Sunday Salon, April 26

Weather: overcast and threatening to rain. The weather turned this past week from sunny and warm to rainy, cold, and wet. This typical for this time of year in the Northwest, but no one likes it.

Scouts honor: yesterday we attended an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for a friend's son who was earning his Eagle Scout award. In all my years I have never attended one of these events, nor have I really paid attention to the Scout Law by which they govern themselves. I was really touched by the whole ceremony and especially when their code was called out and explained. (See photo above.) Scouts are: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. If only we would all conduct ourselves this way.

The Boys in the Boat: the culmination for Pierce County Reads was an event with the author, Daniel James Brown, on Friday night. Brown was an excellent speaker, very knowledgeable and articulate. Don and I co-authored a blog post about the event. Please click the link to read about it. (If you haven't read the book yet, I hope it will encourage you to give it a go.)

SBAC testing (Smarter Balanced Assessment test): partially closed the library this week. With fewer kids in the library, except for those taking the test, we had another quiet week. Sigh. Quiet libraries often mean low circulation.

Prayers for: my friend who lost her brother to an accidental death. She and her family are all deeply grieving.

Books read this week: One only, The Art of Barbie Book by Craig Yoe. I picked this book up on the sale table at the public library for $4. Fifty artists and designers were asked to design a piece of work about or with Barbie. Being a big fan of the doll as I was growing up I just HAD to have it and loved it.

Currently reading:

• What's So Amazing about Grace by Philip Yancey---this is for the adult Sunday School class I am co-teaching. insightful.
• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins---I am making good progress on this Classics Club challenge selection. The plot is very tense at this point.
• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach---my current audio selection.

Speaking of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: we rented the 1st movie last night so that we could go see the Second Exotic Marigold Hotel today at the Grand Cinema (an independent theater.) The book is quite different than the movie but I am enjoying it, too.

Left to Right, Top: Barbie in Beatsville by JD King; B-Girl in A-Line by D. Madeleine Coates; Housebroken by William Wegman; Barbie by Andy Warhol
Bottom: Jazzed by James Flora; Deco Doll by Tim Lewis;  The Color of the Evening by Nerio Gussoni