Sneaking In A Celebration

  Celebrating with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build.  and linking with others who share their celebrations, too. I am grateful to Ruth for helping us celebrate together!  

      Among all the wonderfully usual, but very good things in my life, like museums and ice cream with the granddaughters, this week I celebrate two special things, both connected. One is the used bookstore where I am the volunteer coordinator. I haven't shared an Instagram pic all week because it has been closed for the past eight days. This old building with crannies and creaks needed a facelift, and while the plan was for many fewer days in which to be done, it is looking more wonderful each time I go in. The background is off-white, and all the accent colors are a bright, kind of ship's blue. I'm celebrating the volunteers, including me, today, because this non-profit store, in business for over forty years, is run entirely by volunteers. And during this past week, different volunteers have arrived to dust down the books and shelves, clean  the broad surfaces and the floors, re-label areas, and unpack those books that had to be entirely removed. We still aren't finished, but almost, and it is with a thankful heart, that I applaud those volunteers. I'll share more pics next week when it's really complete. 

All these shelves were emptied in order to paint them
a beautiful blue.

The view from the front window. All around the
window and its shelf, also blue.

        As for volunteers, I, and many others in all the categories, have been reading in every spare moment for the first round of Cybils' judging. It is a joy to read and celebrate all the gorgeous words. But it does take time, and focus, and a lot of love, I think. I celebrate poetry and other books, the writers, and this time the readers, too. As you've seen me share before, if you'd like to check the Cybils' lists in all the categories here. There have been numerous lists shared recently of the best of 2016, and the Nerdy Award nominations are happening right now! Go here! Guess what, all those are volunteers too, who are working hard to bring you grand literature for reading and sharing.