Sunday Salon, September 6th.

The cats, Fred and George, are settling in. George explores the dryer. Fred guards the hallway from the dog. Ready to run up the stairs if danger approaches.

Weather: Overcast this morning but it is supposed to clear up and be bright and beautiful later.

Family news:

• We drove to Portland yesterday to celebrate the life of my aunt who died recently after a long decline. She was 96 years old. It truly was a celebration of her life. Not too many tears. We held the service at the cemetery while social distancing but were close to each other in hearts.
• Afterwards we drove to visit a cousin who was recently (February) diagnosed with ALS. She is already on hospice care. It broke our hearts to see her in this diminished state but we were glad we got to see her before the end. Life is so fragile. Take care.
• Our daughter and her cats are settling in after our long trip from California last weekend. The dog now accepts the cats but cowers a bit in their presence. Our cat is still grumpy about the invasion.
• We're on Baby #2 alert. He is due this month and his mommy is ready for him to arrive. Any day now?

Books:

• Completed this week:
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of  Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce...The story of a man who decides to walk 600 to save a friend who is dying from cancer. In the end he likely saves himself. Audio.
• Finders Keepers by Stephen King...The second book in the Bill Hodges series, my daughter and I listened to most of this on the way home from CA but had to finish the last of it as we worked a puzzle. Classic King with lots of gory details. Audio.
• Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga...I've been reading this Newbery Honor book for over a month. It is about a young teenager who is a Syrian refugee living in Michigan. Written in verse. Print.
• Given: Poems by Wendell Berry...I've now been introduced to a new poet. Print.
• The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa...part of my cat-book project. I didn't enjoy this one as much as everyone else who has read it. Print.
• Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann. A Children's nonfiction book. I read it to Ian and he was interested through about half of it. I, on the other hand, was fascinated throughout. Print.
• Currently reading: 
• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo...another YA novel written in verse, set in the Caribbean. (E-book, 10%)
• The Bird Box by Josh Malerman...an unlikely book club selection which is a post-apocalypse set in the near future, considered a thriller. (Audio, 35%)

Good news:

1. Military support for Trump has slipped a lot since 2016. In a recent survey done by Military Times more troops say they'll vote for Biden in 2020. Follow the link for more details. (Military Times) This is especially good news on the heels of the distressing news reported in the The Atlantic this week that Trump thinks US Military troops who died in war are losers and suckers. Note: The news out of The Atlantic landed like a thud and seems to have sprouted legs. Will this finally be the one thing that Trump does or says that upsets his followers?

2. The granddaughter to Billy Graham, Jerushah Duford, says that many evangelicals are putting Trump before God and that is an insult to her grandfather's legacy. Read the article. She restores my faith as she analyzes the situation. (USA Today)

3. How to vote in every state. This is a guide to make sure you know how to register and to vote in your state. Spread this one around so it gets out to people who need it. It is sad how difficult some states make it to vote. (Slate)

4. Brandon Leake, on America's Got Talent- Sept. 1st, performs a powerful spoken-word message to his mother about being a black man in America today. Drop everything and watch this. (YouTube)

5.  A supercomputer analyzed COVID-19 data and an interesting new theory of what it does in the body has emerged. If you are up for a super long read, here is a very interesting one (Thanks to Margaret for sending me the link.) (Medium)

6. Companies are finding creative ways to encourage employees to vote and to make sure others can vote, too.

7. This is terrible news but may give people cause to switch parties and vote for Biden.

8. "@Faces of COVID" Twitter account. Tweets that honor those who have died from the disease. Here is an intro and feature about its creator on The Chris Hayes show. (MSNBC)

9. Unrelated good news: An ancient breed of singing dogs, thought to be extinct for the past 50 years in the wild, have been spotted in Papua New Guinea. Scroll down on the article to see a video of the song these dogs sing. (Gizmodo)

10. Honeybee venom has been shown to kill aggressive breast cancer cells. (Science Daily)

On the lighter side:

1. Here is the feel good video of the day that goes out to my grandson who rides one of those tiny bikes.

Guy’s security camera catches kid tearing it up on his driveway almost every day, so he decides to do something about it. pic.twitter.com/ZDVb7zLgZo

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) August 27, 2020

 2. CNN's fact checker says that Trump's "Dark Shadows" comment about Biden was almost too stupid to debunk. (HuffPost)

3. Sadly...

4. I can't wait to be able to get a good night's sleep again...

5. Ha-ha. My husband rolled his eyes when he read this one.

6. Schadenfreude: Four boats in a Trump-themed flotilla sunk yesterday. Could it possibly be foreshadowing of things to come for Trump and his campaign? Read this poem while humming the song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Funny and clever. (DKos)

I appreciate your comments so that I know you visited this blog post. Let me know what you think of what is going on in politics, books, your family. Thank you.
-Anne