"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========
Showing posts with label Sunday Salon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunday Salon. Show all posts

Saturday, August 15, 2026

Sunday Salon -- August 16, 2026

 
Sorority Sisters: Anne Marie, Me, Mary Ann, Chris, Sandy

Weather: Lovely summer weather with tinges of odors of forest fire smoke every once in a while.šŸ˜•

Sisterhood: I met with four of my sorority sisters for a good chat and dinner early last week at Anne Marie's home. It was amazing how we could all pick up where we left off forty-five years ago. Sisters forever.

Ian and his Auntie wearing silly rally "hats" trying to urge team onto victory. (It didn't work.)

First Mariners baseball game: Ian went to his major league baseball game in Seattle last Friday to be part of the crowd celebrating the 50th season of the Mariners team. He almost caught a flyball, ate pizza, bought a baseball from the club store, and got to watch a home run derby after the game was over which involved eight retired Mariners, including Ichiro! After riding the link train back to the park-n-ride and driving home we didn't get back until 1 AM. Pretty late for all of us but especially for an eight-year-old boy.



Slow-mo: Since getting back from Oregon two weeks ago I've been pretty much on slow-mo. The only things I've had to do is go to appointments and then the rest of the days have been filled in with reading, blogging, and watching TV. We are finally caught up on back episode of Ninja Warrior and AGT. The above video is of our dog and his is reaction to a dog trick on AGT. The rest of the time he was ignoring the TV.

Reading (since my last update):
  • Completed:


  • Currently reading: 


  • Blogging:

Cybils Book Award closes: Sadly I read that the Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Book Lovers' Literary Awards) Board decided that it was time to cease to exist. I was a Cybils judge for several years --mostly reading MG and YA nonfiction, and I loved it and took a lot of pride in doing it. The board cited among two reasons that it was time to fold. First that is difficult to find dedicated judges and secondly they had trouble getting preview copies from publishers. I understand the first reason. There were so many categories when one factors in all the category classifications from pre-readers up to high school. I bet it was tough to fill all the judging slots. The second reason, one would think that publishers would want people to read and review their books but I bet it was a huge job to ask them to send preview copies to each of the judges for their books. Sigh. I wasn't a board member so I can't even begin to understand the task that those folks, probably volunteers, went through each year to pull off the awards. But I always thought the process was more open than it should have been: Publishers didn't have a limit on how many books they could submit and nominations by members were accepted for books not even read by the nominators. Because of this some categories, like YA fiction, would end up with over 150 titles included. What judge has the time to run down and read that many books in the 2 month time frame? Goodbye Cybils! I will miss you.

OMG: I had a dickens of time this week adding images (photos) to the post. The two photos were texted to me from others' phones. When I sent to them to my computer I couldn't add them to the post because they had a .heic file type instead of .jpg. I tried and tried to save them in the other format. Eventually my husband had to download a converter app onto my computer so I could change them into a usable format. Grr. Just when I get used to dealing with the technology at hand, I have to learn something new. Why do tech companies do that?

This week's solar eclipse over Spain:

Juan Carlos MuƱo
Time-lapse pic by Juan Carlos MuƱoz, astronomer, science communicator and media officer at ESO. Photographed from PeƱafiel in the north of Spain. https://fosstodon.org/@astro_jcm@mastodon.online/117094881754294266


-Anne
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Saturday, August 1, 2026

Sunday Salon: HOPE

Weather: Lovely summer weather, maybe a bit too hot for my liking but really nice.

Highlights from our family reunion:

Us!

Top: Floating the Deschutes River at Cline Falls State Park; Great-grandchildren with Mom
Middle: Hiking Mt. Bachelor; hanging out in the shade; Mom and my sister Grace at Bend HS reunion (Mom was the oldest person there)
Bottom: 2nd cousins; Me and my sibs floating together in the pool; my sisters and sister-in-law

Plume of smoke from forest fire near Prineville, about twenty five miles from where we were staying.

Forest Fires: Forest fires are really awful right now in Eastern and Central Oregon. A few of the days we spent mostly indoors due to smoke in the air.

Juniper trees:
 I became oddly obsessed with juniper trees this trip. It all started with me musing about juniper berries and wondered why we never see flowers before the berries. As it turns out juniper berries is a misnomer. They aren't really berries but teeny-tiny cones disguised as berries, so no flowers. Then I started noticing how interesting the trees are. I generally think they are ugly trees but if one looks closer, they are very unique trees and very resilient. Not ugly at all. Look at the twisty bark and the growth patterns, which show age and abuse, but they are still standing. And if the tree dies, it can still be used as a decorative feature in the landscaping.



Hope: I've been thinking about hope lately. It is hard sometimes to hold up ones head when so many things are going so badly for people in the US and around the world. But as you see from my little quote found in Libba Bray's wonderful book, Going Bovine, Hope has not forgotten us and perhaps we need to invite it to dinner, to sit with hope for a while. Here are a few things that are bringing me hope for the future:
  • Midterm elections. I voted (by-mail) yesterday. (Our primary is on Tuesday) I still believe we can effect change by voting. And the polling is looking good for the Democrats to tack over the House of Representatives in November and there is a possibly even the Senate. It will provide the checks and balances to rein in this out-of-control president. 
    Click on image to make it larger so you can read it. (From: Hopium Substack.)

  • Focus on good news for a change. I like spending time on sites like this: Daily Climate: Good News Among the good news there is a link to how a graphic novel is spreading the news about how climate change is making hurricanes stronger. (Islands in the Sky)
  • World Cup International Visitors fell in love with the real America, saw become our cliches. (NBC)
  • Grandkids! Our grand boys came over the other day and had a great time building their KiwiCo and CrunchLabs kits. We had a great time witnessing them in engineering-modes. They give me such hope for the future. Video is of Ian's gyroscope after he and grandpa built it.

Jamie building a Frog Catapult with his KiwiCo kit.

Books: Don and I finished the audiobook for The Warmth of Other Suns by Wilkerson. We've been listening to it on and off for two months. It was a lot of work but we got a lot out of it. Now I am finally making progress on The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Desai (83%) and Land by O'Farrell (73%). Egads, these three books have dominated my reading this summer and I am ready to move on!



-Anne
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Sunday, July 26, 2026

Sunday Salon -- My family and books


Mom with her great-grandsons, telling stories.

This week we are in Central Oregon for a family reunion. I thought it would be fun to find out what everyone was reading and what books they have enjoyed this year so far. It has been fun collecting their information and stories. And now I'm sharing what I've learned with you. Enjoy! (Links lead to Goodreads so you can read more about the variety of books!)

Anne (me) I'm a reading omnivore: I like literary fiction, poetry, narrative nonfiction, historical fiction, graphic novels, YA, Children's books but I will read it all -- mysteries, fantasy, Sci-Fi, even horror.

Kathy (sister) Enjoys reading literary fiction and inspirational nonfiction.

Don (husband) Prefers reading nonfiction.

Tom (brother-in-Law) Enjoys both fantasy and Sci-Fi.

Kaylyn (niece) Romantasy is her go-to genre.
  • Currently reading: 
    • Silver Elite (Book 1 of series "Silver Elite") by Dani Francis. (Romantasy, dystopia) 
  • Favorite of the year: 

Bobby (nephew-in-law) Bobby is a reading omnivore but 2/3rds of what he reads is nonfiction especially on the topic of business and leadership. When he reads fiction he prefers Classic Lit or Stephen King novels. Bobby reviews books and articles on his blog: Bobbypowers.com

Dan (son-in-law) Dan enjoys Grimdark Fantasy, a new subgenre to me.

Rita (daughter) Like me Rita is in two book clubs. She reads a lot of contemporary fiction, and especially enjoys romance and Romantasy novels. She also reads to her children every night so is always up to her eyeballs in middle grade and children's books.

Working on a puzzle together.


Jamie (grandson, preschool) Jamie likes being read to as long as there are good illustrations.

Ian (grandson, upper elementary) Ian is a reader! He devours his favorite series in no time flat, he especially likes those which feature magic and dragons.
  • Currently reading:
  • Favorite book/series of the year:
    • Dragonborn (Book 1 "Dragonborn" series) by Struan Murray (MG, Fantasy)

Tony (brother) Tony considers himself an omnivore reader and almost exclusively listens to audiobooks.

Becky (sister-in-law) Likes historical fiction and thrillers

Shirley (my mom, age 97) Is currently making her reading selections from the on-site library at her retirement home
  • Currently reading: 
    • A Reader's Digest compilation of condensed books (Remember them?)
  • A book she has liked this year: 

Carly (daughter) Likes to alternate between these genres: fantasy, thrillers, historical fiction, and romance. She almost exclusively consumes books in the audio format

Rock (brother-in-law) Likes to read Christian nonfiction

Brent (nephew) Likes Classic and literary fiction and philosophical nonfiction
  • Currently reading:
  • Favorite so far:
    • The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Literary fiction)

Grace (sister) Enjoys historical fiction and as a preschool teacher is all about great easy books for children

Michael (nephew-in-law) As a father of young children he doesn't have a lot of extra time on his hands to read but when he does he likes to read practical books where he learns something and Sci-fi
  • Recently completed:
    • A 1950s Navy tools handbook (Informational, historical)
  • Favorite book of the year:

Rachel (niece) Is a reading omnivore as long as the book is a page-turner and that includes all kinds of nonfiction. The mother of two young boys she admits that most of her reading is for the kids.

Wesley (my sister's grandson, toddler) He had a pile of books with him to consume this week. He loves books!
  • Favorite book right now: 

Oh boy this was a fun activity and it really got everyone talking. I learned things about my beloved family members like my nephew who loves to read classic lit (like me) and my brother who almost exclusively listens to audiobooks (like my daughter). Notice there are very few people with similar tastes. The girl cousins all like romance or Romantasy and the sisters/sister-in-law all like historical fiction. Other than that there isn't a lot of crossover. I usually keep up on what my daughters are reading and will often ask my sisters what is on their nightstands. We all help keep Mom in books now that she doesn't go to the public library. My husband reflected on this project and wondered aloud if it unusual for everyone in a family to consider themselves readers. I think so!

Old and young: everyone loves to swim.


Well, we're off to go float the Deschutes River and will try to avoid as much forest fire smoke as possible. (It seems that all of Oregon in on fire.) Tonight we will celebrate my oldest sister's birthday. It will be our last meal together before we start to disperse to points south, north, east, and west after another fabulous family reunion.

Thanks for reading.

-Anne



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Sunday, July 19, 2026

Sunday Salon -- Summer!

Lighthouse at Pt. Robinson Park on Vashon Island

Weather: Oddly cool and overcast, with occasional sunbreaks. We actually had a thunderstorm on Thursday. I just learned the Washington State, where we live, has the lowest number of lightening strikes per year of all the lower 48 states. Weird statistic.


Summer fun: Friends from New Jersey were out west for a sad reason, a death in their family, but it gave us an opportunity to spend time together, just loving up on each other. We also made a small trip to Vashon Island (across the sound from Tacoma) to see "Oscar the Bird King", a Thomas Dambo troll, and explore the island a bit.


Swimmer: Our grandson is participating in a summer swim team for the first time. They had their first meet last Saturday and look how he did! We are so proud of him. Don and I both swam on swim teams when we were younger, as did Ian's uncle and great uncle. It is in his blood.

Books and blogging:

     -Completed the last two weeks:

Currently reading:


Blog posts:
Off to Central Oregon for a family reunion: I will have the Internet (I hope) so should be able to stay up on my blogging. I'll be taking all the books I'm currently reading plus another French book which I have queued up on my kindle something like Petr the Latvian?

Oscar the Bird King is pointing at you!


-Anne
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Sunday, July 5, 2026

Sunday Salon -- USA is 250 years old

Our grandson and his cousin enjoying the 4th of July parade yesterday in their hometown. 


Weather: Lovely, possibly too warm. We'll see. Our air conditioner pooped out and our new setup is coming the end of the week but until then we are lobbying for cooler than normal temperatures.



Happy July 3rd! Yes, you read that right. The small community where our daughter and her family live do the big fireworks show on July 3rd, instead of the 4th. We attended this year with them and had so much fun. The above video is a speeded up version of a portion of the fireworks display.

Gig Harbor, Washington

Lest you think it always rains in this part of the country: This photo of the Puget Sound with Mt. Rainier in the background will disavow you of this notion. We took the photo as we were leaving Gig Harbor and a fun afternoon with friends and new acquaintances.

Books since last update:
  • Completed:
    • Kin by Jones. Two Black girls who consider each other kin since neither has a mother. Motherhood becomes one of many themes. The other is the poor treatment of Blacks in America, especially in the South. Rating: 4 stars.
    • Madame Bovary by Flaubert. I finished this classic eventually but found myself really dreading it. Madame Bovary is really a pathetic character. Rating: 3 stars.
    • Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Fawcett. This fun, cozy fantasy involves magic and cats.What's not to love? Review pending. Rating 4 stars.
    • Goldfinches by Mary Oliver and Melissa Sweet. A darling illustrated book using Oliver's poem for its text. Love. Love. Rating: 5 stars.
  • Currently reading/listening: 
    • The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Desai. I only have this book for a few more days from the library so I will likely have to get back in line for it to finish it up. It is for book club in August, so I will have some time.
    • Enormous Wings by Frankel. Another book (audio) will will return to the library before I am finished with it. Back in line I go.
    • Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Everyone by Burton-Hill. I am loving this book which I am reading with a Spotify program open so I can listen to each classical piece as the author talks about the composer, the time period of the piece, how this music fits in the history of music. I have already found some new pieces which I hope to listen to again after I am done racing through them for this books sense.
    • Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Adaptation by Loewen and Powell. Oh boy. This book is timely!
Have a lovely day!

-Anne
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Saturday, June 20, 2026

Sunday Salon --- Summer Solstice

The photos are all dark since it was around 7 pm when we arrived for our picnic.


Weather -- Beautiful. We went to a beach on the Puget Sound with our grandsons last night and the temperature was comfortable and we stayed too late since sunset isn't until after 9 pm these days.

There's no place like home -- Sometimes one can travel the world over and find that the most special moments are near home. See photo collage, above, of the picnic we had with our grandsons and their aunt at Owen Beach in Point Defiance Park, Tacoma.

Thomas Danbo's Mama Mimi

Mama Mimi -- Last week when I was giving you the update on our vacation trip to the National Parks (Home from our Trip, Sunday Salon) I forgot to mention that we stopped by to visit Mama Mimi at a park near Jackson, WY. Mama Mimi is a spectacular Thomas Danbo troll.



Moose gatekeeper -- As we attempted to walk around the lake to get the long view of Mama Mimi, we had to pass this female moose gatekeeper to get to the stone path across the water. She seemed pretty interested in napping so said we could pass.



After completing so many books during our trip or right after getting home -- I had to spend my week attempting to catch up on writing book reviews. Nine down, two left to go:
Currently reading:
  • Kin by Tayari Jones -- the best/most popular (?) book of the first half of 2026. It fulfills my last Goodreads challenge of the quarter. Audio. 22% complete.
  • Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert -- My CC Spin book. I am slowly making progress, just passing the 300 page rubicon. Print. 83% complete.
  • The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai -- I just started this popular book from 2025. It is a long one and a book club selection. Luckily I have two months to read it! Print. 2% complete, I just started it.
  • Good Poems edited by Garrison Keillor -- I wanted something which wasn't as heavy as the three books I'm reading so I've been making my way through this collection of poems curated by the fame radio host.
Inspirational Event -- My sister asked me to post this clip of John Legend and Common singing "Glory" at the Obama Presidential Center Grand Opening Ceremony. Everything I've seen from this event is inspirational but I particularly like this song. Skip ahead to the 4 minute mark for GLORY.



Musing on the World Cup -- Think about this and let me know if you don't agree --
“The World Cup didn’t need America,
but America definitely needed the World Cup.”

Have a good week! Happy longest/shortest day of the year depending on your orientation.

-Anne
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Saturday, June 13, 2026

Sunday Salon: Home from our trip -- by the numbers

Viewing the Yellowstone River and Lower Falls from Artist's Point overlook. The river runs through a 24-mile gorge called the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.


We just got home from a big trip. Here is a summary of what we did, by the numbers.



Thirteen days, 33+ hours of driving time, and over 2000 miles: We were on the road for thirteen days traveling south to my sister's home in Oregon to pick up furniture from my mom's home to deliver to my other sister in Idaho. From there we continued heading east to investigate --

The Grand Tetons overlooking Jackson Lake. Can you believe I took this photo? So lovely!

Two National Parks: Yellowstone and Grand Teton, both in Wyoming. Don had never visited Yellowstone and I was eight years old (or younger) when my family camped there. In reverse, I'd never been to Grand Teton and Don had only visited briefly for a business conference nearly two decades ago. What a joy to experience these parks together finally! While driving around Yellowstone, which is massive, we must have made --

One of many signs we passed like this. We only hopped out of the car for this shot.

Five or six crossings of the Continental Divide associated with the Rocky Mountains determining which way waters will flow as it leaves the source -- toward the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic (via the Missouri/Mississippi).  I think of the divide as a straight line running north and south but that is not the case. It is a squiggly line as it runs through Yellowstone wandering from northwest to southeast so every time we passed certain points on the road, we would cross back and forth over the divide several times. We'd see one sign announcing the continental divide and elevation, then a few miles later would be another sign marking the divide with a different elevation. We found this very humorous.

Our tour on the yellow bus was small, just one other couple. Don and I are in the front grouping.

Two bus tours. We took a bus tour in each park and learned so much not only about the flora and fauna but also about the history of each park. Yellowstone was our nation's first national park, so it holds a real special place in our history. To make our Yellowstone tour extra special, we rode in an historic yellow bus, part of the original fleet from the 1930s (restored and retrofitted twenty years ago). We took a similar tour in Glacier National Park last year with our family in a red bus from the same era.

I now realize I didn't take any photos of mudpots. Too ugly?

Four hydrothermal systems. While on the tour we learned about and witnessed all four of the hydrothermal systems at Yellowstone: geysers, mudpots, hot springs, and steam vents. The park is stuffed full of them, over 10,000, and each one is so fascinating.

The bears are so cute it is tempting to think of them as cuddly but signs everywhere remind tourists how dangerous the bears are. We carried bear spray with us on hikes.

Five bears. While driving around Yellowstone everyone is on the lookout for animal sightings. The bison were everywhere, sometimes in large herds (called "nurseries" with all the calves, known as red dogs, recently born this time of year). Elk are often spotted, too. But the prize is seeing the bears. We spotted five -- four black bears (two of them were black, two were brown-- same species just different colors), and one grizzly.


One bison photo selected from many. This guy clambered onto the road right in front of us and stayed put until we were able to pass.

This is the lovely view of Jackson Lake we enjoyed during our last picnic in Grand Teton. While eating we watched three White Pelicans fly by. They are such huge birds we thought they were swans. As we debated which type of birds they were, one of the pelicans broke away from the group and flew very near to us, landing on the water long enough to catch a fish in its huge pouch and gobble it down.

Seven identical lunches. When we travel we always cheap out on breakfasts and lunches so we can splurge on dinners. For seven picnic lunches we ate peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches, carrots and celery, grapes or apple slices, mustard-spiced pretzels, and EL Fudge cookies. We would pack everything we would need for our picnic before we'd head out in the morning, storing them in a cooler in the car then we'd find a place to eat in shade come lunchtime.


Three sunset photo opportunities, one successful. We were told where to stand to view the sunset over the Grand Tetons when we checked into the lodge on our first day in the park. Jackson Lake Lodge is perfectly located to view sunsets over the beautiful mountains. Unfortunately our two opportunities in that park were busts -- no colorful skies as the sun went down. Our last night of the trip, as we were heading home, we stayed in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and we took a sunset dinner cruise on the lake. The weather had been cloudy all afternoon. We didn't hold out any hope for a beautiful sky. But we were rewarded with a beautiful colorful display.


Four and a half audiobooks. Don and I enjoy books as we drive on long trips. Here are the ones we listened to this trip:
  • Angel Down by Daniel Krause -- Our first audiobook was the winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Set during WWI, four men discover a fallen angel who has the power to save them from the war if they can tamp down their selfish urges. It was an incredible listening experience for both of us. Powerful. We both rated it 5 stars.
  • This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through US History by Beverly Gage -- Gage takes readers on the ultimate road trip to visit thirteen key places in American history that explain our past and help envision our future. Both of us hope this book gets wide readership. Her insights are were just that -- insightful. We both rated the book with 5 stars. It was Don's favorite book of the trip.
  • Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz -- in the near-future a bunch of abandoned robots open their own restaurant. Both of us considered this novella as a palette cleanser after the first two serious books. We both rated it 3 stars.
  • Wild Rescues: A Paramedic's Extreme Adventures in Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton by Kevin Grange -- Paramedics in the National Parks often have to respond to medical and traumatic emergencies in very isolated settings. This book, recommended by another couple on our bus tour of in Grand Teton, was a perfect book to listen to while we were in the parks where many of the stories were set. The writing, however, was bit repetitive and very much centered on Grange himself. Don rated it 3.5, I gave it a 3.75 stars. 
  • Whistler by Ann Patchett -- Daphne Fuller, now in her 50s, runs into Eddie Triplett, a man who was her stepfather for one year when she was nine. This chance encounter rekindles a relationship they both treasured. Don and I started listening to this fifth audiobook on the last leg of our trip home and we only managed to complete 60% of it. I am a huge Patchett fan and this one is shaping up to be my favorite of the trip even though it will have to be finished in our living room.

Four other books. Alone I managed to complete two books I'd started before the trip, made progress on another book, and started a fourth. We had quite a bit of time to read when we were staying in Yellowstone. Internet connectivity was terrible throughout the park and in our hotel. We played cards each evening then would tuck into bed and pull out our books. Don was working away on a Cormac McCarthy novel and I worked on:
  • Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert -- This is my CC Spin book for the month. I tried to read just 12 pages a day and I think I kept to that schedule pretty closely. 59% complete.
  • Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick -- I recently finished Moby-Dick and wondered why that book is still near the top of everyone's list of books one read in their lifetime. I hoped this book would answer that question. It did and more. 4 stars.
  • The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Sparks -- A third classic book. How odd. This one is a short one and a book club selection for later this month. I need to spend some time thinking about this one to help me appreciate it. 3 stars.
  • The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras -- A memoir that reads like magical realism. This is another book club selection. 33% complete.
A functioning chapel for any traveler who wants to drop by and pray or attend services.

The mountains perfectly framed in the center window looking out.


A barn built by a family from before the time the Grand Tetons were designated as a National Park, circa 1920. Can you imagine living in such a setting?

Three more photos. All favorites taken during our bus tour through Grand Tetons.

Thanks for sticking with me and reading about our long but wonderful trip.

-Anne



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