Happy May Day!

Doesn't looking at the color of those tulips make you crave a peppermint? It does me! I can almost taste the icy cool on my tongue. I would go outside and lick them right now if I weren't so afraid I might accidentally swallow a bug! It's been a lovely, sunny day for showing them off too! I know that it is technically still spring, but May always make me feel like summer has begun. Call me crazy, but I am happily optimistic that it's going to be a good month. In case you are not yet down with my happy, here are some things to boost your mood:

1. LibraryThing (like Facebook for people who can read!) has a group called "I See Dead People['s Books]" where you can check out the collections of such notable, departed souls as W.H. Auden, Sylvia Plath, e.e. cummings, Tupac Shakur and Wolfgang Mozart. And if that doesn't touch the heart of your inner book nerd, then exploring the rest of the site just might.

2. It's almost Friday and I am totally in love with Steve Rasnic Tem's and Melanie Tem's The Man on the Ceiling, their delightfully engrossing and surreal narrative about stories, family, love, fear and and the fuzzy line between the real and fantastic. There is so much more I want to (and likely will) say about this book at a later date. It is at times dark and spooky, but also sweet and truly fabulous in the way it plays with narrative and authority. What pleasant surprise for a book I picked up on a whim. I love you, new books shelf at the library!

3. Did you know that for the first time in eons Oregon's primary election is actually going to count for something in terms of who will end up the eventual Democratic nominee? It's true! So, don't forget to vote, and especially don't forget to vote Obama! (Not that I am biased or opinionated when it comes to politics or anything.)

4. Want to soak up some stereotypical, kitschy German culture without actually leaving the country? Well, you're in luck, because it's coming on road trip season and you can visit the "Bavarian village" of Leavenworth, by just driving across the border to Washington and the American alps! I know that I am practicing my rendition of "The Lonely Goatherd" and cannot wait until the end of May when I will finally get the chance to don my Fräulein Maria dress and sing about how alive the hills are in a more appropriate setting than the shower.