Blast from the past

My girls gave me the first 2 seasons of Dallas on DVD for my birthday. I was one of many who was hooked on the series back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Folks used to plan their social life around it. One friend even scheduled her C-section so she wouldn't miss an episode. Of course, this was prior to the days of VCRs and Tivo.

It hasn't aged well at all. Camp to the extreme. The clothes! The acting! The dialogue! Especially the dialogue. Watched 2 seasons - the disco scene was the best (worst), and Lucy was certainly an evil little sex kitten in those early episodes. And, oh how has technology changed. J.R.'s Secretary (secretary, not Administrative Assistant) is typing on clunkly IBM Selectric. All the phones (in tasteful pastel colors) have cords, there is not a computer to be seen and nary a cell phone in evidence. The TVs all have dials, nobody wears a seat belt and everybody smokes.

My eldest is has discovered the media of the 1970s and I think she'll find Dallas fascinating. Right now she is reading her way through the novels of Jacqueline Susann. "I didn't know people wrote about stuff like that back then" she told me in utter amazement. She's happily recreating the 1970s and I'm feeling old. My life is now history and nostalgia. It doesn't seem all that long ago to me, but to her it's ancient history.

There Ought to be a Law....

....about having birthdays fall on a Monday. Mondays are bad enough as it is. Friday is a good day - you can celebrate all weekend, Thursdays is tolerable - the week is about over - but Monday! There is never anything good about Monday. My beloved did send me a dozen roses which were duly admired by all and sundry. They are lovely- yellow with peach tips. They are on display in the library and some of the kids asked if they were real. I can't have them at the house since Leia the high maintance cat has been known to dine on them.

It was a slow Monday- we have few scheduled classes because nobody wants Monday as their library day. In fact nobody wants Monday period. Due to holidays and inservices anyone with a Monday library day ends up missing it at least once a month. At my school, nobody wants to miss library time. Which is I guess, a compliment.

So we did thises and thats and odds and ends. Cataloged, lesson plans and such. We are piloting a Gifted and Talented Program with first and second graders. We were promised a curriculum which of course did not materialize so we are creating our own. We is myself and another teacher - we are co-teaching since we have 14 students. She's bi-lingual, which is a nice plus since 6 of the children are too.

Blogger Ate my Post

Wrote a spritely entry on Thursday night and then Blogger had some server problems since it timed out. Tried to recreate it but just couldn't. I can always edit a post but can never recreate on from scratch when it is eaten by a computer glitch. Somehow the second post always sounds forced and has no flow.

Finally some rain - and oh, do we need it. It held off till the afternoon so I did make it to the Salvation Army for box/book/table day only they didn't have many books out. They had restocked the cookbooks so I made off with a new stack of Junior League cookbooks. Spent the afternoon listing all the Landmark Books I picked up at a booksale last weekend. They always appeal to homeschools. The books are accurate historically, but it's a very 1950s viewpoint, where all the American heroes are 10 feet tall and feet of marble, never of clay.

Coaxed My Beloved off the couch and away from the Olympics for dinner at Barnabys - craved one of their burgers and needed time away from the computer.

Odd things of note - the Blogger spell check does not recognize the word "blogger". It wants to change the word to "blocker". Another odd thing...why are Cadallic and Lincoln making SUVs? Why would a little old blue haired lady want a Lincoln SUV? Is she planning to drive over hill and over dale ? And why do they drive them so slowly? Not to mention parking them. It's a puzzlement.

My Glasses Keep Steaming Up...

Come August I always reconsider lasik surgery. It's steamy in Houston, I get out of the car, my glasses fog up and I can't see. Most anoying. August is the time of year when one wonders why anyone ever wanted to settle in Houston in the first place (real estate hucksters - some things never change). The afternoon rains don't cool things off, they just add to the sauna effect. Fall will arrive - all 3 days of it, if we can only live so long.

Wasted an afternoon in the most useless of in-services. Why are teacher in-services yet another example of "do as I say, not as I do". The instructor was poorly prepared, rambled, got off topic and never did articulate just what information she wanted to convey. I figured out what we were supposed to learn in about 15 minutes and spent the rest of the time wishing I was elsewhere. Couldn't leave because I needed the almighty certificate to prove I'd been there. All teacher inservices are paced at the level of the slowest learner - and that speed can be very slow indeed. There wasn't even any good thrifting on the way home. A new bookstore advertising that it had books at "80%" off turned out to be a remainder bookstore - Half Price Books at lower prices. The high point of the afternoon was releasing a book for Bookcrossing at Starbucks. And getting to the Post Office in time to mail my books.

To quote Scarlett...Tomorrow is a another day...and it better be a better one...

Monday Monday

Seem to be getting into the swing at work - actually left on time. Not that I should off, but I would like a life back. We are caught up with new kids and new cards and it's a trickle instead of a deludge. Actually finished up a book order and an Accelerated Reader order.

Lessons are easy this week - just explaining this year's AR Celebrations. Next week comes "picking a just right book" - my ever constant and sometimes all so futile attempt to convince a poor reader that Harry Potter is a bit much and encouraging a 5th grader that it's time to move onward and upward from Junie B. Jones. Blocks on the AR tests help a bit, but our kids are such reluctant risk takers. They want the old and familiar and the tried and true - something that spills over into all aspects of their daily lives. I swear it's one of the reasons so few of them go on to college - fear of the unknown. Better the devil they know, than the devil they don't, even though the devil they know is dead end jobs at minimum wage. It's very frustrating.

The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming..

Yesterday my E-Bay buddy and I made a first time foray to the Jewish Community Center Booksale. It was a tad pricey - all hardbacks $2 and all paperbacks $1. On the plus side it was well organized, well laid out and not well publicized so we didn't have to contend with some of the usual suspects. I didn't tell Mr. Wireless about - after all, all is fair in love and war and if he chooses not to read the paper carefully. One delightful plus was that it was held on Sunday morning, which suited me, your basic heathen just fine. The Homeschool Moms with their dowdy jumpers , their misbehaving children (clad in matching baggy jumpers) & monster strollers were busy with their Sunday church activities.

I came away with 50 some odd books - a big stack of Landmark books which often have a ready market among said homeschoolers. Oddly, we both found some books with Russian title pages and English text. There were also a number of Russian textbooks and books - donated by someone from the Houston Russian Jewish Expatriate community. Houston is such a melting pot, we have a little of everything.

However, one does wonder what journey a book printed in Russian, with English text and an English gift inscription that indicates it was bought in Moscow in 1956 took to land at a used booksale in 2004.

Sports Overload

Houston is a sports mad town. This goes without saying and mostly those of us who are not just learn to live with it. But, every now and then, something pops up that screams "priorities" and "excuse me, is this really so all fire important?". For example - last night, the "teasers" for the local evening news "Houston Little League Team exposed to contagious disease". The mind starts to wonder ..hum...STDs (after all some of those kids are older than their "birth certificates")? Hepatitis from unclean needles due to steroid abuse? Nope, turns out they are at the Little League World Series and one of members of a team they are sharing a bathroom with has the chicken pox. The future of Houston's Little Glory is in danger because one of the players just might come down with chicken pox. Never mind there is a now a vaccine for it and all children have to proof thereof before they can enroll in public school. Nope, germs are going to shoot down another chance at sports glory.

This on a night when we are in the midst of a Presidential Election, a serious war in Iraq and the Olympics. I do love our local news, I've never seen an organization do a better job of dispelling the notion that Houston is the nation's 4th largest city.

Blessed Be Friday. Left school ON TIME. Got the books packed and in the mail and was asleep by 10. Despite a wonderful thunderstorm I slept till nine. Woke up in time to make it to the Salvation Army for their Saturday Book Sale. I found a big stack of community cook books which always do well for me. The usual suspects were in attendance, including a man who looks up every ISBN on his wireless internet phone and was amazed that I operate strictly on prior knowledge and intuition. Most of what I work with hasn't an ISBN so I have no other choice.

Folks used to migrate toward bookselling because they LOVED books and would rather read than eat. Now, with the rise of E-bay and the Blackberry there is a new breed who know from nothing when it comes to books and sell because they can. For them it's all about the money. They do well enough at it, perhaps better than me but they never look like they are having fun. I adore the thrill of the hunt and matching up a book with a customer who has been looking for it. Yes, it is a a business, but it's also nourishes my soul.

Mr. Wireless only deals in new self help and non fiction so we get along just fine. I didn't bother to point out to him the gems he was over looking - I just grabbed them for myself!

Got Sucked In ..Despite My Better Intensions..

Well, once again the women's gymnastics have sucked me in. I will be staying up way to late tonight and be oh so sleepy in the morning.

Swimming has to much of the "hunk" mystique and women's beach volleyball is more cheesecake than sport. I am certain the woman are true athletes but why are they dressed in its, bitsy, teeny weenie bikinis? Yes, it developed on the beaches of California , but the men get to wear baggy shorts. When it comes to the ladies, I've seen more clothes on a Hooters Waitress. I would think it would be difficult to keep ones mind on the game if you have to worry about having plumbers butt.

The gymnastics is fun, though the ladies look oh so serious. Not much joive de viere among this years crop. The smiles look so forced and automatic. And they are wobbling and bobbling all over the balance beam - poor things.

Where are all the people? The stands are empty - even at the gymnastics finals. Fear of terrioritsts? The state of the US economy? The low dollar as compared to the Euro? Greece is to close to the Middle East? I wonder if the Olympics are becoming a dinosaur?

No matter what, books are not getting packed tonight. Will have to rush home from school tomorrow, pitch them into envelopes and fly to the Post Office before they close the doors.

Of course, should of packed last night, but I worked till 7 at school. So many new students this year - we picked up a new tract, to relieve overcrowding at a nearby school. All needing new library cards, AR entries and a strong grounding in library routines. We had a big stack and I wanted them OVER with before left for the night. Thanks to an over long faculty meeting I didn't get them done after the bell rang.

Very long faculty meeting -staff shufflings, due to shifting enrollments. To many kids in some grades, not enough in others. It's hard on the children, who are just feeling comfortable - and the ones who are shifted always feel slighted - as one child put it one year "I was given away". And what's even harder are when teachers are shifted from one grade to another on 3 days notice. We're getting a new 4th grade teacher who is "excess" at another school and Jerona doesn't even know the sex of the person. The 4th grade team, which works well together and doesn't cotton to newcomers they haven't approved is most disgruntled. This new teacher will have a hard row to hoe, his/ her only saving grace is that the other bi-lingual teacher is new to our school also. When it comes to teaching, misery and uncertainity does love company.

These days, the district has a budget shortfall so it's all about the money, and keeping the classes as full as the law allows. Jerona tries to project the enrollment but she has no control over the apartment complexs and their propensity for offering $17 move in specials.

It's going to be an intensive year, especially since the state of Texas has raised the bar on the dreaded and all important TEKS test and along with our shifting demographics have come some kids who are really low.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

First weekend after working all week, and as always it was WAY TO SHORT. To many things to cram into it, and they wouldn't all fit.

The Summer Olympics have started but I can't whip up any enthusiasm about the process. It's not an amateur competion in any sense of the world - what with NBA and WNBA players on "Team USA", athletes who train full time on someone's nickel and doping scandals. I hate things that pretend one thing are actually something else - like college football. I like Pro Football, because they make no bones about the fact it's all about the money and the winning. College Football and the Olympics are all about the money and winning too, but they pretend otherwise and try to disguise it using phrases like "glory", "sportsmanship", "national pride" and "goodwill". It aint't about goodwill, it's about who will get featured on the Wheaties Box.

My Beloved is becoming more and more involved with the Executive Women's Golf Association as her interest in playing golf grows. I do like the women in the club, most are about our age, busy with careers, happy in relationships (none of this change partners and dance bit) and happily stable. We are starting to socialize with a group who share a T-Time with My Beloved.

From weeks of no social life, this weekend was a social whirl, in that we also had dinner with My Beloved's mother and her husband. Dinner was great fun and they gave us the most delightful scrapbook. They'd printed out my blog, added pictures and clippings and mounted them in a scrapbook. We're going to add pictures to it and it will be the perfect memory book.

School Day I

First day back with kids and we all survived. Actually, it was one of the smoother openings, not to many crying children or clingy mothers. Got roped into helping with registration and one mother, who seemed to take forever going through the process had 3 toddlers with her, one of whom was strapped into a stroller and shrieked, yipped, howled, yowled and roared the entire time. Of course, she was the one with the most problems, missing paperwork, shot records and so on. By the time she was finally done all the adults had a headache. The mother on the other hand was oblivious to the entire adventure and didn't seem to mind that her 4 year old was pushing the howler all over the cafeteria, careening into corners and doing wheelies. One mother was told that an eviction notice was not acceptable proof of residency. And speaking of , it looks like one of our most troublesome and dysfunctional families might not be back. Rumors of evictions abound.

The weather cooperated by not raining and a welcome cold front produced semi cooler temperatures - high 80s, instead of our typical blast furnace 90s, heat index of 105.

I much as I didn't want to go back to work, there is still a feeling of excitement when the kids show up, all excited about a new year and a new beginning. Most of our kids like school, they like the routine and predictability.

The library looks good, lots of new books and new stuffed animal and puppet displays which look friendly and welcoming.

If only I wasn't so tired and had more hours in the day. I would love to job share but financially that isn't an option. 1 more year of college for the girls, plus credit card debts to pay. Plus, for the first time I don't have an escape valve. I'm 8 years from being able to retire and have to stay put. School teachers don't' have a 401k they can roll over! I've got to finish out my time so I can get a pension, being that My Beloved and I won't have access to each others retirement benefits, unless there are some drastic changes in our country. Something I don't anticipate seeing in my lifetime.

Nose Worn Off by Grindstone

Whew...Work is back and there aren't enough hours in the day! In-service presentation went well, though we didn't have enough time to do the Library Resources Page justice. I should of gone back to work once we were done, but it was 3:30 and thrift stores were calling my name. So I heeded their call, found some promising books and headed home to deal with e-mail at home. The rest of the week was pretty much taken up with still more in-services. Boring as always, I sat in the back and read and marked professional journals. Not exactly polite but not nearly as rude as the aside conversations that everyone else indulged in. Nor as loud.

So Saturday work was in order...Got the first week lesson plans, the story section and the seasonal decorations up so come hell or high water I can deal with kids when they troop in on Thursday. Did still more work at home, trying to feel caught up.

The high point was a good garage sale sponsored by a usually overpriced society charity thrift and a pool party and dinner at the home of some new golfing buddies. And now the weekend is almost over and all I have to show for it is a very tired feeling and a stiff neck from being hunched over my computer.

Nose to the Grindstone

The alarm shrills at 6am and I am dragging by 8pm. First day back I got roped into helping with new teacher inservice which did wonders for PR but nothing for my to do list. The tech coach & tech spec weren't on campus so I galloped from one computer to another trying to solve e-mail & computer woes or come up with alternative solutions. The only things that got checked off my own list were changing out the flags, finishing the unpacking and cleaning up a batch of Marc records. I am feeling most UNREADY for the first day and fear I'll be putting in some Saturday hours. My to-do list is growing instead of shrinking. This is not a good thing. Most discouraging.

The few hours I was home was spent packing up the E-Bay and Amazon books. The Memory Books from our trip went into the mail and I hope everyone likes them. I'm beginning to think I need something in my life other than books!

Day two was spent at the Library In-Service, which as always was chock full of information, much of which is rocking and rolling around my brain in a most unprocessed state. This is the year I'm going to have to go the 3 hole punch, note book route since we are re-doing how we are designing lessons and many trees are giving up their lives for the cause. The best part is always seeing all my colleagues and exchanging tips and tricks. Sometimes I think the breaks are the most informative times!

Did treat myself to a trip to Blue Willow books - one of the last independent bookstores in Houston. It's not on any of my usual routes so I rarely make it there. Such a fun place - bought two new "first day" books to start out the year. The owner loves literature and it shows. No junky TV tie in books in her displays - she goes for the good quality literature with seasonal tie ins. So much having something other than books in my life!

Tomorrow is present the Library Resources Page day to the new teachers. Those poor folks have already endured 2 days of in-services and are most likely on some serious brain overload. There is so much on the page that they can use to make life easier for themselves but I don't know if they will be able to remember much of what we say. Hopefully we can impress upon them that their librarian is their best friend.

Note to self - get a double venti latte to ensure "perky".

Hot, Hot, Hot......

Hot, humid, sticky, wet, steaming...all adjectives that describe Houston's weather this weekend. Trotted off to Office Depot for their Teacher Appreciation Breakfast - free food, some free goodies and 10% off on all purchases. Then to Salvation Army in the hopes they were having a book table box sale. They were but slim, slim pickings - all religious books which I know nothing about. Home to sort, toss and deal with e-mail. Have my calendars sorted out so I do feel a bit more under control - I have all my booksales listed. According to Booksale Finder it's going to be a busy autumn. The next step is to make a list a'la Besty Ray.

Still fiddling around with E-Bay books, moving some to Amazon, consigning others to the half price box. Amazon is proving to be brisker than E-bay which is quite a switch.

Cooked a REAL dinner tonight - it's time to stop eating everything that comes across the pike and think less and no fried! The weight I took off prior to Europe came back, which I suspected it would since I indulged in cheese and chocolate. Of course saying no to sweets will be tricky now that work is about to start again!

My Beloved played golf on both Sat. and Sunday and is feeling the heat a bit. I'm laying off on Dr. orders, but given the heat, I honestly don't mind to much!

And oh, it's going to hurt when that alarm blasts forth tomorrow morning!

Back to work - sorta...

Well the day is approaching...I went up to school today, just to have a look around and dump some of the STUFF I've collected over the summer. The carpet cleaners had come and gone and as always, everything was piled up higgley piggely. It will take at least an hour to put all the chairs back and such like. And why, do they always manage to leave the spots behind? I now know them like old friends - the one by the door is from a spaghetti celebration lunch and the one behind the circulation desk is compliments of computer tech who practices "do as I say and not as I do" when it comes to coffee. School was empty but it was very early. Tomorrow school is closed which is nice, that way I needn't feel guilty about not being there. Of course I could be, but there won't be an A/C and suffering is not on my agenda.

I am feeling overwhelmed and totally disorganized.... I must sit down, put things on my calendars and make a list. I will still be overwhelmed but at least I'll know what's causing the landslide. Plus, I can cross things off and feel accomplished and course lists appeal to my type A personality!

Stopped by Library Media to say hello and catch up on the news. Always good to see the friendly folks there. Lots of new librarians on board, and new challenges what with funding cuts and increased emphasis on teacher librarian collaboration.

Hit a couple of thrifts on the way home - no real finds but some ok stuff. Went to a new coffee shop to release another Bookcrossing book - and picked up one for myself!

Home with the Democratic Convention on TV. Tonight is John Kerry's acceptance speech. It's being over analyzed to death and he has yet to set foot on the podium. I miss the old conventions, with the fraction fights and drama as to who would get the actual nomination. Now it is a done deal, so the convention is nothing but a 4 day infomercial. The graphics are more sophisticated and the budgets are bigger but the intent is the same. Convince people they really need and want something they really could very well live without.


Ollie, the No Maintance Kitty

Last Thriftcom of the Summer

My thrifting buddy and I went forth to our last thriftcon of the summer - 
 headed to the southwest portion of Houston,  home to a mini United Nations of cultures and some of the worst drivers in the city.  It was half price clothing day at the Salvation Army and the place was wall to wall kids,  all of whom were bored and playing with very LOUD toys.  However it was worse at Value Village where they were racing the kiddy cars up and down the aisles while their parents paid them no attention.  I am not exactly anticipating the new school year with baited breath.

Pickings were good though - a box of assorted books, 2 of which have already sold on Amazon, some almost new Cole Haan shoes,  couple of shirts and assorted stuffed animals for school.  Very pretty, hand made pottery serving dish with lid. And I found one of my thrifting Holy Grails - Pampered Chef Stoneware.  This time it was a loaf pan, brand new, never used. Can't decide whether to keep it or e-bay it.

Besides the final thriftcon, it was also the week for my final culture trip.  Culture Buddy and I trotted off to the Fine Arts museum to see a Diane Arbus retrospective.  Many of the pictures were familiar but some very new.  The exhibit included her notes and portions of her diaries and letters.  Her photos are odd and she was even odder.  The comments she made about the birth of her daughters and how she felt about them were both chilling and unsettling. How very sad to feel that alone and that unconnected in the world. 
 

Finally!

....I managed to add some links to my blog.  Took me 2 hours of trial and error - with may more of the latter than the former.  HTML is indeed tricky.  I felt most accomplished when I finally triumphed.  I now have links to our Trip Pictures, my E-Bay Page and BookCrossing.  Bookcrossing was very nice and even provided a cut n' paste text block so I got their cute little graphic too. 

Hauled book cullings to Half Price Books - the Montrose location, which is my favorite one. The clientele and the staff are always so eclectic; plus they pay more than the suburban locations. Of course, as always I spent more than they gave me, but there are 2 less boxes of books on the pool table so it was still a successful trip.

My Beloved actually wanted to go work out, so we meet at the gym and then had lunch together. Very nice surprise and break in the day.


A Day's Work 

Lots of odds and ends today since TIME IS RUNNING OUT.  Sorted back to school things, sent out e-mails about the blog and our trip to folks, mailed packages, planted more flowers.  Even cooked dinner.  A very accomplished sort of day in a low key putter kind of way.


Front Steps 

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Attempted to bring some fresh energy to our little garden plot by adding some flowers - Another Place in Time , my favorite nursery celebrated Christmas in July so I took advantage of their reduced prices. Of course I had to check out their scratch & dent section and found a pile of flags. I use them to decorate the library so I'm always on the lookout for new additions to the collection.


Front Garden  

Put in long hours shuffling the book inventory for half.com to Amazon - it's been a very tedious project but it is almost done. Amazon sales have shot up, though so it appears to be worthwhile. So far 26 books sold in just one week. That's a new record.   6 bags of books are out the door to Half Price books.  Granted, they will only give me pennies on the dollar but the empty space is more important than the money.

Sarah McLachlan was in town and she's a long time favorite of My Beloved so of course we had tickets. Good show, but the crowd made me feel oh so old! Most of my concert experience has been among the big 2 of Lesbian music - k.d. Lang and Melissa Etheridge , the crowd always does include lots of young baby dykes, but the gray hair and birkenstock set is always well represented. The Sarah McLachlan crowd had a bit of that, as well as a  sprinkling of queens but so many 20somethings. Strappy little tank tops, slip dresses, spiky heels and more surgerically enhanced breasts than I've ever seen other than on the Playboy Channel.  There were a few out of control screamers and the ubiquitous cell phone users  and  it was a very good show, with a singer who really enjoyed what she was doing and wanted to give the crowd their moneys worth. The non stop cell usage never ceases to amaze me, why spend $65 for a ticket and then talk on gab during most of the concert?  This 24/7 need to be in touch and top of things is something that I just don't understand.  I am on the wrong side of the generation gap and I don't like it!

An errand running I shall go

Yesterday was a day of frustrations interspersed with a few pleasant moments. I somehow misplaced My Beloved's credit card which resulted in much wasted time in searching for, not finding it and then canceling it. What an annoyance.

However did have lunch with my thrifting buddy and 2 other friends from the Betsy Tacy list at Baba Yagas, which is a Houston institution. In Houston, any restaurant that has survived 30+ years, the oil bust and the Enron debacle qualifies as an institution. Good good - lots of innovative vegetarian selections and even better conversation.

Onward to brave the Katy Freeway, get my glasses fixed (AGAIN) and to Target for cleaner. I've discover Method Cleaners and I really like the way the products smell. I have no clue if they are any better than the stuff at the dollar store - they probably aren't but the packaging is so much more attractive.

Braved the construction on Loop 610 to get more meds for Leia the High Maintance kitty- it's harder & harder to get to Gulf Coast Vet since the entrance keeps getting lost in orange barrels and the piles of dirt.


Leia the High Maintance Kitty 

I MUST start thinking about school again - boo - hiss so I got a stack of posters so I can make my signs. I really should go to work next week but just can't muster the motivation. Somehow the entire day was gone with nothing to show for it but a half empty gas tank.

I did treat myself to the new Jimmy Buffet CD - License to Chill. Haven't listened to it yet since My Beloved is not fond of the Man from the Gulf Coast, but he'll keep me company on my next round of errand running.

Busied myself this morning packing books, getting some books ready to release via Bookcrossing and putting together a care package for a soldier in Iraq. Someone on my thriftlist passed along the most interesting site - Booksforsoldiers.com. I'm going to try to send out one book a week. I certainly don't agree with the war or the government but the soldiers are another thing entirely. They need all the support they can get, and besides, librarians are supposed to put books in people's hands! I registered all the books with Bookcrossing, just to see what happens.

Still slogging through my half.com / Amazon books. I'm so disgusted with half com that I'm putting most of my inventory on Amazon and experimenting with ProSeller. It is very tedious work but at least I have new BBC DVD to divert me - Anna Karenina, staring Nicola Pagett who was so lovely in UpStairs DownStairs. I really do want to finish this chore before I go back work again and loose all my free time.

Where did the Summer Go?

It's almost over and it seemed like it just started! I get this feeling every year, but this year the summer really does seem shorter than usual- just this week and next and it's nose to the grindstone time again. Retirement is not an option at present.

I have 2 more projects to finish - cleaning out the elephants graveyard of tote bags known as the hall closet. I am sure I can find homes for said bags on freecycle.

The other is sorting out the Amazon / Half.com book inventory and culling the dogs. If I ever finish that job I will then attempt to do the same with the E-Bay books.

My Beloved shocked me on our recent trip by reading a book cover to cover. In that way we are an odd couple, since I am never without a book, if not two or three. I picked a copy of A Nasty Bit of Rough by David Feherty at a thrift shop since it was about golf and she loved it. I found myself saying "stop reading your book and lets go to bed". She liked it so much that she had me order his other book for her.
That was a first - that's normally her line!

Finished!

Spent most of today sprucing up my trip blog, adding pictures and web links and it's now finished! Or as finished as it will ever be. My Beloved read it (she liked it!) but wishes to announce to the world that she does not nap as much as one might think reading said blog. She does grudgingly admit that she is high maintaince. :-) We spent the evening working on a memory book to send to everyone who gave us hospitality while in Holland. She chose the pictures, I wrote the captions and the end result is very nice indeed. It came compliments of her 550+ digital pictures and Snapfish.com.

As always my summer is slipping away much faster than I would like.