THE WEBCAM IS ON!
Walkers-by asked if I was the bookstore of the sign on the tree at the corner. This is early and exciting and I said I was, so Charlie quickly hooked the BOOKS and OPEN 2-6 yard signs to the porch to make it official. The first rosa rugosa has blossomed, the lilacs are promising a generous display, and the acer maple is taking over the world visible from inside Roseledge. The rhubarb is threatening the wild geraniums, but my money is on the geraniums biding their time until the giant rhubarb leaves and stalks are picked.
The last two days, sunny and perfect, have called for this year’s effort to beat the sun on the porch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and we have found a winner — I think, I hope — in umbrellas. (See new picture.) Charlie has affixed the larger, striped beauty to the porch and the smaller, almost-striped one to my wheelchair, which brings to mind Mary Poppins, all of which was perfect until the big breeze blew and almost succeeded in pulling the bigger one up, up and away and bending the smaller one to within inches of my head. But with a little fixing, so far so good. Definitely a seaside look and oh, so visible from the boats moored in the harbor. Letters on the umbrellas spelling ROSELEDGE BOOKS would be good, but the colors are evocative, especially if, with binoculars, you can read the BOOKS and OPEN signs beneath them.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ah3v6kH92WQ/U5dq-Dq9hQI/AAAAAAAADK0/NMo9munjaiY/s144-c-o/IMG_0593.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/111061230789680767628/RoseledgeBlog#6023400641001260290″ caption=”Roseledge action shot of person reading in shade of new umbrellas” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0593.JPG” ]
Today was book arranging day which is always fun. Now I have to read Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs to see if a character lives in or is from Rockland, Maine, which I think my favorite nephew-in-law said was so, because if so, the book goes on the Maine shelves. And I think Henry Knox was Washington’s Secretary of War (Remember David McCullough’s 1776?), so Barbara Tuchman’s The First Salute should be placed next to 1776. Scott thinks John Paul Jones was the founder of the Navy which may or may not be separate from the Department of War, and he will work hard to make his wrongness right. RB will have to restock Ian Toll’s Six Frigates which would probably answer the questions. So would a quick Google search, but arguing from too little information is so much more fun .
Lonesome alert — I spotted a first kayaker of the season paddling with some energy against a big breeze, but with the tide, enroute to the public landing. It’s mean to mention kayaking to the landlocked, but maybe only fair given that one of Roseledge Books’ most regular sea-less kayakers noted a great new — read: hardcover– book about a handmade house in Maine which sounds so good I may have to get it early to test-read it for Charlie’s birthday. Trusting that you all will wait for the paperback, I’ll admit that it’s Henry Petroski’s and Catherine Petroski’s The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors. Until then Roseledge Books will be sure to have Henry Petroski’s The Pencil and The Book on the Bookshelf. RB also has Catherine Petroski’s A Bride’s Passage, the writing of which ultimately led them to their noteworthy house.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-raHR0VFFC3o/U5drAze6OVI/AAAAAAAADK8/AA6j4VU2PuQ/s144-c-o/IMG_0597.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/111061230789680767628/RoseledgeBlog#6023400688195352914″ caption=”The Roseledge wall has wild things in its verge and flat stones for the weary.” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0597.JPG” ]
Some — okay, four — of you noted the lapse of several months between recent posts and wondered. Part of the lapse was computer malfunction. The other part was body malfunction from an allergic reaction to a sulfa antibiotic, but the body RALLIED and with two weeks tune-up in rehab and lots of Charlie’s help and good will, I have a new computer and, though ever more awkward, I am here in Maine. It is SO-O-O-O good to be back.
Jack Reacher (in Lee Child’s Never Go Back) was satisfying as always; now I’ve decided to become one with the millions who are somehow involved in George Martin’s Game of Thrones. Good grief! He has 5 mass market paperbacks, one trade paperback and one hardcover book on the NYT Bestseller Lists AT THE SAME TIME, not to mention the HBO hit. Soon insider clues will be part of NYT crossword puzzles and I will be clueless, as I am with Harry Potter clues, and one doesn’t want to be totally out of it more than once — well, once that I know of.
The RB signs are up, the books mostly arranged, the umbrellas are (well, so far) stable, the new rock wall is waiting to be admired, and a giant delivery truck just pulled up, almost in front of Roseledge. Will the mysteries never end? ( WEBCAM alert.)
All that is missing is you.