The Blue and the Gray

We have had lots of rain the past 1 1/2 days; more could come tomorrow and Monday. We needed the moisture, just not all at once. The lawns are greening up some, but my flower plot next to my patio does not drain well so the plants are in pooling water. 
The sun came out about noon today and lasted for 20 minutes. Now we are back to gray skies.

Yesterday before the winds and heavy rain arrived, I picked a hydrangea from the side of the house. I also cut a wee rose off the front bush to add to the two I already had in the bud vase. I was afraid the blooms would be beaten down by the storm.

I did buy 5 pounds of blueberries at the grocery store. I may have misquoted the price in my previous blog. With my Martin's card, the box of berries was $9.99, limit of one box. Regular price $11.99. I spent this morning washing and sorting. In the box were a few dried-up berries, some stems, no leaves or twigs, and best of all no bugs. A few of the berries were smooshed. I disposed of them in the most efficient manner: popping them in my mouth.

 I think these Michigan berries have a deeper flavor than the ones we picked.  I am pleased with the quality of the berries. They were picked and packed in South Haven. My husband is already hinting that maybe next year we should just buy the blueberries from the grocery store. We'll see. I think the berry picking is a nice diversion from our routine day as long as it isn't hot and humid or rainy.

I had already removed and processed berries from the above box; it was fuller before the photo. With more berries than we usually pick, I will have to get out some of the recipes I saved these past few years and bake something or make my blueberry sauce. Many of the recipes can use frozen berries. 

I had a gift of $100 to the Grace Village library. Yesterday I went on a spending spree, ordering 22 books from Better World Books and from ebay. I am starting to like ebay for buying books now that the sellers don't charge shipping and offer buy it now option. You can even add books to a cart if you have more than one from the same seller. I received 10 per cent off after I bought more than 4 books from one seller; another had buy 2, get one free. It makes the money stretch further. I spent almost $82. Most of the books were listed as "very good" condition. I get annoyed with Better World Books sometimes because it is hard to tell if the book is regular or large print. When the email confirmation came, it showed 2 of the books as large print which is good for the library, but not what I would want for my own personal library. It should be more obvious in the description what the print size is. 

By the end of next week to the middle of the following one, books should start arriving. I will be busy. I now have 16 books on my series gap list to find; I started with over 150. Real progress was made in the past 2 years because of generous monetary gifts. I have also used some of the money to buy non-series books.

Since April, Wall Street Journal has been offering to its subscribers one free e-book a month through BookShout. I downloaded the app to my ipad. Usually there are 3 book choices. This month was Magpie Murders by Horowitz, a book my husband borrowed from the public library and is currently reading. This is only the second book I have added to my ipad from them via WSJ offer. Normally, these books would have a fee if not subsidized by WSJ. I have to log in with my WSJ ID and password to get the free book. I browsed BookShout and found a free book I also added. I will save Magpie for my cruise reading.

Spring Robins

The calendar says spring has arrived, and sure enough I saw 3 robins today. Well, maybe only 2 because the one I saw in the backyard may have been one of the two I saw earlier in the pear tree out front. The blustery wind has caused the loose dried out strands of the berm ornamental grasses to get caught in the netting I put over my crocus to keep the rabbit from eating them. Too cold to go out and clean them up.

I have some money from donations to buy books for the retirement library, but no space on the shelves. I spent some time Monday weeding the books. It is getting harder to find items suitable to discard. I don't necessarily remove books because they are old, but because when I flip them open I see how tiny and crowded the print is on the pages. I still have pretty good vision, but I wouldn't attempt to read these pages unless the book was compelling. The printing standards for spacing and margins have certainly changed in the last 50 years. 

I withdrew 18 fiction books; today I ordered from Better World Books 16 titles to fill series gaps. I am picky. The book has to be in very good condition and priced right. I know from past experience that searching over time instead of all at one time, one is likely to find some good deals. I am less picky of condition when buying at a library book sale where the price is 50 cents to a dollar. These Better World Books tend to be $4-$5; free shipping though.

One of the series I completed thru purchases earlier was The Irish Angel series by Jill Landis. When I shelved the new additions, I noticed book one was off the shelf. I wanted to read this series; the book didn't reappear until last week, maybe 4 months after it left the shelf.  I had a good read the past few days, all 3 books. This is a "new" author for me, but I will be on the look out for more of her books. 

This morning after returning from helping a neighbor download a PDF file onto her computer, I remarked to my husband that so many people never use the right button on the mouse which does allow one to do a Save As procedure. He looked at me and said, "You can do that, save a PDF file?" I showed him how; he wanted to email one as well. Two people in one day learning how to use right click. I should start a right click crusade in my neighborhood. Just kidding. I have told folks to hold down the control button and click on "p" to print when they seemed befuddled. At least these people do use a computer in their senior years. 

Tulips Opening

The tulips are opening. There will be 3 of them. There is a small unopened bloom tucked in the leaves, but I doubt the plant will stay alive long enough for it to grow and bloom.

Yes, that is snow in the background. It started last night and has sifted slowly down during the day. As I crawled under the electric blanket in my winter nightgown last night, I thanked God for providing warmth. The snow isn't the big story for us as it will be in the Northeast, but we will remain cold for several days. I can stay inside tomorrow, but Wednesday I have literary club. We will still be in the low-to-mid twenties Wednesday afternoon.

I ordered 20 books from Better World Books yesterday to fill the gaps in series titles in our retirement library. However, I have over 100 gaps to fill; this is a start of a project that will go on for years because I have very limited funds.

There is a public library book sale April 7th. Usually, I fill the gaps with 2 books a year when browsing and buying at these kinds of sales. It is very hit and miss. The prices are good, however. I feel filling the gaps is important to enhance the library collection. At least at Better World Books, the prices are about $4-5 with free shipping. The profits go towards literacy programs throughout the United States. It is a good place to buy; the online store did not have all of the titles I was seeking, but I can continue to browse over the next few months. I have some money left to spend.