Mychal Threets and Friends

I did something really cool yesterday. I attended an author talk, hosted by Mychal Threets. 

If you're not familiar with Mychal, you should be. He is a social media sensation, the resident librarian for PBS, and the new host of Reading Rainbow.  

I first met Mychal in 2013. My son was 6 and Mychal was a children's librarian here in Fairfield. He eventually became the supervising librarian of the branch. He is a wonderful person, so welcoming and inclusive and everything a librarian should be. 

When the library announced this event, demand was enormous. There were 600 free tickets available, divided among all Solano County Library branches. The morning before we left for Las Vegas, I stood in line outside the library in the cold for a little over an hour to get my ticket. Time passed quickly though, as strangers became friends. The people in line reflected the diversity of Solano County in every sense of the word, but we all had one thing in common: a love of the library, a passion for books, and a deep appreciation for what Mychal has done to spread library joy. 

The event was held at the Fairfield Community Center. (The last time I was there was for the 2024 Senior Celebration.) Once again, I made friends in line: this time, with a charming pair of twins in kindergarten. As we entered, each of the 600 attendees received free books from each of the four authors / illustrators (affiliate links below). 

I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy is Mychal's debut book. It is a delightful tribute to libraries and the people they serve: everyone! I love Lorraine Nam's illustrations. 

 

The Day the Books Disappeared, by Joanna Ho, is a really fun book about a boy with a special interest in planes. He doesn't understand why other types of books exist until he takes the time to see why his friends like them. 

Partypooper is the 20th book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. It's clever and funny and a great addition to the beloved series. 

No Way, Wash Day (written by Adrienne Thurman and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita) is a charming book about a little girl who loves everything about her hair except when it's time to wash it. 

Each of the authors were introduced, then Mychal came on stage to lead the panel discussion. 

The time flew by. The stories everyone shared were so much fun. Each had fascinating insights to share. Jeff Kinney is absolutely hilarious. 

After the presentation, there was an opportunity to meet the authors and get your books signed. What a wonderful event! Huge thanks to Solano County Library, Jeff Kinney, Joanna Ho, Kaylani Juanita, and Mychal Threets. I am so glad to have been there and I hope this post inspires you to visit your local library and get to know your librarian. They just might become famous someday!

Dad's 77th Birthday

It's been 8 months since we lost my dad. I really miss him, but take comfort in the good memories. I am incredibly thankful that I was able to travel to Idaho for Dad's 77th birthday, a month before he died. He was at a care facility following a hospital stay and was having some good days and some bad days; fortunately, his birthday was a great day. My mom, sister, niece, and I brought gifts, balloons, cake, and ice cream to his room. He had invited the entire staff to his party. He never stopped smiling that day, but he positively lit up each time a nurse or physical therapist or receptionist would stop by for some of my mom's famous gingerbread. 

Dad's 77th Birthday (affiliate link)

I knew I wanted to use yellow and blue on this page to bring the attention to Dad (proudly wearing his UC Davis Grandpa shirt), so it worked out well that the required elements for this week's BYSS Winter Olympics challenge started with yellow and blue. 

I earned a total of three points for Twisted Scissors: one point for the yellow and blue; one point for using numbers (handwritten date in the top right); and one point for using something silver from my stash (the 77 stickers are silver foil but scanned dark). My three points aren't much, but last week's game was decided by a mere five points. Go Scissors! Let's beat the Banshees again this week!

Napa Lighted Art Festival 2026

We had such a good time at the Napa Lighted Art Festival in 2024 and 2025 that there was no way we were going to miss it in 2026. This year's festival ran from January 17 - February 15. The best time to go was during the first nine days when there were projections on three downtown buildings in addition to the 15 other artworks. But between our Vegas trip and other commitments, we weren't able to go until after the projections had ended. It was a bit disappointing, but the upside is that there were no crowds when we went. 

In the past, we've had dinner first and then went to the Festival. This year, we did the reverse. We actually got to Napa shortly before sunset and immediately started looking for the twelve Roaming Gnomes, a new addition this year. 

  

  

Since we had some daylight, we were able to enjoy some of the permanent public art too.

   

That's the beautiful Napa River. And in the distance, the first piece of Lighted Art we visited. You can read about it, and the rest of the artworks, on the map at the bottom of this page. The names of the pieces and their artists are here as well. 

The piece has a pre-programmed light show that happens occasionally; that's what's going on in this photo. 

The rest of the time, visitors can touch the buttons on the lowest orbs, which send color upward. Where two colors meet, they mix. It doesn't work that well when you're alone though - I'm pushing the button for that single red and there's no one else around (except Steve, taking the picture) to generate another color. That's the downside of avoiding the crowds, I guess! 

Oooh, pretty!

I love these guys. 

  

These flowers weren't lighting properly, so we hung out for a bit while they tried to fix them. Even unlit, they were beautiful. 

More string art. 

The interactive pieces are some of our favorites. Here, each time you touch a panel, it cycles through a bunch of different colors. You can record individual designs to make an animation. So neat!

I took this picture, then walked forward to read about the artwork.

I hadn't realized Steve stayed back and took a picture of me silhouetted in the heart as it changed from reds to greens. Such a cool shot!

I like frogs. Who wouldn't? I'm glad there was enough light for me to photograph him. It's been a long time since Steve and I have done the Napa Art Walk during the daytime. We'll have to do that soon. 

Many of the artworks at the Napa Lighted Art Festival are color-changing. It's fascinating how they can portray such a different mood in two photos taken just a second or two apart. 

Gorgeous. 

As the color changes on this piece of art, different designs are revealed. 

There was projected artwork on the bridge over the Napa River. 

One one side of the bridge, there were poems in English and in Spanish.

On the other side, some very creative shoe designs. 

More Roaming Gnomes. 

  

I thought he was reading a book, but it's a map. 

He's located just outside Napa Yard, which is where we ate. We'd walked by it many times but this was our first time eating there. 

There was a private event in the restaurant, so we ate in the bar. Everything was absolutely delicious. 

We had so much fun at the Napa Lighted Art Festival and are already looking forward to going again in 2027!