Sunday Salon, July 16th

Overlooking the Chambers Bay Golf Course and the Puget Sound

Weather: Cloudy and overcast. It hasn't rained for almost a month so it would be a good thing if it rained today.

60 for my 60th: This week Sandy WB and I took a walk along the Chambers Bay overlooking the golf course and the Puget Sound and ate a wonderful brunch at the Chambers Bay Grill, a restaurant attached to the club. Afterwards we picked blueberries and continued chatting about everything in our lives: husbands, books, kids, politics. Thank you, Sandy. I had a wonderful time. //Don and I hosted a dinner for some long time friends last night. Half the group was missing but we enjoyed our evening of food and conversation.//I also had an e-mail exchange with a long-lost college girl friend which I am going to count toward my 60. This brings my total up to 43.

Farmers' Market: Our town hosts a Farmers' market every Saturday of summer. Yesterday was our first time for the season and it appeared that everyone else in town was there, too. The place was a beehive of activity. We bought cherries, boysenberries, and beets. I got a new parsley plant and a bunch of sweet peas. Sometimes we forget to be thankful for the small delights in life like the scent of sweet peas or the fun of being some place in the sun, enjoying the weather and the fellowship of members of our community.

Sweet Peas from Farmers' Market

Anne's cookbook: This past week I made freezer raspberry jam and outlined the steps on my new blog post. If you have never made freezer jam, I encourage you to try it this year. Click the link for the recipe/directions.

Water aerobics: After a week of amassing the correct gear I finally took the plunge, so to speak, and signed up for a water aerobics class. Friday was my first day and I made it through OK. Though I found it to be a bit boring, perhaps because I didn't have a friend or sister there to chat with while I was splashing around trying to do all the complicated maneuvers. Ha! In preparation I purchased aqua socks after rubbing the bottoms of my feet raw while bobbing around in the pool at Whistler it seemed like a prudent thing to buy. I also purchased a new swim cap. With my wild and crazy hair I do not need to add chlorine into the mess. In addition, I also bought some hiking boots at REI with week. My toes are still in recovery from my torturous hike down Whistler mountain. Time to get something better than the dumb shoes I wore for that trip. So Don and I made a trip to REI and I am now set for more serious hiking with new boots.

Reading: In actuality I spent the majority of the week reading, or listening to audiobooks. That meant I sat around a lot of the time. Hmm. The ying and the yang of my life. Prepare to exercise and then sit around.

Books completed:

•  The Book of Unknown American by Christina Henriquez---a Mexican family moves to  Delaware for medical/educational help for their daughter, who had a head injury. Their experience in America was frustrating as they had language barriers, were under-employed, and had cultural differences. In a lot of ways, this story broke my heart. Audio.
• In Our Backyard by Nita Belles...About human trafficking and what we can do to stop it. A real call to action. Audio.
• The Gift poems by Hafiz. Print.
• Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia---a creator of a popular webcomic lives most of her life in the Internet. When she meets a boy, in real life, she doesn't share with him about being the creator of the webcomic, even though he is a fan. Print.
• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson---Ursula's life begins over and over, every time she dies she starts over, giving her a true sense of deja vu. She is able to change a few details based on these premonitions. Truly a thought-provoking book. Audio.

Currently reading:

• Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy---this month's book club selection. This is an issue-driven book but none of the issues are handled well so I am making myself finish the book for club, not because I like it. 87%. Print.
• Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson.  Another book club selection. This one has been on my TBR list for several years. Nonfiction. Audio. 5%.

The Beatles obsession continues. I am still stuck on the Sirius Radio The Beatles channel. Yesterday I heard the audio of Peter Sellers, pretending to be Lawrence Olivier doing Shakespeare of "A Hard Day's Night." I thought of my mom since she is such a big Peter Sellers fan. I hope you enjoy it, too.