Sunday Salon -- End of May Edition

Lupine field near my home. Photo made into art on one of the art apps online.

Weather: Rain and a forecast for more rain.

Norway and Germany here I come: Tomorrow I leave for Europe on a sister's trip to visit family in both Norway and Germany, with lots of sightseeing planned. I am at the place I almost always am at this point before a big trip -- somewhere between excitement and dread. I am excited about the traveling and seeing new places, reuniting with family. I fear that I will forget something important in my packing, will not know how to navigate through all the travel plans, and, worst of all, will get sick and wreck the whole trip. Do you do that, too, before trips?

Packing: Actually I am in good shape. I have only the last minute items to slip into my bag and I will be ready to zip up and head to the airport tomorrow around noon. Don helped me repack my bag so that everything fits nicely and it weighs less than 28 pounds. Still heavy but not a back-breaker. Because I am ahead of where I thought I'd be at this point when my daughter and her family arrive for her birthday brunch I won't have to shoo them out once we are done eating. We might even have time to fit in a game of Wingspan, our new favorite game.

Books and Audiobooks: As per usual, half of what I think about as I plan what to pack for a trip is what what books/audiobooks to bring along. What I've decided for this trip is two physical books, both short story collections and a whole bunch of possible audiobooks: 

• Print books:
• Tenth of December by George Saunders  
• Too Much Happiness: Stories by Alice Munro.
• Audiobooks (options, mostly for the time on planes and trains):
• The Great Divide by Cristina Henriques. I only have 2 hours left on this book and may very well finish it at the airport as I wait for my flight.
• The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka. Four hours long. A short audiobook, 4 hours, may be consumed during one leg of the trip easily.
• The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea.
• The Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb. this is the longest of the bunch and a mystery. I put it at the end of the list on purpose.
• Completed this week:
• Go As a River by Shelley Read. For an upcoming book club. A subservient girl becomes a strong woman. I felt the book was a bit over-written but the story held. 4 stars.

Today, May 26th) is National Blueberry Cheesecake Day: In honor of this important, ahem, holiday, I am sharing with you a photo of me taken many years ago holding up the largest piece of blueberry cheesecake imaginable. My family (shown with daughter) and I were at the Stage Deli in NYC, not far from Carnegie Hall. Unfortunately that deli is no longer open. Sigh. You will have to enjoy the cheesecake through my photo.

In honor of National Blueberry Cheesecake Day

I have scheduled a few upcoming posts but it is likely I won't be very active with comments for the next two weeks while I travel! Enjoy the beginning of summer/winter!

-Anne