Join us here in The Bistro for a discussion on the entire Gamache series. Feel free to ask or answer any questions about any of the books or the series as a whole.
Located in the Equitable Building in Manhattan, Minotaur Books publishes bestselling and award-winning crime fiction ranging from thrillers and suspense to traditional mysteries. Minotaur has published Louise Penny since 2007.
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3,639 replies on “The Bistro”
Saw the video, Julie. Lovely.
Not even a cool breeze in Florida, Anna. Happy Boxing Day, Anna and to all who celebrate it. Happy whatever you celebrate. It’s all love and kindness… Cheers 🙂
Merry Christmas Millie. It’s warmer there than here. Now that is odd.
Merry Christmas to all. I see a lot of you finished up and had feet up much earlier on the Eve than I did. But I made it. My hubby commented that all the decorating and gift getting and wrapping and big day prep seemed a lot easier 30+ years ago. No kidding! But he was a trouper and hung in there with me till done.
So happy to hear from you Cathryne. I was thinking of you today and hoping you had a good supply of gummy bears. I loved your note what seems ages ago telling us how you ate them one evening looking out your window, finding peace and comfort in that simple joy. (I believe our thoughts can travel just like Santa!) Wishing you comfort and joy.
Barbara, sending special happy thoughts of Christmas Present your way. I love a musical version of Scrooge ( big surprise. LOL… There’s a great song that ghost sings called “I like life!” Mike and I make a point of watching it every year. Also sending peace and comfort for your sister. She is so lucky to have you, as are we.
Anna, hi there. You always get books before us in the USA and even celebrate holidays before us – lucky girl. Glad to hear Christmas Day, which some of us are awaiting, was lovely for you, complete with sunshine. It hadn’t clicked till you mentioned it that Whistler is only two and a half weeks away for you. I can’t believe this year has whizzed by so quickly. Enjoy your snow and skiing. I’m in heaven with temps in the low 80’s in Central Florida. Warmest ‘winter’ on record. And tho cloudy, no more than a few sprinkles now and then. The funny thing is that we can’t tell the tourists from the residents.
Julie, I always laugh when I read your posts. Your idea of a shallow fridge sounds great. I’m getting better about not growing lab experiments. But I have… 😉 I’d add a small deeper section for ‘party platters’. Men would be amazed when we pulled them out. Lol…
To all, may you be “happy and merry and bright”.
Merry Christmas!
Dear Barbara. Keep the feet up. If you are roaming the past try to stay with the good stuff. My dad has been a bit overwhelmed by more maudlin thoughts. Not so good but easy to do. Especially with the storms and tornados. We are having severe bushfires in Victoria. Not good as there are evacuations in place.
Stay safe everyone. Think about how blesse we are to have places of comfort wherever we are. If you are alone then remember we are here for you!
Another Christmas Eve. Gifts wrapped, prep for tomorrow done. I’m sitting with my feet up too.
Our weather is stormy and too warm, but our area been spared tornados. Poor people in the tornado hit areas.
I seem to be stuck in Christmas Past tonight. I wish a wonderful Christmas to all of the Three Piners but words just aren’t flowing tonight.
Merry Christmas to you Julie. The card works and it’s gorgeous. It’s Christmas Day. Lunch is cooking and we just did presents. I scored many wonderful gifts but the best is a peaceful and happy day. Sun has just come out!
Love to all.
Merry Christmas to all Three Piners!
http://tinyurl.com/h6grb3l
I hope this link works – but if it doesn’t, I just wanted to wish you all merry. It’s Christmas Eve in Seattle, and I, like Anna, am sitting with my feet up – everything done that can be done, and now it’s time to relax and enjoy. We went out to see the Christmas ships last night, and, like every year, they were the best yet! A beautiful night and so many ships and small boats (right down to kayaks) so beautifully decorated! We also went round to our local Candy Cane Lane, and saw other wonderful lighting displays on people’s homes – I do think the economy must be recovering, as so many more people are lighting up their houses than in recent years. Beautiful to see!
Thank you Julie. That was such a lovely card. Hope you’re enjoying a very Merry Christmas.
Write!
Dear Cathryne,
It is always lovely to hear your voice. I must have felt your thoughts coming my way as I had an urge to check in! We all think of you always and I hope you feel our warmth flowing your way.
I love Christmas Eve, too late to do anything more. We are lying around watching the Carols by Candlenight from Melbourne, a tradition.
I hope you have time to right tomorrow. I hesitate to ask how things are but please feel free to tell us whatever you are comfortable to do so.
Merry Christmas.
Anna, happy Christmas Eve, so glad to read your post. Have a lovely and contented day and the next. All my best wishes fly to you across lots of water. If Santa can do it, certainly my thoughts can reach you.
I’ll post again tomorrow night, Christmas Eve, my favorite part of the holiday.
As it turned out I have managed everything without a late night shop…a good thing really as jet lag does hit of an afternoon.
It’s Christmas Eve here and we finally have our feet up, cup of tea and my friend’s Christmas cake in hand. The sun has come out, it has been raining all morning and cold, so we are relaxed. My brothers have arrived and Christmas is officially underway.
I wish you all a very Merry and safe Christmas. Blessings upon you all, those who post and those who don’t.
At least late at night, there won’t be crowds of other people as there always seems to be when I’m trying to shop these days. I did all the gift shopping on line, but groceries are a different thing…
Snuggling by the fire has a lot to recommend it but it can be tiresome if it goes on too long. Lucky the solstice has passed and the days will get longer.
I thought I had done all the Christmas shopping but…..I keep remembering what I have forgotten (does that make sense). I think a late night trip to the supermarket may well be in order.
Anna, cat’s eyes would help a lot – both kinds, hahaha. I think they have a lot more of that in Canada than they do in the US – there’s certainly nothing here, and in Seattle, we have many one-way streets that don’t seem apparent until you’re practically in them going the wrong way, and that’s in broad daylight. Twice in the dark last week I almost turned into lanes marked “do not enter”. Must have scared my passenger silly the first time. Luckily I was alone the second time, so nobody to frighten.
Yes, there’s so much snow in the ski areas around here, that even if they didn’t get anymore all season, there would be enough, though I gather skiers also want to have the fresh powder, so it’s best if it keeps on snowing. Leaves it dark and dreary in Seattle, but we knew we were in for a long huddle by the fire for the winter, so we’re fine.
Home from Hawaii. Left rain there for rain here but that was better than the high heat they had at home over the weekend. It is bizarre because we are back on the plane to Vancouver in two and a half weeks!
How is Petey now Barbara? I really hope he is feeling a lot better. Thinking of you both.
Nancy, how lovely to hear from you! Merry Christmas. What are you up to for the season? I agree that it doesn’t have to be a refrigerator for men. I lose so much in mine that science experiments appear occasionally when I am clearing it out. The loveliest thing happened while I was away, my friend cleaned out my fridge and tidies my pantry! Now that’s another great Christmas gift (along with healthy Pets). Another friend is dropping dinner by for today. I have lovely friends (another gift).
How are you Millie? I know you love to decorate and have been busy. Hopefully your back and legs are holding up.
Julie, great snow in Whistler. I read about you and Barbara talking about vision in the dark and concur wholeheartedly. We were driving around looking at the Christmas lights and displays in Honolulu and it was raining and my friend and I were both talking about how we hate driving at night. At least we have cats eyes on the road here which they didn’t have in Hawaii, reflective discs marking the lanes and on posts beside the road. Can’t remember if I have seen them on the US mainland? I believe they are being replaced in England by solar powered little lights.
Thinking of you Cathryne. Hope there is an island of peace somewhere in your life.
Right, I am back and there is much to be done in the next three days…like Christmas to organise, my new glasses to collect, Erin to get to the Orthodontist…I need to hit the ground running.
Barbara- so glad Petey is doing better! What better Christmas gift than that?
Snake-bit! That’s what my husband always says – I love some of the southern expressions he uses – usually, they have come from his mother. “She’s as independent as a hog on ice.” “He’d complain if he was hung with a new rope.” are the two that come to mind first, hahaha. He often describes himself as “just an old s–t-kicker from Missouri”, as though he was brought up on a farm instead of the big city of Kansas City!
I found my Three Pine trees yesterday! But I’m afraid the tallest is only about 3 inches tall! They’re little bottle-brush trees that I can group, and they look perfect. But I won’t be hanging any ornaments on them, hahaha. I was too cheap to pay full price for the two-foot trees I liked, so I will have to hope for after-Christmas sales…
Me, too, Millie! I hate the back stitch, but do it because it adds so much, and I hate to move furniture around for Christmas, and try to do less and less every year. When I move into my dream home, it will have one full wall in the living room that has doors to a full-length-of-the-wall closet that has all the Christmas things in it. All on wheels. I’ll open the doors, and there Christmas will be! Then I’ll close the doors at the end of the season for another year, hahaha. I really ought to have been an inventor – I also want to make a “man’s refrigerator” – it will be one full wall’s width in the kitchen, but only 8 inches deep. Everything will be “in the front” so no man will have to look behind anything to find what they’re looking for in there. I’m obviously going to need lots of long, blank walls for my dream house, hahaha.
Julie, it doesn’t have to be a “man” refrigerator. I’ve wanted one like that (shallow) for years. Seems like everything in the back of our fridge turns green. If it’s not in sight, it gets forgotten.
I’ve been enjoying the discussion although I don’t comment. Just visit occasionally.
Merry Christmas to all!
Nancy, I guess there are lots of people like that. I find that, I, too, forget about things in the back of the refrigerator, but that doesn’t bother me half as much as telling my husband that the mustard is on the third shelf on the right, but he still can’t find it because it’s behind a bowl of potato salad! So I have to get up, walk to the refrigerator, go to the third shelf, on the right, and pull it out, while he is apparently astounded that I was able to get it there without him seeing! I guess because it’s my foible and not his, to let food go bad in the back of the refrigerator that I don’t mind the one, while I do the other, hahaha. Glad you’re here with us – even if just to listen. Pull your chair a little closer to the fire and join in when you can…
Barbara – oh, you had me laughing at your “stairs” escapades in the dark. I know just what you mean. I’ve not driven at night (by coincidence, not by plan) for a long time, I guess. This past week, twice I had to drive after dark and have realized that I shouldn’t be. I could hardly see how the streets turned, or where to turn into a parking lot. The problem is, of course, that both of these times, it was 4:30 in the afternoon! Soon, the days will start to lengthen and it won’t be a problem, but for awhile, I’m going to need to be mindful of the time I start for home. No wonder the lights always seem dim to me. I’m really going to pursue having the surgery for the cataracts, even though I know it won’t be of any use for the macular degeneration. The thing is, in a year or two, that will be that much worse and then maybe the cataract surgery won’t even buy me a few months of seeing better. Better to do it now while I know it will help some.
Wouldn’t it have been fun to go to Louise’s sale? But of course, not practical at all… I still need to keep paring things down. I know what you mean about the garage sale – it would take far too much energy, hahaha. Do you have any young people around who might help? Maybe some neighbors who want to do a whole neighborhood sale? Then you could pick and choose a few items that you would like to put in the sale, and get some neighbor teenager to take them out to the sale spot for you?
Keeping a good thought for Petey. I know how much unconditional love from a pet adds to our lives!