Bookish indulgence

Sorry for the silence, dear readers! We've had an extraordinarily busy week. Among much else, I took a trip to the city for what is now an annual shopping trip at the big box stores. I used to go two or three times a year, but since I got laid off from my online job last February, it's turned into an annual trip (I haven't been to the city since last October). Glad it's done!

At any rate, Older Daughter pulled me away from our autumn chores with the promise of a bookish indulgence, namely a nearby town's annual library sale. Groan, how could I resist?

We got there even before the doors opened up. It's always fun to go to these events because every homeschooling family for miles around shepherds their kids inside and they all get to indulge in books to their hearts' content, which is always charming. I saw one toddler in a stroller, avidly perusing a classic kid's book. It would have made a darling photo.

As I emerged from the building, I saw this trio of siblings waiting for their mother to fetch the car, and who couldn't help but dig into some of the treasures they found.

Our (meaning, Older Daughter's and mine) haul was modest this year. The pile below is my choices. I felt guilty going to a library sale when we're on a budget, but you know how much this collection of books cost me?

$4.75. Yes, less than $5. In fact, I just handed over a $5 bill to the nice volunteers running the sale. It's for a good cause, after all.

So no, I don't feel too guilty. At all. The books were a lot of bang for five bucks. Bookish indulgences are always fun.

Update: A reader asked what books I bought. Here's the list:

• National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Mushrooms
• How to Prune Fruit Trees by R. Sanford Martin
• 1,000 Difficult Bible Questions Answered by George H. Sandison & Staff
• Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
• The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Strohmeyer
• 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
• Recipes for a Small Planet by Ellen Buchman Ewald
• How to Stay Alive in the Woods by Bradford Angier
• First Impressions by Nora Roberts
• Ancestral Passions by Virginia Morell
• Into the Wilderness: An Artist's Journey by Stephen Lyman

Christening a new library

After many many years of effort, our small town has a brand spanking new library! And our girls were asked to play an honorable role during the christening - to hold the ribbons while the head librarian cut through and officially opened the building to the public. When I asked why they, specifically, were chosen, the librarian said it was because they were "model library users" and would represent the homeschool community. She had also asked two other children to represent the public school community, but unfortunately the family was out of town.




A local pastor offers an invocation. Yes, we live in a place where pastors can still offer invocations without being arrested.


Paulina, the head librarian, thanks everyone for their combined efforts to bring this project to fruition.



One...two...


Three!


Everyone marvels at the size. By comparison, our old library only had about 800 square feet.


The dirt in front is the footprint of the old library building, which has since been bulldozed.