Lookee what I Got!

My sister is a very generous person.  Last month she emailed me to ask if there was anything I wanted from a list she had been given ... It was a tenth anniversary present from the company she works for... but she couldn't find anything she needed or even cared to add to the stuff at her house. Same for her husband, so... since she didn't want it to go to waste, she sent the list to me -- an early birthday present list as it were.

This (see the shiny new bike above) is what I ended up ordering.

It arrived two weeks ago (and yes, these pictures were in my phone for over a week before I finally got them out).

I love it.  I haven't had a bike in years and have wanted one for a while so I could go riding with the boys.

So far, only Number Two Son has taken me up on the offer -- as long as I was willing to play basketball as a side trip to the ride. I agreed.

It's FUN!

And, the best part is I've only got one self-inflicted wound from the bike so far. NO wipe-outs!

My sister tried to order it in HOT PINK so as to keep the very masculine boys away from it...

Unfortunately, it's not Hot Pink enough.

Number One Son took it out for a spin the moment we brought it home.

AND 

 he changed the gears on me. 

(As if I could figure out what the gears really do anyway - I've set them so it feels comfortable, after that, I just peddle).

I've given him a lecture about using his own bike. I think he's pretending not to have heard it.

Even so, I'm going to try and get some baskets for the back end -- then I can ride to the Post Office (which is just about half a mile from my house) to drop off packages, and then to the grocery store for small trips.

THANKS SIS!

The Ebay Thing continues....

It's been a month since I re-entered the Ebay marketplace as a seller. So far, no spectacular success.
In fact, so far, no success at all.  I did learn from a comment to add extra pictures.  I've also added a Best OFFER option button for those who might be tempted.

So far.... nothing.

Of course, it's not much of a trial with only five listings, so I'm continuing the effort and trying different material.

I seem to have the patience to list only one or two items at a time, which works out OK as long as I'm able to do it on a daily basis, but June so far, hasn't been a month where I can list daily. In fact, last week was another one of THOSE weeks where listing took second place to kid stuff (and this week isn't much better as it's the last week of school for Number Two Son).

I did see that I had people look at every singe one of my listings on Ebay, which is nice (though I can't tell if it's ME looking at items or real buyer type people).   Ebay is it's own little world. I was familiar with it (some) back in the 1990's but now, it's a totally different ballgame, just as regular bookselling is a different ballgame.  It's going to take time, patience and some sideways thinking to get the ball (since it's a ball game) rolling again.

For now it's  waiting, watching and learning -- and adding more books to my listings on Ebay.

Since I'm on the cook book kick...

About a month ago, I ended up at one of those - ESTATE SALES!!!!  Antiques!!! Come and SEE!!!

type things.   You know, the ads in the paper where the more exclamation points, the more you think you should run in the other direction?  Well, yes, but ... I got one of those feelings about this one that really, no matter what the print said, I needed to check it out.  An this little gem is one of the things (I found a stack of fun, though not stellar, stuff) I found.

dated to the 1920's (I can't pin it down exactly, but somewhere in the 1920's range) one of the advertising gimmicks from Ghirardelli Chocolate Company out of San Francisco, CA. was this little envelope filled with sixteen different recipes for housewives which used (of course) Ghirardelli chocolate. 

Note that there's no zip code (not introduced until the 1960's).

 This wee little envelope is a bit fragile and has a couple of tears , but even so, it's just so darned cute... (you can hear the awwwwhhh sound from  here can't you?)

 Included inside this envelope are 16 small recipes cards. The recipes are on one side of the page, the other side has a pithy statement from Ghirardelli's  (since, as you know, this IS advertising).

see - recipes... YUM..

And Advertising...

I haven't had a chance to try out any of these recipes yet, but they all look very appetizing -- here's the Chocolate Ice Box Cookies just to make things even yummier:

Chocolate Ice Box Cookies:

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups white sugar

8 Tbs Ghirardelli Ground Chocolate

1 egg

2 Tbs boiling water

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar. Add well-beaten egg, melted chocolate and milk. Then add flour, salt and baking powder sifted together. Add vanilla. Shape into roll 2 inches in diameter and place in refrigerator 6 hours. Slice thin, bake at 375 degrees F. for 12 minutes.

If anyone tries this, let me know how it turns out.  Sounds delicious!

A Recipe for Chris...

Yesterday on Facebook I posted a note that I had just finished making toffee for the first time in oh.... fifteen years? Well, it actually came out right and tasted good too (these things are, after all mutually exclusive). One of my Book dealer friends on Facebook asked for the recipe.

So I got to thinking ... 

The recipe itself is easy.  (I'll get to that in a moment).  The cook book for it, however, has a story behind it.

This cookbook is a little stapled wrap cookbook that came with the first ever microwave oven I ever used.

Vintage 1979.  It was brand new, from a local appliance store and my mom broke down and spent real money on it (not THE most expensive brand at the time, mind you, as we were poor, but not the bottom of the barrel brand either).  It had a dial to twist to enter how many minutes you wanted to cook. It had -- and this was the expensive part at that time - a turntable bottom (glass thingy which probably has a name) so you didn't have to open the oven up and turn your food around every two minutes.

I have no idea how much it cost.  But with the price of the oven came CLASSES.

My mom and I tripped down to this store in the evening once a week for about six weeks to learn how to use the microwave. And with the class came this cook book. (I was meaning to grab a photo of it, but today was one of those hectic end of school days).

This cook book is one I would never part with.  It's stained, it's folded ever which way. It is still completely stapled together, which is a plus, and there are probably twenty or so recipes in the book.  Me, I keep it for three (possibly four if I looked through) recipes.

Toffee

Peanut Brittle

and Broccoli Beef

I have a drawer full of other cook books that get used just about the same amount -- meaning there's one or two, or maybe even five recipes that I might use out of the book. But they are DARNED good recipes.  Except, that is, for my 1963 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  (I'll leave that book for another day. Couldn't live without it).

So several weeks ago, I got an urge to have some toffee. I found the cookbook and checked the list of ingredients. I had all of them except the chocolate chips (well, and the ground almonds, but they weren't a necessary part of the recipe for me). Couldn't make it then, so I threw it up on top of the bread maker in the kitchen and didn't think about it again until yesterday, when, in a fit of cleaning I tossed the stuff on top of the bread maker back in the drawer.  Except this little cookbook.

I looked over at Honored Husband and said, want some toffee?

He gave me one of those looks.

Then said,  WHAT?

Which, I finally realized meant that in all the years we were married, I never MADE this toffee for him.

He walked away and thought no more about it.

I, on the other hand, pulled out the meager list of ingredients and got to work.

So here's the deal -- the recipe is EASY.

1/2 cup ground almonds (to put on top, if you desire... I didn't have any & Honored Husband can't eat them so I left them off)

1 cup (approximately) chocolate chips

1 cup butter (must be REAL butter to work)

1 box brown sugar (dark or light doesn't seem to matter)

Melt the butter in the Microwave slowly so it doesn't burn

Add the sugar and mix well.

In the recipe, it says to run the microwave for 9 minutes, stopping every three minutes to stir -- cook until the mixture reaches the hard crack stage, then empty onto a greased / buttered cookie sheet. Sprinkle the choc. chips on top, let them melt a bit then spread evenly over the toffee. Sprinkle all of this with the almonds.  BE CAREFUL -- MIXTURE IS VERY HOT (as if you didn't know )

Easy.

First thing to note -- microwaves are more powerful now. I only put the mixture in for 5 minutes and it was ready.  Personally, I think you can use as many or few choc. chips as you want on top.  With or without almonds, I don't care.

That's it.

Oh, and since it was an experiment, I went for half a recipe.  Which, if your interested, is 1/ 2 cup butter and 2 cups sugar (figuring out the sugar part took longer than anything else... who's got a box of sugar around so I can check... darn, it's by pounds, not cups... math.... math... throw sugar in with a practiced eye).

The Peanut Brittle is just as good. I don't make it anymore because I would eat the entire batch ....and that's NOT good.

The Broccoli Beef is a household staple, but I've definitely modified the recipe -- don't even look at the recipe any longer so may not be anywhere near what's on the printed page.

And as for the microwave from 1979 --- it lasted until 2002.  GREAT machine. Simple, yes, but got the job done.  We replaced it in 2002 with something a bit more fancy.  It broke last month.  And the man at the appliance store said that nowadays, they are set to last 3-5 years. THAT'S ALL! 

And no lessons were offered with the new one either.

Research Done... for now

I've finally gotten as much info on this book as I'm ever going to get (barring a dust jacket mysteriously appearing out of the sky).  It's done.

Now I have to catalogue it. Then life will get back to normal again.  (until the next time I get lost in the details).

I want to thank everyone who helped me finally figure out what I have.

The people at the Shel Silverstein website were awesome.

As was Christy Hicks at the Arne Nixon Center at Calif State University at Fresno (did you know there was a special collection at Fresno State of picture books?  FRESNO! And today I found out that Fresno has the third largest library in the Cal. State system .... FRESNO!  )

AND

a whole boatload of people on the Biblio newsgroup who volunteered bits of information.


I'm hoping I won't be bothering them all again soon.


PS:  in the end, I can notate this book as a first printing, but there's no way to designate it as a first printing without the dust jacket.  And I was correct that people were generally mistaking later reprint copies (which are in lightish brown full cloth bindings with gilt lettering) as first editions.


The book will go up on my website as soon as I get a chance.

June Newsletter

So, I got to thinking ... since I send out a newsletter monthly, why not post it here as well?

Seemed like a good idea so I'm going to try to remember to post it here monthly as well.

I wish I could make my newsletters as fun and entertaining as Forrest Proper (yes, that is his name) at Joslin Hall Rare books (here's his blog for you -- for the newsletter, I'll have to check and find one to show you what I mean if you don't already get it yourself). He has elves, you see. And his elves are infamous for their ideas that somehow go amazingly, badly awry. I haven't asked Forrest yet, but I have a feeling he has a background in math and physics because the troubles the elves get into with machinery and fire.... oh my!

At any rate, I haven't been able to settle into one style or another regarding my newsletter. Sometimes I think I've got a style, but by the next month, I've lost it.  At least here on the blog I THINK I've worked out how I want it to sound (if I'm wrong, let me know, pronto).

Wait -- I just found one of his newsletters. I probably shouldn't link to it before I put my own newsletter up, but here goes: Joslin Hall Fine Books New Spring Catalog .


Now, here's my pitiful entry  entitled: It's June already...what will you be doing this month?
(PS: * switch up the list at the end to target certain categories - Youth / Modern Fiction / Science Fiction - but otherwise the newsletter is the same)


Hi:

       Just for fun I checked out the list of events that happen in
       June. Everyone knows about Father's Day (June 20th this year),
       but what about Donut Day? (First Friday in June - celebrating
       the Salvation Army's Donut Dollies who gave donuts to the
       troops in World War I ... which gave rise to the name
       Doughboys).

       There are others though. Here are a few of the fun ones:

         * National Iced Tea Day (June 10th)

         * King Kamehameha Day (June 11th)

         * World Naturist Day (A more PC name for Nudist, this is
           celebrated on June 4th - I plan NOT to celebrate this)

         * Flag Day (June 14th - for the United States)

         * Morticians Day (June 16th - again, not so interested in this
           celebration...and what does one DO on Mortician's Day anyway?)

         * Juneteenth (June 19th - Yet another day specific to the US,
           celebrating the abolition of Slavery)

         And of course, who can forget Midsummer's Eve! (Variable days
         in June depending on which country you're from, but around the
         third Friday in June)

        Me, I plan to make sure I enjoy every day of the lovely month
        of June to its fullest.

        For those of you who do get a vacation away from the daily
        grind, the book of the month is dedicated to you:

        HAWAII PAST AND PRESENT by William R. Castle, Jr.:

         Castle Jr., William R.: HAWAII PAST & PRESENT 1917. Dodd, Mead and Company. New York.
         Hardcover. Revised and Enlarged Edition /  NF / NONE. Illus Type: B&W Photographs.
         This edition is the revised and Enlarged edition of 1917 (following the 1913 original
         edition).Illustrated throughout with sixteen black and white photographic
         plates and a full-color map of the islands.  Contents include: The Hawaiian People,
         History to 1898, Hawaii as a Territory, Commerce and Industry, The Army and Navy
         in Hawaii, Honolulu, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai and Maui, Hawaii,  The Volcanoes, Island
         Life, and an appendix and index.   "This book has a double purpose: to tell those
         who stay at home something about Hawaii, the youngest of American Territories; and
         to help those who are going there to plan their trip intelligently. Baedeker has
         not yet extended his labours to the Pacific Islands, and no guidebook is available
         for the traveller. Many books have been written about special phases of Hawaii - its
         history, its present conditions, and its natural beauty. This book, therefore, falls
         naturally into two divisions, the first part explanatory, the second, as well as
         may be, descriptive."   $75.00


         And, if you've read this far, you deserve a reward. Take  40%
         off your purchase at my website  -- Use coupon code: JUNEDAY
         during checkout to receive the discount. The coupon is good
         through June 15th.

         Thanks so much!

  
         Stephanie Howlett-West
        

A SHORT LIST OF NEWLY LISTED TITLES:

        

 1.) Adams, Richard : THE IRON WOLF  : and Other Stories. 1980. Allen Lane. London, England. Hardcover. 1st British Edition/ 1st Printing. Near Fine / Near Fine. $30.00

 2.) Babbitt, Natalie: NELLIE :  A Cat on Her Own. 1989. Farrar Straus & Giroux (J) . New York. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Near Fine / Very Good+.  $18.50

 3.) Babbitt, Samuel F. (Illustrated by Natalie Babbitt) : THE FORTY-NINTH MAGICIAN 1966. Pantheon Books. New York. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Very Good+ / No Dust Jacket  The author and illustrators first book. $35.00

 4.) Calhoun, Mary: MISS MINERVA AND WILLIAM GREEN HILL 1930. Reilly & Lee. Chicago, IL. Hardcover. 40th Printing. Very Good+ / No Dust Jacket.  $25.00

 5.) Hawksley, Enid Dickens (compiled by): CHARLES DICKENS BIRTHDAY BOOK 1948. Faber and Faber Limited. London, England. Hardcover. Very Good+ / No Dust Jacket.  $25.00

 6.) Herve, Alain: ANIMAL- MAN 1976. Harlin Quist. New York / Switzerland. Paperback. 1st Paperback Edition/ 1st Printing. Near Fine / No Dust Jacket. $15.00

 7.) Howard, Max: PEOPLE PAPERS 1974. Harlin Quist. New York / Switzerland. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Fine / Very Good+.  $30.00

 8.) Hughes, Richard: GERTRUDE'S CHILD 1974. Harlin Quist. New York. Hardcover. New Edition/ 1st Printing. Fine / Near Fine.  $25.00

 9.) Ionesco, Eugene (Translated by Calvin K. Towle): STORY NUMBER 1 : For Children under Three Years of Age. 1978. Harlin Quist. New york. Hardcover. New Edition/ 1st Printing. Near Fine / Near Fine.  $35.00

 10.) La Grotta, J. M. and August Lenox (illustrated by): M-G-M'S  LASSIE: RESCUE IN THE STORM 1951. Whitman Publishing Company. Racine, WI. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Very Good+ / No Dust Jacket. $12.50

 11.) Long, Melinda: HOW I BECAME A PIRATE 2003. Harcourt, Inc.. New York. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Fine / No Dust Jacket. $10.00

 12.) Massie, Diane Redfield: MAGIC JIM 1967. Parents' Magazine Press. New york. Hardcover. Trade Edition/ Very Good / No Dust Jacket.  $18.50

 13.) Raschka, Chris: CHARLIE PARKER PLAYED BE BOP 1992. Orchard Books. 1992. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Fine / Fine. Illus Type: Color Illustrations. Illus. by: Chris Raschka. $20.00

 14.) Ripkens, Martin and Hans Stempel: ANDROMEDAR SR1 1971. Harlin Quist. New York. Hardcover. 1st American Edition/ 1st Printing. Near Fine / Very Good+. Illus Type: Color Illustrations. Illus. by: Heinz Edelmann. Harlin Quist. A Here and There Book. $45.00

 15.) Silverstein, Shel: WHO WANTS A CHEAP RHINOCEROS? 1983. Macmillan Publishing Co. , Inc.. New York. Hardcover. Trade Edition/ Near Fine / Very Good+. Illus Type: B&W Illustrations. Illus. by: Shel Silverstein.  $12.50

 16.) Spirin, Gennady (Illustrated by) : LITTLE MERMAIDS AND UGLY DUCKLINGS : Favorite Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. 2001. Chronicle Books. San Francisco, CA. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Fine / Fine.  $30.00

 17.) Stevenson, James: DON'T YOU KNOW THERE'S A WAR ON? 1992. Greenwillow Books. New York. Hardcover. 7th Printing. Fine / Fine.  $10.00

 18.) Stevenson, Robert Louis (Stitchery by Virginia Tiffany) : SELECTIONS FROM A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES 1974. Golden Press. Racine, WI. Hardcover. 7th Printing. Very Good+ / No Dust Jacket. Illus Type: Color Illustrations. Illus. by: Virginia Tiffany. A Golden Book  . $25.00

 19.) Temple, Shirley: SHIRLEY TEMPLE'S FAIRYLAND : Stories from her Television Program. 1958. Random House. New York. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Near Fine / No Dust Jacket.  $25.00

 20.) Vavra, Robert: THE LOVE OF TIGER FLOWER 1980. William Morrow & Company. New York. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Fine / Near Fine. Illus Type: Color Illustrations. Illus. by: Fleur Cowles. $40.00

 21.) Walrath, Jane Dwyer: TOBY THE ROCK HOUND 1979. Whitman Books / Western Publishing Company, Inc.. Racine, WI. Hardcover. 1st Edition/ 1st Printing. Very Good / No Dust Jacket. Illus Type: Color Illustrations. Illus. by: Roger Bradfield (Jolly Roger Bradfield). Tell-A-Tale.  $30.00

 22.) Wells, Carolyn: TWO LITTLE WOMEN ON A HOLIDAY 1917. Grosset & Dunlap. New York. Hardcover. Reprint/ Very Good- / Very Good+. Illus Type: B&W Illustrations. Illus. by: E. C. Caswell. Two Little Women Series.  $15.00





Sort of.... well, lame is what I'd call it.   I'm still thinking about ways to jazz it up.  If you happen to come up with one, let me know.

At any rate, do notice the 40% discount coupon listed -- it's good until June 15th.

And the Research Goes on...

So we're now in day --- what? -- five of the research project for one stinkin' book?

Today, a dose of reality hit. A dealer friend who helped look up yet another site to see if there was any information regarding this title mentioned that MAYBE I should just let it go, stick a price on it and fuggeddaboudit  (IE: LET IT GO!)

She's most likely right.

What I'm LOOKING for though, is specific info on whether it is possible to identify this book as a first printing without having access to the dust jacket.  Next up, I'll have to try the publisher I guess. Or take a trip to the Library of Congress to actually hold the book in my hand (if that's even possible).

Otherwise, I put it down as a probable first edition / first printing, slap a price on it and see if anyone bites.

Maybe I will.  And then I'll let you know what happens in the end.

I've got a couple of ephemeral items that are tricky in this same way (about one of which I'd really like to do some detailed research - but first I'll need to take upper level physics classes to understand exactly what's being discussed).

In other news, life in the used book world really sort of sucks currently -- no sales. No pay check coming in because of sales, and it's summer time. For fifteen years my husband has been able to work summer school to help earn some much needed extra money -- this year,  summer school was one of the things that got cut just as quickly as every other program in California. So, he's home moping, I'm home hoping he'll find something to do to keep him occupied, and we're both not really happy with the finances.  Doesn't make for a wonderful summertime.

I am continuing the on-going (and probably Sisyphusian) task of culling books that are fifteen or more years old, cleaning and reworking the shelves and generally trying to make heads or tales of what I have and why I still have it in stock.  It's a work in process. It will probably continue forever and it's a rather sad project -- seeing what stuff HASN'T sold -- but it is necessary.