Book Club

Today I got up bright and early in order to make bread dough before taking off with Woody for a two hour pre-marital counseling appointment with Pablo and Jenny. By the time we got back, I had just enough time to rush along my home-made rolls as a contribution to our final book club of the year.

I have really enjoyed reading this year. Book Club has helped motivate me, and we’ve come up with some winners! I’ve read over 20 books this year. Among my favorites have been Suite Francais; Cry, the Beloved Country; A Journey to Victorious Praying; The Kite Runner; One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; The Hiding Place; and Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.

We had a great book to conclude the year. We read Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Though I have read it before, it is one of those books that you can read again and again and still enjoy.

Some of our book club meetings this have been a bit dull. But today’s club was the most fun of all of them so far. Karen hosted the party, and she is a fantastic hostess! When we arrived, she had a Christmas craft ready for all of us. We made plates, decoupaged with Christmas fabrics she had brought from the USA. It was really fun!

Lunch was sumptuous! My rolls turned out great, for one. J Karen had fixed grilled chicken salad. You can’t beat a fresh Costa Rican fruit salad, including oranges, pineapple, mango, papaya, bananas, passion fruit, grapes and pecans! As we ate, we each had a chance to share a special Christmas memory.

We had a couple of special guests who also read the book in order to join our group today. Helen, a new intern from England, and Carol, a friend of Stephanie, were a great addition to the book discussion! Karen had each of us come prepared with a discussion question, so the dialog was animated.

Karen’s incredible home-made desserts were the icing on the cake. Birds nest cookies, fudge, and pecan snowballs were the perfect touch for a book club finale. As we washed up the dishes, I asked, “Are we going to have book club again next year?”

The group responded in unison, “OF COURSE!!!”