Sunday Snippets on A Monday

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• Sunday morning G and I went up to Clairmont Mesa to the Mysterious Galaxy Independent Bookstore.  G vanished into a game store just down the way, and I stepped into the bookstore.  I froze.  There was a woman who looked very familiar right in front of me.  Slowly my brain started working, and I recognized my friend Captain Poolie’s sister, Mia.  Then there was Nancy.  After hugs and greetings, I asked where the Captain was.  More hugs.  I love serendipitous moments like these.  We set up a lunch date too.

My goal at Mysterious Galaxy was to replace my falling apart “Komarr” by Bujold.  None on the shelves.  “We had a run on Bujold.  The hardbound is out of print,” he told me.  “I’d looked on Alibris and ABE Books,” I said, “and neither had a copy.  I would take used.”  His distributor had a copy, maybe, and I ordered it if it was still there.  I hope it was.  After telling him what I did as a volunteer, he told me that he would donate books.  There are those moments that are good stuff.

I have all the Elizabeth Moon book jackets now covered in plastic.  I’ve been ruthless when getting rid of books.  Some of those that remain are fragile.  Unfortunately many volumes were printed on high acid paper and are turning yellow, brown, and/or crumbling too.  Combining the high acid paper with mold caught from the big house means many of the books were not salvageable in the first place.  The only way to kill mold on books is by freeze drying the books, but I have been known to wipe them down with a bleach solution.  To keep the jackets in as good condition as possible, I and many others encase them in plastic.

We ate out last night.  Costco….I love their fast food and have calculated the WW points on each item.  Only when we were on our way there did I remember they were remodeling the food area.  I needn’t have worried.  They moved in two food trucks.  Shades of “Chef”…which we loved.  The “Cohn” restaurant group, which includes several of my very favorites places sponsored one food truck.  I gather, since the prices were not cheap, most of the folks weren’t pleased by the trucks.  I was.  What an innovative solution.  And too, the food was flat out really good.  The Patty Melt beat out my next favorite, L’il B’s.  G had the roast beef sandwich.  Heaven lives in the Costco parking lot.

Balance:  Shopping and reading today.  Starting to cover the Bujold book Jackets, small things like that on a lovely but warm Monday.