Contest

The contest is officially over. The winners are anonymous with a guess of 47 and Kathi D. with a guess of 52. Thanks for participating! It made for extra excitement around here.

I've decided to have a little contest here in honor of my sister-in-law's birthday this week. Lisa married into the Harris family four months before I did. We've known each other for over twenty years now, and we are family.

Years ago, she decided that she wanted to write. So, she did what I can't imagine ever doing. She woke up in the wee hours of the morning, every morning, and began (it's the wee hours part that I can't imagine doing).

She has been published in many literary journals, and this is her first book....

Here's a short review of the book by my other amazing Harris sister-in-law, Pamela Wat:

"Through the Veil" is an American author's perspective of her years living in the Middle East. She seamlessly weaves together different narratives about the people/culture/history/experiences of the place where she lived and the people/culture/history/experiences of her own family and self. Each chapter has its own beginning and end and yet the book is a beautiful, cohesive whole. It offered a moving ending that provided closure, yet left me wanting more. Her thoughtful reflection brought out meaning and depth where I would not have expected. This book inspired me to live more deeply in my own experience and to take notice of the threads of my life and how they are interconnected with the lives of those seemingly-different from me. I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into the author's experience of living in Amman and surrounding areas, of birthing and raising children in a foreign land, of learning Arabic and of learning when to assimilate and when to stand out. This book is an important read for our time and I am changed for having read it."

The book was a 2011 Oregon book award finalist, so the recent copies have a cool blue sticker on them.

So, the contest--A few weeks ago, I wrote about my walk to pick up Anna from school.  This Monday,  I counted the café and restaurant tables on the sidewalk from the time I turn onto the main road, Boulevard Gambetta, until I arrive at school. The tables are all two person tables, some put together to make a table for four, but in that case, I still counted each individual table.

There are a few places that I pass that are on a corner, so the tables wind around the other side. In those cases, I counted the tables around the corner as well. 

I'm including all these details in case any readers in Nice are super motivated to venture out into the rain and count.

So, the question is: how may tables were there on Monday? Just leave your answer in the comments section.

We are leaving for a church retreat tomorrow afternoon, so I'll check the answers Sunday evening and announce the winner. The winner will receive a copy (likely with the blue sticker) of Lisa's book, Through the Veil. If you already have it, enter anyway and pass it on as a Christmas gift.