August is a wicked month....

I don't usually read fiction but I read, years ago, Edna O'Brien's "August is a Wicked Month." As fiction goes, it was interesting and given that I read it while waiting in line to see exhibits at Expo '67, it was time well spent.

However, this August I think must take the "cup" for being one of the more wicked.  Well, first of all it has 2 full moons - you know how crazy that can be! Now the second moon in a month is a Blue Moon and therefore August 31 will be totally "mad."

Here it is - not quite full and not quite blue; but still magnetic!!

Secondly there were the marquis - those billboards that summarize what is happening in the world, or at least the cinemas at any given moment.  I hope that these are not self fulfilling prophecies.

I live in one of the few areas that still has not one but two movie theatres with in about 2 or 3 blocks of each other.  This is what the other one said at the beginning of August.

What can I say - we may be surrounded - escape is futile - probably wise to just give in and hope that the winds change or at least the movies - Art imitating life or life creating Art.

Have  a wonderful Blue Moon!!!

Less is more...

Three articles in a row on a similar theme usually means that someone is trying to tell me something.   First there was the book review of a new book entitled The Book of Marvels by Lorna Crozier. It's a book of essays on household items - relating them to life. Something like... a bowl can be looked at in 4 ways - it's either empty or full, cracked or whole a bit like a life.  Anyway it's the celebration of small seemingly unimportant things and it got me thinking of the importance of small things like a door knob and how my life doesn't have to be boring if I just try to elevate the ordinary the way the author has.

Then there was the FB post about a photographer in S. Korea who spent two years just photographing life from one window of his house. No longer will I complain about not having a subject to photograph or anyplace interesting to go to take pictures.

Finally there was another article in the newspaper about people living with less.

It got me thinking, especially since I have a "blog-a-day- challenge" starting Sept 1 until Sept 30.  What if I took a photo a day of something very ordinary in my house and wrote a post about it.  Now I would have to make it look a little extraordinary to have it fit the theme - but I may try.

This was dinner Sunday night.  Now it was special.  Really I should have posted a picture of the leftovers eaten on Monday to carry out the theme of trying to make the ordinary extraordinary.

I'll work on it.

Have an extraordinary day!!

Where the sidewalk ends....

I have a few regrets in life and sometimes I don't realize that I should regret something until I hear someone say, "Oh I did this or I remember that" and it wasn't even on my radar screen.  Well it happened again this morning I was reading the "Impossible" blog and some one posted a poem by Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends.  I remember seeing that book time and again in book stores and thinking that I should buy it and read some to the kids or to myself for that matter; but I never did.  I had The Oxford Book of Children's Poetry (illustrated by Brian Wildsmith) with all the poems that I remembered and I was biased. So now I regret never having read this one!!!! and there must be more in the book. I'll get a copy.

poem by Shel Silverstein

Listen to the musn’ts child,
Listen to the don’ts,
Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts,
Listen to the neverhaves, then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child,
Anything can be.

One thing that I will never regret doing is overcoming my "fear" of seafood!!!  This was dinner last night,  on the picnic table where the deck ends :)

Clams with bacon, tomatoes, basil, and wine. It was delicious!!!

Have an adventurous day!! 

"Some are born great.....

...some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them."  And I would like to add that some just live down the road from greatness and feel that their lives are elevated by mere happenstance or serendipity.

This is what I posted for the heading "old" in the latest photo scavenger hunt.  It's the side door of the local high school - Northern Secondary for any alumni present. "They" have been filming a remake of the classic horror film "Carrie" here all summer.  Well last night they filmed the prom scene and decorated the side doors as an entrance way.  There were stretch limos everywhere!!

I don't know why they didn't just wait until September to film the kids just being themselves - that would satisfy anyone's need for horror!!!  I close my eyes when I round the corner - a little tricky while driving, but the skateboarders manage to get out of the way.

Actually 2 of my 3 kids went there. And when they were very little in strollers, my neighbour and I used to plow through the throngs saying "Coming through.."  It sort of toughened the toddlers up :)

Anyway film companies down the street always create a little excitement - a little sense of this place is a bit more special today. Now if they could only film Pirates of the Caribbean at Harbourfront.

The quotation is Malvolio's speech from Twelfth Night and the reason I choose the picture as an example of "old" is because Carrie was published in 1974 and the film was released in 1976 - given how posts age on  FB Carrie would be considered ancient

Have a very special day!!

Impossible...????

OK I have decided that I want one of these T-Shirts.  You can buy them from here -

http://joelrunyon.com/two3/category/good-stories

Well this is just one of his blog posts - but he does do these challenges and you can write to him and maybe he'll send you a T-shirt, if you have done something...well, impossible.

But if you haven't and just want to pretend that you have you can buy one for $20.00.  I am working on the impossible.  I researched e-bikes today - not to ride one all the time and never peddle; but to have a little help with the hills and the longer journeys.  They are expensive and we would need two, plus a bike rack - really racks up the money :)

I also went to the site for the Waterfront Trail, today.  I thought that it started just east of Toronto - but it actually starts at the Quebec border and travels 700km around the lake to Niagara.  I decided to download the pdf for Toronto to Hamilton - it was 7 pages - the bikes may be light - but the maps for the journeys weigh a ton :)

They also have a section called End to Enders - hmmmm - people who have done the trail from one end to the other.  They post their stories - I am surprised that there were so many!!!  Why should I be when there are people walking across the country, the continent or the world - everything is possible.

Have an unbelievable day!!!

What's a book store....?

Funny you should ask....I was in Indigo last night - my husband needed another mystery book so we combined it with a walk and I kinda "hung out"  and waited for him to get something to read.  I had my camera so I amused myself by taking pictures of the shelves where books used to be.  This is what I saw...

Lots of displays of Kitsch - funny retro things to eat, or to send as cards, or to give as gifts - mugs and notebooks etc which said - "Stay Calm and Carry On," or had your initials on them, or an old postcard..

And then there were reading "comfort stations" with afghans and knitted socks - "reading socks"- actually - I liked the knitted part.

But there used to be tons and tons of books here and I find it a little sad that so much has been replaced by Gumdrops, Jelly Beans and Jaw Breakers.  I know that paper is passé. Even now I see musicians reading music from their electronic devices and I know it makes sense - given the years  I have spent reading dog-eared music books.

I'm just moaning the loss of something that I enjoyed - cruising through book stores.  I would never have gone into a candy store and I really don't need designer reading socks :) or another mug or tea pot or flower vase.

What I want is to be able to go into a book store and thumb through the books and decide what I want to read.  I read book reviews in the newspaper and scroll through lists on-line; but I still really can't get the feel of a book with out skimming through the chapters and reading a paragraph or two.

I guess for recreation, instead of feeding the mind we are now feeding the body..... Well they will really have to improve the prizes in the Cracker Jacks' boxes to make me switch!!

Sorry for the moan - change is difficult for some of us!!!

Have a great day!!!

Sunday..Sunday..

I know that the song is Monday, Monday, but yesterday - Sunday was awesome - in a spiritual sense it really was a holy day.  First there was the sun - all day and the angels in the sky.....

And then there was nature at her loveliest...Swan Lake, for example....

And then there was the discovery of the park at the base of the Humber river complete with wetlands and walking paths along the lake.

And then I decided that I needed both a bike and a Kayak - an unholy spending of money - because there is a bike trail here which is actually part of a trail that starts somewhere east of Toronto and goes all the way down to Niagara.  You can do it in two days with a stop in Hamilton - OK it isn't Cape Town to Cairo or vice versa - but I may actually be able to do this one!!

Not us - but I wish I could have Kayaked yesterday!! Still we did walk and enjoy this awesome day!!

Have a good one!!

Who's on board....

I posted this picture for the photography scavenger hunt heading - community.

I can't help looking at these decals when I'm behind a car or van with some in their back window.  It's a brilliant idea to get people to spend money!! and a little akin to the ubiquitous sign "Baby on Board," which made the company, who produced them, millions.  The link is to wikipedia's description of the evolution of Baby on Board. 

Briefly, a couple from Massachusetts brought the idea back from Germany. They had trouble marketing it and hired a chap who eventually bought their company, renamed it and the rest is history. Another small easy to manufacture idea that eventually went viral!!!

Well I think that these decals are right up there with the baby sign. They are simple, but say a lot about the occupants and their life style without being burdensome.

Now the challenge is to come up with something simple like that for knitting!!!

Have an inspired day!!

Destinations Unlimited

I do a lot of photography and a lot of knitting, so I post a lot in these groups, in addition to writing blog posts, which I do for fun or for sanity or to remind myself that there is a lot in this world that doesn't make sense and that's OK as long as I view it for what it's worth and write insanely about it!!!.

I actually got started in all of this with a blogging group which isn't very active at the moment, so I just pop in every once in a while.  Now this blogging group did spin off the photography group, which I love and just recently they have spun off a "get moving group" (exercise people) which I know is important and I will post once I do my exercise - sort of.

Well the same monitor (Cricket Walker) has decided to resurrect the blogging group.  I'm thrilled because I originally got into all of this because I distribute patterns for Heartstrings and Jackie posted once that she was in a "blog- a- day" challenge and maybe I should join.  So I did and here I am and where is Jackie??? (BTW any one can join any of these FB groups - just search Cricket Walker on FB and if you need a recommendation - don't give her my name - just joking - please do)

I have to tell you that most of Infiknit was built on people requesting product which I brought in and which they never ordered but others did so - go figure!! Well this blogging group has given us the challenge of listing 10 destinations that are on our bucket list and why!

Believe me, I am always dreaming of holidays, escapes, going away only to comeback, with an expanded view....so here goes....I might add that I know of a first class travel agent (and knitter) who reads my blog - so if you are in need of an escape - just post a comment and I will forward you on!!

1.  I talk a lot about the Camino.  I would like to walk all, but I will settle for some, of the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain.  The pilgrimage that the film "The Way" was based on. Well, we have to have dreams.

2.  I would like to walk the whole of the Bruce Trail. I have done bits and pieces and I could do it all in bits and pieces - but if I had the luxury of a week or two. I would walk it daily and post!!!

3.  I would also like to bike the whole of Le Petit Train du Nord. The linear park that starts just north of Montreal and follows the train bed up into the Laurentians. I have biked parts of it; but I would love to do the "whole thing."

4.  I like long treks so to go from Florida to Alaska is on the list.

5.  To go from Patagonia to Alaska is also on the list.

6.  I missed going from Earls Court to Kathmandu in a London bus.  However I did go from Ladbrooke Grove to Istanbul in a converted ambulance - does that count.

7.  I would love to bike around Ireland or Holland or some place in between the hills and the dales.

8.  I know that there is a bike trail from Cape Town to Cairo - just keeping that one on the back burner!!

9.  I would like to Kayak the Rideau and Trent canal systems.

10. Finally, if I am still standing, I know of an Artists' community in Morocco, where, if it were easy to get a bottle of wine from time to time, I could live there.

PS - 10a I have friends in NZ and I have promised to visit.  The Milford Sound calls.

This is just a start - and I may die in the attempt!!!  Obviously I love to walk and bike but I also love to dance. Hmmmmmm!!!!

Culture Wars

This is what I posted for "Culture" in the August photography challenge.  I am fascinated by grocery carts and cupboards.  Fortunately my husband does the food shopping or I would have been in jail  long ago for voyeurism.

That being said, I would never open another person's cupboard or medicine cabinet without permission.  I was shocked one day years ago when I read an article in the paper about people who actually peep into people's medicine cabinets during a bathroom visit - see, there are people stranger than me (I) out there :)

I love it though, if I visit, and someone says, "Can you hand me the Lea Perrins.  It's in the cupboard."  Then I get a chance to say, "What do you use your mustard seeds for?" or "Where do you get Fenugreek?"or "What's this???"

Of course I made a mistake by taking a picture of my cupboard. Now I am riddled with guilt that I have all these half empty baby food jars of whole cardamon seeds, cinnamon sticks, star anise.....the list goes on. When the kids were little my escape was Indian or Asian cooking.  I would take cookbooks out of the library, make a list, pile the kids in the car and head out to the Danforth or Gerrard St. East for supplies. Everything got stored in baby food jars - well my youngest is 19.  Time to tidy up!!!

Maybe also time to do a little spicing up of dinner - we're down to pasta 3 times a week, a little Indian from a jar and a stir fry only under pressure - all that cutting up of "things" takes its toll.

Have a delicious day!!!

Who is watching...?

Another catch 22 today - actually it started yesterday.  Our wall phone and land line stopped working two nights ago. We suspect that it may have been the cat who ate through the electric cord that powers the phone.  Years ago I opted for a plug in rather than a battery powered one because I never remember to buy batteries.

My husband went shopping for a new cord - they don't exist anymore.  The Bell store does not sell wall phones anymore either so no chance of buying a whole new assembly.  Our last resort is to try "The Source"  and hope that they still do land line wall phones.  I know it's probably time to give up on the land line - another grounding "thing" gone.

Maybe cell phones, the internet, digital stuff are all just tricks by alien beings interested in inhabiting the Earth and need to get rid of us - soon all those things that held us here will be gone and we will disappear into the ether in a puff of something or other!!! I can hear the default cell phone chime playing, as we ascend..or go where ever.

Well, maybe not just yet because we plugged in the phone this morning and it worked - (they were just testing - this is still a trick).  OK so it took us about a half an hour yesterday to navigate the Bell touch tone system to book a repairman to come out.  Now we have to do the same to cancel the appt.  and my guess is the phone will not be working this evening :)

This is what I posted for "Eyes" in the latest scavenger hunt.  There are beings out there watching our every move and toying with our lives :)

Catch 22 sies.....

Today was one of those "insane days" where nothing made sense and I had to wonder how we, as a world, had come so far only to have learned so little, or perhaps the world is in retrograde... let me explain.

1. My daughter has finally been admitted to the teacher training course at Lakehead University in Thunder bay - many administrative hoops there - largely because she applied early and her transcripts didn't include a copy of her actual physical degree.  She is a neophyte to administrivia and tried to ignore it - not a good idea.  We are old hands at it, having gone through the paperwork of adopting her and her two brothers - the rule here is just give the "man" what he needs even if every government department has a different set of rules and none of them agree and we all understand that they are working for the same country....maybe!!

2. She now needs a TB test.  No problem.  I understand the importance of this type of screening.  Anyway she doesn't actually have to have it until her first teaching assignment.  OK so what if she tests positive and she has been in college for two months and possibly infected every other student teacher there and they in turn are going out into school systems to ...well you can see how it works.

Fortunately she has decided to get the test over with early - somewhat better organized than said administration!!  Hence I was delegated to book the test.  Her paediatrician - even though she has technically "outgrown her" would do it - but she may or may not have a late clinic this Monday and then again on Wednesday (TB testing is a two step process). I have to call on Monday to find out - OK is there an easier way.

I called the drop-in clinic - they play a game called "please wait" and put you on hold and never answer.  I decided to walk over.  Yes they did the test, if she were a student, however if it were for employment you had to go to another clinic.  Hey I can visit Europe I don't have to live there!!!! OHIP doesn't pay - so that would be $65.00 for step one and she wasn't sure how much for step 2.  Fortunately the young woman in line behind me said that it was $65.00 for the complete test - she had done one last year..... What is it that Blanche said - I often rely on the kindness of strangers....or something like that.

Moving on... the clinic accepted drop ins until 6:15, if there were 2 doctors on.  If there were just one doctor on, they stopped drop-ins at 3:30.  There was no way of learning in advance how many doctors were "on."  We just show up and hope for the best!!  My daughter works as a camp director and gets home at 6:15 - another crap shoot!!

Now even if two doctors are there and she arrives before 6:15, she still has to prove that she is a student to actually get the TB test done there.  Technically, she is no longer enrolled at Dalhousie and although she has been accepted at Lakehead, there is no student card yet - now if they required the TB test before admission - there would really be a "where do I go from here..duh situation!!  I am hoping that the heavens align and we can move forward on this!!!

3. Also in the "I can't believe I am hearing this" category, I had this conversation with UPS.  They called to say that I have a shipment coming from California.  They gave the address - it was totally wrong.  I told them that.  They said please call this number and give this code and re-direct the shipment.

UPS must have been bought by an alien conglomerate because I could not have the shipment re-directed.  They had to make 3 attempts at delivery to an address that doesn't exist and then I could request a redirection.  I offered to have the shipper call and have it re-directed - sorry, no go.

I called the shipper.  She said have them return the shipment to California and she would make a case against UPS with her boss - good luck.  I also have a return authorization for merchandise that I hadn't ordered, but was shipped - no one from UPS has appeared to pick it up because I am sure that they are working on the erroneous address.

It's not the world according to Garp - that would be easy - it's sane people following insane directions and we are all to smile and agree - the real catch 22 was that if you tried to get out of the war (read life) on the basis of insanity - you couldn't because they would deem you sane because you wanted to survive. So therefore everyone that stayed in the war (followed these crazy rules) was really insane because they didn't have the sense to try and get out!!!

Go figure

Have a sane day!!  or post any insanities - we are all in this together!!

Summer in the City

The evenings are still very warm.  You can leave the house with sandals, shorts, T-shirt and never have to think about a sweater or a cool breeze causing a chill.  I know this will come soon enough; but I am  a hot weather person, so I need to stock up!! Winter is long and cold.

The city hums in the heat.  The lights seem warmer, brighter.  They pulsate. I took my DSLR with me for the walk about 9:00pm. I hate tripods, so I just took some long exposures  - hand held - OK - shaky hand held.  In the sober light of day this would have been just a car and a bus and another trudge to work - but the camera transports and we are on a different planet - in a different place - at a different time.

I just needed to capture the Jazz playing from a nearby patio to complete the transition. I am working on a series of scarves following the seasons and for summer I needed a picture to illustrate heat.  I may have found it. This will go under the heading "transportation" in the scavenger hunt - carry me away!!

Have a sizzling day!!

Summer on the Mountain

On and off throughout the last 40 or 50 years Blue Mountain has been a destination for me with friends and/or family. My Grandfather actually owed a "public house" in Grey County before prohibition...so maybe for the last 100 years or so I have had connections to the area.

I learned to ski there in my 20's.  Took the kids there when they were in their teens and today I did a two hour hike through the various ski hills that I have only ever seen covered in snow. It was awesome.

This is the top of the mountain as seen from the north chair lift - which was not working today :) Actually the gondola ride was working and we took it to the top of the mountain and set out to walk a few miles on the Bruce Trail.  Well we got lost - what else is new - and ended up on a mountain biking trail which meandered around the mountain until it surfaced at the run "Happy Valley" for any one who has skied the area.  We then decided to just walk down the mountain from there.

Climbing down is easier than climbing up, but it does use different muscles - ones I haven't obviously used in along time.  Still it was my birthday and I was really happy that I managed the trip at a respectable speed and wasn't at all exhausted at the end - though I may have looked a little like Medusa - it was very hot and humid!!

Here I am looking maybe a little dazed - but still standing. Comino here I come!!

Have an awesome day!!!

Hot Stuff.....

This is sad but also ironical. Did the Firehall Pizza Co. serve pizzas that were too hot? This is/was a restaurant up at Blue Mountain Village.

It looks like the damage to the building, though extensive, is repairable.  Hopefully no one was injured.

We were able to get away for a few days over the long weekend and 2 of our 3 kids decided to come with us - it was family fun all over again!!  The kids went caving yesterday.  This was a hit. They repelled down into the caves which were very cold - you could see your breath apparently - a nice break from the 30+C temperature outside the caves.  They also got to drink cave water - very pure apparently.

After we dropped them off for their decent into the underworld :) My husband and I went for an hour's Kayaking down the Beaver river.

Though very hot, it was at least breezy and the water was cool.

I also did a little knitting and a lot of photography.

Unfortunately it looks like rain today for our walk on the Bruce Trail and a little Sea (lake) Kayaking for the kids.

Have a great day!!

A little night magic....

One of the nice things about being a little removed from this earth is that you can identify with the unusual and the paranormal.  Maybe this is why I like this picture.

The photo is for the heading "shapes" in the latest scavenger hunt. One of these shapes is the moon.  Now anyone who has worked in a psychiatric ward knows the havoc wrecked by the full moon.

What is it about darkness and a mysterious light?  I'm not sure - but night, the absence of light or the application of a single light re-arranges "things." And what we see as normal during the day becomes almost paranormal at night.

Maybe this is why we find magic in candles - often the only light of seances or campfires the setting of many a ghost story or full moons that draw us like a moth to a flame.

Are we more creative at these times? Do we bring a little of this "otherworldliness" into our regular world?...do we reach another plane?

Have an out of this world day!!

Too much CSI

There is such a thing as watching too much CSI!!!  Someone backed into my car the other day, while it was parked in the parking lot.  I was actually amazed to find a note on my windshield with a telephone number and an apology.

At first I thought that the number would be a "fake"  -  my CSI mind had started in overdrive because I was angry about the hit. I thought that the offenders felt they had to do something because the parking lot would have been full of employees from the building who also park in the lot and they would have gotten the license number and then it would have been hit and run - right!

Wrong - a very charming voice at the other end apologized and asked if I wouldn't mind getting 2 estimates and then they would give me a cheque for the damage.  I was relieved.  This was Thursday, July 26. By Monday, I had the 2 estimates and both were around $1,000.00. I called.  The charming voice answered and said that he would pay the lower of the two estimates; but he couldn't do that until Wednesday because he was going to Montreal on business. I was dismayed, but I accepted and hung up.

Then I got to thinking - Wait a minute. Today was July 30 and Wednesday would be Aug 1.  The accident happened in the parking lot of The Box Spot, a moving store.  That's it!!! Once he found out that the damage was actually just under $1,000.00 the legal limit - anything over $1,000.00 you are required by law to register with the police, he decided he didn't have to pay and since he was moving out of the province on Tuesday - the end of the month - I was going to be left holding the bag!!!

I called back and got the answering machine.  I was angry.  I left a cryptic message.  RATS.  I did a google search.  I got his address. I couldn't assess from the google map whether his house had a for sale sign on it - but at least I had an address.  I was going to go up in the morning.

Well surprise, surprise.  His wife called in the morning and suggested that I come and pick up a cheque.  Amazing!  It turns out that they were very lovely people just doing the right thing. I hated myself for all the negative thoughts.  Now I have to get the car fixed so I can drive my 1998 Honda Civic another 14 years.  Here is what $1000.00 looks like.

Honestly have a wonderful day!!

More signs of the times....

I couldn't resist this sign, this time.  I have taken this picture before but never had a reason to post it.  Well now I can. I call it "Beer Olympics."  If McDonalds can be the official restaurant of the Olympics, than I can post beer challenges. Don't overlook the small green circle in the distance, it's Steamwhistle!!

This is the second photo in my photography scavenger hunt.  It's for the heading "drink." There are lots of layers here - but I think that the richness is in the "fun." Perhaps it's in the names of the beers, their original country of origin, the Olympics, the flags, the sense of celebration...and well since most beer is either bronze or gold, we're in the right colour range.  So far Canada has done well in water sports - go figure.

Have a celebration day!!

Signs and life...

Maybe the title should also read "Signs of Life." As in vital signs - breathing, the pulse etc...  I love street signs.  They create interesting patterns and they make random comments on life.  Here is a picture that I took yesterday.  It's outside of the Unicorn pub on Eglinton Ave.

I have always liked the pattern created by the 3 signs and I love what they say.  Could you write a story about a unicorn in a Louisiana kitchen that would pop your eyes? Then again could the unicorn just stand for something very unusual, almost magical. Louisiana cooking is Cajun. Some believe that the term actually came from a bastardization of Canadian - or Acadian - the poem, "Evangeline," comes to mind.

Life in its randomness can be very chaotic. The fun is finding a meaning, within the maelstrom, that adds a layer of richness to our everyday lives.  Today it was signs!

Not a lot about knitting; but a little about divining the ordinary to find the amazing!!

Strike gold today!!

Still....

I will post the last of the stitches from Found Poetry next week, after I have found or caught a wave!  The stitch is Crest of the Wave - a beautiful old shetland stitch that I have used often - coming soon.

In the meantime I am in another photo scavenger hunt.  I was talking to a knitting designer the other day and she said, that since her full time job is designing knitwear, she felt that she really needed a hobby.  This is an example of the ever decreasing circle.  When your hobby becomes your job, you need another hobby - which may then become your next job - etc..etc...

Well I like writing and taking pictures.  I like knitting too - but now that patterns are more give-aways than actual collections to "sell," I am dyeing more yarn than knitting with it.  It's a lot about the times and how they have changed.  Here is my first photo in the August scavenger hunt.  One of the headings is "still."  This is what I posted.

Scavenger hunt - "still." My book store is still there and it was still open at 8:30 tonight, so that we could still walk there for a little "free" entertainment. - OK we bought $35.00 worth of books. But I could still thumb through the books and look at titles and authors beside each other. I'm sure I'll love electronic books on an I Phone or I Pad. I never really missed the fact that there were horse drawn vehicles before there were cars or story tellers before there were books....but that still small voice grieves for what is lost even though much has been gained - maybe!!

There was/is something very quiet about book stores and libraries.  They often reminded me of church.  You entered with hushed voices and you were reverent.  You respected other people's silence, their mental occupation and you respected the books - the tomes that spoke to you without speaking, that begged to be opened and thumbed and maybe even read.  There was a certain immenseness about "book houses." Yes, there were the actual physical books; but there were also the stories that they told,  the information they held, the stimulating ideas they engendered.  They were housed in grand buildings with beautiful windows and aesthetic decor.  They raised the spirits along with the imagination.

I will miss you when you are gone.

Have a thoughtful day