Books and Needles

On Friday, BJ and I joined our friends Amber and Erik and braved the OKC Friends of the Library Booksale. In case you've never been, this place is a madhouse on crack. People, mainly hoarders as BJ and I have determined, feel the excitement about 50-cent books and they go absolutely hog-wild. I mean, seriously, fend-for-your-life-wild. And while you're at it, you better fend for your feet too, because some of the hoarders bring rolling suitcases, shopping carts, and outdoor trash cans (yes, you read it, TRASH CANS) to put their golden finds in. Suffice it to say, I'm 99.3% confident that the four of us were the most normal people there.

To show for our efforts, BJ and I came home that night with tired backs and a large number of books, all for under about 13 bucks. I chose a lesser number of books than BJ this year because I told myself before the sale that I have to read everything that I buy. This seems reasonable enough, but in years past I have found that, come annual booksale time, I still have one or two or ten books to read from last year's sale, which I thought at the time, "Hey, I might read this, and it only costs 50 cents!" and then of course did not read it. Here are my purchases from this year's sale:

1. WLT by Garrison Keillor
2. Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 by Garrison Keillor (yes, I'm a GK fan)
3. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (seemed appropriate)
4. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs (don't know yet if I'm a KJ fan...we'll see)
5. Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban (has long been on my shelfari "to read" list)
6. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

In addition to this book is a newly-acquired (and personalized!) copy of The American Zig-Zag by my favorite author Van Reid, previously referred to in a past post for his work on the Moosepath League books.  This new book is actually a series of short stories. So, my work is cut out for me. By the end of 2011, I have a goal of reading the above seven books. I can begin on the first one once I complete Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, with which I am nearly finished. In the days of yore, finishing seven books by the year's end would not have even been a question. Easily accomplished! With my recently-acquired hobbies of knitting, blogging, and jogging, however, Jenny-time must be divided, and reading sometimes comes last.

In other news, I had my third knitting lesson with Leslie today! Leslie has quickly become my favorite knitting buddy, and I enjoy chatting with her as she schools me. Today, Mr. Silas accompanied me to the lesson and was angel-baby, as usual, in his traveling high chair, eating his cheerios. I think that good karma is coming Leslie's way, as she understood that I had to make this appointment without having child-care, and still she was cool with me bringing not only Silas, but also his food to entertain him. When Leslie someday has a child of her own, may good things come back to her in the way of people understanding her baby-needs and pulling her a solid, just like she did for me today. Of course, I cleaned up our mess afterward, but still, she didn't have to acquiesce to my conditions! I know I haven't blogged much about knitting lately, but knitting I have been doing! I've now whipped out 2-1/2 adult scarves, 2 baby scarves, and 2 hats. I'd share my latest and greatest project, but I can't because two of you who read this blog are getting one, so I can't spoil the surprise...

Happy day to everyone!