Barbara Fritchman Thompson Diary

Week of 23 April 2001

Latest Update: Saturday, 26 April 2003 08:53
 

Monday, 23 April 2001

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We have been taping a weekly series on Masterpiece Theater Wives and Daughters. Last night was the last of the four part episodes to run. 

Off to the gym this morning. Not much else to report. Wendy has set up a mailing list on Smart Groups for the Netwidows to make it easier for us to communicate with one another. Thanks Wendy for doing that for us. 

Have good Monday everybody.

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Tuesday, 24 April 2001

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Thanks to Lynne the Netwidows had a lively book discussion yesterday. Lynne was looking for suggestions of good vacation reading. Wow, what an interesting and diverse group of readers we have. We now have a truly International Book Club with the new page up on the Netwidows site thanks to a suggestion from Wendy.  Keri is still in the development stage of how to organize our book suggestions.

I had a nice workout at the gym yesterday. Just as I arrived one of the spinning instructors saw me and asked if I would like to spin with her. They are allowed to come in and spin by themselves whenever they wish to try out new music and routines. So, I had a private spinning class which was a lot of fun. 

We had another round of warm weather yesterday. Up to 80 degrees yesterday and today. It is supposed to cool off tonight with a chance of rain and thunderstorms. I have nothing planned for today. Stay home and work, play with the dogs, and see what else develops. 

I just finished a very interesting book Old Books, Rare Friends by Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern. The book is autobiographical detailing how these two ladies met and eventually went into the rare and collectable book business. As a librarian I found the subject to be very fascinating to learn how they more or less stumbled into buying their first rare book and eventually parlaying those purchases into a business that has spanned over fifty years. Both ladies are now in their early eighties and continue to discover rare literary treasures. In addition to this book they have both written other biographies and literary studies of authors such as Louisa May Alcott. They discovered, in addition to her famous Little Women, wrote murder and sensational fiction stories under several pen names to make money to support her financially strapped family.  They produced their rare book catalogs of offerings themselves using themes rather just listing a group of books on offer. Their catalogs became as famous as the books listed in them and sound very intriguing. 

One of the things I think makes all this so interesting is the later years of their literary accomplishments coincides with my career in librarianship. Had I been in the special library or rare and collectable portion of the profession I may very well have run across these two very interesting ladies. I am going to try and locate some of their other works including a novel they wrote with a plot line around the hunt for a rare book title. Since many of the articles about them as well as advertisements for their works ran in Publisher's Weekly, a book review magazine, I probably have read about them at some point.

If you are a librarian, book collector, or just enjoy reading about this particular subject I highly recommend this book.

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Wednesday, 25 April 2001

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After dinner we walked the dogs even though it was drizzling. I worked for awhile and then went back out to the den to read and play with the dogs until time for their last walk. We taped Buffy/Angel and watched NYPD Blue and off to bed.

This morning I am going to the gym and the grocery store. It is still cloudy. The temperatures dropped yesterday during the storm from 80 degrees to 62 in about fifteen minutes. The skis are supposed to clear off by this afternoon but it is to remain cool. I am supposed to go over to dads around noon and continue work on the wall.

Reading Chris's page this morning it looks like they will be taking over for the Bob and Lynne Walder in Europe's version of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. BTW, if you have not seen this movie you need to. One of Cary Grant's best. Shelley Long and Tom Hanks did sort of a remake, Money Pit, which is also pretty funny.

Guess I better go. Lots to do today. Keri whatever you had for lunch yesterday I would steer clear of in the future. 

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Thursday, 26 April 2001

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I ate an early lunch yesterday and then headed over to Lowe's to pick up the blocks to finish dad's wall. He was not home from his luncheon yet. I started unloading the blocks and began putting them in place. The second row is much easier to do. Dad arrived and we worked on getting the sides of the bed in place. That required some digging and we realized dad short counted the number he needed. Back to Lowe's for some more blocks and several bags of dirt to fill in behind the wall.

We finished up around 3:00. The wall looks real nice. Next project is to put the flat bricks along the front bed. By the time I got home and took my shower it was time to fix dinner. We had homemade stromboli. After dinner I worked on a review column for a different publication for awhile before going back out to the den to read and give the dogs some attention. I was too tired to watch West Wing and Once and Again so we taped those for another night. Off to bed to read before turning off the light for an early night.

I am going to the library this morning to work on the gift books and then go out to lunch with the library staff for a going away lunch for Darla, the branch supervisor. 

Word is out that the Gang are doing a shoe count. Oh my!

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Friday, 27 April 2001

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I spent the remainder of the afternoon catching up on e-mail and web pages until time to start dinner. Bob and Lenore ate left over stromboli and I ate a salad since I had a big lunch out. After dinner we watched the tape of West Wing and I watched Once and Again. Good thing we taped both shows. Our local newspaper guide has fooled us a couple of times by not indicating that a show is new as opposed to being a rerun. Now, we just tape or watch the few regular shows we view regardless of what the paper says. We watched ER, gave the dogs a quick last time out and off to bed. Speaking of ER, while I am not a big fan of Sally Field, she has played her role as a manic depressive very well. I watched my mom struggle with the illness all her life and it hard on both the person and the family. My mom has never demonstrated some of the extreme behaviors such as suicide or running off to hide in a motel but we have had some pretty intense episodes to deal with over the years. Being bi-polar is hereditary is various forms from being total manic to mild forms of depression.

This morning is gym workout. This afternoon I am doing a home visit on a family that is interested in adopting Dan. We are having absolute beautiful spring weather. Cool at night, warm days, clear blue skies, and no rain. The PGA tour is next door in Greensboro this week and we usually have horrid weather for it. Looks like they will have a nice weekend for drawing the big crowds to come out and watch. 

I listened to a new group yesterday recommended by Leah. The Corrs, a group made up of three sisters and a brother are from Ireland. Their music is a mix of folk, pop and Irish sounds. I listened to In Blue yesterday and still have Talk on Corners to go. 

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Saturday, 28 April 2001

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After my shower I left to do the home visit yesterday on the very nice young family who wants to adopt Dan, the dog we fostered a few weeks back. They live in a very quiet residential neighborhood of moderately priced homes in the nearby town of King. They have a small son who is four years old, very busy, and articulate for a little guy. I took Duncan along at Bob's insistence and I am glad I did. Some times I take him and some times I don't. The mom lost her BC to cancer about five years ago. Then along came the little boy, so they are just now getting another dog. 

She was so excited when I got there and  told her I brought Duncan along. It was another beautiful day in the Carolinas with high blue skies and temps in the low 70's. I got Duncan out of the car and she petted him and made a big fuss over him. The little boy was a bit shy but not afraid. I suggested we go around back and sit outside to talk since it was such pretty day. About that time the dad came home from work. Their son was having a fit to show me the creek that runs just at the end of their property line. So, we all tramped off through some woods to take a look at the little stream that runs along their property line. Then we all went up on the deck to talk. 

The little fellow was trying to make friends with Duncan in the only way a little guy who has not had a dog friend knows how. First he brought him a pile of his little cars and trucks to play with. Then he brought him an apple. I told him I didn't think an apple was a good idea so he asked me what he liked to eat. I told him cheese or ham. His mom told him to get a piece of cheese. He comes out with a slice of cheese and we showed him how to feed it to Duncan. Next he comes out with a big container of turkey to feed him which we convinced him to return to the fridge. Next he wanted me to go downstairs and see all his toys. I followed him to the basement where he promptly cleaned out his toy box showing me all the neat things he had to play with and then he hauled out a riding dump truck and a push mower. These went up to the deck and he presented them to Duncan to play with. It was so touching to watch this little guy trying to show me and Duncan we were his friends and offering his toys to us to play with. I was convinced right then they would make a wonderful home for Dan. I told the mom to go ahead and call the foster family and set up an exchange with them for Dan. He will be going to a wonderful home.

Back home, dropped off Duncan and picked up Bob to go out to dinner. While at dinner we decided to go up to the observation point since it was going to be such a clear night. Back home to get things ready to go up to the site while Bob called some fellow Club members to see if anyone else wanted to join us. We left about 7:30 for the site and stayed until 11:00. This was one of the first nights when we had the moon up to observe. Very impressive even with it only have full. Then we looked at some double stars and other clusters. I saw one satellite and two shooting stars during the evening. 

Most of the club members are going up tonight and we will be back. It is yet another wonderful day today much like yesterday. Tonight is to be clear and cool, a good night for observing. I need to edge and mow the lawn today. Not sure what else is on tap.

Be sure to visit Lynne's page to see the cute baby robins they have in their garden. The mom made a nest with Benson's fur. 

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Sunday, 29 April 2001

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    I spent yesterday morning answering e-mail and reading web pages. It was such as lovely day around 11:00 I  bundled Lenore up in her wheel chair and put her out on the deck to get some fresh air. I hung around outside with her and the dogs for about an hour before bringing her back in. 

After lunch I went out to edge and cut the lawn. As I got to being 3/4 of the way finished cutting the clutch cable on the mower broke which meant the mower was now non-functional. Fortunately I have dad's old mower stored in the basement. I powered it up and finished mowing, used the blower to blow the drive and sidewalks. 

About 4:00 I hit the couch to watch the golf match but ended up taking a short nap. Bob wanted something light for dinner so we had ham/cheese sandwiches. We then got things packed and ready to head up to the observation site. Priscilla and Bonnie showed up and we had a really nice time observing constellations, satellites, and stars. Not only is looking at the sky fun but sitting out under the stars in a country field and talking is very relaxing in itself. Around 10:30 it started to get breezy and then the wind really began to pick up. We all decided to pack in around 11:00 and got home, walked the dogs, and in bed a little after midnight.

These pictures are from Friday night at the site. I am lining up the scope to be able to look at the moon. In the next two I am looking through the lens observing the various craters on the moon's surface.

The dogs let us sleep in until around 8:00 which was nice since I am not used to going to bed after midnight two nights in a row. Clean house this morning and watch the race this afternoon from California. It does not start until 2:00 local time for us. Bob wants to work on the scanner and printer to get them fixed so I may listen to the race while I help him. 

We are going over to Frances's for a cookout for dinner tonight. She called yesterday afternoon and invited us all over to join her and Al, and mom and dad. Should be fun.

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