Before the Conference



 
First stop after picking up Donna-Jean at the airport: Half Price Books!

On Thursday, Karen and I were dropped off at Half Price books while Lynn returned to the airport to pick up Donna-Jean. The sheer amount of great books is staggering to the point that it overwhelmed us and we both had to stop for a coffee/tea break. I filled my cart (how many book stores have grocery carts??) with books, then mentally totalled my purchases--and had to put half of my finds back! My best discoveries: The Oxford Book of English Verse, Eothen in a book, classic poems read on cassette, and Christmas cards by one of my favorite artists, W.A. Bouguereau!

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Chatting about books (what else?) in the living room after Wendi showed up.


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That evening, Wendi finally arrived. Leslie S also showed up for dinner, and our group (minus Anne) was complete. We spent the evening around Lynn's living room talking about books, possible texts to use for various years, how we met our husbands, and other things. Dinner was take-out from Ali Baba, a Lebanese restaurant. I had always heard about falafel and baba ghanoosh, and I finally got to sample it! The table was set with beautiful china while we served ourselves from styrofoam take-out boxes. The blessing before the meal was sung from lyrics that are painted on the wall up high near the ceiling, around all four walls of the dining room.


We had dinner later at Lynn's, which began with a prayer that we sang, reading the lyrics off the wall of the dining room!
Notice that we're all looking up to see the words, except Donna-Jean, who just happened to already know them by heart:
"O Lord, we thank Thee for this food For every blessing, every good For earthly sustenance and love  Bestowed on us from Heav'n above. Be present at our table, Lord Be here and everywhere adored Thy children bless, and grant that we May feast in Paradise with Thee." (Lynn says, "It's from a photo I saw in Traditional Homes magazine of Garrison Keillor's dining room." See also Cyberhymnal)


Note the empty chair reserved for Anne, and the Lebanese food in styrofoam containers.

      
Karen with Clarissa,              Lynn,                 Donna-Jean,           and    Leslie with Miranda at the dinner table

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After dinner, Leslie S unpacked the boxes and we got our first look at the T-shirts!
Then we talked until after midnight at Lynn's about dating, books for AO, and copyrights.

    
After dinner Leslie S unpacked the T-shirts!

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