Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. I spent four days in Connecticut with my parents, during which time we celebrated my birthday, made homemade scones with homemade clotted cream (I only had a hand in the former, not the latter), played pool, and relaxed both out in the sun and in front of the fireplace.

2. Karen and I spent an afternoon together, which included an unexpected concert, when our current lunch spot was hosting singer-songwriters, in addition to our normal walk along the river and hot beverages.

3. Rudi and I were able to join the throngs sitting outside on the patio at our local yuppie grocery store/bar to take advantage of an abnormally warm February evening.

What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday at That Artsy Reader Girl is Dynamic Duos. Here are ten of my favorite pairings:

1. Anne and Diana from Anne of Green Gables
2. Fred and George from Harry Potter
3. Jo and Laurie from Little Women
4. Idgie and Ruth from Fried Green Tomatoes
5. Silas and Bod from The Graveyard Book
6. Thursday and Pickwick from The Eyre Affair
7. Ove and Cat Annoyance from A Man Called Ove
8. Agnieszka and Kasia in Uprooted
9. Cecelia and Kate in Sorcery & Cecelia
10. Hugo and Isabelle from The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Who are some of your favorite literary pairs?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Three free scoops of ice cream (brambleberry crisp, peanut butter with chocolate flakes, and goat cheese with cherries) for my birthday.

2. A card from a friend tells of exciting news.

3. Reading at a cafe under the full moon.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

As part of my birthday weekend, I took myself to Planet Word, a new museum here in D.C. devoted to language.

The museum is housed in an old school, an appropriate location if ever there was one.

They suggest you start at the top and work your way down, so I did.

On the top floor, one room focuses on global languages. The other focuses on English and where our language’s roots. The former was interesting, but the latter was highly dynamic, using a textured backdrop and animation and lights to:

There are quotes and poems all over the walls in around the doorways.

On the second floor, there is a central reading room, made even larger by mirrors.

Interspersed throughout the bookshelves are these interactive dioramas that activate if you read a particular quote from the book.

You could record yourself giving a speech or share a story about words. And throughout are touch Picture-Picture-like screens with microphones to make the experience more interactive.

There were exhibits devoted to persuasive language, hate speech, humor, and poetic language and music (including some of the techniques that make a song an earworm).

It was such a good visit, I joined the museum as a sponsor as a treat to myself for my birthday. I’ll definitely be back.

It’s been a while since I’ve participated in a formal readalong, but this seemed like a good time for one. Marg of The Intrepid Reader is hosting a Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

I’m going to sign up at the Victorian Reader level, committing to read 5 books of historical fiction. That seems reasonable, given my current output of reads the past two years has been at an all-time low.

I’ve got Sherry Thomas’ Miss Moriarty, I Presume? sitting on the coffee table and a Victorian romance on hold at the library in Virginia, which seems to be a good starting place. I’m looking forward to reading along.

See you on the other side of my birthday!