The Sunday Salon:

Hello fellow book lovers! I'm getting a bit of a late start today with my TSS post because I couldn't pull myself away from the book I'm reading. That book is HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford, a debut author. I received the book from LT Early Reviewers last week. I only have about 60 pages to go, so I'll probably finish it later this evening. (I had to take a break and watch some football for awhile!)

I really enjoy reading first-time authors and this book is another example of why. It's a well written, interesting story. It's a story about a Chinese-American man who is re-living his teenage years in flashbacks to 1942 during WWII in the Chinatown neighborhood of Seatte. It was difficult being Asian then, but especially if you were Japanese. It's a story about forbidden love, the casualties of war and loyalty to both family and country. I don't want to say much more as I'll be posting my full review later this week.

I've been enjoying my days off from work, not doing anything really, just relaxing and reading. I've been stuffing my face with leftovers so I haven't been cooking either! We had fried chicken for dinner on Thursday instead of turkey so I took the last of the chicken, put it in my food processor, chopped it up and made some really yummy chicken salad. That'll be lunch for today.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed spending time with your families and friends. Each year, I'm anxious to open the gifts from my Dad. He has a work shop and it's pretty much off limits around the holidays. A few months ago he made me a beautiful cabinet for my new TV and that was supposed to be my Christmas present. But he also made me a lazy susan that matches my dining room table with places for my salt and pepper grinders. It's really lovely. He also found an old Ohio license plate (the state I was born in) with the year I was born in and he re-painted it and built a wooden frame around it. It's a unique gift that will always remind me of where I came from. My favorite gift is a necklace with an Indian arrowhead. As a boy, he lived near the Scioto River in central Ohio and he collected these arrowheads he found in the riverbeds. It's a beautiful necklace that is very special to me. I plan to take some pictures and post them here.

I also had a treat on Christmas Eve when I got a call from an old friend from Tennessee. He moved to Knoxville about 10 years ago, got married and moved on with his life, but we've managed to maintain our friendship, which means a lot to me. He's someone who knows me well and is easy to talk to. We had a great conversation and the years just melted away. It was like getting an early Christmas present.

I'm off now to check out some blogs and see what eveyone else is up to today. Did anyone get any good books for Christmas? I didn't get any, but it's probably just as well. If you could see my TBR pile, you'd understand! Have a good day everyone and I'll see you 'round the blogs!