Sunday Salon: February 3

Weather: spitting snow. The temperature is above freezing so little is sticking.

Super Bowl: I am enjoying the commercials and I'm in the room while Don is watching the game. Favorite commercial so far: Avocados from Mexico at the dog show.

Ian's first visit to the Tacoma Zoo

The Wisdom of Ian: (For the next several Sunday Salons I will share with you a morsel of goodness I've learned from my grandson, Ian.)

When you are full, quit eating, and, if someone hands you more food, throw it on the floor for the dog. -Ian

Books: I participated in a read-a-thon last weekend and broke a personal record. I completed eight books. Woot. Woot. Since that time I have completed one more.

• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. Print.  A book club selection and a Pierce Reads 2019! book. I enjoyed this one though the ending may be a bit to Hollywood for my taste. Click on hyperlink for my review.
• Becoming by Michelle Obama. Audio. Loved it! And I will be in attendance this Friday when Michelle comes to Tacoma to talk about her book and her life. 
• She Walks in Beauty: Poetry selected by Caroline Kennedy. Print.  I've been working on this volume of poems for several months.
• Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. Print. This was my Classics Club SPIN selection. It is a highly acclaimed book but I hated it. Yuck. Will not be recommending it to anyone. Click on hyperlink.
• Native Nations Miniseries: Chiefs and Warriors by Edward S. Curtis. Print. Considered gift books, this is the first in a series of four which have the prints that Edward Curtis took of Native American warriors and chiefs, with notes he wrote to go along with the photos.
• A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver. Print. Oliver just died two weeks ago and I wanted to read more of her poems. 
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Audio. This is officially my favorite book of the year and it is only January.
• We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Print. I bought this book nearly two years ago. Glad I finally got to it.
• StarTalk With Neil deGrasse Tyson (Young Reader's Edition). Print.This was a Cybils nominated book I didn't have time to do more than peruse back in December, but I liked it so wanted to finish it. It is very thought-provoking.

Currently reading:

• Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward. E-book.  I started this book back in September and set it aside.  28% complete.

• An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. Audio. I love this book. It is just the kind of quirky book I always crave. 76% complete.

• Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith. Poems.

Sheets: Don and I stood in front of our linen closet yesterday trying to find the right combination of sheets to place on the beds since we are expecting guests later in the week. First problem, we couldn't find any bottoms for the Queen mattress other than the ones we were taking off the bed to wash. Apparently the old bottom sheets ripped or were worn out and we threw them away but kept the tops. When we finally found a set that matched and looked good, it crinkled when we picked up the bottom sheet...you know the sound that old elastic makes when it is no longer stretchy? Next problem, trying to find matching pillow cases that were a) not super yellow (why does that happen?) or b) not for king size pillows that we don't own. You are welcome to stay at our house but I cannot promise a matched set of sheets. Ha!

The bully in our family: our darling, sweet cat, Demi, is showing her true colors as she stalks and terrorizes our dog. They play hide and seek and chase and then she turns on him with a big swipe with claws out. No fair.