Sunday Salon for 29 October 2023
Happy Sunday! Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at ReaderBuzz. Check out her post and the links to see what other bloggers have been up to in the last week.
How’s the weather?
We dropped 40 degrees from Friday afternoon to Saturday morning. Since I attend a regular outdoor Black Lives Matter vigil on Saturdays, that was quite a shock to the system! I did manage to dress warm enough — puffy coat, winter boots, long underwear, a hat, and gloves. Someone pointed out that when it gets this warm in March, I won’t feel like I need near that much cold-weather clothing. We didn’t have a chance to get acclimated.
If the wind doesn’t blow all the leaves off, it will be fun to enjoy fall color this week in temperatures that feel like autumn.
What are you reading?
I started A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan. This is our December book club selection and I’m the facilitator for the meeting. I got the job when I volunteered the information that my grandfather was a member of the KKK in Indiana in the 1920s. I know almost nothing about that other than the bare fact. The KKK in Indiana in the 1920s is exactly what this book is about, so that should shed some light on the topic for me.
What are you watching?
What to watch for Halloween when you don’t like horror?
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein worked for me, so I reviewed that for British Isles Friday.
My other pick this week was Monsters, Inc. Not much horror, but it does have monsters!
What are you doing?
I started blood pressure medication. I was resistant at first because I took blood pressure medication in my 40s for about a decade until I made enough lifestyle changes that I didn’t need it anymore. That felt like a huge achievement! I had to convince myself that it isn’t an equally great failure for me to go back on medicine now. But, aging happens. I’m over 60 now and it seems I’m going to need a little help to keep my blood pressure at a safe level for me.
What are you writing?
I scribbled a plot for my novel. The earlier version was a slow-moving coming-of-age story. This newer version has a more quick-paced adventure vibe — catch the bad guy or we lose the Second World War! I think it will be easier to write and easier to find an audience of readers for it. Also, I suspect it’s going to be more fun, all the way around. If I’m going to take another year or two with this project, it might as well be fun.
How are you this fine Sunday?