What a morning! Despite the cold wind and periodic drizzle, the crowd queued to get into the sale was quite long. We arrived about an hour and a quarter before the doors opened and were still about 50th in line. By the time the doors opened, the line snaked around the parking lot and had about 150 people in it.

The Elora Festival Book Sale raises money for the Elora Music Festival and, I think, is the best book sale in this area. So it goes into my calendar as soon as I get a new one each year.

So what did I buy? Well I should start by saying that I was on a much tighter budget this year so I was only able to spend half of what I did last year.

The Haul
8 books from my wish list
– House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
– Merde Actually by Stephen Clarke
– Publish and Perish by James Hynes
– The Sex Life of my Aunt by Mavis Cheek
– Lucifer’s Shadow by David Hewson
– The American Boy by Andrew Taylor
– River of the Brokenhearted by David Adams Richards
– Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis

3 Hardcovers to replace my paperback copies
– A Whistling Woman by A.S. Byatt
– Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco
– The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard

11 other books

Total? 22 books for $54.75!

Next year my plan is to be there when it opens for the initial pickings, have lunch and then go back in the afternoon for a more leisurely perusal.

So reserve May 5 & 6, 2007 for next year’s sale!

The emergency call went out from Audrey – hundreds of books at the Caroline Street Recycling depot that need saving. There were a couple of workers trying to sort them out and make sure readable books were in appropriate bins, but they said there were too many and they would have to haul some away. In her words – “Get down there and rescue some of those books!”

As a member of the local BookCrossing group, it is my duty to rescue readable books and make sure they reach new, appreciative readers. So I did my part and went over, sorted through some of the bins and rescued about 50. I’ve been busy registering all of them to my shelf at BookCrossing and even found two wish list books, always a treat!

Overall, not a bad visit to the recycling depot. You never quite know what you’ll find.

The real book event this week? That would be the 18th Annual Elora Festival Book Sale on Saturday. I’ll be in line an hour before the doors open. This is my yearly book sale pilgrimage and I can’t wait to see what treasures I find this year.

You might have noticed a few minor changes at the bottom of the navigation bar. I added a SmartFeed courtesy of FeedBurner and have claimed my blog at Technorati.

Why? Well for two reasons…

1) This post by Bill Sweetman at One Degree.
2) I’m trying to learn as much as possible about Blog Optimization and decided to test it out here.

Stay tuned!

I turned my first heel! You’ll have to imagine the happy dance going I’m afraid. The sock (Slouch socks from Not Just More Socks) traveled with me to Toronto for a day of fun at the Creative Sewing and Needlework Festival, although no knitting actually happened there.

I have to admit that a fair bit of frogging did occur as I was working on the heel. I managed to misread the pattern while doing the heel flap and then a second time while actually turning the heel. Despite all the frogging, I am really enjoying the process. Now for some gusset work!

Oh, and the CSNF was fun and I took a short class on crocheting rag rugs. While it was interesting and I ended up with a great hot pad, my wrist ached for two days afterward so I suspect this is not the craft for me.

I don’t know if anyone else has these days when you wake up 20% less smart than the day before? Recently I’ve had a few days like this and today is one of them. You wake up and it takes forever to figure out what you’re supposed to be doing. Thinking seems slower – thank goodness you haven’t forgotten how to get yourself dressed.

You feel like you are thinking through a head of mattress stuffing. You are no longer your normal verbally acute self. Words escape you at an alarming rate. You suddenly understand the term “slow” because it feels like someone has hit the mute button on the smart part of your brain.

Thank god it is Friday so that I’m not going to be a danger to the population for the next two days by trying to negotiate my way through work. Eek!

I have joined the sock camp. I have to confess that until now the only socks I’ve knitted were done with chunky yarn from Pattons which turned out a sock that was not wearable with shoes.

What first began to draw me to today’s world of socks was attracted by the beauty of the hand-dyed sock yarn. I love the colour combinations people put together to create the lush colours (which is what sent me on a hunt to Lettuce Knits for some of the coveted Socks that Rock yarn). But this past weekend, I experienced some of the larger benefits of the sock phenomena.

Portability – I pack for the BookCrossing convention in a frenzy of book lust. Box of books to release – check. Socks and underwear – check. Books wrapped in pretty paper for swapping – check. Halfway to Toronto I realized with extreme horror that I had forgotten to pack knitting! How was this possible? What was I going to do during the workshops on Saturday?

Now do not despair too long since, luckily for me, I was staying with a fellow knitter who was willing to let me dive into her stash! Heather generously allowed me to snag some sock yarn and needles so that I could keep my hands busy during Convention meetings on Saturday. (No really, I am getting to the portability part..)

Sitting there in the workshop I realized just how handy socks are. They are small and easily slip into a bag. The double-pointed needles lay flat for storage in a purse. The project doesn’t take up a lot of space around one either – unlike a bulky sweater. Wow!

Community – I wasn’t the only sock knitter in the room! There were other sock knitters up near the front and they quickly sensed other socks in the room and came round for a look-see. Many non-knitters are fascinated by someone knitting socks. I think it is all the needles sticking out, makes the entire process seem much more mysterious than it really is.

Am I addicted? Too soon to say but definitely I have entered the first flush of romance with this knitting phenomena. And this cute slouch sock with be journeying with me to the Creative Sewing and Needlework Festival this weekend. Perhaps I will be able to find it some attractive mates to join the stash…

I can’t believe the number of books! Table after table of books people brought to share with other BookCrossing. I think there were four 8 foot tables chock full of books. I managed to restrain myself and only came out with about 15 but who knows how good my restraint will be today…*whistle*.

I had a lot of fun “meeting” so many BookCrossers and BookRelay in person! Shouts out to all my book buddies…here’s to lots of fun today and tomorrow.

I just had to post this new picture of Aaron with his Mom, Jenn. He’s grown so much and this is one of those priceless shots.

BookCrossing convention here I come! I’m going to meet lots of my BookRelay friends and swap out tons of books with other book lovers. I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend.

I’m packed up and ready to go with lots of books sent on ahead with Rhonda and Jennifer. Rhonda spent the last two nights visiting from Indiana and is spending today with other BookRelay friends visiting BookCloseOuts and Niagara Falls. Me? I’m at work, sneaking a few minutes here to post since I won’t be back on again until Sunday night when I trundle home with my pile o’ books with a book hangover. LOL

Don’t read Walter Kirn while drinking water…or you will end up drenched.

Found today on BookSlut…how does Kirn come up with this stuff?

If unborn children really had rights, the infant daughter of the actress Katie Holmes and the temporarily-humanoid immortal starseed that styles itself ‘Tom Cruise’ would have been delivered by a lawyer. Breaking the absolute silence of the delivery room, the lawyer, on the infant’s behalf, would have sued for spiritual guardianship and demanded that all profits earned from sale of the child’s story and image– including ‘virtual’ profits in the form of publicity for its parents — be deposited in a trust account to fund its lifelong psychotherapy needs. It would also be stipulated that such therapy could not be interfered with or curtailed by ‘Cruise’ or his religious representatives.