Sunday Salon, January 7th

Weather: Rainy. Temperatures in the 40s. I am thinking of my friends in Australia today where we hear there are record high temps today.

Epiphany: Today is another church holiday, Epiphany. It is the day where we celebrate the three kings who visited Jesus and his family. The first Gentiles to visit him and worship him. It is a nice reminder that we, too, should just adore him today, two thousand years later.

Sisters:  this week Carly and I drove to Eugene to spend time with my parents and my sisters. We live in three different states so we don't often get together. It was a no-agenda visit...just visiting. And that is what we did. Love you Grace and Kathy!

Un-Christmasing the house: Yesterday we took down the Christmas decorations. They go down faster than they go up but it is not as much fun. I always think the house looks dull with a lack of color after we take down all the green and red decorations. My parents no longer decorate a tree and put out just a few decorations and I understand why. When there are no young kids around, decorating is less fun than in years past, that is for sure.

Bulletin board: The photo above is of my kitchen bulletin board. Every year I cut out the photos friends and family sent us for a holiday greeting and pin them to the board. Then for the next few months we are reminded of our dear ones every time we pass by. Notice who is front and center: Ian!

Fitbit: Carly and Don got Fitbits for Christmas so I dusted off my old one so I am not left out. We have all been attempting to get those 10,000 steps a day. That means we have taken quite a few walks and played a lot of Wii Fit games. One feature I don't have that C and D have on their next generation Fitbits is a reminder to take a least 250 steps per hour. It is hilarious how all the suddenly both of them will hop up and start walking around the house to make their hourly goals. I join them even though my device is not sophisticated enough to remind me.

Carly heads back to New York this week: I love having her here and will miss her. But she is heading toward her last term of school. Hopefully the weather will imrove so she has a positive experience getting through JFK airport. News reports about the airport are negative right now.

Books Completed:

• My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. My Classics Club spin book. It was written in 1902 about a young girl in the Australian outback. Aspects of it I liked, others I didn't so I won't recommend it. Read my review here.
• Goldenhand by Garth Nix. The 5th book in the Abhorssen (Old Kingdom) series which is a favorite for both me and my girls. The first book in the series, Sabriel, was published in 1995. It is amazing to me that Nix is still willing to complete the story of the Abhorssens in the Old Kingdom. The ending was satisfying so I think this will be the end.

Currently reading:

• Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World by Robert Sheffield. This book might even be a bit geeky for me and I fancy myself a huge Beatles fan. I want to read it with iTunes open to the store so I can listen to an excerpt of the songs he mentions that I currently don't own. (Print. 30%)
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. This is my current audiobook and a book club selection for February. (Audio. 5%)

Outlander: I am still obsessed with the TV series set in Scotland in the 1700s. We have watched all of Season 3 and now will have to wait a half a year until the next installment. I may even have to read the next book in the series to feed my current addiction. Here is a fun little tune from Season 1.

 Have a lovely week.