Sunday Salon -- Parades, decorations, books, and a few funnies

Our daughter and her family and in-laws made of trip to Central Washington today where they ran into Santa -- notice Jamie isn't sure about Mr. Claus at first. Then they all went to the Sunnyside Lighted Implement Parade. I have to admit I'm a little jealous. The lighted harvester and the semi with train aboard look pretty cool to me.

Weather: Saturday was a miserable rainy day. It's the cold, wet kind that chills to the bones. Today it is sunny and cold. Don is out putting up holiday lights right now.

It snowed last night: How do I know since there was no evidence of it when we got up? We got a new security camera this week and the snowflakes were so big and fluffy, they activated the camera. From the angle of the camera it looked like a snowstorm. Ha!

Decorating for Christmas, with a one-year-old in mind. See photos. This year I have to keep my grandson in mind since I babysit him one day and he is in the everything-is-fair-game stage.  We didn't put out some of our decorations because we feared damage, other decorations are placed higher than usual, out of reach of his curious mind and chubby little fingers.

The top row decorations are within reach and fine for a one-year-old. The rest are tucked up high. The tree is decorated with Raggedy Ann's (because I'm Anne) and they are mostly soft little dolls.

Politics Girl on vaccines and who are 'real Americans.' I enjoyed this a lot. (Click this link or watch video below.)

The idea of “real Americans” and “fake Americans” is pure propaganda. The idea that you can just be “over” a virus because you wanna be is pure idiocy. Both fit squarely into the Jim Jordan wheelhouse. pic.twitter.com/xtzjO5PBvO

— PoliticsGirl (@IAmPoliticsGirl) December 3, 2021

Pro-Trump counties have significantly higher COVID death rates.  This article published in NPR was updated just today and is fascinating because it just talks about statistics and they don't look good for republicans. I recommend that you read it. (NPR, Dec. 5th)

Books:

• Completed this week:
• The Other Talk: Reckoning with White Privilege by Brendan Kiely. The best anti-racism book I've read directed toward white people written by a white person. YA. Print.
• The Book of Difficult Fruit: Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly (With Recipes) by Kate Lebo. Some pretty odd fruit is highlighted. I found myself skimming parts, espcailly if I knew I'd never bump into the highlighted fruit. Print.
• I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes With Death: A Memoir by Maggie O'Farrell. I am a big fan of this author and what an interesting way to write ones memoir. I was hooked. Audio.
• Currently reading/listening to:
• Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson. Kids burst into flames if provoked. Lillian is tasked with helping them. Odd but strangely poignant. Audio. 54%
• A Life On Our Planet: A Witness Statement and a Vision For the Future by David Attenborough. Audio. 20%.
  
• Other blog posts this past week: 
• Nonfiction Review: With You, There is No Us by Suki Kim 
• TTT: Happy Bookish Memories
• Nonfiction November Wrap-up 
• Nonfiction Review: On Tyranny: 20 Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder 
• Review and quotes: Matrix by Lauren Groff

Just for fun:

Amen to that, especially since no one can settle on how to pronounce "omicron."

 

Honestly, I can't figure out if the mustache is real. Ha!

Ha!. Bet you'll look it up. I did. It isn't a Muppet, either.

I was watching a baking show yesterday and one of the contestants quickly repaired his gingerbread tree with icing, too.

This makes me laugh just thinking about the habits of dogs.

Packing paper is the best! Finally a new photo of George. This time he's playing hide and seek. Will his brother find him?

After a vigorous game of hide and seek, the brothers, Fred and George, stretch out for a nap. Fred, on the far right, is striking quite an hilarious pose. Like an otter.

Prayers for my mom and sister who both have terrible colds. Remember those? Colds are back!

-Anne