Sunday Stealing

F.A.B.

F. Film: What movie or tv show are you watching? I just finished No Way Out (1987), a thriller starring Kevin Costner as a Naval intelligence officer caught up in what initially looks like a love triangle but turns into something bigger, darker and more dangerous. And sexy. You can find it on Amazon Prime.    

A. Audio: What are you listening to? I've been listening to podcasts this week.

B. Book: What are you reading? The Family Holiday by Elizabeth Noble. It's about a reunion for Grandpa's 80th. Since I'm just off Christmas with my own family, it resonates.

And Christmas 2025 is a wrap

It was a nice holiday. I celebrated it in two distinct parts.

First, here at home with Elaine. And Santa. We went to Chicago's Music Box Theater to see It's a Wonderful Life on the big screen. Before the show, the organist leads us in a sing-a-long, and Santa himself joins us for the musical finale. 

This is the fourth time Elaine and I have done this. We wore gold antlers and she dressed as George Bailey, wearing his #3 football jersey. I wore my Cubs Christmas sweater, fitting because The Music Box is in the same neighborhood as the ballpark.

We exchanged gifts and then went to Margie's Candies. The name is misleading: it's an ice cream parlor. It's been on the same spot on Western Avenue for over 100 years and has the distinction of being the only restaurant to have served The Beatles (1964), Barack Obama (2004), and now me.
 

Then it was off to Grand Rapids for a family celebration. Christmas Day began with bacon and cinnamon rolls at my niece's home. We exchanged gifts, and I was very excited to give Baby Violet a pair of books by Kevin Henkes. Mr. Henkes created a pair of mouse sisters – Sheila Rae and Lily – and I read their adventures to Violet's mother, my niece, when she was very little. I loved the full circle-ness of this. 

Then we went to my niece's in-laws for Christmas dinner. Violet's birth mother and father, biological aunt and grandfather were also in attendance. I had been apprehensive about this going in – seems like a lot of complicated relationships going on there – but I needn't have been. There was a lot of harmony, a lot of love, around that dinner table. There was also no doubt as to who Violet's parents are. My niece's husband held the baby all through dinner and my niece was the one who decided that Violet was becoming too fussy and the evening was over.

I was surprised to find myself getting along so well with my niece's father-in-law. He loves cycling and so I asked him about cycling. He is writing a novel and I took him seriously as he told me the plot. I pretended he was one of my clients from the olden days and focused on him. This approach wasn't necessarily sincere, but it was a great social lubricant.

The flight back to O'Hare included a surprise. I was bumped to first class! This has never happened to me before. Unfortunately, the flight is only 50 minutes. Wouldn't it be nice if something similar happens on my long-ass flight to LA this spring?

Anyway, it's been a decade since I've flown first class. I either didn't know or didn't recall that when you get priority treatment, so does your bag. I admit I was a little embarrassed when my bag appeared on the luggage carousel way, way before anyone else's, and with this colorful tag attached. I guess I'm just not a first class kinda gal.

It's funny, but while it doesn't look like a particularly action packed holiday, I'm so tired. I think maybe post Yuletide blues is a thing. But it was a Merry Christmas nevertheless. 

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Bye Bye Bye (2000)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, a man predicts his lover will start an argument. Is there anyone in your life who can be quarrelsome? Sometimes my friend Nancy can be very negative. She reminds me of that old joke, "The food here is terrible, and such small portions!"

2) He says he's had it, he's checking out and signing off. Can you think of a time you were glad you walked away from something? Yes. There are relationships I no longer maintain and I don't miss those people. This has been a big lesson for me. I can forgive someone in my heart, but that doesn't mean I have to keep them in my life.

3) This week's song was performed by the band NSYNC. The group was formed in Orlando, FL, which is world famous as home to Walt Disney World. Today there are 12 Disney theme parks located around the globe. Have you ever visited one of these Magic Kingdoms? Disneyland twice, Disney World once.

4) They made a celebrity appearance on The Simpsons. What's your all-time favorite cartoon show? I remember being so happy whenever I saw Rocky and Bullwinkle was about to begin.

 

5) In 2000, the year "Bye Bye Bye" was popular, Brad Pitt was named People's Sexiest Man Alive. Are you crushing on anyone right now? This is Josh Duhamel. He was on the series Vegas and makes lots of movies you can find on streaming (which I watch only because he is so handsome). My friend Joanna recently confessed to being in love with him, too.

 

Let's look back on 2025 ...

6) What's the farthest from home you traveled in 2025? Chicago to Los Angeles, 2030 miles.

7) What was the biggest purchase that you made in 2025? My Connie Cat ran up a big vet bill this past spring, but getting her healthy was worth every penny.

8) What was your favorite book of 2025? I read quite a few standout books this year, so this is hard. So I'll go with the first really good one I finished in 2025: Trial by Ambush: Murder, Injustice and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham. In 1955, Barbara Graham was one of the first women to be executed by the State of California. This book is a readable, relatable, and heartbreaking account of her case. It becomes obvious that she did not commit the murder but was sent to the gas chamber along with the men who did because, well, she was a slut. (If sleeping with the wrong men was punishable by death, it would be much easier to get a parking space.) Justice was not done here. I often think about poor Barbara and what her case says about the media and misogyny.

9) What are you looking forward to most in 2026? No one thing especially, but I have a really good feeling about 2026.