Sunday Salon -- Winter Doldrums?

Gray days can still be fun. My grandsons splashing in puddles. Photo credit: R. Adams.

Puddles are fun. They are the best!

Weather: "It was a dark and stormy night." Rain. lots of rain. But don't we need it?

Cybils readings: So far I've finished 14 out of 17 finalists in three nonfiction categories. Of the remainders, I'm half way through one, 3/4th of the way through a second, and haven't started the third. Not bad. No problem finishing up before mid-February.

Reading and blogging:

Felines: Great Poets on Notorious Cats. Linocuts by Martha Paulos

• Completed this past week:
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. A book club selection. I finished it just hours before the meeting. LOVED IT. Fiction. Audio.
• Nearer My Freedom: The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano By Himself. This freed slaves own words made into found poems by Monica Edinger. A nonfiction biography-in-verse. Cybils finalist High School Level.
• Felines: Great Poets on Notorious Cats. c. 1992. y favorite part was the linocuts by Martha Paulos. See collage above.
• Currently reading:
• Spare Parts: The True Story of the Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and an Impossible Dream by Joshua Davis and Reyn Grande. This is the young readers version of the book by the same name. Print. Cybils finalist. 74%.
• Braiding Sweetgrass (Young Reader's Edition) by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Another Cybils finalist. Print and audio. 35%
• The Huntress by Kate Quinn. A book club selection. Print and audio.
• Blog posts:
• A Man Called Ove by Backman. A super past due review.
• Books I Meant to Read in 2023.
• ALA Youth Media Awards announcement
• Classics Club Spin number: 20. I will be (re)reading: The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway.

Jamie waiting his turn. Photo credit: D. Adams

Learning to swim: My son-in-law stood in line for several hours to get coveted spots for his sons in swim classes this winter. Are they glad? The face says it all, don't you think?

House hunting fun: Saturday (today) I went out house hunting with my youngest daughter. She is frustrated by her renting situation and has decided to make an attempt at buying something. We looked at four houses and one town house. They are all a blur in my brain right now.

Politics got you down? Here is is some good economic news of the week: (I hope you can read it. If not, click on the image and it should be made bigger on your computer.)

And just for laughs:

Winter doldrums? What winter doldrums?

If you are still feeling a little down, you might need this: "I'm Just Ken."  Enjoy!

-Anne