Year-end Review

Things are moving, albeit slowly, with the estate of my mother and the renovation of the RV. Tomorrow is my last day at the bookstore. I'm going to try to work on the RV fulltime as long as my saved monies hold out. The plan is to work on the interior for Jan and Feb, then work on the exterior for Mar and Apr. There's a lot to do. Come what may, I leave on 1 May and I'm excited to get out on the road.

The other thing I have to do is get rid of everything in my apartment. That includes all the books that are left after dealers come through, bookcases, dining table & chairs, bed, bureau, etc. I have to cull my clothes and kitchenware, too.

Sort of daunting, but I'm determined to get it done.

Happy New Year, everybody!

Memorial Week

Wednesday we had the memorial mass for my mother. My brother had flown in from California. Both nonbelievers, we dressed appropriately and played our parts in the mass with reverence in memory of our mother, a devout Catholic. Fortunately, the priest was a jolly Irish Catholic type, who had no problem saying "damn" or "shit" (not during the mass).

That evening, we held a sort-of wake, with close friends of his and mine, with finger food and champagne. We toasted Mom and our sadness at losing her. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, physically and emotionally. Went to bed early and slept like a stone (which are always asleep, right?).

On top of all these events and planning etc, I was told that I would going to be laid off from my part-time job. It's only five months before I'm going off in my RV, but I've got to find something for that time as I can't afford to live on just my pension. Not to mention that I won't have any extra money for fixing up the RV, either. Aaarrrgh.

I'm thinking "lemons, lemonade" but it's not helping right now.

Outrage

This last week has been a whirlwind, what with lawyers, undertakers, priests, etc. All was going along well until I went last Friday (11/16) to clean out Mom's things. She had only been dead a week, and her rent was paid through the end of this month. We were informed by the extended-stay suite hotel management that the "crime scene cleaners" had come and removed everything and, they believed, had incinerated it all!!! Supposedly it was all a "biohazard," even though she didn't die of anything communicable.

I almost fainted. No-one had notified me that this would happen (or even "could" happen). It wasn't as though Mom had a lot but there were a little jewelry and her address book and some family photos and the like -- now all gone forever. And I doubt seriously that the jewelry was discarded, and what about the furniture that belonged to the hotel? Un-huh, probably not discarded either.

Outrage is too small a word for what I feel. Deep-seated rage is more like it. And I'm going to see to it that this is paid for, one way or another, by someone.

Sad News

I haven't posted since the lovely birthday lunch with my mother and brother. Last week, my mother died suddenly. I'm so pleased that our last memories of her were good ones.

Birthday Visit

My brother came to town last Sunday, bringing his new S.O. Deborah. Wednesday 10/3 was both his birthday and our mother's (and Thomas Wolfe's, too). Much elaborate dining ensued. He took Deborah around, playing tour guide. I took them out to the Ballroom Dance Center where I take lessons. Seems my bro has finally decided it's time to learn to dance, so they take lessons out on the west coast. Anyhow, My bro and I got to waltz together, which pleased us both. All in all, a very successful visit. A pleasant time was had by all. And now for some rest and normalcy.

Book List Update at Discount

I've just uploaded an updated version of the spreadsheet containing the movable books for sale (also some children's books). I'm offering them at 30% off the value, media shipping included. This is the time to get some wonderful stuff at the best prices.

I won't be online for a while as my brother's coming to visit for a week, and we'll be celebrating both his and my mother's birthdays.

Balls of Fury

That's the name of the movie I went to see last week. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It helped a whole lot to be very familiar with martial arts movies, especially those of Bruce Lee and especially Enter the Dragon. In many respects this movie is a comedy remake of Enter the Dragon, almost scene for scene. And, just to cap the connection, Jason Scott Lee, who played Bruce Lee in the biopic, has a supporting role in this movie. Christopher Walken does his patented over the top madman, in mandarin robes yet (everybody else is in regular clothes). Not a great movie but a good time for a fun afternoon.

Movables for sale

I've been trying to put a link to my Google spreadsheet on this blog, but no luck so far. I'm sure I'm missing some tiny step. Anyhow, I have about 800 movables books (and a few kids books, too) for sale. If there's something you're looking for, let me know

I'm going to the movies this afternoon with my friend Amy. We're going to see that new movie about the secret world of underground ping-pong tournaments. Looks like it'll be funny. I'll let you know later.

Movable Book Collection

As previously mentioned, I'm going fulltime in an RV next spring. So, I'm selling off my large collection of movable books. This includes pop-ups, carousels, tunnel books, pull-tabs, grommet books, etc etc. I've got about 800 books and cards. At the moment, I'm running a discount sale for members of the Movable Book Society. Then I'll open the sale to everybody. I can send an Excel spreadsheet attachment. Let me know if you're interested.

Life otherwise has been fairly calm, except my old mother has to find new living space. The new owners of her low-income apartment building think her pension is too high. By about 1% or so. Outrageous. She's been there for over 5 years now and at age 86 has to find a new place. Poor Mom.

Failure to dance

I should have gone to the dance party last night but couldn't motivate myself out of my comfy chair. I think it'll be easier once I start the lessons as I'll know more people and won't be so much of a wallflowers. That's the thinking, anyhow.

I was hoping to find a place to swim, too, but the YWCA and YMCA are quite expensive, as are the gyms with pools. Also, water temps are 84 deg. Might as well stay home and play in the tub. I understand about keeping joints warm but exercise warms you up, too, so I don't need warm water to start. And the humidity -- I can't breathe well. So my new bathing suit is unused as yet.

My fabulous midcentury modern sling chair is on its way to being repaired and refurbished. Yah! It's the most comfortable chair I've ever had. Think of a bentwood rocker, you know, with all the steam-bent wood in huge curves on the sides? That's what my chair looks like. I got the break welded, have put the seat cushion in for reupholstery, and now have to clean the chromed sides and repaint with chrome auto paint (can't begin to afford actual rechroming). The chair comes apart into 4 pieces: the two sides, the main sling (which snaps over the crossbars), and the seat (which snaps to the sling). So it's a perfect chair to go RVing with as it's compact and lightweight.

Later.

Dance dance limp limp

So I went and had my dance "placement" session. The nice instructor's (C.J.) summing up was: Well , you obviously have the knowledge so you could go into the advanced class. But your skills are rusty [yep, after 40 years they're liable to be] so I think the intermediate level would be better. And I agree with him. Also, after 45 minutes of dancing different dances, the knees were speaking up loudly. However, I didn't step on him or fall down, so I was pleased.

Most interesting was what I remembered -- we did waltz, foxtrot, rumba, cha-cha, jive, mambo, tango, and bolero (he said, do you know bolero? I said, I don't remember. But when we started it, I said, Oh yes, I remember this!). Not too bad for an old lady. I'm going to start the 12-week session on 10 Sept.

Saturday night, I went out for the weekly party. I watched for quite a while and then C.J. asked me to waltz. The knees were complaining fairly loudly after that so I left and went to John and Hazel's to play cards with John and Blair. And home around 10:30. At least the knees didn't swell up, what with all the unaccustomed activity.

Hot hot Dance dance

It's over 90 here. 90! Days on end! Whimper. At least it's cool enough at night to sleep.

So I'm embarking on a new sweat-making enterprise. There's a fabulous ballroom center that also gives lessons for a reasonable price. I'm going later today for a "placement" dancing interview, and then in Sept. I'll sign up for a course. There are dance parties every week, too, so I'll be going to them. Dancing is one of the best whole-body exercises, and it's exhilarating. I haven't done any partner dancing for many years so we'll see how much muscle memory is left. I have to go buy a pair of shoes with leather soles, though, as rubber soles aren't good for dancing.

I'm trying to persuade my friend to come along. She says, But I have two left feet and no rhythm. Nonsense, say I, dancing and walking are both moving your feet in rhythm so if you can walk you can dance. Your problem isn't physical; you're just self-conscious. Once you learn the steps, the body will remember and you can stop thinking. Voila, no more self-consciousness. We'll see how well I persuaded her.

Later.

Off Day

Ah. Tomorrow is Tuesday and I get to be a slug. Still getting used to my new schedule at work, and have been filling in for folk so haven't settled into a routine yet. Weather is horrific -- almost set a record today 89 deg w/high humidity. Actually had to turn on the AC until 11pm, and it's still fairly warm out. Ick.

Birthday dinner

Last night, two friends took me out for a birthday celebration dinner. We went to Vincenzo's, a classy Northern Italian restaurant and sat downstairs in the piano bar (guitarist /singer, no pianist). After a wait at the bar, where I had a gimlet in a fancy glass, we were seated. None of us wanted appetizers or primi; we just right for the secondi (main dishes). One had filet with mushrooms in a marsala sauce; one had filet with gorgonzola sauce; and I had veal saltimbocca with a glass of Santa Christina sangiovese merlot. All was yummy. The owner, whom I know, gave us a chunk of tiramisu with three spoons, one candle lit in the middle (my birthday gift). A very pleasant time was had by all.

Officially old

Well, I'm now officially old (at least in my mind) -- yesterday was my birthday. I spent it playing on the computer, surfing the web and such. I'm also updating my inventory of movable and pop-up books in preparation for selling them all off.

I may have mentioned that I plan to go fulltime in an RV next Spring, so I'll be selling off nearly everything I own between now and then. First to go are the books: about 800 movables and about 300-400 others. For a professional bookseller, this isn't too many (about 100 small boxes).

When those are gone, the bookshelves go. And that's the bulk of the furniture in my place.

That's my thoughts for now. Happy Birthday to me.
L

Introduction

Hello all,
This is my first ever post on my blog (which I just set up). I'm hoping to keep track of my progress toward going fulltime in RV next spring. I have acquired a 1984 Toyota Odyssey class C, 4 cyl 4-speed stickshift. It's about 22ft bumper to bumper, so downsizing from my 900sf apartment is going to be interesting.

According to the previous owner, the RV runs well (good!) but there's lots to check out and fix before I get on the road. I'm in full research mode on the Web and have found lots of good folk in forums and groups to ask questions of.

I've been a professional bookseller for about 20 years (all used, antiquarian, rare). My specialty is movable books, which includes pop-ups, carousels, tunnels, flaps, grommets, transformations, and more.

I also publish a newsletter about the author Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. I've been doing it for 13 years now, and plan to continue doing it from the RV, wherever I might be.

Other authors of special interest are: Peter O'Donnell, Ross Thomas, and J.D. Robb. Of course, there are many writers I read, just not many I collect. I plan to do some bookscouting from the RV and selling on the Web at Biblio.com (which I do now).

Please feel free to comment. I hope to join a community of like-minded folk. As I said, this is my first blog so I'm a total novice at it. All help and advice appreciated.

Cordially,
Lindig