"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, July 12, 2020

Sunday Salon...with a focus on good news and funny inisghts

Yesterday as we spoke on FaceTime with our youngest daughter, her sister called us on FaceTime on another phone. Right before all of our eyes our grandson transformed from Ian to superhero using items he and his mom gleaned from a thrift store sale. He is now ready to combat evil and sadness in the world.
Weather: Overcast with sunbreaks. But possible rain showers are in the forecast.

This week: Don has been furloughed one day a week for the summer. We've decided to make that day an adventure day. This week we drove toward Mowich Lake in Mt. Rainier National Park. The road was closed six miles below the lake. We hiked up the road for a ways, but didn't have enough time (or inclination) for a 12 mile round trip so we had to turn back before reaching our goal. See selfie above.

Note from author (me): Last week a friend commented on Facebook that she enjoys reading my Sunday Salon posts and peeking into my brain for a few minutes. She is right. This post is a peek into my brain and what I'm focused on...mostly politics, masks (pandemic), books, family, faith, and cats. I hope you enjoy reading this and exploring some of the links I've provided.

Another note from the author (still me): Another friend said she was grateful for all the pieces of 'good news' that I find and link. At the beginning of the pandemic I was reporting all news of interest, but so much of it was bad and depressing and it made me sad and angry. That is why I try to focus on good news items only. The definition of good news, of course, comes out of my biases. Feel free to skip over the links you don't think of as 'good news.'

Books:
  • Books completed this week: This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell; Weather by Jenny Offill; How Lovely the Ruins by Spiegel and Grau. 
  • Still reading: Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad; Be the Bridge by LaTasha Morrison
  • Paused reading until a later date: Tiny Habits by B.J. Fogg; This Train is Being Held by Ismee Williams
Good News:
  • Presidents don't usually lose as badly at the Supreme Court as Trump did this past week. (WaPo).
  • The Supreme Court ruled against the Trump Administration this week on the Keystone XL Pipeline question. That makes three pipelines delayed or canceled in one week. This is a potentially dirty fuel source and time is needed to make things right, if at all. (Greenpeace)
  • Seattle City Council voted to tax Amazon and other big businesses for relief efforts. (Seattle Times)
  • A new technique has been found that sucks CO2 from the atmosphere and traps it...spreading basalt rock dust on fields. Don't laugh. Apparently it is a very doable and cheap method that really works. (Guardian
  • Top general says the military needs to take a 'hard look' at confederate symbols and names on their installations. (The Hill)
  • Supreme Court rules that a huge swath of Oklahoma remains tribal reservation land. The decision was potentially one of the most consequential legal victories for Native Americans in decades. (NBC)
  • All nine justices expressly rejected President Trump’s extravagant claim backed by Bill Barr that a sitting president cannot be forced by subpoena to turn over documents sought in a criminal investigation of his conduct. No-one is above the law.— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) July 9, 2020

On the lighter side:

1.  Staying with the Hamilton theme started last week: watch this rendition of 'Helpless' by the original cast of Hamilton and the Tonight Show musicians. Here
 2. People Deer will always take advantage of a good thing. Ha!

3. Gary Larsen, long retired cartoonist of the Far Side, is back! See his new stuff here. The first comic is titled "Taxidermist." Love it! 😅

4. This funny was sent to me via my sister, a pre-K teacher. Hope you remember all these books (or what they used to be titled):

The actual titles are: No David!; Hats for Sale; Miss Nelson is Missing; Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

5.Yep. That's probably it.

6. Mary Trump's book comes out this week. President Trump tried to block publication. Wonder why?


7.Another book funny. This one is not related to COVID or politics. I do all of these things. Honestly!

8. 21 signs on businesses about wearing masks. These are too funny to miss. I promise you. Click the link. You will laugh. (BuzzFeed)

9.




10. Fitbit funny: Yesterday on our trip to Mt. Rainier National Park the road was in such poor shape the potholes were impossible to miss. At some point I realized I was getting steps on my Fitbit for being thrown around in the pickup. Those steps totaled over 700. Ha! That's one way to reach the daily goal of 10,000 steps.

11. I'll let the Viking have the last funny word...


And now a moment with Fred and George. My daughter tells me that the orange toy is George's favorite and he carries it around the apartment where ever he goes. The photo of the splayed upside down cat is also George. This is his usual position. The other two photos are Fred...playing in the laundry and sleeping in the sink. These two boys are priceless.

Comments are very much appreciated, if for no other reason than to know you've been here. Leave a note below or on Facebook. Thank you.

-Anne

28 comments:

  1. Closed for repairs, yeah. :( I would love to be up at Mt. Rainier right now. It's hard to get my 10,000 steps in this heat and humidity. Don and you look great!

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    1. Ugh. I've been watching the weather reports from the East Coast. Looks like you had quite a storm and then humidity. How do east-coasters stand it?

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  2. Oh my, so many great things on which to comment! The mask signs are priceless, I love that Gary Larson is back, singers on zoom warms my heart, and the things book lovers do is spot on. Another stellar week for Anne's Sunday Salon! Thank you

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    1. Your comments keep me going. Thanks for reading my posts and for commenting.

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  3. The Fitbit potholes made me laugh! A friend was telling me if she is a few steps short, she sits and wiggles her wrist while watching TV! 😂

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    1. The pothole experience was wild. We really were getting exercise while driving and it wasn't a cheat.

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  4. I love the idea of your adventure day. Turning things into a positive works for me, too.

    Love the Supreme Court decisions, too, and I like your cartoon about the US being closed for repairs, but will reopen under New Management. Here's hoping.

    Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.

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  5. Enjoyed another peek into your brain this week. I think the deer bringing back the family is the cutest ever. Loved your photo too. Have a great week! :)

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    1. I know. Isn't that deer story hilarious? I love it.

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  6. I loved the Things Book Lovers Do - I do them all too! Hope you have a great week! Stay safe!

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    1. I do all the book lover things, too, including thinking about living in the library. Ha!

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  7. I am enjoying your posts. And your adventure day idea sounds awesome! Glad you guys got to get out and get a little nature time in. Looks beautiful there!

    I did see some of the Supreme Court news, including the Oklahoma decision. Yes to that.

    Love thw cat pics. :)

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    1. The cats are so great. My daughter got them just days before the California lockdown so she has company now after living alone. Whew. They keep her hopping.

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  8. Aww, I love the superhero costume. I love your good news too. News stations mostly seem to focus on the bad stuff. Have a good week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Our grandson is such a character and so active. That suit fits his personality to a tee.

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  9. Thanks for another great week of news and good books. Grateful for you, Anne!

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  10. Thanks for sharing the good news. Those signs are hilarious, and politer than anti mask idiots deserve!

    Wishing you a great reading week

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  11. My sister took last week off and turned off news and FB. I've taken the opposite approach and tried to keep myself informed, but ended the week with this medley of positivity. My favorites? The US closed down for repairs, the explanation for Italian Renaissance paintings, and the modified picture books.

    Now that Ian has become a superhero, we can rest a little easier, I think.

    Thank you for sharing these little glimmers of good. I try to keep reminding myself that the strength of America is its built-into-the-system methods of evolution. And it certainly helped my perspective on the current state of the world to read a big book on the history of Paris. This, too, will pass. We press on.

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  12. The fitbit anecdote cracks me up! Sometimes I can get a few extra steps by moving my arm up and down, but in a car?? Saying the road was bumpy must be an incredible understatement, lol!

    The book covers also made me smile. My sister teaches second grade and I sent her the Miss Nelson cover early in the pandemic, but think she'd like to see the others, too!

    Very happy with some of the good news this week! Stay well and enjoy your adventure days.

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    1. My sister teaches young ones,too. She's the one who told me the real names of the books. So clever.

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  13. I was so excited about that SC ruling about Oklahoma! It's about time. Those book covers cracked me up! I worked in an elementary school library for 8 years and am very familiar with those titles! LOL.

    I love that you got to see the transformation to superhero! Not many people get to see that sort of thing - glad to hear that he is on the job. :)

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    1. I hope that SC ruling helps all Native Indian communities.

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  14. Always look forward to a peek into your life and mind!

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  15. The superhero outfit looks great! I love The things booklovers do! I like your good news, I'm always in need of some positive things!

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  16. Glad for the deer photo story & the Hamilton cast sing-along. I agree the Supreme Court ruling against Trump on his tax returns was big! Release the corrupt returns! & Get him out of there! Enjoy your week ... and hikes.

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  17. It's already Friday (another rough week here), but I didn't want to miss your weekly update/uplift! I so enjoy hearing what's going on in your life & enjoying the funnies you share. The deer story was hilarious!

    Glad you are making the best of things about enjoying a weekly adventure - sounds wonderful.

    All of us here in Delaware (well, most of us) already know how authentic and caring Joe really is, deep down. I wasn't at all surprised to hear the mensch story - that's how he is.

    Thanks for the weekly smiles - have a nice weekend!

    Sue

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