Working?

Possibly you could call it working -- but to my mind, getting books invoiced and sent out to the post office is just the tip of the iceberg of what needs to be done this week (remember that BOOK FAIR in two days?), and that's basically ALL I got done today.

ALL I GOT DONE....

Today, Son Number Two and I jostled over who got to use the computer (make that MY Computer) again. Not badly. No.  Son Number Two is being, generally, a model of a child on vacation from school. He's pleasant. He finds things to do, he's almost eating.... but when it comes to computers... well, he prefers MY computer over any other of those in the house.  Quote - your computer is faster than those OLD ones - Unquote.

How he figures that my three + year old desktop is faster than any of the other computers in the house, I haven't the foggiest notion, but he does. So when he wants to play, he wants my computer.

And as I've TOLD him for the millionth time, THIS WEEK, I HAVE TO WORK!!!(see, the exclamation points are supposed to make it stick in his head).  NEXT WEEK, I'll be much more accommodating (well, maybe not, but at least two days a week I promised him that we'd DO STUFF).

Today, I got five books processed and on the pile to be boxed.  Not the stellar stack that I was hoping for.
Tomorrow, I need to get my fingers in gear and WORK!

Oops. Forgot the skate pictures too. And I got to go out and watch him skate today. I just forgot to take pictures.  I'll have to get in gear.


We did get our free pastry munchy at Starbucks today though, as a mini-outing and brain freshener. No longer does he settle for the kid's cocoa. Oh, no. Now it's GRANDE sized cocoa with WHIPPED CREAM by the handsful. And he plowed through it in a whopping three minutes.

What next, Whale sized Cocoa?

You think Starbucks will offer something in a giant economy size?

Hopefully I'll have a year to prepare before he wants the Venti.

Four Days until Sacramento Book Fair

Today was, of course, Monday again, so I spent time taking care of things left over from the weekend (as always). Today, however, was also the first day of Son Number Two's spring vacation -- AND I had a review to write.  Which meant that less than normal amounts of book stuff got done.

We did take time to go pick out a new pair of inline skates -- I had seen them at a local thrift store about two weeks ago but didn't pick them up for the  boys.... found out yesterday from Son Number Two that the one pair we did have was kaput. So, now instead of getting an extra pair so both boys could race each other, we are back down to one working pair.  Sigh.

Tomorrow I'll have to get a picture of Son Number Two doing death-defying stunts (not really) on the new skates.

In the meantime, since I couldn't really get work done, I took the boys to the batting cages today for a bit of batting practice (and no, even though I wanted to, I didn't do any batting myself) and then it's on to Boy Scouts tonight.

I'm hoping that I can get LOTS of data entry done tomorrow, because after that, it's going to be hit-and-miss the rest of the week.  And nights are all accounted for (again). Baseball practice every night except Wednesday.

And that's the way the week is going to go....

From Erin to Errands....

 Today was another errand day. Which meant that the only book work to get done was balancing the check book before taking off on more errands. Oh, and packing a few books to ship out.

All told, not one of my more productive days.

And the MESS that is getting ready for a book fair has multiplied and spread.  Last night, I pulled the fold up table into the living room (where the TV is) and got a small stack of dust jackets covered and ready for boxing for the fair. Normally, I start this process at least two weeks in advance so I can do a bit at a time. Mostly, I try to keep my book mess to an area away from regular living space -- and KIDS. But, had to take a break and sit down for a while last night to cover the books, so the mess moved with me.  Hopefully, by Wednesday next week, the mess will be contained in lidded boxes, ready to be stuffed into the van (Wednesday is also seat removal day -- taking the hefty seats out of the van and cleaning it in preparation for boxes & book cases).

I'm going to try and remove my mess from the living room tonight.

Yeah.  That'll be possible.

More errands cut into that this afternoon; first its hair cuts for the boys (and Son Number One is actually thinking about cutting that stringy mop of long hair OFF this time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!), and then home for quick dinner (what, I don't know) before baseball practice.  After that, some quick homework (or before practice, we'll see) and that's the end of the day.

And just to make this post more visual...

This is one of the most recent fun finds which is going to the book fair with me.

I'll post about it, with some research and background when I get back. Until then, you'll have to settle for the picture.

This was another fun find from the same location. I've had other early Margaret Wise Brown titles, but not this one.  Again, I'll blog more about it after the fair.

Erin Go Bragh!

Ok, That's the complete extent of my spoken (or written) Gaelic.

Somewhere in the dim recesses of history, I have some relatives who have Irish blood in them, but not many and not in the very recent past. I do not have curly hair in any way shape or form, and my red-headedness is purely wish fulfillment. Nevertheless, I'm a Happy Irish-person for one day a year.  I wear green. In the past I've made Corned beef and cabbage or Irish Stew along with a trial of Irish soda bread, which either was a rotten recipe, or just not too my taste. This year, I'm being obstinate, and mostly lazy since I didn't get to the grocery store to make any of these.  I didn't even turn my eggs green this morning in celebration.

I still don't know what's for dinner tonight -- in fact, it's closing in on 2:00PM and I'm not even sure what I'm having for lunch. This of course, is not really a good thing. I just can't find anything in the house that I want, and haven't yet gone out to face the masses at the grocery store to see what's out there.

I did get books listed though. At least some books.  I was hoping for a STACK a mile high, but the fact is, no matter what, your fingers can only go so fast, especially if you have to stop to research something.

I need to get another picture of my workroom posted -- it looks strikingly similar to the picture I took before the last book fair, and the book fair before that, and so on, and so on....

In my mind, I keep trying to find a way to RID THE ROOM OF BOXES ( if you put it in capital letters, it shows your seriousness, right?).  AND, after I get the boxes moved ELSEWHERE (as if elsewhere will actually take care of the problem), then I can clean, and BEAUTIFY the room.

Yeah, right.

I wish.

It's now officially one week plus a few days until book fair set-up day arrives and I've got BOXES of books that I want to bring which haven't been processed. BUT, since this month has definitely slowed down, I don't want to neglect my chance at on-line sales (you know, to pay the grocery bill -- see above). So I'm doing generally complete data entry on each item that I want to take, AND adding it on line to help spur some sales.

Yesterday, I spend most of my work morning putting together and mailing out my monthly e-mail newsletter.  (The putting together doesn't take that much time, but because of restrictions regarding spamming, the sending part takes a great deal longer... and makes my fingers sore from constant mouse clicking, which is another reason why my output today is slower.)

Oh, and yesterday was the first day of Son Number One's baseball practice -- Son Number Two  had his on Monday, with a coach we know and love (the unfortunate part is that one of the practice days happens to be MONDAY, which, if you keep up here, you know is our day for SCOUTS -- this means we have to either miss baseball practice a couple of days a month, OR miss scouts -- and since I'm the den leader....well, we miss baseball practice).

So Son Number One is on a team that seems quite sharp. Don't ask me how he got on this team, he did OK at his tryouts, but I didn't think he was fantastic since we didn't have time for ANY practice beforehand,  but the coaches thought he might be mold-able, I guess.  Lucky for him. He's got FOUR coaches (conditioning, hitting, fielding, and something else I can't remember) and so far, he's bouncing around like a happy puppy.  I think we might have lucked out again with teams this year.

And, since I can't really come up with some Irish books for you, here are some pictures of books entered into the database today (which, coincidentally, means that they are FOR SALE!)

Mostly Childrens picture books because they're quick
and at this fair they tend to sell well.

But there are a few (at least today) of other

exotic items tossed in to keep the boredom down.

This last one is an early auto-biography by the sister of Gypsie Rose Lee,

you know, the famous stripper. Her sister had great fame when 

she was just tiny, but by the time she was fourteen, she was a washout.

And married, and broke. 

Sad story.

Beware the Ides of March... or Not...

Seeing as I'm NOT Julius Caesar, I think I'll be just fine today.

No back-stabbing necessary for me.

It's funny the things you remember from enforced assignments from school days of old -- Julius Caesar (the one by William Shakespeare)  was one of those assignments. I never had a problem with reading Shakespeare -- in fact, I found it fascinating, unlike some of my classmate who felt that reading and trying to understand Iambic pentameter was more in the realm of pulling teeth.  Thing is, of that particular play, the quote about the Ides of March is pretty much all I remember.
Oh...
except for the fact that the Ides of March was the day that every Roman senator took a stab (literally) at Julius Caesar. That was one ANGRY bunch of senators. 

But there was one bit about this Ides business that bothered me right from the beginning -- why is it only MARCH that has Ides?  Well, technically, I know that the other months probably could have the 15th of the month be called the Ides... but the only one we ever talk about -- or even remember after 400+ years, is March. 

What about beware the Ides of August?  (My grandmother's birthday was August 15th -- and frankly, on a BAD day, I'd definitely be wary of her and it).

Beware the Ides of January.... just doesn't have the same ring to it.

And that, I suppose is the insidious nature of the works of Shakespeare (not in the bad sense, but the gradual, yet overwhelmingly prevalent nature of his words and how they have morphed into parts of our life that we don't even realize.)


We use phrases from Shakespeare REGULARLY in our every day lives and most times we don't even realize where they came from.

I've always been more fond of the comedies than the tragedies -- though Kenneth Branagh has made a real impact with some of  his re-interpretations of the historical plays.

And, I should probably hate to admit it, but one of my FAVES is Kiss my Kate with Katherine Grayson and Howard Keel.  Not only are the tunes catchy, but you can really see the shrewish nature of Kate at the beginning.  I've  never believed that a bit of pushing women around will make them turn to mush, as this play / musical implies, but as far as musicals go, it's one of my favorites.

So, sure - beware the Ides of March.
Don't let the senators take a hack at you,
and before you speak, think about where that turn of phrase, or pithy statement, or hackneyed old quote came from before you utter it.

In other words,

Brush up your Shakespeare!

Another day in the salt mines....

I haven't had a copy of this book in a while -- and this one, is not only in FINE.... condition, but is signed by Dunning.  NICE....

So today was another solid (supposedly) work day.  I was SUPPOSED to get TONS of books listed in the database and ready for the Book Fair (which is now TWO weeks away).  I think I listed four books new to stock.  I did end up with two (the one above being one of them) books where I could enter them quickly as I had already had copies in stock and the information wasn't too different.  That was probably the easiest thing to do today.

PS:  as for the Dunning / Cliff Janeway mystery above --  many who love the world of antiquarian books adore this series. Mostly, I think, for the nifty bits of trivia about rare books. Some love the prose.  Me, I tried reading the series back when it first came out (I got through Booked To Die, but barely) as the characters were (and this is personal opinion only) stiff and the plot wasn't my favorite.  After that, I pretty much stopped reading them.   BUT -- the rare book esoterica  was nice to read.

If I had my druthers, I'd pick Laurence Block's series about a used / rare book dealer any day.

Then again, I'm a self professed non(ish) mystery reader.  I don't mind mysteries, in fact, add mystery sub-plots into SF and I'm a happy camper (speaking of which I just finished re-reading Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold which is an SF mystery if there ever was one), but I like my SF / Fantasy stuff far more than straight out mysteries. 

Come to think of it though.... a dose of Mystery on PBS is something I'd watch regularly if I ever got to watch TV....

What I DIDN'T get done today was the email newsletter which I was supposed to have done and out to the masses at the beginning of this week (or LAST week even).  I've got to get that done & I keep putting it off... who knows why.

And I'm not going to get to it tomorrow, probably.... going off book hunting tomorrow (there are two places I've been meaning to hit).

And after that, it was Parent Teacher conference time at the middle school.

And once that was done, well, the boys were out of school and my time is not my own.

Now it's time to start dinner (and take out the trash) and think about doing more exercise...and get the birthday cards addressed and ready to mail... and start reading my next assignment...

Wish me happy hunting tomorrow -- so far, the last several places I've gone have been winners.

200th post today....

First off, the jpg makes it actually look worse than it really is.  Sort of.

This book is not in the greatest shape, and for most other books, I would have just left it where I found it -- as being not nice enough condition for my stock.  HOWEVER -- this particular book, and the subject thereof, is difficult to find in any condition, good, bad or otherwise - so I picked it up.

This is one of the first books to actively research in-depth with a jaundiced eye regarding the Meadow Mountains Massacre which took place in Utah during the California Gold Rush era.  The Massacre-ees  were on their way to California via wagon train when they stopped at Mountain Meadow in Utah to water and feed their animals.
What happened next is up for debate and the subject of much controversy. Was it an Indian raid which went overboard?  Was it A Mormon inspired object lesson for others traveling through the area?

In all over 200 men, women and children were executed (they had surrendered and expected a peaceful resolution to the encounter only to be summarily murdered by the raiders). Only 17 children under the age of eight were spared ... then they were parceled out to Mormon families, along with the possessions of those who died.

There's a nicely detailed wikipedia article on the subject here: Mountain Meadows Massacre.

It's an interesting book.