Sudoku, Truffles and Another Somewhat Good Book

Here are two more of hubby's best Christmas gifts.  I said he liked dark chocolate and these truffles from Costco which is their own brand, Kirkland, certainly fit the bill.  They are moist, delicious and small enough to make you savour each bite.  I say delicious but only if you love dark chocolate which is not me.  Although I know that the darkest chocolate is supposedly good for you, I find it a little bitter for my tastes.  He will have no fear that I will be dipping into his stash.
He also got this wooden Sudoku game.  Since he loves completing the puzzles in the newspaper when he has a few minutes to spare, I thought he would like to have a game board to work them out on.  I found this in the Bits and Pieces catalogue which specializes in puzzles and games of all sorts and for all ages.  So far, he is enjoying having the puzzle presented in a different medium to play around with.

What's on my night table...

This is my latest read, Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh.  When I first started this book, I was a little disappointed.  I thought it was dissolving into a Harlequin romance type book where the heroine is in love with the handsome, but dastardly fellow and spurning the one who truly loves her sort of thing.  But no, it retreats from that scenario somewhat and the writing is so involved and well-done that I did finish it.  The protagonist, Frances, must leave England to travel to South Africa to make a marriage she does not want. Her husband is a very disciplined doctor working hard to eradicate small pox amongst the people working in the diamond industry.  The descriptions of South Africa are wonderfully written.  In my opinion, both Frances and her husband are oddly flawed and it seems they will never get their differences worked out.  I lacked empathy for either of them but really didn't care for Frances.  She has been given an amazing opportunity to not only enjoy life and the beauty around her, but to make herself useful in the fight against a deadly disease.  I was frustrated with her frankly.