#MFRWauthor 52-week Blog Challenge - Favorite Things

I just joined the Marketing For Romance Writers 52-week Blog Challenge. Just what I need--another blog post to write. LOL I missed the sign up for this week but, hey, why not? This week's topic is Favorite Things.

My favorite thing is the ceramic Nativity set my mother made, long before Alzheimer's took its toll. She asked if I wanted all the colors, and I said no. I wanted them all gold, much like the Nativity set my grandmother had made when I was young.

If you'd asked me seven years ago, I'd say books are my next favorite things. I had shelves and shelves of books. Then I got a Kindle. I know people who love the feel of paper books. I used to think that way, too. I love the freedom of having something to read all the time. Many times, while waiting at the doctor's, dentist's, etc., I'd finish a book and have nothing to read. Carrying one paperback in my purse was okay but not two. With the Kindle, if I finish one book, I can start another. Still, I love books whether they are paper or digital.

When we moved three years ago, I had to let go of many things. Unlike our previous moves when the company paid for the move, this one was on our dime. Paper books are heavy (and we were paying by the pound), so many books went to the local library for their used book sale. I'm glad others will get a chance to read them.

Something that didn't go in the estate sale or get donated was my nutcracker collection. Each Christmas, I love putting them out and enjoy looking at them. My mother-in-law gave me my first nutcracker back in the early 1980s. As soon as she found out I liked them, she and her sister gave me one or more each Christmas and birthday for over 20 years. Hubs, who thinks more is better, kept giving me LOTS of them until I said no more! One a year only. Now he looks for the most interesting, unique nutcracker every year. I have to say (and did) that this year's was the ugliest. 

Sometimes I get too attached to things. People are more important. Like my grandkiddies. With them, I get to combine my favorite things. We read books together and they write stories with me. (They tell me what to write and I type.) Before Christmas, they helped put out my nutcracker collection by standing on my kitchen counters and putting them on top of the cabinets. OSHA would not approve, but they had fun.

Here's the link to the others participating in the challenge: http://mfrw.blogspot.com/2017/01/2017blogchallenge.html