Sunday Salon, July 27

Two batches of raspberry freezer jam

Weather: blue skies, temperature in the mid 70s. Lovely.

Raspberry Jam: My daughter, husband, and I made two batches of low-sugar, freezer raspberry jam yesterday evening. It is not REALLY summer until the raspberries are ripe. It is a really easy process with three sets of hands working on it.

Walking the dog: we took our dog Muffy on a longish walk yesterday. She was so eager at the beginning but starting dragging midway. Nearing the end of the walk she would lay down if we slowed at all. Guess she's a bit out of shape

This coming week: our nephew is getting married in Boise, Idaho. We will hit the road around 6 AM on Friday in order to make the 500 mile journey in time to get into town for the rehearsal dinner.

Blogoversary: This week will be the fifth year of my blog. Happy Blogoversary to Head Full of Books.

Books read this week:

• The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by EK Johnston---set in modern day Canada with one huge difference---dragons are everywhere and things are getting worse. This book is a gem and I will recommend it for our Mock Printz list.
• Always Emily by Michaela MacColl---a mystery involving Emily and Charlotte Bronte. I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend it for fans of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights.

Currently reading:

• Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith---weird, weird, weird but I am eating it up.
• The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker---my audiobook selection for the next few months! Ha! I'm on disc six of 22.

Weird Al marathon: Weird Al's new CD Mandatory Fun is out and I can't seem to get enough of his zany videos. Here is my favorite "Word Crimes." As a teacher I am always concerned with poor grammar. Maybe students would pay attention to our rants if we presented the information like Weird Al does. Enjoy!

Read this poem: A Summer Day by Mary Oliver. It has two themes I am exploring today: summer and grasshoppers.  It is one of my favorite poems. Read it.