Sunday Salon, September 7th

Don and I at the UO/MSU Game, 9/6/14. Can you tell by our faces who won?

Weather: Sunny and warm. The temperature is in the low 80s today.

College Football: The 2014 College Football season has started and we are University of Oregon fans. Yesterday we attended the University of Oregon v Michigan State game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The game was no cake-walk and the lead changed hands a few times before the Ducks pulled ahead and won. The day was warm and we sat sweating in our t-shirts, squinting in the sun until it set behind the diamond-vision screen. Fun, fun, fun.

2014-15 School Year: After a teacher inservice on Tuesday, school started on Wednesday, Sept. 3rd. My role, at this time of year, as librarian is mainly about getting out textbooks and equipment. Not the most exciting stuff, but necessary. We're off and running.

Thank goodness for audiobooks: En route to Oregon and back we listened to two audiobooks in as many weeks. Today Don and I not only listened to but we also discussed One Hundred Years of Solitude. It really enhanced my understanding of the book and the symbolism within its pages. Since he was driving, I was the research master looking up information about the book on my smart-phone which I would read aloud. Then we would digest the information together. The miles flew past as we tried to figure out what Garcia Marquez was telling us in the story of the Buendia family.

30 Book Summer Reading Challenge ended on Monday. I read 29 books. I am competitive enough to be a bit upset with myself for not quite making my goal. But on the other hand, who really cares?

Books read this week:

• How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by Matthew Inman---very funny, as you can imagine by the title. See poster above for more details.
• She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick---this audiobook with a blind protagonist was read by a blind actress who read it from braille. Amazing.
• Girls Like Us by Gail Giles---two "Speddy" girls are placed together in a roommate situation after graduation. They learn from each other how to expand their lives.
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez---this was my Classic Club Spin book, a classic I've wanted to read but was afraid to start.  Yay! I read it and liked it.

Currently reading:

• True Sisters by Sandra Dallas---a book club selection. It is another audiobook. This book is about the Mormon migration to Zion (in Utah territory.)
• Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon---recently translated into English from its original Spanish, this was Ruiz Zaphon's last young adult novel.

Recipe of the week: Banana Cottage Cheese Pancakes. I made up the recipe.
Blend together (in a blender) until smooth: 3/4 cup cottage cheese, four eggs, 1/2 tsp real vanilla, one banana. Add 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt. Blend quickly. Cook on a lightly oiled griddle on medium heat. Serve with a little maple syrup, nutella, or peanut butter, whatever you like. Delicious!

Favorite video of the week: OK, I confess, it is about Oregon, so I recognize it will have limited appeal. But I love it.