Finally Finished: The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

I finally finished reading The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. I really liked it, it just took me a really long time to read. I thought Isabel Archer was a great character and I enjoyed seeing how she thought about things.

It's January 31st and my New Year's resolution is done. I'm glad to be moving on to other books now, but I think I will miss The Portrait of a Lady. When a book is with you that long, it is almost sad when you get to the end.

Transition: Living Room

My poor living room has been through a lot this past year.

This is how the living room looked in November. This was after it had weathered the Great Air Conditioner Fiasco of '09. The living room just keeps pulling through remarkably well.

And here is how the living room looks today: new couch, new chair, happy lighting. There is still more to be done, but the living room is looking nice and comfortable.

Book List to start 2010

Here are some books that I want to read or finish reading this year:

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Emma by Jane Austen

Already read in 2010:

29 Gifts by Cami Walker
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

What's on your list?

Adventure: Mt. Vernon by Candlelight

Every year at Christmas, there are tours of Mt. Vernon by candlelight and with a focus on events that took place there at Christmas. The actors in the various rooms telling their stories were great and gave a good glimpse into life back then.

I learned some things I didn't know. The 12 days of Christmas originally started with Christmas day and ended on January 6, the day of Epiphany. I liked the story at the end with the person realizing that George Washington gave him his desk because that is where GW had written him a letter (one of his last letters) where GW asked him to do something to help GW serve the country. The message of the end of the story was to remember your friends and family.

I liked the tour and being there with Mark and Julie and Mom and Dad. It was a really nice evening.

Currently Reading: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I started reading this book on Saturday and I love it. This is the first book I've read that is all letters. I've been thinking how much I miss writing letters. E-mail is just not the same.

Reading for a long time: The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

Ok. I have been reading The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James since this time last year. I enjoy the book. It's just not very easy to carry around. Nor is it light reading. I feel like even though the book has always been interesting, I am finally getting somewhere.

Spinning

Made it all the way to 4:46 p.m. before I started spinning around in my chair in my office. Days the boss is out of town are a different kind of stressful, and never excessively slow.