{"id":8792,"date":"2016-12-05T19:59:35","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T00:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/?p=8792"},"modified":"2016-12-05T19:59:35","modified_gmt":"2016-12-06T00:59:35","slug":"advent-duties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/?p=8792","title":{"rendered":"Advent duties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advent is a season of many tasks.<\/strong> In the old days, I\u2019ve read, it was a fast time, like Lent. People approached the Christmas holiday, pretty literally, with hungry anticipation. We Protestants pretty much abandoned that tradition, and I haven\u2019t noticed that the Catholics observe it much either these days.<\/p>\n

Still, Advent has its duties. For me, Christmas cards are one. I still send them, and I send a Christmas letter too. Yes, I am that guy. I\u2019ve got my CC labels mail-merged off Microsoft Word (is it possible for them to make that process more complicated? Don\u2019t answer \u2013 you\u2019ll give them ideas), but I just discovered I printed one set on the wrong side, so I\u2019ll have to re-do those. I traditionally start my cards right after Thanksgiving, but classes delayed that the last two years. This year, finally done with classes, I\u2019m delayed by my bronchitis instead.<\/p>\n

I keep telling myself I\u2019ll bring the Christmas tree down from the attic tomorrow, and so far it hasn\u2019t happened. I think I need servants.<\/p>\n

I have antibiotics and an inhaler with which to battle my lung crud. I wonder if the antibiotics actually help, or whether doctors just dispense them because people expect them. I read that most bronchitis comes from a virus, and antibiotics don\u2019t really serve any purpose. If that\u2019s the case I\u2019d rather not get them. I don\u2019t like antibiotics as a form of recreation.<\/p>\n

I finished a novel by an author I\u2019ve had some contact with in the past. I reviewed his previous books, but I think I\u2019ll leave this one unaddressed. I found this book kind of dully written, and the story I found fairly depressing. But if I can\u2019t praise the book, I won\u2019t pan it. I shall pass by on the other side of the road, pretending I didn\u2019t see it. Don\u2019t ask me to identify the author; I feel disloyal enough already.<\/p>\n

And now, I must endeavor to rest. Strenuously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advent is a season of many tasks. In the old days, I\u2019ve read, it was a fast time, like Lent. People approached the Christmas holiday, pretty literally, with hungry anticipation. We Protestants pretty much abandoned that tradition, and I haven\u2019t noticed that the Catholics observe it much either these days. Still, Advent has its duties. … Continue reading Advent duties<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[104,410],"class_list":["post-8792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-advent","tag-bronchitis"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8792\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}