Our Purple Autumn Ash finished dropping all its leaves this week. Here is Bingley showing off the colors.
Weather: Yesterday it was almost 80 degrees. It felt good but it is also worrisome. It shouldn't be 80 in October. The weather person on the news assured us the temperature was coming down today and it may even rain a bit.
Today is No Kings Day of Action, October 17th -- If you can't attend an event in your area, like I can't, at least vote early!!! Don and I spent an hour yesterday filling out our ballots and then drove to drop them off at one of several drop-off spots in our area. We are lucky we don't have to rely on the mail.
A friend visited from afar: My best friend from my hometown visited us this past week from Singapore, where she lives now. Being with a long time friend was such a comfort. Know what I mean? Talking about things without having to to fill in the backstory or to explain oneself. Unfortunately, though we sat and visited for hours, we didn't take a photo of two old-ish ladies who have known each other for almost 55 years. Thanks for the visit, Rita. I love you!
Reading is finally picking up: With the trip and then the jet-lag, reading has really fallen off lately. But I finally seem to have my reading mojo back.
Currently reading:
Homestead by Melinda Moustakis -- set in Alaska prior to statehood. A book club selection for Tuesday's meeting. Audiobook. 40%
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout -- Another book by a favorite author. 36%
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead -- the second book in the Harlem Shuffle trilogy. Audiobook with Don. Just started.
Recently completed and reviewed:
Good Poems edited by Garrison Keillor -- I've been reading this poetry collection all summer. Review pending.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman -- I finished this audiobook sitting in the back of the rented car while we sped toward Scotland.
Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout -- I finally finished the Amgash series now that I've read this, the second book!
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway -- This classic is 100 years old this month. I've finally read it!
Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth -- Someone told me this book was funny. I didn't think so. It was really very sad with moments of hope. Another book club selection. Review pending.
Blogging: I scheduled several posts to hit while we were on the trip, so this is essentially a month of blogging:
Weather: We got home from our UK trip yesterday at 9 PM, PDT. It was overcast in the high 60s in London when we left, very comfortable on our last day for a hike in The Regent's Park before we boarded our plane homeward bound. This morning we awoke to light rain and fog, temperatures in the lows 50s here at home. We experienced a range of weather on our trip: sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, cold, warm but never uncomfortably hot.
Our trip began here in Bath, England
Our 17-Day Itinerary: We flew into Heathrow airport and traveled immediately to Bath, England (Roman baths, Georgian architecture, Jane Austen sites); after renting a car we made our way to Stonehenge (prehistoric site) enroute to the Cotswolds (medieval villages) staying in Chipping Campden; onto the Lake District (Beautiful scenery, Beatrix Potter sites) spending two nights in Keswick; driving the coast of Scotland north of Glasgow with a visit to Loch Lomond before spending a night in Oban (seafood capitol of Scotland); with iffy weather we decided to skip our planned detour further into the highlands and headed directly to Edinburgh (Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, home of Presbyterianism) for three nights; re-entering England our last stop with the car was York for two nights (2,000 years of historic sites, including medieval walls and market places); a train trip to Stratford-upon-Avon (Tudor architecture, Shakespeare sites including attending one of his plays, "As You Like It"); and finally concluding our trip in London (Tower of London, museums, historic sites, West End theatre experience seeing "Hadestown").
Cathedrals left to right - Top: Bath Abbey; inside St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh; the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in the background. Bottom: outside York Minster; inside Westminster Abbey in the choir section where we sat for evensong.
Evensong and other services/programs in the grand cathedrals of the U.K. : We attended three evensong services as we toured around -- Bath Abbey, York Minster; and Westminster Abbey (London) -- all Anglican services sung by choirs. In Westminster we sat in the padded pews of the choir, or 'quire', part of the cathedral. In York we were seated in folding chairs on the floor within the choir, which increased our spiritual/musical experiences being so close to the singers. September 29th is the day Anglicans celebrate Michaelmas, the day set aside to honor the Archangel Michael and all angels. On that evening, we joined the congregation at St. Paul's Cathedral in London for a sung Holy Eucharist service. Afterwards Don kept exclaiming, "We got to sing a hymn in St Paul's!" Lastly, we bought tickets for candlelight concert in St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. The Piccadilly Sinfonietta played a wonderful program that featured Vivaldi's "Four Seasons", along with works by Mozart and Bach. Exquisite!
Literary moments: (Top) Old Books store in Bath; dressing up in Regency clothes, Tea in the Pump Room which featured prominently in Austen's Northanger Abbey novel (with Jane Austen tea and live music from movies made from her books). (Middle) Inside Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm House, Carly has collected Beatrix Potter books and memorabilia her whole life, a scene from Mr. McGregor's garden after he nearly caught Peter Rabbit. (Bottom) The Tolkien inspiring doors of St. Edward's church in Stow-on-the-Wold; The Writer's Museum in Edinburgh; a memorial dedicated to Shakespeare in Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey, London.
Literary Moments: We had many planned and several unplanned literary moments. In Bath we were all about Jane Austen since she set two of her novels in Bath and lived in Bath for a portion of her life. We visited the Jane Austen Centre where we were met at the door by Mr. Bennet (Elizabeth's father in Pride and Prejudice) and our guide was Anne Elliot (Persuasion). While in the Cotswolds we found the St. Edward's church which has a door that inspired JRR Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings. In the Lake District we visited Hill Top Farm, home of Beatrix Potter (The Adventures of Peter Rabbit, et al) and visited an interactive exhibition for all things dedicated to this very popular children's author/illustrator in Bowness-on-Windermere. In Edinburgh we stumbled upon The Writer's Museum dedicated to Scots authors: Robert Louis Stephenson, poet Robert Burns, and Sir Walter Scott. We puttered around in it for a few moments before continuing our tour of the Royal Mile. Stratford-upon-Avon is of course dedicated to Shakespeare. In Westminster Abbey we found Poet's Corner, where many famous authors are buried, or have memorials on the walls or in the floor. A few we noticed: C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, the Bronte sisters, and Dylan Thomas. We also visited several indie bookstores: Bath Old Books, Ironbridge Book Nook, and London's Daunt Books in Marylebone, not far from our hotel.
Theater moments: The three of us in Stratford and in London. In Stratford we are standing in front of an image of Shakespeare created from Lego bricks. Bottom picture is our view of the stage (lighted in blue) and the rest of the theater. All but the floor seats were on sharp angles and each level is practically straight up. We had to lean forward to see most of the action of the stage.
Theater moments: When we began planning our trip, our daughter Carly, who loves musical theater, rightly insisted we include some theater. When we learned that the actor Jonathan Groff (known for King George III in the original cast of Hamilton, and the Glee TV series) was playing one of the leads in "As You Like It" in Stratford-upon-Avon, we knew we had to find a way to make it happen. The performance dates meant we had to alter our itinerary somewhat, but we made it work. I'm so glad we did as this was the best Shakespeare I've seen performed on stage. We also asked Carly to pick a show for us to see in London's West End. She selected "Hadestown", an excellent choice. I'd say that attending these two performances were the highlights of the highlights of our whole trip.
Don watching his head in Chipping Campden; view of Oban Bay
Accommodations: We followed the Rick Steve's Guide suggestions to stay in hotels and B&B spots close to the old towns and sites we hoped to visit. This meant we often encountered unique and charming issues. The funniest place we stayed was the Eight Bells Inn in Chipping Campden. We were greeted by a sign which warned of uneven floors and low ceilings so we should watch our steps. (See photo above of the cross beam we had to navigate under to get to our bedroom.) Our favorite was No. 21 York B&B where the proprietor was so friendly and made homemade bread every day. The best view was from the Kenavara House in Oban, Scotland of the Oban Bay.
Food: The last time Don and I were in the UK (2019) we had terrible experiences with food so our expectations were low going into this trip but we were pleasantly surprised by the many wonderful meals we ate this time. A few highlights -- Sunday Roast Dinner at the Dog and Gun pub in Keswick, Northern England. True to the pub's name, there were lots of dogs laying around under foot throughout the pub. The fish chowder at the Cuan Mòr restaurant in Oban. Everything we ordered at the Wee Greek Kitchen in Edinburgh: Moussaka, Chicken 'Paprikash', and the Lamb 'Tsigariasto'. Just thinking about these meals makes me want to go back.
Castlerigg. Note the boots Carly is wearing.
Funny moments: As a family we love to laugh at ourselves and will often retell funny stories of what happens to us. Here are a few of those memorable, funny moments from this trip:
"But does it have marzipan?" I have an allergy to walnuts so I was given a special tray of sandwiches and treats for the Jane Austen tea that contained NO nuts. I kept eyeing the treats on the other tray and was especially interested in one that looked like it was covered with marzipan, which I love. Both Carly and Don tried a bite to test it and neither could tell me if it had marzipan or not. I eventually tried a tiny bite myself. I couldn't tell either. For the rest of the trip anytime anyone commented on a food, someone would ask, "But does it have marzipan?"
We stopped for lunch one day we were on the road near Newcastle-upon-Tyne at a charming village of shops called the Milkhope Center. The lunch menu included a tuna-mayo-chive sandwich. Don and I decided to share one. I went off to save a table while Carly and Don stood in line. When it was his turn to order, Don said he'd like a tuna-mayo-chive sandwich, a coffee, and whatever else he ordered. As the young man was reading back the order he asked, "Are you sure you just want two mayo and chive sandwiches?" Don and Carly realized there was a pronunciation problem. We pronounce tuna as "two-na", they pronounce it as "choo-na". We did get tuna in our mayo and chive sandwiches but unfortunately the order was not completely correct...we still ended up with two sandwiches.
We visited an ancient stone circle, Castlerigg, near Keswick, Northern England. Unlike Stonehenge it was not guarded and sheep are allowed to graze nearby and among the stones. As we walked among the stones we had to take pains to avoid the dung. The next day Carly kept complaining that her raincoat smelled like sheep dung. She finally figured out why. After we left Castlerigg she stuffed the boots she was wearing that day into a bag with her raincoat. Guess what she stepped on? She refused to wear that coat for the rest of the trip. Wonder why?
Birds: Egyptian Goose, Eurasian Coot, Common Raven (residents and characters in the Tower of London), Mute Swan in Stratford-upon-Avon, Pigeons everywhere and so irreverent. These are hanging out on a landmark in Bath.
Bird Watching: Whenever we had a chance both Carly and I would break out the Merlin Bird App on our phones and try to identify new birds to us. Carly added 23 new birds to her life list, I added 20. Carly was thrilled to see a ring-necked pheasant up close and personal in Hollyrood Park after Don and Carly climbed Arthur's Seat. I enjoyed identifying all but two of the possible corvids which live in the UK: Hooded crows, Jackdaws, Rooks, Common Ravens, Eurasian Magpies, and Carrion Crows. Our last day in the UK we spent some time in Regent's Park and had fun figuring out the water birds we saw. Carly was especially smitten by the Egyptian Geese. And I was amazed by the feet of the Eurasian Coot. (See above.)
Museums and landmarks/historic sites: Roman Baths; Stonehenge; McCaig's Tower (Oban); Edinburgh Castle; Hollyroodhouse Palace (Edinburgh); Scottish National Gallery; walking tour of York; Hop-on/Hop-off Bus tour of London; Victoria and Albert Museum; the Tower of London; British Museum. I'll let the collages (See top of page, too) do the talking with just a few comments -- I was too tired by the time we got to the Scottish Art Gallery to appreciate it. The Hop-on/off bus tour in London was disappointing. We would have appreciated more history and information than we got. The British Museum was overwhelming. There were so many people. You had to fight through mobs of people to see many of the exhibits. See the photo below of Don and Carly trying to see the statue of Ramses.
We did so much more but I'm ready to stop typing and post this. We had a wonderful trip but as happens to me after long trips, I am always happy to be home.
The family after the University of Oregon football game wearing duck hats given to us as a prize for winning by my younger sister, Grace. So fun.
Weather: Rain. It rained all night and hasn't stopped. This feels like Fall weather to me.
Two things you should know about politics in the USA right now:
1. The FCC banned James Talarico from appearing on Jimmy Kimmel's Live show. The FCC doesn't ban Republicans from Fox News, just Democrats on ABC. Anyway. To make sure the interview is seen, Jimmy Kimmel Live posted it on YouTube. Click on the link below and watch it (or at least run it in the background) so that this unfair situation is rectified by a larger viewership than they would have gained if the interview were aired on the show. Stand up for Free Speech! There were 4.9 Million views at the time I viewed it. What is the viewership number now for you?
2. Do not use VOTESAFE (dot) org . Do not even go and check it out. (Read why here.) In a nutshell, the website is a fake voter registration site by Elon Musk, designed to steal your information. Any visitors to the site will unwittingly hand over their full name, birthday, home address, email address, cellphone number, IP address, browser, location, voter registration status, and district, not to mention every link they click on and every page they look at. If you visit votesafe.org . . . A code based on the technical traits of the device, known as a device fingerprint, is created so a user can be tracked even if cookies are deleted. It is so sinister. I urge you to stay away. DO NOT USE votesafe.org. This is an Elon Musk site that will feed you phony information.
If you are looking for information on voting: 1. Search your own state department of elections. 2. Search your county/city/town General Registrar, talk with them — call, go to the office, send email. 3. Use https://vote.gov
We are heading out for a trip to the U.K. in a few days: We will be visiting several literary sites: Bath (Jane Austen Festival), Hill House (Beatrix Potter home in the Lake District), Scottish site of the Culloden Battle (recently made famous in the first book of Outlander series by Gabaldon), Stratford-Upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace); and several sites in London (so many books, so many plots!)
What I might read during the trip:
Here are the books I will have with me in some format. I know I won't get to them all, but at least I'll have options.
The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway (Print) -- I want to read this book this year as it was published 100 years ago. I purchased a physical copy to carry with me to read on the plane and at night after days of sightseeing. If I happen to finish it, I'll leave it behind someplace.
Civilizations by Binet (Ebook) -- This is a book club selection for a meeting I'll be missing during the trip. I still want to read it. So far I am still in line at the library so it may not come in on time. When it comes in I hope it can downloaded from afar. (Update: I just ran into one of the book clubbers and she said the book is awful. Maybe I'll just skip it!)
Mad Mabel by Hepsworth (Audio) -- A fairly short audiobook so I may be able to finish it during our flights, if I don't fall asleep. I've heard it is very funny.
Anything is Possible by Strout (Audio and EBook) -- This is the second book in the Amgash series. I've read all the other books in the series out-of-order: 1, 4, 5, 3. Time to finish up by reading the 2nd book! Ha! I have checked out both the audio and the ebook so I can toggle back and forth. I've heard the book reads a little like short stories. Good. I like reading short stories when I am traveling.
The Typing Lady and Other Fictions /Ozeki -- I love this author and everything I've read by her. Review scheduled.
Evil Under the Sun /Christie -- The 23rd Hercule Poirot mystery. Review scheduled.
What I'm currently reading:
Dungeon Crawler Carl /Dinniman -- Well, this book is fun! 31% complete, audiobook. If I don't finish this book before we leave, it'll jump to the front of the list of the books I hope to read on the trip.
Back to school: The grandsons are back to school. Off to a good start.
Ian -- 4th grade
Jamie -- Kindergarten
Jumping for joy at a before school event for the boys to meet their teachers.
September 11th: It has been twenty-five years since the terrorist attack on the WTC.
A note from a Norwegian:
It is unlikely I will create any Sunday Salon posts while on the trip, so I will see you on the flip-flop, hopefully with some good stories and lots of photos.
Weather: It is raining (Saturday) and all prayers are going out that this rain is for real, not the kind that delivers a few drops of water here and lightning east of the mountains causing more wildfires.
Dolly Parton: I, like the rest of the world, am in shock that Dolly is gone. All week I've been listening to her music and watching and reading tributes to her. Today I dedicate my post to her.
Dolly in concert: My husband and I went to a Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers concert in Tacoma on New Year's Eve 1988. We went with some precious friends, Charmaine and Bill, who came into our lives during a time when we needed family nearby and didn't have that. They stood in as foster grandparents to our newborn daughter. They loved her and we loved them for it. Anyway, the four of us went to see Dolly and Kenny and had such a good time. Of course, it being New Year's Eve, the concert was supposed to end with the stars singing Auld Lang Syne at midnight. The program ended before midnight and Dolly and Kenny tried to draw it out as long as they could, singing several unplanned songs trying to reach the magical hour. It is a fun, happy memory. This week I learned that Dolly truly loved Kenny Rogers and considered him one of her best friends. It was obvious to me that the two really liked each other. "You never know how much you love somebody until they're gone." --Dolly on the death of Kenny Rogers
On looks: “I’m not offended by all of the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” and “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”-- Dolly Parton
On positivity: “You have to work at being happy. Some people work at being miserable. If I wake up in the morning and don’t feel great or things are not great, I try to think about what I can do to make things work better, rather than just falling into that deep hole, because then you just go deeper and deeper.” -- Dolly Parton
In 2020, Dolly kicked up a fuss by admitting she supported the Black Lives Matter movement:
“I
understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen. And
of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are
the only ones that matter? No!” --Dolly Parton
On her music:“I think in a way, my music has been almost like my ministry. Hopefully, it’s healing in some ways, just having a good sense of humor to be able to lift people up, to have songs that people can relate to.”--Dolly Parton
On relationships:“I was blessed to have family members who encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Whether it is your parents, or your uncles or your aunts or even the neighbor down the road, it’s important that kids have someone who encourages them to chase their rainbow.” --Dolly Parton
On same-sex marriage:“I think everyone should be with who they love. I don’t want to be controversial or stir up a bunch of trouble, but people are going to love who they are going to love. I think gay couples should be allowed to marry. They should suffer just like us heterosexuals.”--Dolly Parton
From her 1991 song "Family": 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮 "Some are preachers, some are gay, some are addicts, drunks and strays / But not a one is turned away when it's family." 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮
Dolly Parton’s imagination library: a book gifting program that
sent hundreds of millions of books to kids across the country. It was a
simple, profoundly generous act. "Elected officials spend their careers
in the business of improving people’s lives and do far less. Our
modern-day elites devote their fortunes to rockets for themselves. We
need more Dolly Partons in our lives these days, which is why it was so
painful to hear that the one we had passed away." -Daily Bulwark. So far her Imagination Library has gifted over 325 million books to children, ages 0-5 years old, in five countries. These books may be the only books they ever own, but just imagine what a thrill to receive a package every month addressed to you with your name inside the cover! In this day and age of people trying to ban books, here was Dolly give them away no strings attached!
“When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer. The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.” --Dolly Parton on her Imagination Library project
"He's Alive! by Don Francisco, sung by Dolly Parton
"As my mama always said, ' I hope this is a blessing to you.'" --Dolly Parton
(Ignore the closed captioning. It is completely goofy. Or, pay attention to the closed captioning and have a good laugh.)
"In a world where we can't agree on anything, we all agreed on Dolly"-- the NYT
Books and blogging:
Books I read in August, click on hyperlink to see my review:
The Book Woman from Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson -- based on historical people, the blue people from Kentucky, and the horseback librarians who delivered library books to the people in Appalachia under FDR's Public Works Administration projects of the 1930s. Well done. 4.5 stars.
Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald -- A man searches for himself as he discovers he was part of the Kindertransport from Prague to Wales before WWII. My rating: 3.5 stars
Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Adaptation by James Loewen, illustrated by Nate Powell. Oh man, so many lies or partial truths. 4 stars.
The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekov -- A family cannot face the fact they no longer have any money and must sell their beloved cherry orchard. Chekov's last play and his best. 4 stars.
Country People by Daniel Mason -- An academic and her family move from California to Vermont expecting to meet country people and ways. Quite funny. 4 stars.
Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe -- A twelve-year-old girl's view of life in the projects as they are overrun by drugs and gang violence. 4 stars
The Astral Library by Kate Quinn -- The astral library is a portal to sanctuaries within books. So fun and quotes about the value of libraries abounded. 4.25 stars
Land by Maggie O'Farrell -- A mapmaker and his family and particular plot of magical land in Ireland. I enjoyed this but it wasn't an easy read. 4 stars.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai -- Two post college students from India experience loneliness in the US. Crammed full of stories and Indian culture. This book is long and scattered and took me two months to read but it was worth the effort. 4.5 stars.
Books I'm currently reading:
The Typing Lady and Other Fictions by Ruth Ozeki -- a favorite author and a new form. I am enjoying the short stories very much.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse -- I am beginning this book today for my Classics Club Spin selection of the season.
The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie -- from our church library. The book is a blessing and it is about blessings!
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.😕
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.
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?
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!
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.
Tom (brother-in-Law)Enjoys both fantasy and Sci-Fi.
Currently rereading:
The Fires of Heaven (Book 5 of the "Wheels of Time" series) by Robert Jordan. He is enjoying more this second time through since he knows what is coming later in the series. (High fantasy)
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
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.
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:
The Last Ember (Aerimander Chronicle, #1) by Lily Berlin Dodd (Audio; MG Fantasy)
The Magician's Nephew (The Chronicles of Narnia, #6) by C.S. Lewis (Mom read aloud; Christian fantasy)
Dog Man and Cat Kid by Dav Pilkey (MG Graphic novel, gift from Grand-aunt Grace; Humor)
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.
Carly (daughter)Likes to alternate between these genres: fantasy, thrillers, historical fiction, and romance. She almost exclusively consumes books in the audio format
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)
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.
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.
