How early do you start thinking about decorating your house for Christmas? Try February! That's when the First Ladies have to start on ideas for The White House! Christmas with the First Ladies: The White House Decorating Tradition from Jacqueline Kennedy to Michelle Obama, by Coleen Christian Burke tells how (and why) each woman came up with a theme, who made the decorations, how what was going on around the country affected the decorations and so on. It's a huge task!

It took me a while to get around to reading The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey even though I had enthusiastic recommendations from Skiing Grandmother and County Reader almost a year ago. Set in Alaska, in the 1920's, it's a retelling of an old Russian fairy tale. The writing is quite good, and the twist on the old tale interesting, but I don't think I liked it quite as much as those who suggested it! Read it in front of the fire, or under a warm blanket, the descriptions of the weather are chilling. :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog