Yard sale finds

A kind woman gave me these BABW minis (which I collect) and pens for free. I was really touched by her kindness. Let's see what acts of kindness enable us to bring other people (and animals) joy.

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Yard sale finds

This backpack set Eugene back just $1! It's perfect for interviews and the student services job I'm going for. It even has a phone charger. 

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Yard sale finds

Case in point: these gorgeous Mexicali Blues overalls which I never could have been able to afford. I got them free from someone who didn't want them because they were missing--you guessed it--a button. After a ten minute mend they are good as new--ready for me to rock!

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Yard sale finds

This is the button jar I found at a yard sale after looking for one forever. When I was a kid everyone's mom seemed to have one. Clothes then had a much longer use span then thanks to mending, alterations, and hand me downs. None of this fast fashion. My kids learned counting, sorting, and adding before starting school thanks to my button jar. At some point it disappeared. Now once again I have one. If you ever see one buy it as an investment. Rebel again the clothing planned obsolescence that's filling up our landfills. 

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Buzz (juvenile nonfiction)

     One of the challenges of the Orono Public Library summer reading challenge (not to be confused with the readathon) is to check out a book with a flower on its cover. Easy peasy, right?...

     ...Wrong. I looked through the new YA, juvenile, and even picture book fiction and found none. I got desperate enough to scan adult fiction. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Then I tried juvenile nonfiction and found Buzz: A Guide to Bugs and Bees 🐝 and How to Spot Them written by Richard "Bugman" Jones and illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows.

     I saw immediately that it was much more than a list check off. It's the perfect book to read this time of year when insects are most abundant. We admire the beauty and grace of some--say butterflies and dragonflies. We feel less affectionate towards mosquitoes and those creatures who devour our carefully nurtured gardens. We pretty much ignore the rest.

     Jones, an insect enthusiast since childhood, wants us to be more aware of how complex and amazing and diverse our six legged fellow Earth inhabitants are. Readers can find the answers to many questions:

*How (and why) do fireflies create light?

*How do butterflies evolve from drab cocoon to beautiful and graceful winged creatures?

and *what are some of the weird things insects sometimes dine on?

     Text is nicely complimented by vivid and sometimes gorgeous illustrations. Buzz is a wonderful read that can be so much more. Observing these fascinating invertebrates can be a great outdoor activity for curious kids and families. 

     This I know from experience. As a child I spent many enchanted hours studying, observing, and collecting insects. In fact when Mom took Harriet and me to Mexico she got me a permit to bring insect specimens into America. You should have seen the look on the customs man's face when a 10-year-old produced this government document!

On a purrrsonal note, I had run out of library books and was dipping into my personal emergency stash. So when I stopped at the Orono Public Library on my way to the gardens I picked out seven YA novels, sure I had no inter library loans waiting for me. WRONG! There were six. So now I have thirteen books to read and review in three weeks. Guess I better step up my reading game. 

Monday evening meteorologists had predicted extreme weather storms with hail spawning tornadoes for Tuesday night. You'd better believe it scared me. Hail could destroy my flowers. But we didn't get a thing except maybe light rain. Thank goodness!

A great big shout out goes out to the people who deliver ILLs from library to library. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Side two

This is the second side. I checked off my eighth challenge Sunday when I played a beanbag toss game. I get to turn this in today if community garden isn't canceled by rain. 

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Side one

This is the first side of the bookmark that qualifies me for the Orono Public Library summer reading challenge prize drawing. Of course I've read way more than eight books.

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