Reading Catch-up, Fiondil and Wind-Chill

I'm a total book whore. I admit it, I acknowledge it, and I'm NOT taking any 10-step program to eliminate the addiction of books from my life. However, I have changed to e-books instead of physical books because - well - space! E-books have been a total blessing and I've been an avid reader on my phone or other e-device for many years now. I don't Kindle, I prefer Nook, but I love reading my e-words.

I tend to read on my phone instead of on a separate device. It's always with
me and super convenient. But many people prefer the larger format of a
true Kindle or Nook, or even a tablet computer. It doesn't matter - e-books rock! 

That said, I read A LOT, and I found that I have to keep an ongoing list of books as I purchase them to avoid missing one or simply forgetting that I had wanted to read a particular tale. In 2015, according to my end of the year count, I purchased 188 e-books, and I read 154 of them. The unread 34 transferred over to my 2016 list and I've already started in on those as well as purchased another six to add to the bottom of the list. It's going to be a great year!

I made and sent Arthur's family this card when he passed.
I never heard from them, but really hadn't expected to. It was
important for me to do this, though. It brought a bit of
closure. 

For those who are on Stories of Arda at Yahoo Groups, Kaylee Arafinwiel wrote a delightful and poignant ficlet she calls "The Road Less Traveled" to honor the upcoming anniversary of Fiondil's (Arthur Boccaccio) death. I remember how hard the news of his death hit me last year. I felt that sorrow again late last year as I realized I wouldn't be sending him a holiday card, nor receiving one of his lovely Quenya e-cards in return. I shed some tears yesterday after reading the ficlet, and I dreamed about my friend in the Halls of Mandos last night. But, as stated elsewhere, not all tears are bad. I recommend the small story to those of you interested. It's quite lovely.

We're used to bundling up for the cold up here, but it's still a shock
when we get the first serious cold of the season. We'll be shivering
for the next few days. 

Finally, it's drawing to the end of another week and we'll finally be hitting true winter temperatures over the weekend. The bad thing is we'll be shivering in single digit cold and below zero wind chill temps. The good thing is so will Seattle when they come to the Cities to play in the playoffs on Sunday against our own Minnesota Vikings. It is speculated that the windchill at the stadium for Sunday's game will be -15F to -20F. I'll be watching it on television ... just sayin'!

Have a wonderful Friday and don't forget to bundle up if you're in the cold zones.