Sunday, August 10, 2025

Sunday Salon -- Busy Summer 2025


Sunset in Central Oregon. 


Weather: Hot and muggy. Earlier this past week it was quite comfortable in the 70s and we even experienced a smidge of rain.

Home: Don and I returned home last Sunday evening after our third long trip of summer 2025. This trip involved a birthday party for my sister Kathy, who turned 70; a family reunion to Central Oregon, where 20 of us would scrunch into one condo unit each evening for dinner together; a short vacation, just the two of us, at an AirBnB on the McKenzie River east of Eugene; and finally my 50th Class Reunion in Corvallis, with a weekend full of activities and fun seeing old friends. Our dog, Bingley, spent the week with his cousin dog, Caspian. All three of us were ready to be home after our ten days away. No matter how much fun I have when traveling I always am happy to return home.  

Kathy is 21, I mean, 70!


Marimba fun!

The birthday party: My sister and her daughter planned and implemented a fun party where lots of our family and many of Kathy's friends came. The special event was a marimba band. Her daughter's husband was in a marimba band when they lived in Eugene, so he still had connections. Such a fun and unexpected way to celebrate. My grandson, Ian, told his aunt that the day was his best day ever. When asked why, he replied, "the music!." 

Cousins with photo-bombers


The family reunion: for over a decade Mom has been arranging reunions for as many family members as can attend the week together at a resort in Central Oregon. Mom, now 96, clearly doesn't have too many more of these reunions left, but we all try to make the most of our time together. Each family or groupings of various family members would spend the day -- golfing, swimming, hiking, shopping, playing games, flying kites -- then we would regroup each evening for a meal hosted by one family unit, usually followed by some silly game or activity. In the photo above the cousins/their partners were posing for a photo when our grandsons photo bombed the shot.



Death to butterflies: We happened upon a huge "bloom" of butterflies, known as an irruption, as we were moving from Central Oregon to the cabin on the McKenzie River. There were so many butterflies, as you can see from the short video I took, that it was impossible to not hit (and kill) them as we drove. With a little research we found out they are California Tortoiseshell butterflies and this type of swarm of butterflies happens only irregularly but is not uncommon. All of us who traveled the route had to go through the carwash afterwards.





McKenzie Bridge, Oregon: If you were driving by you'd think it was just a dot on the map, but quite a few people enjoy living or vacationing in the area. The photo above is the view of the river from the cabin where we stayed. So peaceful and lovely. The second evening we attended a musical event at the McKenzie General store: a rock cover band. They were really good, and so was the food -- salmon tacos and huckleberry cider!

My 50th Class Reunion: So many 68-year-olds together in one place. Funny thing, once we were all 18 years-old together. Where did the time go? 75 of us gathered the first night at Woodstock's Pizza. Time just melted away and we were "us" again, the CHS Class of 1975. The next day we toured the school, which is actually a completely new building since we were in school, and attended a special event to honor our drama teacher, Joe Malango. That evening 95 of us gathered for dinner and more conversations, making new connections, and reminiscing about our past times together. At the end of the program, a slide show memorial tribute was played of all the classmates we've lost since graduation...over 40 souls. The group photo hasn't been posted yet, so I will post a note from Peggy, the coordinator of the event below. She and the team did a fabulous job making a very memorable weekend. Thank you.



50 of my favorite books read since high school. When I returned home from the weekend gathering with my old classmates I kept thinking of all the things which have happened in my life since high school -- college, dating, marriage, children, moving, friends, and books! So many books. Here is a list I made this week of some of my favorites. 50 favorites.



Books! Books! Books! So many books: With so much time on the road and then down time sitting poolside or alongside a river, I got a lot of reading done, but very little blogging.
  • Recently completed books:
    • Briar Club by Kate Quinn. I finished this book club selection one day before the meeting, which was one day before we left on our latest trip. Quinn is such a good writer and this one featured a mystery set during the McCarthy era in Washington, D.C. Print and Audio. 4 stars.
    • Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. What a depressing classic. It was almost torture to read, it made me so angry/sad. Print. 3.5 stars.
    • Say Nothing: Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. Another book club choice. This narrative nonfiction book is about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the after effects. Don and I listened to the audiobook together and both rated it with 5 stars.
    • Poems for Tortured Souls edited by Liz Ison. Categories of poems, many by very famous people I don't think of as poets, like Charles Dickens and Louisa May Alcott. 4 stars.
    • Now in November by Josephine Winslow Johnson. The Pulitzer Prize winner in 1934 about the Great Depression and the beginning of the Dust Bowl. A classic. 4 stars.
    • The Road Home by Rex Ogle. A 2025 Printz Honor book. Rex is a gay man who became homeless when he came out to his father. His story is so heartbreaking but ends up being redemptive. This is the third book I've read about Rex's unhappy childhood. I hope he is done with the unhappy parts of his story. 4 stars, audiobook.
  • Currently reading:
    • The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. A book club selection. I have both the audiobook and the print edition so I should begin to make faster progress. 27% complete.
    • Grimms' Fairy Tales. My current 12-pages-day classic book. 31% complete. 
    • When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi. I got a late start on this book so I'm worried I won't be able to finish it before the library calls it home. So far quite funny. 26% complete.
  • Project reading. I read these books to help me fulfill a StoryGraph Challenge to read at least one book per their 58 subjects/genres. I'm making progress, hitting 48 down this week after these additions:
    • North American Maps for Curious Minds by Matthew Bucklin. Reference. Technology.
    • Bring the Magic Home: An Exploration of Designs Inspired by Disney by Sunny Chanel. Design.
    • Teaching with Fire: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Teach by Sam Intrator. Education.
    • Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe. True Crime.
    • The Changeling. Vol 1. by Tina Lugo. Manga
    • The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded by Jim Ottaviani. Math. Computers.
    • A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson. Religion.
      • Today I placed holds at the library for a few books which should help me check off the middle grade and video games categories with one book. I also checked out a Shirley Jackson classic novella so I can check off the horror category.
Queen Anne's Lace. For some reason, hmm, I've always liked this weedy flower.


Blogging: I tried to stay current with the blog events I usually participate in, the Paris in July Challenge, and I did squeeze in several reviews between trips. Here are those posts you may have missed. Click the links to read more:
Some woodpecker has been very busy on this tree beside the McKenzie River!


-Anne


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