wordswim

ice & snow aftermath

links for bookish girls (and boys)

Some of these links I posted on Facebook and/or Twitter this week, but for those who don't do social technology, here they are. As always, I've been in a bookish mood. But as I noted on my Facebook page, it's my vocation AND my avocation. So there.

A great organization with a chapter (and store) in Ann Arbor. Does most or all of it's work in Ypsi and Detroit.
826 National

An excellent online source for used books, you can ship them your books after doing an ISBN search to see if they're wanted. I sent a package out last week. They partner with a few different literacy groups; my favorite is Room to Read.
Better World Books

For baseball and graphic novel lovers:
History, Identity and Baseball: Wilfred Santiago Tells 'The Story of Roberto Clemente'

Would you use it? I'd be concerned about the binding, personally.
NYC's First Express Book Machine Debuts

So THAT'S what happened to them!
A Founding Father's Books Turn Up

And, last but not least, my favorite local book store. They ship too, you know.
Nicola's Books

Small storm

We had a smallish storm last weekend. About 7 inches of snow, then sleet, then more snow. I tried to take pictures during the storm, but as we all know, it's very difficult to get a good picture of the snow as it falls. All my photos are currently taken with my iPhone 4. It does a great job, and even has an HDR option. I love this picture because it shows the pine tree that shelters all "my" birds so well. I took it during the storm, and the falling snow does show up against the tree.

The Betsy Hall

We had our kitchen and the hall to the downstairs painted last Fall, so I thought I'd post a couple of pictures that show a) my new grouping of Pam's wonderful dolls (check out her Tales of the Laughing Moon blog) and b) one of my lovely Betsy prints (to the left of the grave rubbing, which I got from a yard sale in Rogers Heights, many a year ago); both against the backdrop of the new color. The color is a little dark, and I wasn't sure about it at first, but hey, it's just paint. There are three variations of blue in the hall, but it's hard to tell them apart. Ah, well. I can have Jay, my painter and carpenter extraordinaire, redo it in a year or two. For now it's growing on me. There are multiple works by Betsy in the Betsy Hall, hence the name. They represent various phases in her artistic life. I need more.

Specifically, this one:

© Betsy Best-Spadaro, from her blog Betsy's Studio Diary.
It's called "Peaceful Warrior." Isn't it beautiful?

Tulips make me happy

Blizzards and such

Snowmaggedon is on its way! Here's hoping for lots of snow, and lots of hunkering down. DON'T GO TO WORK PEOPLE. (Peach gnashes teeth). It always made me crazy the way some folks HAD to trudge into work, just to prove they could. I went in whenever possible mind you; a few inches of snow wasn't keeping me at home. But a blizzard? Nah. I think I'll pass. But now I work at home (yay me!), and I also have . . . drum roll . . . a generator! So let it snow, let it blow, I have gin and a generator. Tee hee hee.