Sunday Salon, June 28th

King Estate Winery

Eugene, Oregon

Weather: Muggy. The temperature was in the mid 90s yesterday but felt warmer because of the humidity. This morning the temperature seems a bit cooler but the day is young. High clouds.

Air Force Honor Guard

Memorial Service: Yesterday we joined Don's cousin Shelley, her husband, and a few other relatives to honor the life of Uncle Don. He served for 23 years in the US Air Force and there was an Honor Guard at the service which conducted a short ceremony involving flag folding and concluded with the playing of taps. It was a fitting farewell.

33rd Anniversary:

Married 33 years!

King Estate Winery: after the service we drove 20 miles south of Eugene to a winery for lunch and a wine tasting. The view was spectacular and was the food. Every once in a while in life perfect moments come together: setting, food, company, and wine. This was one of those moments. The purple lavender was in full bloom, too. Lovely.

View from King Estate Winery. Lovely!

Owls: My sister and her husband have an owl nest in their back yard. The owlets fledged a few days ago and now "hang out" in the trees in their yard. Last night, right after dark, we were able to witness the parent owls feeding their young, who had been calling to their parents from high up in the trees. The father was pretty cross with us and kept making a clicking noise which Tom said meant BEWARE.

Recently fledged owlet, photo by Tom Buhler, used with permission

Summer Reading/Blogging goals: a week ago I indicated one of my summer goals was to go back and post reviews for seven YA books which I had recently read. I'm almost caught up, having written review for six of the books, but I also kept reading and finished four new books. This brings my totals to: six new reviews, five reviews left to go, net gain--- one! Ha. Below is a list of the books I reviewed this week. Click the hyperlinks to read them:

• Black Dove, White Raven by Wein
• Audacity by Crowder
• The Game of Love and Death by Brokenbrough
• Mosquitoland by Arnold
• Bone Gap by Ruby
• The Walls Around Us by Suma 

A celebration of a career well spent: today we attended church with my parents. Today was the last day the ministers would be with the congregation before retirement. It was a lovely service, a celebration of John and Debbie's careers. As I sat among the congregation a thought ran through my head, will I be so honored when I retire? Will I be remembered for a job well done? 

Books read this week:

• Kissing in America by Rabb---a girl looks at her life through the lense provided by romance novels.
• SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki---a graphic novel; all the events occur at the Magic Academy, each page is just snippet in from the days in the lives of the students. Very clever.
• The Tightrope Walkers by David Almond---a coming-of-age story set in England after WWII
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel---post apocalyptic novel, what life is like on Earth after 99% of the population dies. A book club selection.

Currently reading:

• Deep Down Dark: the story of the 33 Chilean miners buried for 69 days by Hector Tobar---an audiobook selection and another book club choice.
• Vivian Apple and the End of the World---what if the right-wing is correct about rapture and the end of the world? An audiobook.
•  March 2 by John Lewis---the second of three, a graphic biography of John Lewis' tremendous career and the Civil Rights movement.

Quote: “I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange.” ― David Arnold, Mosquitoland