Bliss...

Well, we finally made it to Wrinkled Pages. I'm not sure why it has taken so long to get there, but I am so glad we did! Oh, my. It's a wonderful little store filled with delight. I came home with Margaret Lawrence's Roanoke, Lauren Willig's The Masque of the Black Tulip, Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander, Alison Weir's Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Todd McCaffrey's Dragon Harper. And I barely touched the Fiction section at all, really. And there was a whole room full of Historical Romance that I just walked through with my mouth hanging open.

And I was not alone. Bud bought four books about the Vietnam War! We both walked out the door with satisfied little smirks on our faces.

Writing Prompt...

I was posting old family photos on Facebook for the younger gen of the combined clans today when I became entranced by this one of my mother, my aunt, and an unknown young woman circa early 1940s. Mom's a little bit blurry on the right, sassy Aunt Kay is in the middle. They are walking down a Chicago street, likely wartime (WWII). Notice the short skirts (particularly Aunt Kay's - Goodness, almost a mini!).

Mom worked for the 5th Army Quartermaster Depot in Chicago at this time. Don't know what Aunt Kay was about then. But don't they look the trio of young business women strutting along on a beautiful summer's day? Where are they going? Out to lunch? Shopping? What are they chatting about?

Ooooo...I so would love the story....

Passions. . . .

Yesterday, three boxes were at our doorstep when we got home from work. One was for me, two were for Bud. Mine, of course, was from Amazon - books! Oh, yes! I've already started Foxmask by Juliet Marillier, the second in her Wolfskin series. And on deck now I have another of Laura Childs' Tea Shop mysteries, The Jasmine Moon Murder; Jane Lindskold's Wolf's Blood, a Firekeeper book; and The Sparks Fly Upward, another of the Makepeace Burke books by Diana Norman (Ariana Franklin). Ooooo...I'm just itching to get at them all!

But I want to share about another passion - Bud's passion for collecting Occupied Japan figurines. That's what was in the other two boxes.

I've never been much of a collector - except for books, of course. I just can't seem to find anything I feel worth collecting. Oh, I take that back. I do have a collection of baskets. But they were collected with a purpose - filling in the space above the kitchen cabinets. Now, unless a basket reeeeally strikes me as something I just have to have, the collection is done. Complete. Finis.

But for Bud, it's really the process of collecting that is the passion, I think. Not that some the figurines aren't downright gorgeous and beautifully crafted - quite the contrary. Like the Jester here.
Bud lusted after this piece for many years. It is truly exquisite.

One of my favorites is The Recital. I love the delicacy of hands playing the instruments in this one. Lovely things. And I've gotten so that when we are out haunting the flea markets and antique shops I can hone in on what might be a piece of Occupied Japan porcelain. Bud can saunter through the aisles with an eagle eye for the stuff. Remarkable. It's like he has a specialized radar for it. Of course, he's been collecting it for some twenty-odd years now.

But I truly believe it is The Hunt for him. He spends much of his time on E-Bay now. Most of the truly good pieces can only be found there. When we are out hunting we can find smaller pieces, but we never see pieces such as these two now. E-Bay collectors have snatched them all up. It's rather sad.

But then, I wonder. Someday my passion for the feel, scent and delight in ownership of books may be passe. Kindle and its clones are fast making inroads and changing the face of publishing.

Both of our passions may become a lot more expensive in future and really....just not the same passionate feeling at all. *sigh*

Sad. Very sad.

I've been away....

Well, I've not been posting here, so I've been away from here. Actually, I've been very much at home. Too much at home. My hours were cut back at the church from full-time to part-time - 2 days a week. Yes, isn't the economy lovely?

Ah, well. I go with the flow, but one does need to support one's self. Sooo, I've been creating a little free-lance business of my own doing basically what I do at my job - desktop publishing for churches. That's bulletins, newsletters, brochures, flyers, etc. I'm a Virtual Church Assistant! I have also added editing and proofreading services, as well.

It is called Swan Church Services and you may find it HERE.