#50BookPledge Book 33 The Beggar's Opera

The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair from Penguin Canada 2012

I was completely drawn into this book, a phenomenal piece of Canadian fiction.  Mrs Blair does a fantastic job of developing the setting both in Havana Cuba and the secondary location of Ottawa.  As you read the description you can visualize all aspects of Old Havana and almost taste the Christmas dinner at Inspector Ramirez home. 

Mrs. Blair doesn't stop with the setting, but develops all of her characters whether major or minor.  I was able to picture Celia Jones and Michael Ellis.  It was easy to keep the characters straight, feel the pain of the characters, understand how Detective Rodriguez turned into the person he became, and even relate to the uniqueness of Maria.

The Beggar's Opera was a book I didn't want to put down but I didn't rush through either as I was afraid of missing a key piece of the story.  Definitely worth your time to read and I am looking forward to more books from this author.

Love Notes

Way back when we were dating (some 14 years ago) my husband and I started writing letters to each other at Christmas.  I kept them all and like to look back every so often to see what the special memories are (often something very simple). Now this is the one time a year I as hubby to get in touch with his feelings, but he doesn't complain.  Some of the letters are longer than others but it is really the thought we both appreciate.

We also write annual birthday letters to our daughter.  These started two weeks before she arrived and are really meant as a journal for when she is older.  I share the special memories for the year, key milestones like first haircut and hopes/dreams for the future.  The future stuff is pretty general because I don't want her reading these in 20 years and feeling she's disappointed us by not living up to our dreams for her.

Little Things Add Up

My daughter gets enough candy as it is so I did not see the need for a candy filled Advent Calendar. Last year I purchased the beige and red Advent Cottage at Loblaws that allows me to fill each day  This year we're doing an alternating day mix of books and other stuff which doesn't fit in the little doors.  Instead each morning my daughter opens the requisite door to find a clue then heads off to find the prize that "Santa" left.

That's correct I said Santa.  My four year old firmly believes that Mr. Claus is playing a fun game with her leading up to his big visit on Christmas Eve and I don't feel like dissuading her since she's only going to believe for such a short time.

My only challenge with this project is that my daughter is waking up almost an hour earlier each morning to get the next prize and that means I'm up earlier as well.  This is workable because of her enthusiasm and the fact this is something special we share before my husband wakes up.

And with that I want to wish everyone reading a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!