Saturday, November 29, 2008

California is a trip!

Taking off for few days for Thanksgiving to Ventura, CA from Anchorage was a Beauty Max moment. The cloudy skies with rays of sunshine and the water and the vantage point from the sky. Judge by yourself... Gorgeous!
After a day of downpour rain we have had a beautiful clear sky and moderate temperatures for the most part. Thanksgiving was fun. Very good food. Emily made two pies (apple and pumpkin/pecan) that both were "zee bests". We were 16 people at Gaylene's. A nice crowd. Paul and Windy were unfortunately missing. I miss my boy.
Curt, Claudia, Emily, the three dogs, and I went for a walk along the beach at sunset. It was what we needed a bit of fresh air and exercise. What a sight. The sandpipers, the pelicans, the surfers, the salty air, the waves crashing gently in that half dim light. Waou! That is the part that makes me happy to be in California. The dogs had so much fun playing chase in the sand.
Yesterday was a visit to Ojai to an outdoor Bookstore: Bart's Bookstore. It is a dream come true. Imagine a large patio, very large with few awnings to cover the multiple bookshelves positioned now and then, making a friendly maze. There are few enclosed rooms, one for the most valuable manuscripts and the "Gallery room" for the art books, one for the poetry and classic literature books. Anyway Madison, Emily and I were there for quite a long time. They have nice little tables and chairs in various area for you to read or visit your friend among the stories of the World and the Ages. I love it! I do hope I get to come back to this place again.
I got an old copy with great fonts of Ulysses by James Joyce that I have been wanting to read but didn't like the new copies available. Then a book of short stories (The Tiger in the Grass by Harriet Doerr) and a wonderful old copy of Alice in Wonderland. This last one too was on my list but wanted a nice copy. I get more and more picky about the way the books are printed. I like nice size well formed crisp fonts. I have a hard time right now with "The Shadow of the Wind" copy because in one word you will have a difference in the spacing the size of the font. For this strange book it adds to the mystery and the drama building up. It might be a conscious trick from the author and the publisher to keep the reader unsettled. It annoys me right now! Anyway.... I am happy with my purchases. I got to do Yoga with Emily once in a studio in Oxnard by the water. It was really what I needed before the big thanksgiving day.
More to come tomorrow about what I have done so far.

No comments: