Sunday Salon, June 21

My dad. Photo from Anne Parr, taken in 2010.

Happy Father's Day!

Weather: at this moment it is overcast but I expect this to burn off and the skies to be clear by later morning or early afternoon.

Father's Day: My dad, pictured above, will turn 87 this year. I have really been blessed with a wonderful father who has led us on many adventures through life and has always been as solid as a rock. I love this photo because it really captures dad's personality. He is a wonderful listener and often very contemplative. I'm sure he is listening to someone here. The photo was taken at my cousin's daughter's wedding in 2010.

US Open Golf Tournament at Chambers Bay: Don just left for Chambers Bay and the last day of the tournament. This will be the fourth day he has volunteered and his shift will end with enough time for him to see the last pairings finish the course. He hopes to see the ending ceremony, too. There has been a lot of hype and chatter about the event. So many people I know have attended one or more days as either volunteers or spectators. Don ran into a friend who recently moved to California who flew up to watch the tournament with his dad. Who knew that folks would travel so far to watch golf? The photo is complements of a friend who is also volunteering at the tournament. The course, as you see in the photo, is not the typical green thing with lots of trees. It was created out of an old rock quarry situated right on the Puget Sound. The course, being so different than typical golf courses, has given some of the golfers fits. But these guys are the best of the best so shouldn't they be golfing on a hard course. If not them, then who? Isn't it a spectacular view?

US Open at Chambers Bay. Photo by Ed Petersen

School's out: The last day of school for the year was last Monday. I had to go back for two days of inservice and I spent two additional days in the library finishing up end-of-the-year stuff. Now for summer activities which will largely revolve around family. Next week we head to Oregon for a memorial service for Don's uncle. Two weeks later back to Oregon for a family reunion with my Dad's side of the family, of six children only he and one sister are still surviving. She is coming to Oregon for a visit so the rest of us will gather around. Later in the summer Carly and I will help my sister celebrate her 60th birthday by attending Shakespeare plays in Ashland and going on a rafting trip together. Last of all, in August we will vacation with my family in Central Oregon for a few days of fun and sun. Then back to school in September. Sigh.

Reading: I am in the middle of five books right now. What kind of crazy person does that? I really do have an impressive reading list for the summer which will largely revolve around YA novels that are good candidates to add to the Mock Printz reading list which will be rolled out for participating students in the Fall.  I met with Sandy, another librarian in my district, to discuss the books we will focus on this summer. Both of us are determined to only add books to the list which we've actually read. This means, of course, we have to do a lot of reading before we make our list.
     Carly is helping us read through our lengthy list. Yesterday she started an ARC book Everything Everything which won't be published until September. In it are "Life is Short ---Spoiler Reviews by Madeline" for famous books. Example-

LORD OF THE FLIES BY WILLIAM GOLDING
Spoiler alert: Boys are savages.

     Ha-ha, Come to think of it, that is about all we need to know. Ha!

I did finish one book this week:

• The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner...the main character, Aaron, starts working as an assistant to a funeral director. There are lots of descriptions of dead bodies and what happens to these bodies as they are being prepared for the funerals. For obvious reasons, this book is not for everyone. I liked it but kept wondering why I did.

So what are you plans for summer? What books do you have on your reading list? Please leave a comment below.  Thanks.