Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Sunday Salon: A Little Bit of Randomness and a Couple of Challenges

The Sunday Salon.comI know. I know. I haven't posted a Sunday Salon in awhile. Not sure why. Probably because I really didn't have all that much to say! It's been one of those weeks. Back to work after nearly a week off. Spending some quality time with Bella as she "recovers" from her nasty little fall. Library days for the kids. (They finished their reading for the summer reading program and each earned a pass to the pool party sponsored by the library). Mike's been gone since Friday morning....left for a Racquetball tournament in Chicago. Amazing how quiet life is when he is gone!!

I am making a baby quilt for one of my friends. She isn't due till January, which is a good thing. It may take me even longer than that to finish it. It's really cute. Cross-stitch pattern with Noah's Arc. But SO much work. To top it all off, the girls have been hounding me to teach them. And I started to, but it is just too difficult for them. But I felt really bad, and they were so discouraged. So, off to Hobby Lobby we went, and I got each of them a Latch Hook project. Man. I haven't seen those for YEARS. But they are easy to learn and it's a nice beginning for my little crafters. We are going to make pillows out of the finished product.

Quite a few books entered my house this week, but I think I will save that for a different post. But I do want to send out a HUGE thanks to Chris for passing on a copy of Catching Fire to me!! If you were awake Thursday morning, you probably heard my squeal of delight when I went to the mailbox and found it!! I'm sure it was loud enough to hear around the world!

As far as challenges go, there are a couple I've been meaning to join for ages now. I just haven't gotten around to posting them. So here in my all-inclusive Challenge post:

The GLBT Challenge post went up a few months ago over at The Zen Leaf, although the challenge didn't actually start until the 1st of July. I've been meaning to sign up for months, but I never did. Well...better late than never is my old fall-back...so here is my "official" post. You know me. I'm all about diversity in life and besides. Oscar Wilde is on the button!! Here are the rules:

  • Read 6 books in 6 months in any genre. Books must deal with GLBT themes OR be written by GLBT authors. No X-rated stuff, nothing that purposely attacks the GLBT community.

  • The challenge runs from July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009. You may join at any time.

  • Sign up using Mr. Linky below (please link directly to your post). If you don't have a blog, you can still participate. Just enter your name and leave the URL blank.

  • Each time you read a book, please link to your reviews on this blog. I will put up a post for you to do that on July 1st.

  • You don't need to choose your books right away, and they can change at any time. Overlaps with other challenges are fine.

  • Audiobooks are also fine.

I will be reading books from the following list:

  • Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
  • The House you Pass on the Way by Jacqueline Woodson
  • Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
  • Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford
  • Sex Talks to Girls: A Memoir by Maureen Seaton
  • We Disappear by Scott Heim
  • Weetzie Bat, Baby Be-Bop or Missing Juan Angel by Francesca Lia Block.

(of course, I reserve the right to change the books on this list if I find something that sounds better!)


For the 3rd year in a row, the fantastic John Mutford from The Book Mine Set is hosting the Canadian Book Challenge. Year 1, I completed just 1 book. Year 2, I made it through 3. For Year 3, I'm going for at least half of the 13 books!!

The rules are the same as before, and the goal is to read 13 books in 12 months from Canadian authors or about Canada/Canadians. Here is my list (a lot of carry over from this past year:)

  • The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
  • Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
  • Angel of Darkness by Charles de Lint
  • Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King
  • Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
  • Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
  • Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
  • The Time in Between by David Bergen
  • Runaway by Alice Munroe
  • The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay
  • Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
  • The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
  • Fall on Your Knees by Anne-Marie MacDonald
  • Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright


Finally, Michelle from Galleysmith is hosting the Harry Potter Reading Challenge. Can't pass this one up. Isn't it time for a reread?

What: Read or listen to all seven books in the Harry Potter series:

  • Sorcerer’s Stone
  • Chamber of Secrets
  • Prisoner of Azkaban
  • Goblet of Fire
  • Order of the Pheonix
  • Half-Blood Prince
  • Deathly Hallows

When: The challenge will run from August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010. I know we’re all busy with life and work and other such fun things so join up whenever you want, there are no deadlines to the challenge besides the end date above.

Where: E-to the Everywhere! Post reviews on your blog, chat about it on messageboards, post vlogs or podcasts, comment on and converse about it in the monthly post I create here on Galleysmith. It’s entirely up to you, as long as there is some evidence of your having completed each book along the way you are good to go.

How: Get thee to Mr. Linky below. Sign up to join in and play, cause you know….Harry would want you to and all! Go Here to sign up!

(AND she has cool prizes!!)

Well....that's it for me. Happy Reading and Happy Sunday!!

15 comments:

Ana S. said...

I hope Bella is recovering well! How nice that your girls want to learn how to craft :D

I love your list for the glbt challenge. I finished my first book for it, Sarah Waters' The Night Watch, just a few days ago. It was SO good. I love her to pieces. I must read Tipping the Velvet soon! Also, Debi got me the Weetzie Bat books as a prize for the Blame Game, so I'll be reading those too :D

I'm ridiculously excited that you're reading Eleanor Rigby!! One of my favourite books ever :D

Stephanie said...

Nymeth - Bella is much better. She's really self-conscious about the scrapes on her face. But the headaches have gone away and the rest will fade. Her birthday is coming up next week, so she's getting pretty excited for thatt!

I've read so many good things about Sarah Waters. I couldn't decide which to read...may still change!! And where do you think I got the idea for Eleanor Rigby (other than it really is one of my favorite Beatles songs!) It was that one or Hey, Nostradamus! I tried Generation X last year and just couldn't get into it. But this one sound more like something I would like! (I LOVE Lia Block. I've read a couple of her books and think they are just beautifully writtien.)

Marg said...

I am thinking about joining the Harry Potter challenge.

Chrisbookarama said...

My daughter wants to learn to cross stitch too. I tried to teach her but she couldn't get the hand of it. SHe has lots of time. My niece is coming over next week and wants me to show her how to do it.

I joined the 3rd Cdn Challenge too. I hope you like The Gargoyle.

Debi said...

Glad to hear Bella's feeling better!

How sweet of Chris! I'm surprised you haven't read and reviewed it already. :)

And so many good challenges, and so many great lists for the challenges!

raidergirl3 said...

It's fun to introduce your kids to crafting. I always tried too early and they got frustrated, but it is getting better.

re Canadian book challenge: Loved Eleanor Rigby (and Hey Nostradamus) You can't go wrong with either of those. I also was really pleased with Clara Callen - it quietly snuck up on me. I'm planning on the Gargoyle as well, and the Colony of Unrequited Dreams is one of John Mutford's favorite books.

Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Amanda said...

Thank you for signing up for the GLBT Challenge! I look forward to your reviews. Also, I can't wait to see everyone's rereadings (or first time readings) in the Harry Potter challenge. :)

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

oooh! I love that you're doing crafty things with your girls. I can't remember how old I was when I learned how to cross-stitch, but I used to love it. Will you post a picture of your progress? Please? :)

Fall on Your Knees is a fantastic book--I kind of wish I hadn't already read it so I could discover it again for the Canadian Book Challenge. Instead I'll be reading her book The Way the Crow Flies.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Kim L said...

That's awesome that you found some craft projects the girls could work on! I remember really liking latchhook projects. Now I'm scrapbooking only, mostly because I can't afford any other crafty hobbies.

Way to jump into those challenges :-)

Kailana said...

You have a great list for the Canadian challenge. I have read almost all of them and enjoyed them! By the looks you have lots of great books ahead of you for all of your challenges. The Night Watch is the only book I have read by Sarah Waters. I really must read something else by her soon. Enjoy!

Becky said...

I hope all is going well now! Things sound good with your recent book acquisition from Chris. Congrats on that! :) I'm also glad you're doing the Harry Potter Challenge. I'm doing that one and can't wait to get started! This will be fun to watch as everyone gets started on it!

Bookfool said...

Okay, you think you've been bad . . . I haven't been keeping up with either posting or blog-hopping and I don't even know what happened to Bella! I'm glad to hear she's recovering, though.

I just looked for a post about Bella and failed to find one, but I did read your post wishing for a Royal Flush and I will tell you that it's awful when you're broke and working hard and there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel, but it is absolutely possible to eventually get out of that rut. I wrote down everything we've gone through and it was so long I decided I'd better delete it, but we've come close to bankruptcy, been flooded 4 times, replaced every appliance as well as the flooring in this house at least once -- in some cases twice . . . it never ends. However, Dave Ramsey has really helped us. Have you read any of his books?

Sheila DeChantal said...

"If you were awake Thursday morning, you probably heard my squeal of delight when I went to the mailbox and found it!!"

Oh is that what that sound was? LOL

I am in Minnesota.....heard it here! :) ha ha.... love the post!

valentina said...

Missing Angel Juan is beautiful but it doesn't have any lgbt characters in it.
I loooved Tipping the Velvet. Although it's very explicit :D
I'd be curious to know what you think!

Michelle said...

I know I'm so far behind in my feed reader! But wanted to pop in and say welcome to the Harry Potter Reading Challenge. I'm so excited you'll be joining me on the trip. I've not yet read any of them so I'm happy to have so many reading along with me!