’s maker lab
• Play volleyball
• Complete a couple of handmade gifts
• Finish cleaning the Burrow
• Kick off the Virtual Advent Tour
• Tackle a couple cooking projects
• Buy a Christmas tree
• Have friends over for dinner and a game night (potentially)
• Attend a seminar with tips for improving your job search
• Grocery shop
• Do laundry
• Make a couple library runs

There are probably some other things that I’m forgetting, but that’s baker’s dozen list as I have it right now.

Norah Jones and Chris Thiles cover Hazel Dickens’ “Won’t You Come and Sing for Me?”