The warm weather seems to have departed but it is still sunny. Sophie is upset because I won't leave the sliding door to the balcony open. In the 40s still - no way! Brrrr!!

Speaking of Brrrr - I just read a really cool book called The Snow Bay: The Arctic Childhood of Admiral Robert E. Peary's Daring Daughter by Katherine Kirkpatrick. The cover photograph of 18-month-old Marie dressed in fur from head to toe is adorable. Reminded me of the picture I have of Mic as an infant in a fox fur bunting. One of my favorite Alaska pictures. I related to the darkness of winter the Pearys experienced, though we never lived far enough north in Alaska that it stayed dark 24 hours a day, but when you work in an interior library with no windows it may as well be! This book is a visual treat because of the photographs. Between the informative text and the photographs that depict the culture and cold as no narrative can, Kirkpatrick has created a readily accessible biography for even the youngest future arctic explorer, male or female. :-) What makes this 50 page illustrated biography unique is that the older reader will pick up on the adept manner in which Kirkpatrick made Peary "human" rather than heroic. She did not shy away from addressing his Inuit children nor the fact that he thought it his right to remove the meteorites, even though the Inuits carved pieces off for tools. Kirkpatrick also addressed the lack of consideration Peary had for Henson's role in finding the Pole. All in all, a very well written biography about Peary's daughter, who, as an adult, was an advocate for Inuit rights in Greenland. When time allows I would like to read more about this very fascinating woman.

That's it for today. The guy should be here to disconnect the washer and dryer. For some strange reason the movers don't do that - a "technician" needs to come in to do that!