Recently, my brother wrote about the worst day of the year: (link no longer available, my apologies).\u00c2\u00a0 Today, though, was the best day of the year: the first day of vacation.\u00c2\u00a0 I love my job, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get me wrong, but even so there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something about the first day of vacation that just can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be beat.<\/p>\n
So, on this first vacation in a year, there was absolutely no way that I was going to clean the house, no matter how badly it needs it.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead, I cashed in two of my tutoring checks and went shopping.\u00c2\u00a0 Yup, I actually had cash in my pocket, and I fully intended to use it.\u00c2\u00a0 Jewelry seemed like a good bet, but I was open to other options.\u00c2\u00a0 I ambled through some of my favorite stores in Concord center – Perceptions, Artful Image, Lacoste Gallery, Concord Hand Designs, the Concord Shop, the American Indian gift store, and the store that sells cool furniture and odds and ends for your home (next to Salone Arte).\u00c2\u00a0 I saw so many pretty things, and was almost tempted many times.\u00c2\u00a0 But I kept thinking to myself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve already got a beautiful glass pitcher.\u00c2\u00a0 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need another,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I could live without that pair of earrings,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the house is just too small for another set of candlesticks.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 I was trying hard, but nothing could prompt me to pull that cash out of my pocket.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have imagined this a year ago, when I was miserable in my job and life seemed a tad difficult, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happy.\u00c2\u00a0 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to buy things.\u00c2\u00a0 Not even that great Steiff bear in the Toy Shop window.<\/p>\n
My husband had left me off in Concord center while he dropped off his amps and equipment for a gig tomorrow, and we set our meeting place as the Concord Bookshop.\u00c2\u00a0 So I gave up on shopping and went to the book store to wait for my ride.\u00c2\u00a0 Jim was late, and I wandered the aisles looking at books.\u00c2\u00a0 Jodi Picoult, my friend Judy told me she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really great, maybe I should buy that.\u00c2\u00a0 Hmmm, no, I can borrow that from the library.\u00c2\u00a0 Kira-Kira<\/em>?\u00c2\u00a0 Judy recommended that, too.\u00c2\u00a0 Nah, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fresh new copy at the library.\u00c2\u00a0 A blank book?\u00c2\u00a0 Got plenty.<\/p>\n And then I was in the young adult section.\u00c2\u00a0 The Book Thief<\/em> by Marcus Zusak.\u00c2\u00a0 The dollars practically leaped out of my pocket.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been wanting to read this book for SO long, but haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wanted to take our library\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s copy out of commission (and it just doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem fair to borrow another library\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s copy).\u00c2\u00a0 This book has gotten phenomenal reviews, and its premise is totally unique: Death narrates the story of Liesel, a girl in Nazi Germany who steals books. Recently, my brother wrote about the worst day of the year: (link no longer available, my apologies).\u00c2\u00a0 Today, though, was the best day of the year: the first day of vacation.\u00c2\u00a0 I love my job, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get me wrong, but even so there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something about the first day of vacation that just can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be beat. … Continue reading The best day of the year<\/span>
\nThe Book Thief<\/em> now lives on my coffee table, and so far I absolutely love it.\u00c2\u00a0 I also picked up a paperback copy of The Lightning Thief<\/em> by Rick Riordan, for the same reasons that I bought Zusak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s book.\u00c2\u00a0 I may have lost my ability to spend money on frivolous things, but certain books can still make my heart beat a little faster.\u00c2\u00a0 And no, I have no idea what the meaning is behind the thievery theme in these two books.\u00c2\u00a0 I just know that, because of them, the rest of my vacation is going to be as good as today was.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"