JONAS has arrived!

Well, it's finally here. I looked out the back window a little while ago and saw about three inches of snow on the ground. It's barely snowing right now; just tiny flakes or ice pellets. According to the weather forecasters, we could get up to a foot of snow in the Richmond area (much more to the west) by the time the snow ends tomorrow night. I'm guessing around 7-8 inches for us. We'll see.

I went to work this morning. No snow falling at the time and so a few brave souls opened our shops at Mixie's. Wendy and her husband arrived with a car full of boxes and things. She is returning to Mixie's to open another one of her pretty shops. 

Dave had opened the building and he was manning the store so that Elizabeth and Robin wouldn't need to come in. I asked him to let me know when it started snowing so I could leave. Of course, I wanted to stop at Food Lion before going home. You know there are always things to pick up even though we have been getting ready for the snow all week.

It didn't take long... about 10:30, I got the word that the snow had begun.  It was sticking right away too!  So off I went to get my groceries. Only thing I missed was Jimmy's milk!

Main roads (Rt. 360) were clear.  Subdivision roads, so-so. Probably worse now. 

So this is my little blog article for today!

      

As I was saying.... errrr...

I NEED A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS!

My Bookshelves...

Yes, I am!  My used bookshop at Mixie's is across from my other two spaces where I sell my collectibles and vintage items.  I have close to 20 bookshelves of various sizes in my bookshop and 99% of them were made by my oldest son, Jimmy.  He likes to build things out of wood.  If it wasn't for him, I couldn't have put together a bookshop at all.

He decided in the beginning to put the fiction and historical romances in alphabetical order by author so people could find their books easier.  My subject matter books like Science, Biography, History etc. are in their own special sections.  I have gotten many many compliments from booklovers who appreciate being able to find their books without having to look through hundreds of books.

In the meantime, I had decided to price my books very reasonably so that people could buy them.  That decision came about because an earlier bookseller whose books I craved but couldn't buy, priced his books so high that I couldn't afford to buy them.  It was very discouraging because he had a number of books that I would have liked to read and own.  This bookseller finally moved away.  It wasn't long before Jimmy and I decided to fill the void.

I love my bookshop and so do my many returning customers who know they can get a good read for only a dollar or two or three.  They can also trade 3 for 1. Three of their books for one of mine.  Just today, when I was a little late, I received a call from Mixie's  because one of my customers wanted to know if I was coming in.  She wanted to trade her 12 books for 4 free ones.  I'll be right there! I said.

My customers are very loyal.  Sometimes, I come in and there on the floor are a couple bags of books... I have no idea who put them there, but I am grateful for them.  These are free books and great books to place on my shelves.

Yes, indeed... I am easily distracted by bookshelves!

My Favorite Passtime!

Okay, so I Trashed a Friend's Blog!

I have been receiving a few odd emails recently.  As any smart computer user does when they are not sure of the source, I deleted them.  The Subject was simply "SOMETIMES".   And then it dawned on me...  Maybe I'd better take a look.

Well, as it turned out, my friend from Ohio had long ago started a blog and I signed up to receive notification of any articles she posted there.  However, she never got her blog off the ground and I had long ago forgotten I had signed up.

I'm so glad I opened that email this morning.  Looks like she is back to writing.  Writing is her thing anyway.  She had been a columnist in her local newspaper back in the day, so now I am looking forward to interesting observations from her.

Maybe that will get me to write more too.



~ Pic found on the Clancy Tucker Blog

Book Addiction!

This so reminds me of my bookshop; except that my shop is much more organized.  However, I really don't have enough room for all the books I have, so I have some extras laying on shelves that have no room for them.

My books are in alphabetical order by author.  At least the fiction and historical romances are.  The rest are on shelves dedicated to their subjects.  For instance, I have shelves of bios, history and politics, health and medical, cookbooks, sports, and so on.  These obviously cannot be placed in alphabetical order...  I have no time for that.

I bought a tall bookcase from a vendor who is leaving at the end of the month.  I placed it in a conspicuous place and put children's books on the shelves.  I sell very few children's books...  parents don't encourage their children to stop and look at books.  It's a pity.  Surprisingly, soon after I placed the book case and filled it, a young girl who is being looked after by one of the vendors, came by and asked if I had any kids' books!  I pointed her to the books and she bought THREE of them!

Yes, books can be an addiction alright.  I just finished my 37th book of the year!  Maybe, I'll end up with 60 again...  :)  I LOVE TO READ!

Your Kids... My Kids?

Love it! 

Me and Tom Jefferson!!!

New Year's Resolutions Revisited

Last year I made a New Year's resolution to fill an empty jar with notes reminding myself of the good things that happened to me.  I was checking out the jar today and here are some of the events that were special.

~ I have been placed in a prayer note on the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem by C.

~ K called to let us know that Ricky's $5000-plus hospital bill has been cancelled!

~ Ricky has been walking without his cane or brace today.

~ A sent papers for me to correct.

~ I fell in the street at church but didn't break anything!

~ Wonderful trip to see the grandkids.

~ I sold over $130 worth of jewelry to one customer today!

~ I found the church keys!  Whew!

~ David survived a serious low blood sugar event.  Thank you Lord.

~ Someone complimented me AGAIN about how well organized my book shop is!

~ Ricky got his disability approved!  Thank you Lord.


These constituted about 6 months worth of notes.  I didn't finish the year as I had hoped but will begin again this year.  You should try it!  All you need is an empty jar, placed where you can see it as a reminder to write a little note to yourself.

Don'cha know? This just hit the spot!

I love books!  Who would ever have guessed that one day I would  have a book shop!  I sure didn't.  People give me their unwanted books for free; or I buy their books; or I trade three of theirs for one of mine.  No matter how I acquire them, I end up with a huge choice of things to read.

My cup runneth over!

Done did my taxes!!!!!

I finished my taxes!!!  A week early!!!  I am usually a last minute person when it comes to filling out all the forms.  I actually start early by taking inventory of my book shop sometime in February every year so it's not like I'm being a slouch...  But there is so much to figure up and my energy level is lagging a bit.  Anyhow, it's done and ready to mail out tomorrow.  I can heave a sigh of relief!

I still have my State taxes to fill out but that is a piece of cake compared to the federal.

Jimmy is always advising me to have a professional do my taxes, but I would rather do them myself because I understand my bookkeeping methods.  Maybe when I am old and decrepit and my brain is mush, I will take his advice. But for now...


Image Source

Looking for a Positive New Year's Resolution?

How about this one!  We tend to forget the good things that happen!  I've got a little jar all ready!

Image Source

It's a Puzzlement!

It's a puzzlement!  What to do... what to do...  About five or six years ago, I put together our parish's website... I am strictly an amateur at website building.  However, since we are a small parish, the site was unique and served its purpose.  I bought the name and I renew it each year as part of my contribution to my parish.

Recently, a new parishioner who is a professional web designer arrived and offered to build a new website for the parish.  All that was perfect timing for me, because of a changing family situation, I no longer have the time to devote to updating the site.  He is doing a fine job and has brought lots of interesting additions to the new site.

But here is my problem:  In addition to building the website those years ago, I was also asked to set up a blog by our priest at the time so that parishioners could write reflections on the homilies and readings we heard every Sunday.  The person writing the reflection that week would send it to me and I would find the perfect picture or image to go with what was written and then I would place the article on the blog.  I really loved doing this and people enjoyed it.  

Now, the web designer wants to incorporate the blog into the new website.  This is not a bad idea on the surface because it will bring more readers into the mix and more information into the blog.  BUT, all those five or six years worth of previous articles/photographs will probably be lost.  This is what hurts my heart!  Plus, the web designer is adding his own headers (pics) to the blog articles and wants to leave my pics out.  This also hurts my heart since I have spent a lot of time finding just the right image for the articles people write.  His issue with my pics are the low resolutions I use.

Soooo, what to do?  Actually, the reflections have changed since the original priest left.  He always had a special take on the readings and so the articles were really exemplary.  Our most recent priest had a different style altogether which made it difficult to write about what he had to say.  Our new priest's style is also not the same...  As the years have gone by, it has ended up that I am writing most of the articles since people have gotten older and less willing to write.  So, my questions are:

Should I abandon the old blog or continue to write for it and have the designer transfer the articles to the new website/blog?

Since I love to write these reflections, should I just place them on this blog and concentrate on this one and let the new parish blog exist on its own?

I can't seem to think clearly about this issue, so I would love to have some input from my readers...



Image from wallpapers shop

Dear readers, come to my bookshop!

No, that's not my pile of books! But this is a good representation of what I am doing at my shop! Trying to separate my freebie books that a vendor gave me, price them and then place them on shelves.

I love books!!! And with my bookshop, I have been in seventh heaven, selecting books that I want to read. I have a pile of books crammed into a small bookcase behind my desk where I keep the "important stuff" for my shop. They are the books I have picked out to read from the piles I go through.

I would never have believed that I would ever have a bookshop of my own. This just didn't seem possible... and then it all fell into place with our flea market shop. God works in some interesting ways!

Tax time is coming up soon... that means I will have to take an inventory of my books. Takes about a week... My guess is that I have around 3000 books!

In the meantime, let me enjoy what I'm surrounded with!

What's in store for the New Year?

It has been a long time since I have blogged here. I have good intentions but we all know what the road to hell is paved with! I have responsibility for my parish blog as well as a couple of other blogs... The parish blog is the only one that is flourishing.

I really want to be more active on this one... maybe use it as a journal. I hesitate to say a "daily" journal but more often than I have been using it. I like to write when there is something to write about... I lead a busy life but not an exciting one, which is one reason I haven't written more.

One thing I like about writing is that it keeps my mind active. Here I am, a 75 year old gramma, who hopes to keep my mind from turning to rust for a few years longer. I read all the time. Last year I read 54 books! I also have a flea market shop where I sell books (this is where I feed my hunger for reading), costume jewelry and other flea market treasures. I make very little money doing this. In fact, since the economy has tanked, I am usually going into the hole every week. However, I like the flea market atmosphere. Flea market vendors are an interesting lot...some real characters... I may write about them sometime...

I also am very involved in parish life. That might be something to write about in the future also... I'm getting some ideas even as I send these words into cyberspace....

Well, I guess I have gotten started...

Image Source: Playing with the Universe