Thank you for your kind comments about Pedal for Paws. It was an amazing experience, but I'm grateful to have more time now to catch up on other things. I'm slowly re-organizing my desk and office. It's amazing how the paper piles up! I've finally gotten my winter clothes out of the attic, and stored the summer things. And I'm getting back into the knitting groove. The top panel of the pink skirt is coming along nicely so far.
Rainy and Rosie check out my progress.
One of the things I do enjoy about fall, though the allergies are kicking up madly and the temperatures are dropping, is a good road trip. When Chris and I were first married, we would travel north to Massachusetts and Vermont, and visit antique stores and used book stores. And though we don't collect little vintage finds any more, we are still very much excited to visit favorite used book shops, and discover new ones.
This past Saturday, we met our friends Dorothy and Hobgoblin for a three-state book crawl. It is so fun to have friends who are fellow book enablers! Our first stop, in CT, was an old favorite, Barbara Farnsworth. (Interesting trivia: her shop is in the same area where Michael Pollan, the author, resides). I found one sweet book not even on my list:
From there, we went north to MA. One of our regular stops, the Berkshire Book Co, seems to have closed. We think the store owners retired. But in Great Barrington, we found the Yellow House book shop, and I discovered something I've wanted for a long while: the Janson's History of Art book that all art history 101 students use in college.
My copy is the 4th edition. The newest available is the 8th, which is over $130. I don't think that there are too many updates between them for me to justify the steep price of a new copy.
I also bought two mysteries, Murder is Binding, and The Case of the Caretaker's Cat, in the photo below.
After a quick lunch, we crossed the border into Hillsdale NY for Rodger's Book Barn, a new favorite that Dorothy and Hobgoblin introduced us to last year. This is a dangerous place -- all the books are $2.50ish and it is so easy to come home with an armload!! I narrowed it down to five.
So, for the week's total: eleven books. The top two were bookmooched, and then the remaining nine I found on Saturday.
This does not include books that I bought when Chris and I took a day trip to Cape Cod a few Saturdays ago, and when I visited our local Book Barn with friends:
It may save shelf space, but somehow I don't think a Kindle is nearly as much fun!!
One other thing I've had a little more time to do is to experiment with recipes. I am in no way more than a passable cook but I do appreciate the creative aspect of cooking and baking. As I have become a vegetarian, I'm looking for more of those kinds of recipes too. With the deluge of apples this time of year, I made this applesauce cake for Chris:
The recipe I used, from Everyday Food April 2010, uses an 8" cake pan, and the linked recipe uses a tube pan. Also, that recipe uses prepared applesauce, where the magazine edition uses fresh apples boiled down in a sauce pan. Depending on your time and how many apples you have to use up, you can follow either method, and it will taste delicious.
How are your fall knitting and reading projects going?
A book crawl sounds so fun! What a great way to be out and about in the fall.
Posted by: Kara | October 13, 2010 at 12:04 PM
That cake looks delicious! I love book-buying and browsing expedition. Perhaps the Kindle isn't as fun, but it's so handy for travel.
The fall knitting's going great for me (baby knits! cardigan for me!), but the reading has dropped off dramatically, as now I'm stuck reading dry academic articles. Oh well...
Posted by: Jodi | October 14, 2010 at 11:17 PM
There is nothing I like more than trawling through used bookstores. You have a great haul there!
Posted by: Caffeine Girl | October 15, 2010 at 07:22 AM
You must need a new bookcase just for this summer's book haul! The applesauce cake looks good! A perfect nibble to go along with tea and a good book.
Posted by: Sarah | October 15, 2010 at 09:31 AM
It seems like I'm starting to have a little bit more time for knitting and reading... maybe... hopefully!
The applesauce cake looks delicious!
Posted by: madalyn | October 15, 2010 at 03:33 PM
The cake looks great! It was so much fun visiting the bookstores with you and Chris -- I'm already looking forward to our next trip!
Posted by: Dorothy W. | October 16, 2010 at 08:30 PM
Your book crawl sounds like fun and you are well-stocked with reading material for some time.
Last night I finished a book then realized I didn't have another in the line-up. Had to search the bookshelves for something new for bedtime reading!
Posted by: Kristen | October 17, 2010 at 10:48 AM
That sounds like a fun book crawl! For me, going to the library bookstore is dangerous. I can't leave without buying something.
That applesauce cake looks delicious!
Posted by: Sydney | October 17, 2010 at 09:47 PM