I was supposed to write this on Sunday, but didn’t:

The weekend began with John and Nicole and a Baggins and a Smaug. We caught the 3D version of The Hobbit, part 2, and were remarkably pleased with it. The spiders of Mirkwood made me jump and several other 3D effects had me flinching, although I’d be hard-pressed to tell you what they were right now. I liked the addition of Tauriel, the female elf captain, who was not in the book (because female characters didn’t engage in swordfights in the early 20th century, one assumes) and appreciated that Smaug’s voice had been run through some filters so he didn’t sound exactly like Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes. Martin Freeman’s Bilbo did share some inflections with John Watson, though (both characters are frustrated by regularly being talked over by their companions). We mulled over the movie with some pizza and beers (mine was root), before hopping on trains home.

The weekend marked the beginning of Rudi’s winter second job as a ski coach, so we only saw each other during the evenings. I started the Christmas cards and listened to some Christmas music and did some chores around the house, including washing most of the wool socks.

Saturday evening, I had free passes to see G.W.’s Revels, an annual celebration through dance, song, theater, and spoken word of the solstice. I had enjoyed Conn’s annual version of this, Make We Joy, so was hoping for something similar. I was not disappointed, although Lisner Auditorium is no Chapel. This year’s cultural theme was Thrace, so the performances focused on Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, and other countries in that region. We danced during “The Lord of the Dance” and sang a variety of songs with the cast and generally had a blast.

Sunday included a failed attempt at baking (how could I be out of confectionery sugar?) and Megan and Sarah’s annual Christmas cartoon party and reading (Better Nate Than Ever, a fun romp of a middle-grade book for the budding theater geek in your life) and some more card-writing (once I get past “F,” I’m home free, but I’m only up to “D”).

I wrapped up the weekend with an errand-filled early Monday morning, including dropping off our Toys for Tots donations at the local charity bookshop and buying Christmas stamps for all those cards.

I lost a week there somehow. I swear I just wrote and then I got up and came back to the computer and we were at Thursday still, but it was a different week’s Thursday. I’m not sure how that happened.

Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Friends gathered to help us decorate our tree and to make merry. Some brought food. Some brought ornaments. Some brought children to entertain us. One brought a handmade treat for the cats. All brightened our day.

2. Having people over always takes it out of us. We were extremely grateful for a snow day, even if the snow/ice never really materialized here. We slept in, watched a Christmas flick, got the last decorations on the tree, found the Christmas cards (who would have thought I would have put the ones I bought in October where they should go???), and didn’t change out of our pajamas.

3. While visiting a farm, we are greeted by a bored sheepdog, whose charges are all safely closed in a paddock in the front yard. Would we like to play ball? We fling the ratty tennis ball, and he chases, filled with glee.

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

I just wanted to let folks know that the annual December tradition of the Virtual Advent Tour began on Dec. 1.

I’ll be contributing a post on Dec. 20, but I suggest bookmarking the page or adding the feed to your blog reader, because folks really do write on a broad and fascinating array of holiday-related topics. There will be posts on books, music, food, ornaments, crafts, and quizzes, as well as personal, cultural, and national traditions.

It’s definitely a festive way to mark the season, and I find starting my day by reading the day’s contributions really puts me in a good mood.

Oh, and if you’re in a mood to contribute, it’s not too late to sign up for a date (well, unless you wanted Dec. 1, 2, or 3).

I don’t like peppermint, but I am looking forward to making my own peppermint ice cream this month. (I bought candy canes today to smash up into it.)

Cozy is …

• Snuggly cats
• Pots of hot tea
• Wool socks
• Curling up with my sweetie
• Cradling a mug of hot cocoa
• Sleeping in

• A shawl wrapped tight
• Napping on the sofa under a blanket
• Tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich
• Changing into pajamas
• A rainy or snowy afternoon spent under a quilt with a book
• Handknits

(Writing along with Amanda.)

It was a slightly disappointing weekend. I had grand plans for what I was going to accomplish this final weekend before Thanksgiving, two weeks out from my annual holiday party and I failed on nearly every front.

Yes, there were some successes: I did go on the doughnut bike ride with friends. I went to the farmers market. I made it to the garden for the last major culling of the season, picking the final peppers and two small, but sincere tomatillos still clinging to the plant. I watched the first Christmas film of the year. I sent an email that I’ve been putting off. I found some cds I was looking for. I saw the season’s first snowflakes. And I finished listening to Two Boys Kissing.

But I didn’t clean. I didn’t tidy. I didn’t get the table clear or the laundry done. I didn’t sort through the closet or the drawers in the bedroom. I didn’t get off-season shoes put away or the clothes hung on hangers rather than draped over the pole. I spent yesterday evening nearly comatose on the couch. I didn’t make slaw or applesauce or lasagna or cookie dough. I didn’t finish any other books. I didn’t write. I knit the heel on my sock four times unsatisfactorily.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a complete failure. Writing it down offers some perspective. But it just doesn’t feel like I used the weekend to its — or my — best potential.

(Writing along with Amanda.)