Missed the Book Sale This Year (gasp)

For 16 years I've been going to our library and historical society's blueberry festival to buy chances on a handmade quilt and buy tons of books at their book sale. This year I didn't get there. It's on Friday and Saturday. Friday we had appointments in Binghamton. Since it's been a busy week and fatigue is a problem for me because of my lungs, I really didn't feel well enough to go anywhere Saturday. Besides that, it started raining mid-morning and just rained harder and harder all day.

This morning the humidity is 100%, so this will be another lost day for me. Oh well, when I saw the pulmonologist on Friday, he said my breathing test results were about the same. They haven't changed much in the past year. Whoopee!

In August it normally starts cooling down a little here, although when we go to the local fair we get pretty hot. That's an excuse to sit in the shade and listen to local musicians at the little bandstand. Remember Aaron Kelly from last year's American Idol? He's a local boy and he'll be at the fair again this year. I'll be interested to see if he has changed after his Idol experience.

Now that we have a wheelchair for Dave, I'm determined to get to the New York State Fair again. We haven't gone for several years but I love it. It reminds me of the Illinois State Fair, one of the best in the country, which I never missed when I lived there. I remember when I was a child and my grandfather (a staunch Republican) took me to see the races. Harry Truman was visiting that day and went by us sitting up on the back of a convertible. Unfortunately for Gramps, he looked like Truman's double, and Truman definitely gave him a second and third look as the motorcade went by. I was glad Truman didn't know Gramps thought he was the very devil.

Dave grew up in a little town in Maine and was used to a tiny fair in the fall. When I got him to the Illinois State Fair, he was in awe of the size of it. He never did stop talking about the corn and wheat fields in Illinois, and the size of the farm machinery at the fair. We love looking at the animals, buying salt water taffy, and eating other fair food. We rationalize by telling ourselves we're walking it off.

August is a lovely time of year with the promise of cool nights, and lazy days as everyone seems in limbo before September brings a restart of everything that keeps us busy. Thankfully we aren't living in an area of long, long heat waves or flooding and I feel so badly for my friends who are suffering from heat or too much rain. September, my favorite month, is just around the corner.

Another Book Sale? This One has a Cash Bar!

Thankfully our high winds and downpours of Tuesday and Wednesday have subsided. Not only that, the sun actually appeared today. That was good news for our county library and historical society's book sale today and tomorrow. Books are selling from noon to 9 pm both days, but from 5 to 9 there is also a cash bar, Christmas trees are for sale outside, and a local man will be selling yule logs on the patio - all taking place at a local inn.

Well you know I couldn't pass that up. After all, as I told Dave, we're trying hard to raise money for the new library building. Then the historical society can take over the entire historical building on the green where at this point books are double stacked, squeezed into unlikely spots, and still most are stuck away in the basement. We really need that new building.

He wouldn't try to keep me away from a book sale anyway so off I went early this afternoon. Walked in and heard, "Now why am I not surprised to see you here?" It was a friend who used to be my editor when I was a reporter for the local paper. About the only time we see each other now is, you guessed it, at book sales. Since there wasn't a big crowd, we had a chance to catch up on each other's lives. It was great to see her, and then I snitched a Sue Grafton right out from under her nose. I must remember to send it to her when I finish reading it. :-)

I spent $25 and came home with a nice stack of mysteries plus two brand new children's books to donate to Toys for Tots. We don't buy Christmas presents anymore but we do remember to donate to good causes and Toys for Tots is one of our favorites. We'll also buy something else for them.

I hope you're all able to squeeze in some fun things just for you during this busy time of year. If nothing else, sit in a hot bath and read for a while. I think women in particular run themselves ragged for the holidays, trying to make everything perfect, and then are too exhausted to enjoy anything. It can never be perfect and the best thing you can give your loved ones is your presence and your love. Happy holidays to all of you.

It's Book Sale Day!

My computer has a bad case of the slows today and my back hurts sitting at my desk so instead of the review I intended to write, I'll tell you about my morning at our annual book sale.

We have a a Blueberry Festival on the Green in Montrose, PA every August. They sell chances on a handmade quilt (made by a quilting club in town), blueberry everything in food including blueberry pizza, blueberry ice cream, a blueberry pancake breakfast, and everything else blueberry you can think of. They'll even throw some berries in your lemonade for you.

The main attraction for many of us though is the book sale in a gigantic tent. They kept getting bigger and bigger tents, but starting last year they gave up and moved paperbacks, records, games, etc. down to an empty car dealer's building toward the edge of town. I always arrive on the Green the first morning of the two day festival carrying several tote bags and bringing along my husband to carry and/or hold books for me. I look forward to this day all year long.

Dave bought chances on the quilt and he also bought chances on gift baskets this year. While he waited for me, he enjoyed a piece of blueberry pie and a lemonade sans blueberries.

This morning I spent a total of $36.50 which bought 25 books! I have mysteries and classics and an assortment of nonfiction which will keep me happy for quite a while. Even so, I had to quit before I looked at everything because I just couldn't carry any more and it was getting crowded and hot in the tent. The building was even hotter but I got a stack of paperbacks anyway. If I had remembered to take along my list, I might have bought more.

Tomorrow around 2 p.m. they'll start selling books by the bag at reduced prices. Who knows, I may show up yet again. By the way, this all benefits the county library and historical society so any donations or money spent go to one of the best causes in town.

My Favorite Book Sale

All year I look forward to the first Friday in August. The Blueberry Festival in Montrose, PA runs that Friday and Saturday as a benefit for the county library system and historical society. The blueberries aren't the big draw for me although I love them. We have plenty of berries on our own bushes, especially in a rainy summer like this one has been. We do always buy raffle tickets for the quilt made by local ladies; this year's is the prettiest ever I think. Haven't won in 14 years but you never know. That isn't really the big attraction for me either.

No, the attraction that pulls me to the town green early that Friday morning is the giant book sale. I learned shortly after we moved here that this area is populated by mystery lovers. I fit right in. That means many residents do the same thing I do - stock up on mysteries at the book sale and then donate them right back the next summer. We have quite a recycling program going. There are also boxes of books by other popular writers, but the majority of boxes are full of favorite mystery writers such as Robert L. Parker, Martha Grimes, Sue Grafton, P.D. James, Marcia Muller, and others.

Each year I try a few new authors. If I don't like the books, it's no great loss for me and I've made a donation to a cause I care about. The problem is that I also buy some nonfiction books that I keep, adding to the overflow in my own library. I'll bring home something like four large tote bags full, and donate three.

In November I go to the Putnam Publishing Co. annual warehouse sale in the Binghamton area and come home with a box or two of new books. Some of those will get donated to the Blueberry Festival, but many of those as well stay on my shelves.

Years ago my husband built a library for me in a spare bedroom. It has floor to ceiling shelves on two walls. I remember him saying at the time that I'd never fill those shelves. I just grinned. Sure enough, he had hardly finished building them when they were full. Still, I have stacks of books around, and more bookcases downstairs filled.

At least I'm not alone in this situation. Every time I go to a book sale I'll overhear people talking about the overflow of books in their house and how they absolutely must do something about it. Our library will soon break ground on a new building near the high school so the historical society can take over the old building on the green. Both are in dire need of more room. In Susquehanna County people do read. Not all of us can afford to buy new books, but we certainly make good use of what books are available to us. I think that speaks very well of the people of northeastern Pennsylvania.