An AirBnB with a Bookshelf This was the first and only AirBnB I’ve stayed in that had, as part of its displays, a slim bookshelf filled with books. It was in the corner between a squashy couch and a small rocking chair, which had a seat of woven plant material over an antique wooden frame. There were favorite picture book series the Berenstain Bears, popular chapter book series The Magic Treehouse (a *huge* selection). Some Great Illustrated Classics. Art books. A boxed set of 5 books by Madeleine L’Engle. (I did not know it was a 5 book series! Even though I read a lot as a kid, I somehow missed or didn’t get into ‘A Wrinkle in Time’.) I decided to start with Book 2, ‘A Wind in the Door’, and it was an unexpectedly emotional reading experience. There was also a thick hardcover art book that looked like it would weigh 25 pounds. I sat in the small rocking chair with it on my lap. ‘World Famous Paintings’, edited by Rockwell Kent (1939). It was the last book I picked to look through. I didn’t think I would like it. However, the descriptions were interesting, and the introduction was really honest … and actually quite kind. A note was jotted on an inner page, angled in the upper left corner, which had piqued my curiosity. This huge, old, boring looking but also intriguing book was a gift from a grandma to someone named Kyra. “This is such a treasure of great artists, you’ll be inspired. Love, Grammy B.”

“What are roots and how long have we had them? If our species has existed for a couple of million years, what is its history? Our remote ancestors followed the game, moved with the food supply, and fled from evil weather, from ice and the changing seasons. Then after millennia beyond thinking they domesticated some animals so that they lived with their food supply. Then of necessity they followed the grass that fed their flocks in endless wanderings. Only when agriculture came into practice – and that’s not very long ago in terms of the whole history – did a place achieve meaning and value and permanence. But land is a tangible, and tangibles have a way of getting into few hands. Thus it was that one wanted ownership of land and at the same time wanted servitude because someone had to work it. Roots were in ownership of land, in tangible and immovable possessions. In this view we are a restless species with a very short history of roots, and those not widely distributed.” Travels with Charley, John Steinbeck (1962) #bookstr

Items drawn: • FIJI water bottle • Tamagotchi • Goosebumps and Fear Street series books • Colorful candy-like yoyos • Animorphs series books • Jansport backpacks • Jawbreakers the size of a fist and lasts for weeks Tiny giant things that are mostly fun to remember ~ I distinctly remember a girl saying, though I don’t remember who it was, “my dad went on a business trip to Hawaii and got these for me.” The FIJI water bottle was like a work of art. I think everyone else used Poland Spring, Dasani, Arrowhead. The FIJI water bottle was rectangular (!!!), smaller, and had a Hibiscus in the foreground and a misty waterfall in the background. It was 3-dimensional like a stage set. I never got one, although when I was getting my 2nd BA I would sometimes get a ‘special’ drink like a Vitamin water or a Naked protein smoothie or a Starbucks bottled Frappuccino in lieu of lunch. And then I stopped because those have too much sugar and are overpriced. Eventually, the culture changed and people now use reusable water bottles mostly. Everyone also had Jansport backpacks. There was pretty much no other backpack brand that I knew of or remember. The Jawbreaker candy also seemed like a specially designed candy. Colorful circles or rings that would appear inside, and rainbow flecks on the outside. Never got to try one, and also something I have no desire for now. Kids in 5th grade mostly read the Goosebumps books. The Fear Street series was slightly more scary maybe? In that, it featured older kids / teens? I think I read a few of them … don’t really remember. Animorphs was a really good series that I would want to reread now. It was scary that Tobias actually got stuck being a red-tailed hawk forever, although I think he could still communicate telepathically with his friends. Not too many kids read this series actually, I just remember one girl who often had the books on her desk, or would be reading it while the teacher was calling on her. Then it would be, “Andrea??? Earth to Andrea?” Spacing out was kind of her thing, and she never really got in trouble for it. In other book related memories, one time, the teacher was passing out copies of <The Whipping Boy> by Sid Fleischman. She flipped the pages of the book like a card deck and said with a look on her face, that she could read this book in 10 - 15 minutes. She was a woman in her … 50s? The class was impressed. I was thinking, I could read it in maybe 30 minutes. And also wondering, why would you want to read it so quick? Like, why is that a good thing? If you finish it that quick, you’re just going to be bored?

Episode 2 started with banter and chatter … but then, Rachel talked about her experience going on a road trip with some friends, and going to see a tarot card reader just for fun. *trigger warning: topic of family illness and death* 🙁 . . . . . The person right off the bat, flipped over the first card and told her, someone in your family will die in the next 6 months. (Rachel’s dad had recently been diagnosed with Cancer, and it turned out that he did die in 5 months.) So, the consensus between the 3 people on the podcast (Rachel, Irene, and Amy) was that the tarot person - any tarot person, should not say this kind of thing to people… and certainly not as the very first thing. I think I agree. At least start with a more general statement like, ‘you may experience a difficult loss this year’ and leave it at that? It’s ok to be blunt, but that’s just cruel. *sigh* Glad that she can talk about it now with some humor.

Today there was snow flurries, while also having a couple hours of bright sunshine. Now it’s cloudy with a gale warning. Loudly windy outside. So I finally figured out where to listen to Woo Woo, the Rachel Dratch podcast. It was just on Spotify. I had been googling it and the results did not make it clear where I could listen to it for free. A similar thing had happened when I first looked into Nostr. I googled it on my laptop, found a website that said a bunch of things about how awesome Nostr is. Could not figure out how to make an account and join. A couple months passed. I kind of forgot about it and thought maybe it’s just too new and not ready for most people / the public. Then, one day, decided to look up a how to video on Youtube … and while watching it, realized, oh maybe it’s an *app* Went to the app store, figured out how to download it. Up to episode 2 of Woo Woo. Episode 1 was intriguing. Episode 2 had a stunning personal experience that is quite sad.

Today is a cloudy and rainy November. I got 100% cotton pajama pants from Old Navy for that $8 sale. Going to a store has become quite rare. I also barely ever shop. As usual, the music at the store was too loud and terrible. The lights were too bright and harsh. The clothing displays were dizzying. We were offered a store card twice by the cashier. The second time, she said we’d get 65% off the total amount. I was surprised and a little bit tempted. … later, there was a comment on a Reddit (economics?) post saying something about how stores “hand out debt like candy”. If I ever had to work in a clothing store again, I would wear a baseball cap for the lights, and ear plugs or headphones for the loud music. It probably wouldn’t be allowed. Maybe I could get a doctor’s note. I guess this is a slice of life post.

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John Steinbeck’s opinion about ‘anger’, followed by a recontextualization by Susan Shillinglaw, a Steinbeck fan. #bookstr 🙂

outlined with ink. Next, desks. 🫥🙂

hmmm… I think in this suburban elementary school, there was pervasive conformity, but innocent. (Which continued into middle school and highschool, and became less innocent?) Like, we live in a bubble and don’t realize it. Within that, there was also of course, individuality. But it was kind of the opposite of diversity. And maybe not realizing how money affects identity and personality, in the activities that are done. For instance, in how nearly every kid got braces during the same years. And how in the yearbook, for the question of “future occupation”, every girl wrote ‘vet’ and every boy wrote some type of sports star.

Stuff to roast in oven ~ Carnival squash, Honeynut squash, purple sweet potato, and regular sweet potato. The Carnival squash had dark green patches on it which disappeared after a while 😯 The Honeynut (or Honeypatch squash) is from Misfits Market. I looked it up and it’s actually different from the Butternut squash - not just a smaller version. It has an edible peel and more beta-carotene.