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Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Didn't I Tell You We're a Family of Readers?

My mother and one of my sisters and my son have all been visiting these last few days. My mother and sister are staying at Sunrise Landing over on the Grand Traverse Bay side of the Leelanau peninsula. I've sent a lot of people to Sunrise Landing over the years (based on my parents' strong recommendation) but had never been there myself. What a great place! My mother says the rooms have all been updated and upgraded since she and my dad stayed there years ago, but it still has a pleasant, local, real Up North, not-chain-motel-at-all look and ambience. And of course, it's right on the water.

On Monday, my son and sister and mother and I drove to Traverse City so my family could see "The Art of Sleeping Bear Dunes" show at the Dennos Museum Center. They were properly impressed by the unbeatable placement of David's painting, right by the gallery entrance.

Family by David Grath painting
But we all looked at the entire exhibit before taking in the Inuit art and interactive room -- and making several purchases from the gift shop, let me not neglect to mention.

Mother of artist Doug Racich is one of my mother's old friends.



Later in the day, we all assembled back at the old farmhouse for a second family evening and meal. 

Perusing books while visiting -- these are my people!


My son stayed with David and Sarah and me at the farmhouse during his visit and spent lots of time with me at the bookstore, too, and while he gave Sarah lots of attention and talked with all of us, he also spent a lot of time reading, because -- well, that's just what my family does. Here is my sketch of him at the bookstore, engrossed in a book:

Man in glasses, reading
And now? My son is headed toward home, and David will fend for himself this evening while my mother and sister and I attend tonight's National Writers Series event, an evening with Sara Paretsky. You may recall that my sister has already met Paretsky. Ah, but this time I'll be there, too, and our mother will be with us! Now, if only the third sister hadn't had a scheduling conflict....

My sister with Sara Paretsky earlier this year
We're all Paretsky fans, as well as readers and book-lovers. It's the perfect evening's entertainment for my family!

4 comments:

Helen said...

Lovely post; wished to be there with you, too.

P. J. Grath said...

And how welcome you would have been, too, Helen!

Dawn said...

What a wonderful visit you've had with family and a perfect evening to boot! All sounds wonderful. I'm happy for you!

P. J. Grath said...

It was a truly wonderful time, Dawn. I only wish I had gotten a photograph of my mother in the elegant black haori she bought next door at Red Mullein! Maybe I can enlist one of my sisters to get that picture and send it to me.