I don't think Glam had posted it either...but super happy to hear now! ;)

I'm irked that it will (did) cost me over $600 to fly home for Christmas...seriously, my brother can get a ticket home from Prague for about $1k! Seems ridiculous.

Glam, congratulations!

bonny, I never can throw away a book either, but the Goodwill takes them! And, my grandmother uses to give me whiskey when I couldn't stop coughing. Worked then, works now.

Yup, I give books to the local library, who sells them to support the library. Although this last batch, I took them to the neighborhood honor system library instead. It's the total Arizona thing. There's no records of patrons, or which books you take out, or which books are in the library, for that matter. You take what you want, for however long you want, and then you bring them back. Unless you really like the one you took out, in which case, you can bring them back a different book instead and keep yours.

I love the whole idea of it, and that it seems to have been working all these years. It's in the little community building. Half of it is the post office, and the other half is where you vote, and where meetings are held and stuff. Anyway, that's where the books are. There's a leash holder outside with a dog water bowl. There's a place to tie off your horse. It's the best thing ever.

One of the neighborhood used bookstores went out of business, but has opened under new management as a 50-cent book store! The owner takes donations of books, and if they don't sell in 6 months, he takes them to be recycled. He does check for books that are more "collectible", but still prices them pretty reasonably. (I purchased two of the Dark Shadows tie-in novels for $6.)

I have told myself I'm not allowed to wander through there every week. But it's like a treasure hunt of books!

The local library has a once a week book sale - paper backs $.50, hardbacks $1 OR a bag for $3. I usually go for the bag. Normally most of the stuff ends up back at the library. But at this clearing out I had so many and Goodwill took them so I just dumped them at Goodwill.

If the books don't sell at the library I think they take them to be recycled. There's a sign that says they don't take Textbooks, Smelly/Moldy Books or Reader's Digest Condensed books.

And one of the grocery stores has a book sale to benefit a local charity (it changes ever so often). They might get the rejects from the library because there are some really odd things. Like General Hospital tie in books from the 60s. I wanted to buy those but I told myself I just couldn't.

And the library was giving away almost a whole set of Sweet Valley High (because no one was buying them) and part of me wanted to bring them home for nostalgia but I resisted.

Congrats to the Glam fam!

I'ma guess that none of those people criticizing you for having too many books were Buffistas. Also, been in my house almost a year, still got a couple of boxes to unpack and most of the unpacked boxes in the shed for recycling.

D is here. We are each on our laptops, alternating playing songs for each other. Of course, I'm playing him Corb Lund right now.

javachik, you are the sweetest. Thank you, friend! I actually don't think I posted here about it, but I could have sworn I had. I blame lack of sleep and pregnancy brain.

I think you must have because I feel like I knew. Huh.

Yesterday, Ryan's childcare/kindergarten's Show and Tell featured the letter D. He brought in some of his dinosaurs, and introduced the other children to Triceratops, Brachiosaurus and Parasaurolophus. On the drive home, for reasons that escape me, he kept repeating to himself "Dilophosaurus, Dilophosaurus".

I'm counting yesterday as a parenting win.

I think you must have because I feel like I knew. Huh.

It's possible I may have missed it, but I specifically remember the planning for trying and the details around those complications....and then waiting to see if the squiggle "took"!

Liese, it is so bright out that I cast clearly delineated shadows when I just walked outside. The stars are muddled from clouds and, I am guessing, humidity but the moon is just bright. And my parents have a telescope they apparently don't use so it gets to come live with me. I am shocked and happy. Partially shocked because they have a telescope? When? But it's awesome that I will be able to use it. So I'm going to focus on that and have myself a telescope.

Of everything, the stars really make the happiest here. Being able to see my dad and be here for my family is (waaaaaaaay) more important but the thing that just randomly, physically makes me happy in this house, way out here, are the stars. It's one thing that the PNW could never give me, the immense sky filled with stars that I grew up with...