Month: June 2024

Books Read in June 2024

*Book Group Selection | Bolded Means Favorite

Middle Grade

*Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston
*Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
*Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar

*Next Stop by Debbie Fong

I wouldn’t mind going on this kind of tour.

Young Adult

The Atlas of Us by Kristin Dwyer

The Breakup Lists by Adib Khorram

Where is Jackson finding so many t-shirts with tags in them? My shirts have had the tag info screen printed in them for years.

Grownup Fiction

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Face blindness was a thing in YA literature a few years ago. In a standard grownup romance novel, it makes for an interesting plot. The villain was a little too uniformly evil, though.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Somewhat of a difficult read due to the everyday sexism, but also very entertaining in the rejection of that sexism.

I tried hitting my eggs with a knife rather than cracking them on the counter or the bowl and found it a good technique.

Little Free Library find.

Grownup Nonfiction

Rethinking Diabetes: What Science Reveals About Diet, Insulin, and Successful Treatments by Gary Taubes
Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars by Richard K. Bernstein
Sugarless: A 7-Step Plan to Uncover Hidden Sugars, Curb Your Cravings, and Conquer Your Addiction by Nicole M. Avena (strangely not listed on Goodreads…)
Keto QuickStart A Beginner’s Guide to A Whole-foods Ketogenic Diet by Diane Sanfilippo

It Turns Out That I am Not Immune

Having made it more than four years without experiencing Covid-19, I thought perhaps I was one of those people with natural immunity. But I wasn’t feeling well the previous day, and though I managed to make deviled eggs and go out to eat, I just kept feeling worse and worse.

So I tested Sunday morning. As I have done before, I set the test aside to wait the ten minutes for the test to do its work. But at about the three minute mark, I walked by and that second line caught my eye.

I totally had Covid.

Aside from not feeling well (Sunday was the worst day with fever and chills and absolutely no energy), I was bummed that I had made super spreader deviled eggs and hauled myself to a restaurant. I should have tested on Saturday. Then I could have at least eaten the deviled eggs myself.

I suspect square dancing at the Reser was my contamination point. Bummer.

Matt’s Birthday Dinner at the Fairuz Room

On this day, despite feeling very tired, I made deviled eggs for Heidi and Kevin’s summer party. We could only stay an hour at the party, because we had dinner reservations, so I left the uneaten eggs there.

Speaking of dinner reservations…

Matt and I enjoyed a delicious birthday dinner at Ya Hala’s Fairuz Room.

The prix fixe menu was economical and generous. Look at that menu!

The hummus and baba ghanouj were particularly good, as was the falafel. But it was all delicious.

We opted for the seasonal dessert, which came with a candle.

Rosetown Ramblers Dance at the Reser

The Reser Center for the Arts hosted Friends of Dorothy: A Queer Cabaret, and the Rosetown Ramblers got to square dance as part of the performance. It was Matt’s birthday, so I made cupcakes and we sang Happy Birthday after we practiced our routines.

In the Green Room, Matt poses in front of one of the dressing rooms.

Here’s the show list:

It was fun to hang out backstage. I think the last time I had that experience was the 1989 recital for the Kathy Lee School of Dance. I got to see drag queens in various stages of undress.

However, it’s entirely possible that hanging out in the Green Room might have had a consequence. More on that later.

A Good Round at the Movie Quiz

The first round of the movie quiz tonight made me feel very smart. Mark, the quizmaster, played the beginning of 10 movie musicals and we had to identify them. The first one was Annie, so I knew I was going to do well.

The ninth one was super tricky. It was from On the Town, which I’ve seen. But it starts with one guy singing and he doesn’t show up again for the rest of the film. Actually, it’s the guy standing above Gene Kelly in that thumbnail. Check out his part:

I’m curious how many teams got that one.

Things went downhill from there, but it’s always nice to have a start strong.

SKS: Astoria

Sara and Shawn headed to Astoria after Portland, and Sara had a lot of good things to say about the town.

In this postcard, she reports that they did the column (you can see it in this postcard, a bit larger in scale than it really is) and poked around the shops.

This one says in full: HEY YOU GUYS! Sending happy Goonies goodness your way.

And this one has some good Mama F. quotes written on it.

The Fireplace at 1822 N. Rosa Parks Way

Friends Burt and Laurie have bought a new house, which means they must sell their old house. I’ve had many happy times there, and I am feeling a bit sad about saying goodbye.

Among the things I will miss is seeing this gorgeous fireplace.

Here is more information about it:

Recollection from Jon Nelson, homeowner 1958–2003 regarding the fireplace.

The wooden fireplace mantel and Italian tiles in the front room of this Queen Anne style Victorian farmhouse came from the Wolfe mansion in Portland, Oregon, when it was demolished in the early 1900s. It had been brought around the horn in the late 1800s to be installed in the master bedroom suite. Mr. Wolfe was in the retail business with Mr. Lipman and they were the owners of Lipman and Wolfe department store in downtown Portland. A Miss Polly Predmore is credited with salvaging the fireplace and tiles and having them installed at 1822 N. Portland Boulevard [now Rosa Parks Way]. The mantel is made of walnut, it is believed. It is a wonderful focal point of this home and has been admired by many over the years.

Here is a little more about Lipman Wolfe and Co.

I did a bit of searching, but the closest I could get to a picture of the Wolfe’s house, was this comment on this blog.

Can’t find a picture of Adolphe Wolfe’s Whidden & Lewis designed half-timbered Mansion up on King St, now avenue. It was next to the William Honeyman mansion, an amazing romanesque chateau with conical tower, also by Whidden & Lewis.
There is a well known tinted picture postcard from around 1900 that shows the two houses and the surrounding beautiful neighborhood.
The title of the postcard is written in red and reads-“Portland Oregon Residences”

Wait! I found that postcard. It’s in the second row on this site. A very handsome house, indeed.

SKS from PDX (mailed by me)

While we visited the Bliss House, Sara grabbed this informational postcard, which she then gussied up and put in a multifamily mailbox down the street from us along with a birthday card for her sister.

However, that building isn’t yet occupied and when I checked, the lock hadn’t been installed in the outgoing mail slot. I assumed that the mail carrier wasn’t regularly picking up the mail.

So I grabbed both letter and postcard and put then in the mail on the way to my job club. I did not read the postcard before I sent it.

Once it was delivered, I read that Sara thanked me for hosting such a good visit.