Happy 2021, friends! I hope this year brings many good things for us all! It is a truth universally acknowledged that 2020 was…the pits for many of us. 😣
Hopefully you were all still able to enjoy the holiday season in any manner you can. 🎄
Things were low-key with the holidays, no traveling. Just enjoying the day in pajamas with my family and their cats (one of which we are so grateful to have still with us after a terrible scare last month.) 🥰
When I wasn’t working or enjoying some family time, I went on some lovely wintery hikes. 🥾
(and by wintery I mean 50-60 degrees out with more bare trees 😜) 🍂
I also celebrated Jolabokaflod for the first time ever and it was quite special! 🎁
And some lovely friends and family spoiled me with beautiful bookish and Jane Austeny gifts! 🎄
What did you enjoy in December, friends?
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Want to know what Austenesque fun I’m getting into this month?
…here is what’s on this month’s
Austenesque Agenda:
~ TO REVIEW ~
~ TO FINISH READING AND REVIEW ~
~ TO READ AND REVIEW ~
~ FEATURED AUTHORS VISITING THIS MONTH ~
Catherine Lodge – January 6th
Cass Grafton and Ada Bright – January 11th
Jessie Lewis – January 15th
Heather Moll – January 25th
Your photos are beautiful, as usual. Love the carved log – wonder what the story is behind that? Can’t say we did anything interesting for a long time what with the quarantine we are observing. We spent the holidays alone. I miss our children and grandchildren a lot and am hoping to get the vaccine soon so we can visit again. We are missing a whole year of growth with our grandchildren even with texts, Facetime, videos and photos. We have had snow here twice: the first time over 10″ but this last time (yesterday morning) was more like a covering on the ground which is now gone. I have a holly bush outside my kitchen window and have noticed, for the first time, Eastern Bluebirds visiting it to eat the berries. I have read half of the books on your list.
I’ll have to find out, there wasn’t any written near by – but it was such a cool place I definitely want to come back and visit.
Oh it is so heartbreaking how families can’t be together – I hope we will be at the end soon.
The bluebirds on your holly bush sound lovely – it must feel so special when you catch sight of them!
Happy New Year to you and looking forward to another great year of reviews and posts!
Me too! I hope you are doing well, Jen and that this is a good year for you! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Meredith! Thanks for sharing your always-enjoyable photos – looking forward to your review of the annotated Persuasion, which was my favorite read in 2020!
Happy Near to you!! I can’t wait to compare thoughts with you!
Hi Meredith!
Your pics of the forest are so beautiful! I wonder, l wonder, like Sheila, what the story of the carved log is about…it seems you were in a magic forest 😉
And the pics with your family (and cats, of course LOL)show you had fun during holidays 😉
Things also have been low-key for me during Christmas and I appreciate it a lot because I’ve had time to rest, watch movies on TV and read. In fact I’m reading “Intrigue at Highbury ” and I’m enjoying so much this story… 😉
Your January agenda is plenty of new novels, I’m looking forward to them!
Happy January 🙂
Hi sweet friend!
LOL! I will need to get on that stat! Next time I visit, I promise!
I’m glad you enjoyed your low-key holidays and that you got to do some things that you want to do and enjoy! And yay! I’m so glad you are reading Intrigue at Highbury – I can’t wait to hear your thoughts when you finish!
Glad you had a cozy Christmas and some fun bookish loot. Ours was good and I got a nice stack of Georgette Heyers to keep me busy.
Seeing your copy of Pride reminds me that I need to read that one. Fun line up of guests this month.
Have a good January, Meredith!
Ooh! Georgette Heyer!! That’s so wonderful!! Hope you are enjoying a great start to the year, Sophia!
Happy New Year! Love seeing your pictures. I wish I had some areas around me like that to walk and explore. Excited to hear from your authors this month.
I will drive pretty far to hike in a pretty place, lol! 😉
I’m glad you are excited about this month’s authors visits!
Happy New Year, Meredith! Your photos of your hike are so lovely. I am looking forward to your review of The Heiress and Fallen. Thanks for all that you do. You are a pillar in the Austenesque community. Best, LA
Happy New Year to you, Laurel Ann!
I’m excited about Starting the Heiress tomorrow! I loved The Clergyman!
Your kind words are humbling. I don’t think I would have found my way into this community if blogs like yours didn’t help bring people together!
Looks like your Christmas was just lovely and what wonderful gifts you received! I am so happy you gave us the Jolabokaflod tradition! I am starting my book gift tonight “Silver Buckles”. Your photos are wonderful and I’m looking forward to all your visitors! I am happy to see that Catherine Lodge is coming back with a new book! Of course, it’s always wonderful to see Cass and Ada! I’m excited to see Molly back with her new book as I absolutely loved ‘The Clergyman’s Wife’. Happy New Year to you and your family and all of the Austenesque community!!
Oh yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed taking part in Jolabokafllod! And yes! Aren’t you lucky! I’ve heard so many great things about Silver Buckles! I can’t wait to hear what you think about it!
I feel the same about all the authors you mentioned – what a great way to start the year, right?
Happy New Year to you, my friend!! Hope you are doing well!
Meredith
Happy New Year!
Looks like you had a wonderful holiday and received lovely gifts!
denise
Happy New Year to you! I hope you did as well!
So many books to look forward too!!! Happy new year 🙂
I agree! Hope you are enjoying 2021 so far!!
Thanks so much, Meredith, for all the joy you bring us with your beautiful blog and by being the wonderful person you are! You can’t imagine how much you’ve helped make 2020 a little more bearable!!
Hope 2021 is a great year for you, and that it’s everything that 2020 wasn’t! Sending hugs and good wished from across the miles, dear Meredith, and I can’t wait to see you again!!!
I’m humbled by your lovely words, Joana! All of you lovely visitors and friends of this blog have made 2020 a little more bearable for me!
Hugs to you! Hope it is a wonderful year for you too – full of bonnets, travels to English estates, and a tortured Mr. Darcy.
Could someone please tell me the name of the variation where Darcy and Elizabeth are married, and Darcy sends Elizabeth off to Scotland (I think) to a tiny hunting cabin because he thinks she is having an affair with Wickham? It is actually Georgiana meeting with Wickham. Elizabeth hates it there and escapes to Weymouth.