"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Sunday Salon, January 10th

Eagle, Skagit Valley, January 2016. Photo by James Clarke, used with persmission
Weather: Clear and cold. We've had a week of wintry weather which included snow, ice, fog. In fact, we had a two-hour late start to school one day due to snow. Now that is rare around here.

Yay! the Seattle Seahawks just won their playoff game, Poor Vikings missed the last field goal. It was improbable but happened.

Youth Media Awards are announced tomorrow. After 50+ YA books, after months and months of speculation tomorrow we will know who the actual winners will be. I am so ready to settle in to some adult reading and take a break from YA for a month or two! Here is my speculative slate of winners.

The house is back to normal: We took down all the Christmas decorations this tree. Last Sunday we undecorated the Christmas tree (artificial) but then didn't dismantle the tree. We finally got to it on Thursday night. Everything always looks so boring after all the red and green color splashes around the rooms get tucked away.

First book of 2016: Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead. I wonderful coming-of-age book for middle grade students. I was very impressed and have already recommended it to a teacher whose daughter is in that age range.

Classics Club Challenge: I am within 50 pages of the end of The Yearling by Majorie Kinnan Rawls, my classics club book for spin#11. It has been slow going but I really apprecaite the fantastic writing. Here is my mid-book report.

Audiobook: I started listening to Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson yesterday. It is a book club selection. Boy, I'm a little worried about the discussion because it sure doesn't seem to have much  of a plot. Sigh. Progress: 50%

Seal-a-meal: A few years ago Don and I won a seal-a-meal at a white elephant party. Since that time it has sat in a bag in our garage, unused. Over the holidays my in-laws encouraged us to get it out and use it. We did and had so much fun sealing up hamburger and cheese. Yesterday was the first time we thawed out meat which we had sealed previously. Thawing is easier if the meat is sealed, too. Thanks K and A we like the gift you gave us!

Message from church today: Remember your baptism. Think of it as a hug from God, who loves us simply for being ourselves.

Alex Boye: I'm a new fan. This guy has had an Internet presence for several years but I just discovered him so I have spent all week looking at his videos. This video combines another favorite musical group, The Piano Guys with Boye. Love it. When I was a kid my family lived in Africa. There is so much about Boye's dress and movements that reminds me of living of that time.

4 comments:

  1. I always enjoy decorating, but then also like getting the house back to normal. I'm hoping we can find some good things to read for next series of books. Today is a beautiful day, both weatherwise and football wise. 😃🎉

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  2. Love the Alex Boyle video. So dramatic. Lovely blend of the African traditional and the modern.

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  3. I have a little bit of red throughout the house, even when it isn't Christmas, so that helps with that feeling afterwards.

    Enjoy your new week, and thanks for visiting my blog.

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  4. My daughter it hoping we will keep the tree up again this year through her birthday in March. We had such fun decorating it for Valentine's Day and Spring last year. There's the part of me that wants to continue and make it a tradition since she's so into it, but then the other part of me wants my house to look empty for the brief moment after we take down the tree. I really liked the video you shared. I hadn't seen it before.

    I hope you have a great week, Anne!

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