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Sorry about this picture-less post!!!! Our computer is on the fritz and might be in its last stages......We are planning on going with an Apple next and hopefully we will be doing so in the next few days or else, maybe our computer will come back to life.
I just wanted you to know in case you wonder what is going on over here in the Land of Maude! I will be back as soon as I can!!!!
A couple of years ago I stumbled onto the soundtrack for the musical 42nd Street. I love the songs and music; and the sound of tap dancing.
Recently I have been on a streak of ordering things from the library and decided to try out this movie. It was made in 1933 and has some gorgeous clothes and dancing. Some of the plot points are a bit strange, but overall it was some good escapism. While Mike watched the Cubs, I watched the movie. Now I am tapping off to sleep!
Yesterday Mike and I went to the annual used book sale in the parking lot of Old Orchard shopping center in Skokie, Illinois. This is the 13th annual time for us. The first year we went when we were dating.....1996. The next year we were married. It is as much fun as Christmas morning to me.
There are a ton of books and they are very inexpensive! In our first years I would buy tons of books. I still have some from the first years that I have not even read yet. This year I tried to be sensible. We have so many books in our home and we are running out of space for them. So, I was pretty selective this year. The highlights of my book buying yesterday were Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner and Love Walked In by Marissa de los Santos. Also, I found some really inexpensive children's books to use in art projects.
In the fiction section I met a lady, a retiree who lives in Arizona part of the year. She held up The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and asked me if I had read it. I didn't want to dampen her enthusiasm by saying that I am one of the few people who did not care for it. So I said, "So many people love that book!" Well, we got to talking. She told me she is in a book club in Arizona and went on to show me some of the books they read and loved. In turn, I was able to foist some of my favorite reads on her. She was very receptive and bought all the ones I recommended such as Plainsong, Tender at the Bone, and Motherland. It was lots of fun.
There were so many good books there that I have already read. If I had a lot of money I would have bought them and sent them out to people I know would like them. With finances the way they are, I took pictures of them and hope that some of you find a new great book you have not read!
If you are in the Chicago area, the book sale lasts all week! They had tons of boxes of books they had not even unloaded yet because the tables were full. I would have liked to go through all of those boxes! Treasure hunt!
(Photo courtesy of slimmer jimmer of Flickr)
I WISH....
- That I could dance the quick step with Tony Dovolani
- That I was in a rock and roll band and we could do a cover of "Signs" by the Five Man Electrical Band
- That I could see a custom made double feature of Sex and The City and M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, The Happening, right now.
- That I could be shipped off to a cabin by a lake somewhere in Michigan and just sit on the porch and read books for a month straight
- That I had enough energy to clean and organize this house once and for all
- That I too had a magnificent pair of Wellies to wear to the beach (see above!)
I ran across this video on a Americablog, a great site for political commentary. However, this video is not about politics. It is about the ocean and undersea life. It is a man giving a speech about something he is passionate about. It is riveting. It is cool. It made me want to go listen to lectures about art, history, science, and all kinds of cool stuff. It is only a few minutes long and so cool, especially the last little bit. Click here to see oceanographer, David Gallo!
I might not be around blogland for the rest of the week, I am laying low people! Trying to get my creative mojo back and/or trying to get the house in order........
Adding my voice to a chorus for Peace.
On Tuesday of my week in Washington I went to the airport to pick up my best buddy Noreen. She came up from L.A. to spend some time with me. This is our third get together on Bainbridge and we are so lucky to be able to do it!!! Our first stop after the airport was the lunch you see below. BBQ pulled pork sandwiches! Yum! Next stop was one of the best bookstores ever, Elliot Bay Book Company in the Pioneer Square section of Seattle. You could spend thousands of dollars and many hours in this place!!! I have always wanted one of those Read signs in my house!
Next stop was a cute shop called Fireworks. Noreen found a great purse, see above left, green purse, oblong shape. Lovely handmade number! I liked the state pillows pictured below and the red purse with the Seattle gal on it!! I behaved myself though and saved my money for antique shopping!
The next morning we were off on the Kingston ferry. We took it over to Edmonds, and then drove over to Snohomosh which is a small town with a ton of antique shops.
We fortified ourselves with some cream cheese chocolate muffins! 
There was one particular place, Star Antique Mall, which had 5 floors of stuff!!! Our dogs were barking by the end of the day (that means our feet hurt!)
Love these head vases!!!! 
Great antique sign! Really gets your heart pumping doesn't it???
I loved the graphics on this old Totes box!
See this lamp above? I could not resist it!!! I brought it home with me! Well, I mean, my Dad is going to ship it to my house in the next couple of weeks along with a few other treasures which I will show you when I get them in hand.
More cool graphics...
On Friday we went to Poulsbo to meet my friend Carolyn who lives in Bremerton. 
We ate lunch overlooking this cute little inlet!
Poulsbo is such a cute town. It is very Danish.
We went to an antique store (what else?) that had this dear little scrapbook all about George Harrison! 
Here are myself, Noreen and Carolyn at Rubber Soul in Poulsbo...I found 2 new great stamps! We had a really nice time together.
On the last night we went to the Town and Country grocery store and got lots of little fun things to eat for dinner. I gave my Dad one of his birthday CD's. 
I gave Mary this book as she loves this author. Looks like a really good read.
I am so lucky to have had this magical week! I hope to go back soon. It is a place that really gets into your system and you need another dose!!!!
Thanks for all the welcome back wishes - you all make me feel so loved!
All of the art in this entry is by my friend Jane. We snuck in a stamping session last weekend. We bought these pink cards in a pack and decided to challenge ourselves to make something with them.
Below you can see the plain pink card we started with. We used some new clear Flourish stamps from Basic Grey that are just incredibly beautiful!
You know, honestly, I don't know why we buy any store made embellishments (except for the little rhinestones you see here). I much prefer to use old books to find special words in, punches to make crowns, and vintage photos.
I think the cards Jane did are stupendous!!!! I will post mine in the next couple of days....
