A day for books...

[fajrdrako]

Got up early (ish) today to go to Charles de Lint's yard sale with deakat. We got there a little early, so we walked around a bit and went to another yard sale where for $20 I got a nice set of shelves do display my action figures. Then I got Spanish in Three Months because I really, really want to learn Spanish after I've reached sufficient proficiency in French. Not that I think I can learn fluency in three months, but hey, it's a start.

Then we went to a place, just two doors down from Charles de Lint's, where two years ago I got Learn to Speak French, which I really should be spending more time with. This year, at the same place, I got:

• The Music Lover's Birthday Book put out by the Metropolital Museum of Art
  
• Windows pour les nuls, which is the French version of Windows for Dummies by Andy Rathbone
  
• Three paperback novels in french, one science ficiton and two policiers: Chroniques du Paus des Mères by Elisabeth Vonarburg; and two by Fred Vargas, Dans les bois bois éternels and Ceux qui vont mourir te saluent.

Then went to Charles de Lint's sale, where I saw maaseru, Pim, Janet and Ronn, and auriaephiala. Bought the following:

Graphic novels:

• wet moon 2: unseen feet by ross campbell.
  
• fade from blue: the fade trade: volume one by Myatt Murphy and Scott Dalrymple
  
• The Waiting Place by Sean Kelley McKeever, Mike Norton, and David Yurkovich.
  
• Five issues of Finder
  
• ... and the pièce de résistance as far as I'm concerned, a hardcover copy of Feynman by Ottaviani and Myrick - a biographical graphic novel about Richard Feynman.
  

Books:

• The World Awaits: How to Travel Far and Well by Paul Otteson
  
• LIghtbreaker by Mark Teppo
  
• Reckless by Cornelia Funke
  
• Dancing with Bears by Michael Stanwick - which auriaephiala said was good.

But that wasn't the end of it, oh my no.

First I went home and set up my new shelves to display my action figures in my living room. Yup, those figures which have been banished to the bathroom for years are now right in my living. Whether they will stay there or get moved again, I'm not sure. I think the room is just a little congested with them there, but I haven't quite figured out what to do with them.

They look like this.

Next I went shopping for a pair of shoes, something I've needed to do for some time - none of my walking shoes fit right, and I've been having serious problems with shoelaces. So I got a pair of shoes that look like this, and so far, I think they're perfect.

I was having a craving for a hamburger, so after going to the library and the bank, I decided to walk down to the Harvey's at Billing's Bridge. While crossing the bridge over the Rideau River, I saw this group of ducks playing in the river:



Then I got to Harvey's and saw, to my horror, that they were closed still for renovations. How long is that going to take? I foolishly and optimistically thought they'd be finished by now.

So I went home, then went to IKEA with maaseru, where we had lunch. Then to Tasia's place, where we went with Tasia, Peter, John and Grant to Carleton Place to browse The Book Gallery. There I bought:

• Maxfield Parrish by Coy Ludwig - a gorgeous book; he's one of my favourites
  
• The Dreams of Dragons by Lyall Watson. I used to really enjoy his books years ago; haven't read one in decades, and hadn't even heard of this one, which is from 1987.
  
• And on a theme here: The Chinese Horoscopes Library: Dragon.

Now I have to figure out where to put these new books. Perhaps it's time for another purge of the old ones; or maybe not.

After indulging in books for a while, I sat in the car with maaseru for a while and ate a pile of Timbits. (Translation for non-Canadians: donut holes from Tim Horton's.) Now, if you've been paying attention over the past six months, you may be thinking: isn't this the person who said she was going to eat no sugar in 2011? and she had a piece of pie only last week? and today, donuts?

Yup. Today was a day of rebellion. It gets worse.

We all went as a group to eat supper at The Old Mill at Ashton, where I had fish and chips for supper and, for dessert, deep fried cheesecake with ice cream. It was so good I ate every morsel and felt not one pang of shame.

Okay, call it a mid-year holiday from the careful eating.

Here's the view from the back patio of the restaurant: