Indie Bookstore Day

 

A short walk from my childhood home are two great bookstores and if you are willing to walk a little bit farther (about thirty minutes) is Ohio's best independent bookstore.

I will not be able to visit ten stores before the end of May.

Lots going on here

This book caught my eye because my sister had shown me another book by the same author. Only later did I learn that there were drawings under the dust jacket. 

I am not quite sure what it means to have a bookstore version of a book about finding things in the library.

I would be happy to have multiple days when we celebrate indie bookstores.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair

We loved the porch swing we had for years, but we don't have a porch.

 

Instead we bought a glider made of recycled plastic,
which we hoped could hold up in the sun and heat.

When we visited the botanic garden recently we sat in their wire chairs.

I have only this older and cuter photo to share.

The chairs were not so attractive, but were sturdy and were very comfortable. It got us looking for chairs to join the glider on the front patio. D. found a local place that fixes up old patio furniture and we checked it out.

There was so much furniture in the front parking lot
(protected by cats, if you look carefully).
This furniture will be fixed eventually, but no one is waiting for it.

In the back lot is furniture whose owners are waiting for it be fixed.

Just inside the office were a couple sample chairs.

My favorite part was going into the repair area.

Heating the straps to weave onto the chair frames

In the end we bought two comfortable chairs.

I hope we'll spend more time here.

Good Idea

When the kids were little and we lived in a NY college town there was a school supply store (if memory serves me correctly, and it is possible that it doesn't). As part of the store there was a recycle section where people could leave egg cartons, toilet paper tubes, fabric scraps, and things a classroom might need for projects. I loved finding a place for things that might get used again and I also loved finding things I wanted to use with my kids.

A couple local friends told me about something similar in Pasadena on a much larger scale and the three of us headed to Remainders for an adventure.

There were many aisles of treasures.

Sewing treasures, paper-related treasures, 

yarn treasures,

not so many science treasures, and even

a few free treasures.

I thought large rulers was a funny name for a yardstick.

Unfortunately, I have all the treasures I need. I managed to spend $1.38 on a couple items. The best part was learning where to take all my treasures when they need a new home.

Things I didn't buy on vacation

 

an English Tour de France magazine with socks 
(now available on eBay)

I did not buy this nougat even though I had been looking all over the US for it. No one even knew what I was talking about. I will have to enjoy using it to make Danish Christmas candies this year and not think about how easy it is to get in other places.

There was a great thrift store right by our last stop and I loved this enameled cast iron dish that is a perfect match for a larger yellow one given to us by D.'s parents. It just didn't make sense to buy something so heavy. At least I have a picture.

I would have bought one of these yummy dishes at
IKEA but someone else was not keen on the idea.

Miffy!

I could have bought stickers for the Euro Cup. Later I
will decide whether to buy any for the World Cup, men's
this fall or women's next summer. Or neither.

I took a picture of this because even though I didn't buy it I definitely want to.
If you want to receive a hand-painted postcard just let me know.

So many Moomin things I didn't buy. Stay tuned for future post.

So much Milka!

I didn't buy bicycle candy.

And I didn't buy cigarettes in Germany,
right where gum and candy is sold in the U.S.

Exploring

I am lucky to have friends who invite me places and offer to drive. One friend suggested going to Watts Towers, even though I countered by saying we could just watch a documentary.

 

We had read that there were tours, but that was not
accurate. We were still happy to walk around.

We were not in a rush so we poked around a bit.
The visitor center was closed 

but we enjoyed the outdoor art in the park

and in the neighborhood.

Someone else walking around told us about a garden.

The person working there said it was closed

but she let us pick peaches.

So many turtles!

From the Towers we headed to coffee,

which had an excellent little library.

There were pictures of lots of events here,
but we were the only ones on that morning.

Our last stop was IKEA, where I tracked my route.

Bookstore Update

I finally visited the Huntley Bookstore inside the campus library. Because there was restricted entry I was given a sticker that gave me permission to go to the store but not hang out in other parts of the building.

I think there used to be seating in this area.

The store seemed to have a bit of many things.

My fellow blogger alerted me to the sad news outside the old building.

from google
The beautiful avocado tree that used to be in front of the building

is gone forever.

Sigh.