Williams and Swett Families

Susan bottom left, Ken top (taller) and Paula standing in front of KenLillian and Alice inside Mae's Place, Davison, MILonnie & Alice WilliamsOutside Mae's PlaceLillian & Herbert Swett with Madly, Paula, Ken and Susan 

Sendak Nutshell

0060255005 1962 first edition ? hardcovers in slip case from Harper & Row, Library of Congress numbers, not ISBN as identifies a first edition. Beige color covers, not pink (indicates a later printing ?). Each tiny volume has jacket, with some light chipping near spine. Slip case is solid with minimal edgewear. Includes the titles One Was Johnny, Alligators All Around, Pierre, and Chicken Soup With Rice. Very Good. Juvenile. The Chicken Soup With Rice volume is the only one with the small white border on the d.j. 

Can anyone help me identify the edition/printing/or points to correctly list this for sale? Thanks. Madlyn

oldgadlady@embarqmail.com

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson

Do you remember the poem "My Shadow" - at least the first couple of lines?  I'm sure that it was grandmother who quoted it to me (maybe I should say "at" me).

Scottish poet, essayist and author Robert Louis Stevenson  (1850-1894) wrote it in addition to the more well known Treasure Island.  The Saalfield Publishing Company published A Child's Garden of Verses illustrated by C.M. Burd which includes a short version of "Shadow".  I was able to purchase a copy of this linen book recently and have it available for sale ($45.00).  Here is a photo of the book and a full version of the poem.  Enjoy.  If you are interested in purchasing the book, just email me: oldbaglady@embarqmail.com. 

My Shadow
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.
He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

Photos from San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

Farmers Market is packed on Saturdays

China Town, of course

A San Francisco icon: cable car rail and hill

Cable Car Museum - a "working" museum. Very interesting

Tourists in San Francisco and San Jose, CA

What a fun and busy area!  Thanks to my second cousin once removed (yes, I know what that means now) Dawn Newman and her parner Joe, Bob and I had a great time on a guided tour of San Francisco Saturday and San Jose on Friday.  Of course we got to see the Golden Gate Bridge and the down town wharf area but we also walked through China Town.  We had a quiche lunch in a small lunch cafe, toured the Cable Car Museum, rode one of the famous cable cars up and down the famous San Francisco hills and went through the farmer's market where you can buy some great olive oil for $174/gal.

Bob, Joe, Dawn

We drove by Golden Gate Park and stopped at the beach.  To swim there requires a wet suit so the beach was not very busy!  We saw many more hats and scarves than swim suits.  The air temp was mid 60s but windy by the beach so swim suits were not the order of the day.   It was a great temp for running around the city, however.

San Jose is bigger than we thought and has a great upscale restaurant/shopping area where we were treated to a very good dinner sitting outside watching the people and their dogs walk by.  An interesting twist to the meal: there is something call a wine "flight" sold: 3 servings of different wines - 2 oz. each.  But since they come in a regular wine glass, it looks as though the party has really begun when two or three people order the "flights".  You get a card to grade the wines in your "flight".  I have no idea what that is all about but I suppose that it is a tag along of the wine tasting that brings so many people to the area.  The "flight" was $13.00 for a total of 6 oz - the traditional "pour" - or serving of wine.  An interesting twist to ordering wine with dinner.

Just a note about the trip to San Jose - the GPS was a life saver!  We had to go on 5 different freeways and that Garmin told us exactly where to turn all athe way there and back.  I can't imagine we would ever have made it without that technology!  Also, we enjoyed seeing the windmills - maybe windmill farms? We saw these in TX as well and while I don't know much about them, I hope they are working because they add something very interesting to the landscape.  Trouble is, getting a photo is difficult as I see them as we're driving by at 65-70 mph.  

We had a great time and got back to the book store business in time to search for a number of orders so they can be ready to ship on Monday.  We fly out on Wednesday so have to wrap the fun up Tuesday.  I can find my card reader right now so I have few photos to put up here tonight - I'll add to them when I find it.

San Jose

Golden Gate Bridge in Background

A wine "Flight" is 6 oz per 3 glasses, remember?

Windmills topping the hill. Very impressive.

Shenandoah Valley and Yosemite, CA

Bob and I are enjoying the wine country and Yosemite in Northern California.  We're having a lot of fun shopping in all of the antique shops and used book stores - mercy, wine and books - how good does it get? 


The day trip to Yosemite was overwhelming.  We needed to stay for the week to see anything but at least we've been inside the park! 

We're in the foot hills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and many of the roads have hair-pin curves.  Many houses are set up on the top at a very high "hill" and I just don't see how the owners can use the driveway daily - it looks more like the road the mules use to go to the floor of the Grand Canyon!




The wineries all have different personalities.  One has a Tuscany feel, one has a country "y'all come have a picnic" feel and others barely look inviting at all (we didn't even get out of the car).  I think there is probably a good lesson in there somewhere for book dealers all running small businesses - how inviting does our  business look? They may have had very good wine at good prices but we didn't go in to find out. 

The winery below  (3rd down) showing tables is a shaded place to enjoy the views allows you to bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the bottle of wine you buy right there - that is the comfortable, welcoming place I actually purchased a bottle of wine.

The weather is a bit hot for our liking (OK, we admit it - hot doesn't even begin to describe the 102+ temps here for the last few days) but by 8 or 9, we're cool again.  Take a look at a couple of photos of the area.

We infrequently have cell phone service where we are staying but we do have computer access, so email is the only way we have been contacting people.  No CNN, FOX or other 24 hr news  and as far was we're concerned , all is well with the world!  We sleep very good at night.  Maybe no news helps.  Madlyn

Motel rates

Have you even negotiated the price you pay for a night in a motel?
I thought rates were rates - who knew that you could negotiate? We didn't start out to negotiate last night, we asked the price, were told a rate and just said, no, think we'll just keep traveling awhile longer and began to leave.  The clerk said to wait a minute - maybe he could find a discount - and asked my husband what was in our budget.  Well, my husband told him $35.00 less than what we had been quoted - but added that we had AAA and AARP. The clerk quoted another rate, Bob said, no, sorry .... and the clerk said OK - I'll just put you in as the "manager's special"!

So, in a nice - enough national chain with a small, warm pool, close to Cracker Barrel for dinner, we got a $35.00 discount - and points toward our next stay with that chain. 

Tonight we asked what the rate was and was quoted $20.00 more than what was actually posted on the sign outside.  Honestly, what's up with that?  We got the room for the rate posted but the people coming in behind us just left when he told them the higher price.

All these little battles adds stress - takes energy people need for life's wars!