On the Second Day of a Feminine Christmas

Another image that is not specifically Christmas but holiday-like nonetheless.  It is “Juliet”, daughter of Richard H. Fox and that is the name of the painting by Alfred Lambart.  Someday, I may follow up on Juliet who wears a dress not unlike the iconic jade frock worn by the unforgettable Keira Knightly in the film “Atonement”.

But I bring you Juliet because she sits among a number of books which made me realize that books are my favorite Christmas presents, both to give and to receive.  Just the other day, an old school friend (actually the boy I attended my Junior Prom with) sent me “An Old Time Christmas” by Helen Steiner Rice.  It is spiritually beautiful and having just finished a biography on Steiner Rice, it was prophetically coincidental too.  And to further the universe chiming in, it is jade green in color…a lovely inconsequence.

A good novel specially selected for the receiver is always a wonderful present.  But who can get that right every time?  The novels we like to read are very personal and I would hate to have my recipient trundling through a story I picked out for them or worse, find the Cliff Notes or see the film before our next visit!

I prefer to give and receive non-fiction books, mainly coffee table books that can be walked through during leisure winter afternoons or summer ones out on the patio.  Resting on my coffee table right now is one of my favorite gifted books ever, “Read My Pins”, by former diplomat Marilyn Albright.  It chronicles the hidden messages in the brooches and pins Albright wore and collected during her tenure as Secretary of State.  The book inevitably opens up to the my favorite passage whenever I pick it up.  It is the paragraph where she describes the “jewel box” of a little shop in Washington DC where she would stroll on her lunch hours.  I had no idea an official of her level would have an appointed time for a meal but I loved her charming description of where her most favorite pins came from.  I thank my sweet daughter for that Christmas gift from several years ago.

It’s notable that Juliet’s books are also green which is a Christmas sister-color to red.  I think that’s why I chose the image in the first place.   And because they are reminiscent of the small green book I was just gifted so thoughtfully.

Who wants a book this year and which one?  On my list is the new, “The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion”.  My little granddaughter is getting “Ella Bella Ballerina and the Nutcracker”.  And I selfishly bought two – one for her and one for me.  But now we can read it together online.

(Keira)