We’re having a day off today, the first we’ve managed for while. Naturally my thoughts turned to a lie in, leisurely breakfast and some light shopping. Julia is working this evening, so the trip to Stoke on Trent will have to wait until we can organise a full day. That’s Julia’s annual treat – touring factory shops. It’s an annual event for me too, though I find it falls short of treat status.
Hopefully we will have several more days off before Christmas because it’s been busy recently, and with Julia working weekends it’s easy to let the week slip by without taking time off. My workload is such that Julia says it will be difficult to tell the difference when I retire. I dispute this, but am willing to admit that I’m not going to win any prizes for industry.
Anyway, my plans all came to nothing. I woke early by accident, and as I was wondering what to do about this undesirable state of affairs, I was hit by the jobs list. Seems she’s been planning it for a while. Mostly standard stuff, and I did my normal nodding dog routine until…
“Your books in the living room need sorting out, and taking to the charity shop.”
She’s always had this unreasonable prejudice about me stacking books on the floor. To her, it’s an eyesore. To me it’s a logical place to put books, and it doesn’t involve a trip to IKEA for a bookcase calle Billy. ( I’m in total agreement with the Lancashire Hotpots on the subject of IKEA. Follow this link to find out what they think).
This quickly turned nasty.
“But me no buts, you pusillanimous worm. If you don’t have shelf space you can’t keep them.”
(She didn’t actually use those words, but you could tell she was thinking them).
So I’m working slowly and stacking carefully. With any luck I’ll get away with a few dozen books, particularly if I cook a large lunch.
I do so love these rare days off…
Does your wife generally use words like ‘pusillanimous’ then? Very impressive – definitely flattery of a sort…
I admit to taking a little poetic licence there – but her raised eyebrow definitely implied “pusillanimous”. 😉
Well, I’m sure you’re right 😉
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Oh dear,oh dear! We have run out of bookcase space and I really don’t want to get rid of any books either. A dilemma. I must agree with Julia in not liking stacks of books on the floor; it makes cleaning difficult for a start. My books are stacked elsewhere! Thank-you for the introduction to the Lancashire Hotpots!
I’m thinking of book hammocks, but apart from that I’m out of ideas.
I’m thinking of introducing “Chippy Tea” into the food blog – the world needs more Lancashire-based gastronomy.
I like the “Chippy Tea” idea. In a former house we built shelves in all sorts of places – on the landing, on the wall at the bend of the stairs, high up in the hall. One has to be inventive when defending one’s collection of books. You could promote them as decorative insulation and line all your walls with shelves. When I’ve had to get rid of a few books I admit that I don’t miss some of them but others, I still regret parting with them years later.
I’ve used the walls to store various pictures and certificates. Lack of forethought…
Mmmm…. Certificates could be filed and replaced by books?
They are in frames and old glass can be fragile, as I know to my cost.
🙁
Just think what you’d do in retirement. We lined our garage with Billy bookcases. The car can stay out in the rain, while a dehumidifier keeps the books dry
Just told Julia, who emitted a hollow laugh and reminded me how much stuff we have in the garage! That’s what happens when you close a junk shop and start a gardening business. 🙂
the best place for books is everywhere!
Sounds like a good motto for life. 😉