I haven’t forgotten that I promised to tell you more about my purchases at Bell, Book & Candle, the used bookstore that I visited while in McDonough, GA! It was a large shop with a wide variety of books. I headed straight for the “Classics” section, and after the briefest of scans I noticed these:

Could you have passed these up? They’re part of a series that was published “on the occasion of Penguin’s 60th anniversary“. Aside from the Washington Irving stories, I’ve never read any of these, although the authors are all ones that are on my list. I figure the tiny books will be excellent additions to my reading stack for the Readathon on December 5th.

While these were easily packable, I scooted my butt out of the store before I was tempted by anything else! Later my friend caught me playing with them (I was taking pictures for my blog!!) and she laughed, but her daughter was impressed and had fun playing with them too.

In other news, I’ve updated my Woolf in Winter post to include a tentative list of the people (gleaned from Frances and Claire and Emily’s posts as well as mine) who have expressed interest in joining us for Mrs. Dalloway specifically, or for all four books. The list is long, and there are quite a few new blogs for me to explore – and it’s not even everyone who wants to be involved! Very exciting.

The 2 year old doesn’t get sarcasm yet – when I told her she was pretty talented at being annoying (I’m sure you can conjure any number of scenarios that might have provoked that comment!) she shouted back in her garbled version of English, “I not talented, I MADDY!”

Indeed.

It’s my last night in Georgia. I’m trying to get a grasp on the experience. This trip has been such an awkward balance between exploration and a social visit. Past trips have definitely focused more on the exploration, with small bits of time spent with friends. This has been a new kind of vacation for me, one where my energy was more invested in my friend and her child than in getting to know the area I was visiting. We did a lot of touristy stuff, but a big indication of the difference in trip style can be seen by looking through my pictures and seeing more photographs of the kid than of the scenery!

I really enjoyed all the places we visited, but I don’t feel like I’ve gotten a good grasp of what Atlanta is like – I haven’t learned a lot about the history and culture, things I usually focus on. That’s probably okay. On the other hand I’ve learned, or been reminded of (after all I do have numerous younger siblings), a lot about what it’s like to have a 2 year old in your life – the joys and the…er…trials – and that’s certainly something worth appreciating.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take the kid around the Fernbank Natural History Museum by myself while her mom ran some errands. It was a wonderful experience. She was really good, and full of energy and delight and interest in the dinosaur bones, the shell collection, the stuffed black bear, etc. I loved spending time with her and seeing her eager, grinning face. Her squeals of pleasure, her wide eyes and her adorable use of the world “Wow!” are things that will make me smile for a long time. I entertained thoughts of what it would be like to have a 2 year old of my own, but in the end I was super relieved to hand her back over to her mom. She’s a little cutie, and a miracle in her own way, but phew! Kids! Yikes!!

Anyway, it’s been a fun week. I’ve seen and done a lot, gotten my fill of babysitting, consumed 5 milkshakes (I recommend the strawberry shake from Chevy’s Diner if you’re ever in McDonough), and made very little progress in The Savage Detectives. I’ll be sad to wave goodbye to my friend and get one last hug from the kid. Once I get through airport security tomorrow (my biggest travel anxiety – it’s just such a pain!!) I’ll be able to declare that this has been a great trip. Although I’ll probably wish for a vacation to recover from my vacation…I feel recharged, and am ready to sink into the long, cold, cozy Maine winter.

See you again soon Atlanta!

(Taking a break from narcissismy vacation-related posts…)

Back in August I posted about my first experience with Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, and it sparked off a burst of creative thought among my new-found blogging friends, Claire, Emily, and Frances, among others. We agreed that a read-a-long of several other books by Woolf was called for, and picked January as the month to do business. The idea has been in the back of my mind since then, and has shaped my vague reading plans for the new year. Claire, who planted the initial idea in our heads, got on the ball this week and what began as a reminder has blossomed into a full fledged group-read, spanning two months, four books, and three glamorous hosts + myself (the somewhat terrified newbie).

Frances and Emily have already posted beautiful invitations and explanations at their respective blogs, and the response has been huge – and hugely exciting.

The reading schedule looks like this, with each book being hosted by one of the four of us:

Sarah – Mrs. Dalloway (January 15th)

Emily – To the Lighthouse (January 29)

Frances – Orlando (February 12)

Claire – The Waves (February 26)

We’re encouraging participants to join us for one, two, or all of the books, or just chime in on the discussions if you’ve already read the books. Frances and Emily are self-termed Woolf ‘geeks’ and ‘dorks’, so the experience lies with them, while I’ve only read one book by the author and Claire is about to venture into the world of Woolf for the first time. There’s plenty of room here for any kind of reader. Please join us!

As I’ll be the first host up to bat, it would be super helpful if those who are planning to join for Mrs. Dalloway, specifically, would raise their hands! I’ll be starting a list.

Can’t wait to read with ya’ll!

………….

Here’s the tentative list of people who have shown interest in Mrs. Dalloway specifically, or have signed up for all four books. If I’ve left anyone out, please shout! And of course no one is held to anything by being listed here. It’s really just to help me keep track.

Amy – The House of the Seven Tails
Amy – New Century Reading
Andi – Tripping Toward Lucidity
Anthony – Times Flow Stemmed
Bellezza – Dolce Bellezza
Care – Care’s Online Book Club
Claire – Kiss a cloud
Ds – third-storey window
Emily – Evening All Afternoon
EL Fay – This Book and I Could Be Friends
Eva – A Striped Armchair
Frances – Nonsuch Book
Jackie – Farmlanebooks Book Blog
JoAnn – Lakeside Musing
J. S. Payton – BiblioAddict
Karen – BookBath
Lena – Save Ophelia
Lu – Regular Rumination
Mark David – Absorbed in Words
Rebecca – Rebecca Reads
Richard – Caravana de recuerdos
Sandy – You’ve GOTTA read this!
Simon – Savidge Reads
uncertainprinciples – another cookie crumbles
Vasilly – 1330v
Victoria – Views from the Page and the Oven
Violet – Manila Folder

Two days crammed full of adventures have swept me up. My friend and I bought Atlanta CityPasses, which give you 9 days to visit 6 major attractions for a reduced rate. We’re working on getting round to all of them, and not doing too badly.

Yesterday was Zoo Atlanta day, and the 2 year old was very good and seemed to like the animals. As zoos go, this one was decent. The enclosures were mostly naturalized for the animal’s needs, and seemed to be in a good shape. The zoo started life as a traveling circus that got stalled there in 1889, and grew into a glorified picnic area where visitors could gawk at animals behind iron bars. In the 1980’s the zoo was declared one of the worst in the country, and that prompted people in high places to do something about it.

Now Zoo Atlanta is supposed to be one of the best zoos in America. Aside from elephants, a lion, zebras, monkeys, colorful birds, etc., they have a wonderful family of gorillas and are one of the few zoos in the states to house giant pandas – and to have successfully orchestrated the birth of a healthy panda, one of only two baby pandas in captivity in the US. Pretty cool. I remember being far more impressed with the Albuquerque Zoo, but I was probably 2 myself the first time I went there!

By mid afternoon we were back in McDonough, browsing in Bell, Book & Candle where my friend went willingly to search for birthday presents for nieces, and where I of course went joyfully to try and not buy any books. More about my purchases later.

I was caught completely off guard by my friend’s husband’s suggestion to go bowling that night. I hadn’t been bowling since some childhood friend’s 6 year old birthday party. I remember that I enjoyed keeping score, but don’t actually recall playing. I played last night though, and embarrassed myself for the sake of a good time, doing only slightly better at air hockey and kind of excelling at some other arcade game that involved tossing balls into holes. An interesting evening for sure!

I had a terrible headache by the time we got home, which is why I didn’t bother to post here, and I tucked myself into bed early and slept long and heavy.

That was good, because today the pace didn’t slow down at all. The whole family – mom, dad, and kid, plus myself – went back into downtown Atlanta to visit the aquarium. I was completely overjoyed by this experience, and felt like I pointed and said “WOW” just as often as the 2 year old.

The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world, housing more animals than any other in over eight million gallons of water. It was a gift from Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, to the city of Atlanta. It opened in 2005 completely debt free, so it is 100% non-profit. It is a leading facility for research and conservation and is one of the only aquariums to be combined with a veterinarian teaching hospital.

I loved every minute that I spent there, whether I was watching jellyfish in a small tank, or whale sharks swim over my head while traversing an underwater tunnel. I would have loved to go round the exhibits twice, but our day was full and lunch was calling (pleading) to be consumed.

From the aquarium we drove outside of the city to Stone Mountain Park, home to what some say is the largest piece of exposed granite in the world. It also has an extremely large carving on it’s side, the Confederate Memorial Carving, which displays hugely Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis. Being both a natural wonder and historically significant isn’t enough for Georgians though – the area surrounding the mountain boasts theme park-like elements, with rides, golf courses, a Christmas Village, a scenic train, and cable cars to the top.

We chose to hike the 1.3 mile trail to the top of Stone Mountain, and although there were moments of hesitation and near-turning back, all four of us made it. With an elevation of 1,686 ft. the mountain top provided excellent views of Georgia for as far as the eye could see, including the Atlanta skyline and Kennesaw Mountain (another historically important place). It was so clear today that we could even vaguely see the Appalachian Mountains.

Considering how steep the trail was, we were equally relieved to reach the bottom, and found ourselves to be tired, starving, and still far from home. We opted to work out some of these problems at a Steak and Shake, a halfway decent southern chain restaurant that I had never encountered before. Burgers and milkshakes consumed, we made it the rest of the way home.

I am about ready for an ‘off-day’! However, with rain coming Tuesday and my flight back to Maine leering at me from Wednesday, it looks like we’ll have to squeeze a few more things into tomorrow. Botanical Gardens and the Margaret Mitchell House, here we come!

I haven’t hung out with a 2 year old in quite awhile, so this visit is a steep learning curve for me! It takes twice as long to get ready to go somewhere, and if I ever thought that I got grumpy when I was hungry, well let me tell you, I have met my match…!

After a very late start today we finally made it to the College Park MARTA station and successfully navigated the rail system and the streets of downtown Atlanta, finding our way eventually to World of Coca-Cola. With a fussy child in tow, we checked out the huge variety of artifacts – all kinds of Coke advertisements, paintings, platters, machines, cans and bottles, etc. – and then thankfully trooped into the Taste It! room to sample beverages from around the world. Avoid something called “Beverly” from Italy, but go for the “Vegitabeta” from Japan! The South African ginger ale was my adult friend’s favorite. Not sure which one the kid liked best – we were just happy that the sundry sips kept her quiet for a little while!

The crabby 2 year old was somewhat placated by a snack from the Subway at the top of Centennial Olympic Park, but my friend and I weren’t that pleased to discover that the day had gone by so quickly and it was already too late to visit the Aquarium… Facing the drag of 5:30 traffic, we opted to detour a short way down Peachtree St. and visit Max Lager’s American Grill and Brewery. A comfy seat, with the child sleeping stretched out in the booth, and a couple of decent beers (Pumpkin Wit, and Max Black) took the edge off the long afternoon.

Our somewhat odd server told me I had an “interesting face”, so FYI if you ever meet me, or for those of you who have but haven’t noticed, now you know!

The trip back to the car on the MARTA train was uneventful and the traffic had mostly cleared up on the interstate, so we were back in McDonough in no time. The kid was adorable again, and let me teach her Karate Kid moves and helped to fight off the nibbling cat and the stinky-breathed dog until it was bedtime. If my pictures will ever upload, I’ll go to bed too…

Zoo tomorrow! I’m pretty sure I haven’t been to a real zoo since we moved to Maine, over 15 years ago, so I’m unexpectedly excited. Should be good.

It’s kind of funny how much this part of Georgia looks like Maine right now. What leaves that are left on the trees are mostly yellow and brown, and there is a similar mix of deciduous and pine, although a closer look proves them to be different varieties than I am used to. I left Maine during a surprisingly warm spell, and went from my pleasant 50s to what Atlanta considers somewhat chilly 50s. It’s supposed to be closer to the 70s tomorrow though, so that will be lovely. There is more wildlife still roaming about here, while in Maine most of the birds and small animals are mostly hidden away, so that’s a nice difference. I don’t know why I expected a more exotic local, but my mental picture is adjusting and I’m enjoying all the aspects of my visit.

Today we spent a lot of time outdoors, visiting Panola Mountain State Park. There is a 12 mile multi-use trail that winds through a wide variety of different woodsy habitats as well as swamp, field, and river areas. The 2 year old was a good little hiker and we had fun helping her pick out the perfect leaves and acorns to put in her pink, leopard spotted purse. I got a kick out of seeing a lizard, three small snakes (thank goodness!), a beautiful raptor of some type, several butterflies, and a whole handful of snails!

Not too long after we got back (via the circuitous route of getting lost – my friend is a newcomer to the area!) my friend’s husband came home and we all went into downtown Atlanta to meet up with other friends for dinner. I got to see the lit up skyline, and drive through Cabbagetown. We ate at La Fonda Latina, an old favorite haunt of the Atlanta-raised husband, where I consumed an astonishing amount of delicious paella. On the way out of town we stopped at The Varsity for an F. O. (frosted orange yummyness) and listened to the folks behind the counter call “What’ll ya’ have, what’ll ya have?” as they have done since 1928.

We have all kinds of things planned for tomorrow, but all I want to do right now is curl up with my food baby and my book – my camera batteries are charging, and it’s time I did the same. Good night!

I already can’t believe that my day started out like this:

Early morning flights, once you get somewhat awake and past airport security, are quite lovely. Mine were uneventful, and my friends were there to meet me at the (gulp, huge!!) airport in Atlanta. I spent the rest of the day casually, grabbing some “real country cooking” at Johnny’s Family Buffet, playing with the smaller of my two friends (the 2 year old), getting beaten up by their Australian cattle dog, visiting the Veterans Wall of Honor in McDonough for some mild Veterans Day respect, and vegging out on TV and Pizza Hut.

We will hopefully start the more serious exploration of Atlanta tomorrow, or if it turns into a more relaxed day, at the very least I will try to drag my friends to Bell, Book & Candle, the used and rare book store right in their home town.

Once again The Savage Detectives will lull me to sleep, and not even the riveting mystery of who and what Arturo Belano and Ulises Lima are is likely to keep me awake for long…!

One of my favorite things to do is to watch my youngest sister do this:

I am visiting my family for a few hours, since they live nearer to the airport than I do and I have a very early flight… As always it is an interesting experience. I am constantly amazed by the cleverness of my younger sisters. They are writers, artists, puzzle solvers, music teachers, and hair dressers. The pianists also composes. They have active social lives, hold down jobs, and get their school work done. They’ve been known to compete with me in the reading area…and win. It’s inspiring.

I got a concert out of my little sister tonight – she played a couple of Nocturnes by Rachmaninov, and some Chopin, as well as one of her own creations. She has tiny little hands, but they move so fast and make such lovely music. She won third place in the Pine Tree Piano Competition this spring, and participated in the Portland International Piano Festival in June. Can you tell that I am proud?

This little interlude with my family is the perfect start to my trip. Now I’m off to bed, although sleep may only come via The Savage Detectives – after a morning spent researching Atlanta even more, I’m plenty excited and eager to start exploring it!

It’s a tea towel!! I know I shouldn’t have checked my Google Reader one last time before I signed off, but I did anyway and thanks to Cornflower Books I found this – Kitchen Sink Dramas! “Great stories don’t just belong in books. Make room for a little more reading in your life…“

They also have a short story by Saki tea towel that I would like, and a feature called The Reading Room that offers the chance to win their monthly drawing for a free SET of tea towels!

In an effort to continue avoiding packing for a trip to Atlanta that I’m embarking on tomorrow, I am “Christmas shopping”, a.k.a. looking at books, through such delightful channels as the design blog Book By Its Cover, the publisher (of comic books and graphic novels) Drawn and Quarterly, and the resource site The Book Cover Archive.

By such semi-direct routes I stumbled across this:

Found through a post at the Most Coveted Covers part of Readerville Journal, each slender volume pairs a classic story with a story by a contemporary author. “The Wilde is matched with a Simon Van Booy story; Cather comes paired up with Lydia Peelle; Tolstoy with Holly Goddard Jones.”

Like the author of the post, I want them ALL – and I put them all on my Amazon wishlist. They’re each around 8 dollars, so I might even buy one. After all, I still have that pesky Amazon Prime with it’s always tempting free shipping…!

Here’s a bit more about the books from The Academic Files, a blog for the publisher, Harper Collins.

And now I really must pack… I’m eager to go to Atlanta – never been before – but I always get lazy/nervous before a trip…even one that is going to be nothing but fun and exploration and relaxation…

Be prepared for this space to morph into a travel log, and become littered with photographs.