The Sunday Salon

When I was a girl my grandparents bought a little Casio keyboard for my sister and I to share. We spent hours playing with that keyboard, probably driving my Mom crazy with the constant repetitions of Heart and Soul that we played; and Chopsticks; and that one song with the words "We all drink Beer on Sundays." I'm sure Mom loved that one. But now my house is filled with the beautiful sounds that a real piano makes. Yesterday a friend brought us a piano to store and use and ever since there is hardly a minute that goes by without one of the kids or myself playing on it. Even the cat has played a few notes. None of us really knows how to play (especially the cat) but we are all eager to learn. I'm dusting off those old memories to try to teach the old tunes to my children, all but the song "Beer on Sundays."

In reading news this week, I am striving to finish 2 books a week and I met that goal again this second week of the year. Yesterday I was looking for a new book to read. I started a couple of them but I'm just not interested in anything much. Today I started yet another book but I've only read the preface so far. And I found a quote that draws a beautiful picture in my mind.

"I believe, to be sure, that any man who reached Heaven will find that what he
abandoned (even in plucking out his right eye) has not been lost: that the kernel of what he was really seeking even in his most depraved wishes will be there, beyond expectation, waiting for him in 'the High Countries'."

C.S. Lewis is about to teach me something about the glories I will find in Heaven when I seek it as my home instead of looking to a fallen Earth for some kind of fulfillment. The book is The Great Divorce and I do believe I will see what insights lay hidden within its covers.

I also plan to finish the short story collection I started over the Christmas break called Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff. You may recognise her as the author of The Monsters of Templeton. I'm halfway through, having read the first 4 stories, and already in love with her storytelling abilities. The story entitled "L. DeBard and Aliette" is a love story to rival Romeo and Juliet. Look for that review this week.

Aw, there is nothing like listening to Jingle Bells and contemplating the splendid reading for the upcoming week on a leisurely Sunday evening.