A Work in Progress

Two New Roomies (of the feline variety)

I've been absent for a while here, haven't I?  I think I may have mentioned, or perhaps not (?) that a family member had been dealing with health issues and I had been spending weekends cat/house sitting.  Rather unexpectedly my mom passed away very recently.  We had believed she was on the mend and would be returning home in time for the holidays.  Unfortunately that did not come to pass.  It has been a very difficult last couple of months and devastating to lose your mother--at any time, but particularly sad at holidaytime.

One small hint of light-two of her much loved cats will be finding a new home with me (and her other pair will be living with one of  my sisters).  During her illness my mom was always concerned that her animals were being cared for.  There will always be a gaping hole in my heart for the loss of my mom, but at least I will have a continuing connection with her via my two new roommates.

They will be making their transition later this week--something to keep us all busy during the coming dark, cold months of winter, which are always so hard anyway.  Let me introduce you to Snowball and Toby.  Snowball is a sweet, very furry little girl who is 4-1/2 years old.  Toby is the elder gentleman of the quartet--a spry 18 year old boy.  He likes to butt heads and has a bent tail, behind which there is surely an interesting story (he's not telling however).

I think they are going to offer a nice distraction for me, which I am going to need.  I have missed my virtual bookish chats and sharing my reading with everyone.  I hope to still share a few last minute catch up posts.  I think I might still manage to reach my Good Reads reading goal for this year.  I am dearly going to love turning that calendar over to 2020 in the hopes for a much better year.  I have a few reading plans in mind, if only to have something nice to look forward to and keep me busy, though they will be decidedly pared down from my usual enthusiasms.  It may take me a bit to catch up, but I would love to hear about your reading--what have been your favorite books and what you are looking forward to in the new year.  Don't be surprised if you see more cat pictures interspersed with books!

Have a Happy Holiday!

Wishing everyone a happy holiday season however you celebrate!  I'll be back soon with lots of bookishness and plans for the new reading year.  Enjoy, everyone!!

Happy (too hot for me) Fourth!

Happy Holidays to those celebrating Independence Day.  It’s a little too hot for me so a coffeeshop and book beckon and then a movie in a cool theater later.  Enjoy your day however you will be spending it!

Happy Holiday Wishes!

Happy Holidays to all! However you celebrate the season I wish you much happiness, peace and good health now and in the new year! Thank you for the comments, reading suggestions and kind words that have been shared over the course of the year. For me they are daily presents for which I am always very appreciative.

I'll be back in a day or two to begin the end of year wrap up.  Brr.  Winter arrived right on the first day of the season and we are 'enjoying' a white (and very cold Christmas here).  I am nearing the end of a couple of books and trying to be optimistic on finishing one other, but I also have a couple of new books I think I will start reading on my break, and of course my thoughts are turning to a new reading year (complete with book list) in 2018.

Until then I hope you enjoy the coming few days and you get to enjoy some end-of-year bookishness, too.

Happy Holidays: Much Peace and Joy!

To everyone: I wish you much Peace and Joy in this Holiday Season--however you may celebrate.  My only real wish for the season is that we all share much kindness with our neighbors!

I have been spending time with my family and filling in any extra free time with as much reading as I can manage in all the nooks and crannies of those down-time moments.  I will be back in a few days to catch up on end of the year bookishness.

I do have to share these . . . a visit to my favorite used bookstore with my sister was in order for the afternoon of the 24th and look what treasures I was 'gifted' with.  Stacks of 'new' Viragos.  I have never had such luck in one bookstore visit.  I especially feel like the Rachel Ferguson novel on the top was a real coup of a find as I have long wanted this rare book!  Some booklover took very good care of these lovely Viragos and I promise to do the same.  One of these will certainly be vacation reading!

Happy Holidays everyone!  I hope that you also find, give or receive some special treasure, too.

A Weekend of No Reading, or A New Ceiling

Another weekend is quickly coming to an end.  I wish I had a proper bookish post for you today, but I think my (nearly) three week's worth of living in upheaval have mostly come to an end finally!

My house was built in the late 1870s and was rental property for a good chunk of time.  It is a beautiful space really with lots of potential but my neighborhood has declined over the year's and my budge doesn't allow a lot of fancy renovations.  So I replace what I can and it was time to replace the ceiling in my living room.  Whatever the original ceiling was like, it had been covered up by cheap (and unattractive faux wooden squares (really they were almost like cardboard).  There was a patch that was beginning to sag, and not know what exactly was underneath I was having frightening visions of it all coming down on some poor unsuspecting person's head.

As it turns out that was not likely to happen as the material for the original ceiling was plaster and fairly sturdy, though unattractively covered in this floral wallpaper.  Maybe in its day it was bright and light and really pretty, but I still cannot imagine floral wallpaper covering a ceiling (which I am told was quite common).  When the ceiling panels had been put in they were attached to wooden boards and a couple of the boards were coming loose. 

Rather than doing another ugly and cheap patch job, the whole lot of it was pulled down!  What a dusty, musty, messy affair.  All the furniture--everything--had been removed from the room and tarps put up the control the dust, but wow--does it get Everywhere.  I have a small bookroom that is attached to the living room and I spent hours this past weekend (once the new ceiling had been put up) cleaning the layer of grime off all the surfaces I could reach.  The worst of it is cleaned, but I think I will be dusting up the grunge for months to come. 

I haven't a clue what those cables belonged to--the original electrical system?  It's interesting seeing what is inside the walls (I read too many books--I was a little afraid a body might have been buried beneath the boards).  That is my bedroom on the floor above by the way.  It was a weird thought that that was all that stood between me and the room below!

By Saturday night the new ceiling had been painted, the walls have a fresh coat of paint, the floor scrubbed clean and the curtains rehung.  I am quite pleased by how nice and fresh it all looks.  It was almost a pity to put the old furniture back in the living room.  I think I would be happy to have just a few things--a nice comfy sofa, a rocking chair and a nice woven rug with some lamps and my needlework hanging on the wall.  But mostly all open space.

This is the little hallway that leads to my bookroom.  It's pretty packed and very small and only a true booklover is allowed to look inside (anyone else might shake their heads in dismay at the many, many piles of books that overflow from the bookcases).  Maybe someday I'll give you a peek inside.

The flash has bleached things out a bit, but here is the room with its furniture put back.  It had been squeezed into the dining room that you see to the right.  Mostly things are all clean and tidy again, but not everything has been put back properly as I still need to wash smaller items.  Those two samplers on each side of the mirror are my work (when I actually spent lots of time stitching and finished projects . .  .).  And now I feel like I am living in a real home again.  It is amazing how a little DIY and a fresh coat of paint makes you feel like you are living in a nice new home.  I will do more, but this is my big fall project. 

Needless to say not much reading was done this weekend!  I did finish my graphic novel and read a short story, though I felt sort of meh about.  Maybe I will tell you all about it tomorrow.  I came across a few freebie stories that I might try and read in the next day or so.  It may be a few days until I get back to a normal posting routine again.  It would be nice to sit and read and reacquaint myself with the reading pile.

That's how I spent my weekend.  Did you get to spend a little time with your books in my stead?

Happy Holiday Wishes to You!

Happy Holidays everyone!  I took this photo at the local botanical gardens last month, which I like to visit around the holidays.  I hope everyone has an equally festive next few days filled with warmth and happiness however you might be celebrating.  I'll be back on Friday with  more bookishness in the hopes of catching up a bit and getting ready for a new reading year.  Until then, happy reading and I hope you find a book-shaped present in your stocking or under the tree!

DIY . . . Before & After

A few weeks ago I shared a few teasers as I began shifting things about in my room in preparation for some new furniture.  The shifting is mostly finished, though the redecorating is still a work in progress.  There are some small things I want to update and some big things that I hope to take on as DIY projects--mostly as money allows.  First a few before photos--furniture and things that I liked well enough when I was younger, but I have long been ready to pass on to someone else as my tastes have changed considerably.

So, an old jewelry chest that has turned into a catch-all of things.  My little space heater for those cold wintry months and far too many unread or partially read magazines.

You saw this photo already.  When I talk about my bedside book piles . . .  I loathed that quilt.  The design was pretty, but it was a full size bed and it seems quilts are made for full/queen size beds, so it hung far too long over the sides.  I would turn the edge under every day and it always annoyed me.

Another corner of my bedroom filled with more piles of books.  The decor leaves much to be desired, don't you think?  Well, I thought so.  Blech.  The carpeting and curtains came new with the house--the previous owners had done a little refurbishing of their own at the time.  Fine for then, but I am ready for a change.

And ta da, a few after photos!  No more full size bed and no more annoyingly overlarge quilt.  I now have a daybed, which is quite comfy as I invested in a nice mattress.  Hidden in the corner are some book piles.  A few got shuffled down to my bookroom, but you would be surprised how many are squeezed into that corner without looking too cluttered.

I had a print on the wall by Diego Rivera and it has been moved downstairs and now I have Edward Hopper to look at.  I need a little table for my alarm clock and a few books, but until I find something suitable, I have this poor wicker chest.  It's looking a little battered on the corners.  You can thank my cat Chispa.  She quite enjoyed sharpening her nails on the wicker.  There is lots of storage space under the bed by the way.

You remember that jewelry chest?  It's gone, my night table has been moved along with a little stool/table and I now have a lovely new rocking chair that is also very comfy.  The little doll was made by a French friend who is a superb stitcher and seamstress.  Isn't she lovely?  I've never been able to display her properly until now.  Both tables are slated to be repainted--an off white with a distressed look--a reddish color peeking under the white (well, that's the plan anyway).  I have the supplies, and I just need the time to begin my project.  I'll start with the smaller table and see how it looks before refinishing the night table.  My rocker sits just to the right of the daybed and door.

And without the glaring overhead light on and just the lamp--it makes my little 'reading nook' so much cozier.  I love the little footstool I found.  I thought it would match the chair well and as it turns out they do seem to complement each other.  My night table still groans with books, but nowhere near as bad as before.

I didn't share this corner of my room before--it is diagonally opposite from the doorway (which is to the left of my night table).  I don't use the wood burning stove--it would need to be cleaned but I am a little afraid of having a fire going in it.  Maybe someday.  This is where the overflow of books has gone.  It is meant to be temporary, but already two weeks later and they seem to have moved right in and made themselves at home.  I hope eventually to invest in another bookcase, but I want to keep the room as open as possible.  The shelf holds some of my stitched projects as well as some of my Melville House novellas and a few of my NYRBs (recent subscription books).  I'd like to invest in some sort of stand for a few plants to sit in front of the window.  It is still looking a little 'full' but I want to display some of my stitching somehow and for now this seems to work okay, though I would like to find something to make the area a little 'neater' and feel less cluttered.

And the new bookcase!  Yay, all my Viragos now sit together in alphabetical order.  I thought I would have loads of space and be able to add my Persphones, too, but it is amazing how quickly the space filled up.  Aside from the very bottom shelf they are not double stacked, though I do have some sitting lengthwise on top of the books on the shelves.  The green apple is real and not for display--apples are my favorites and I just happened to have an extra close at hand.  How fitting, eh, that it sits with all those Viragos.  And those are the majority of my Persephones on the left of the bookcase.

Now I feel like reading lots of Viragos from my shelves!  Itchy fingers--I am ready to choose one now!  I still have improvements I want to make.  I hate the carpeting and want to pull it up as the floor underneath is wood (the house was built in the 1870s).  I'm not sure what condition it is in, but wood is much more preferable to me.  Also the walls are in dire need of a good paint job, which is something I think can be managed sooner rather than later.  But what color now?  And new curtains, too. 

But I think it is a vast improvement.  It is a much more comfortable and pleasing space, which is good as I spend a lot of time in my room.  It's hard to tell from the photos, but there is lots of space in the middle, which I like. 

It will be nice and cozy here in the fall and winter.  A good place to sit and read in peace and quiet.  It's still a little toasty warm with the summer heat, but I'm happy with how it looks now.  This is my favorite reading place now.  Where is yours?

DIY . . . In Progress

Last week I mentioned that I was going to do a little low-key renovations in my bedroom?  Well, they are underway even as I type.  It's too bad I didn't decide to do this a week sooner when the weather was so moderate and comfortable and not on the (so far) hottest day of the year (close to 100F and with humidity--feels like over 110F--though I'd say it feels like 425F, which is the temperature I roast my vegetables at--it is so oppressive here it feels like I am roasting in an oven, too).

So I offer you a couple of teasers today and will share the 'after' photos at the end of the week.  It's not fun shifting furniture and books around on a good day, but on a sticky one it has completely worn me out. 

One of the improvements I am making is to try and organize my books a little better.  To this end I have bought a new bookcase and the plan is to fill it with my collection of Viragos and anything else that might fill the space nicely.  My, how did I accumulate so many? 

Hello, books.  I've missed you--they've been sitting in piles on top of a bookcase in my tiny 'book room'--two piles deep.  It is always hard to get to them and I only shift them about when I am looking for something specific, so I have forgotten just what treasures I have. 

This is what will be keeping me busy for the next few days while I clean, declutter, shift and reorganize.  There will be some new furniture and eventually some refurbishing of a few pieces of old furniture.  Check back in a couple of days and I will (hopefully) be sharing the improvements.

While I'm away there are a couple of links for you to check out that I came across that look interesting:

A nonfiction tour of the United States--I'm not surprised by the Nebraska choice.

Is it too soon for a 'best books' list?  I guess the qualifier is the 'so far': Best New Books from Around the World.

I've finished a couple of books that I am looking forward to sharing with you and I am in the middle of my Sunday short story (still).  With the heat, I guess it is a good idea to take things easy.

I'll be back later in the week.  Until then, stay cool and happy reading.

A Tuesday Miscellanea

It's not often I get to say this in the middle of July in the Midwest, but we are experiencing the most glorious weather.  Low humidity, mid-70s temperatures, mostly blue skies with a few puffy clouds drifting by.  I went out on my break today at work and sat and read my book and had to make myself go back inside.  Surely this should be noted in some way--close early and let everyone spend time outside soaking up the nice weather.  It won't last of course, but for the next several days I will be outside as much as I possibly can be.  By Sunday it is forecast to be hot and humid once again, so this autumn-like teaser (yes, I am already ready for autumn) will be only a memory.  But a pleasant one at least!

Let's see.  All sorts of bookishness of one sort or another.  I finished Eline Vere this morning and will be writing about it soon.  The book, which is a library copy, is a little worse for wear but I tried to keep it as pristine as I could.  I am looking forward now to getting back to Inevitable now.  And in case you missed it, I loved the book and am sure it will be long in my memory.  I am now working on Simone van der Vlugt's Shadow Sister.  It is (one of) my gym books.  It is a story that has been easy to get wrapped up in.  It involves two sisters who are twins.  There is something sinister going on--'shadow' sister indeed!  I have van der Vlugt's newest book on hand as well, but so many of my Dutch Literature books are calling out to me at the moment, we'll see which is the next to be incorporated into the reading lineup. 

Did I mention I am now reading in earnest Laura Ingalls Wilder's On the Banks of Plum Creek?  I thought it was time to get back to Laura and her family.  They are now living in Minnesota.  For the first time they were living in a sod house, which she didn't especially like (being underground might be a little too cozy for me, too), but pa has just built a proper wooden house.  Lots of new things for the Wilder family in this book--not least is that they now live close enough to a town for Mary and Laura to go to school--which is where I left off reading.  It is a completely delightful read and I think I will keep going with the rest of the books when I finish this one.  (I had been taking a little break in between reads but I just want to keep going--the momentum of their lives has taken over).

Speaking of charming (or delightful) reads . . .  I have another one to share.  What is it about Maine?  Yes, the state of Maine.  It seems to be a literary destination lately, and one I am happy to make.  I have long had a fixation (fascination?) with Maine.  Someday I really, really want to visit there.  It's more of that coastal thing.  I want to live by the ocean (same old story).  Who knows, maybe someday I will.  Until then, there are always books to take me there. 

Yesterday I dropped by the bookstore and couldn't resist (truly no pun intended) The Irrisistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe by Mary Simses.  This is pure comfort read material--a book to enjoy in a few gulps on a sandy beach if possible (or maybe in my case on a sunny porch).  It's an easy and undemanding and light-hearted story.  I know things will end happily (and sometimes you just need a story like that).  Think a Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell movie--lots of flirty good humor and banter.  Your basic feel-good story.  The blueberries (yum . . . my favorite!) on the cover didn't hurt!  Also by my bedside I have J. Courtney Sullivan's Maine for more local color (though I have yet to really get into the story--so many good books to pick up at the moment!).

If you have any favorite books set in Maine, please do share!  You know I am always up for a good book recommendation.

Oh, by the way, I bought this coffee mug, too.  It seems fitting to have at work in the library and is just the right size.  I am a sucker for cute coffee mugs.

One last item, which I am excited about.  I am doing a mini-bedroom-improvement.  It all started as I need a new mattress.  You know how things sort of snowball.  I have picked out a couple of new furniture items for my bedroom and am going to create more of a reading nook environment since I spend so much time there.  I'm excited as aspects of my life have needed a little overhaul and this is one step in that direction.  It will include (fingers crossed) a full size (though skinny) bookcase where I hope to relocate all my Viragos and Persephones and maybe something else depending on how much space I have.  That means shifting things about which will require a little creativity.  I also have a couple of tables, including my night table, that I am going to refinish--am going for that distressed or "shanty chic" look, if I can pull it off.  I am not one to share much of my personal life here, but I might be persuaded to share before and after photos--maybe.  If posts seem sporadic (I'm not sure how much time and effort my little DIY projects will take), that is the reason why.