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izmeinaIzzie has had a busy day. Just returned from one of the big events in the Izzie calendar. Twice a year we have the 'Save the Children Fund' book sale. Who cares about the kids? Not Izzie but I do care that you can get the most brilliant stuff for next to nothing. In fact more than 70% of my book collection was acquired at these sales.
The sale always starts on a Friday evening 6pm and invariably there is a queue of vultures from about 4pm onwards. Since the weather was so gorgeous, I figures I will go watch my sunset at the beach with "The Precioussss" and catch the 6pm bus to be at the sale around 30 mins later. Was I ever surprized to see a queue at that time.
Last year when they didn't have crowd control, people squished and squashed in like sardines and it was just horrid. Even after 30 mins the air was stuffy and stale. But who cares! This is an orgy of ecstacy for bibliophiles.
Izzie usually makes a beeline for the business books just in case there are some course text books at give away prices. I definitely need the Auditing handbook this term.
But today I started at the religion section. Izzie is always on the look out for that Dorothy Sayers number and anything by Anthony de Mello. Rabbi Harold Kushner of "When bad things happen to good people" is also always worthy of a second look.
Mohammed for Beginners looked good until I seen the price tag of 5 silver sickles. But what really delighted me was after rummaging through boxes and boxes of books last time, on the tables, under the tables, where ever, I walked away empty handed. This time within 5 minutes I had found 2...yes 2 copies of "The Man born to be King" One from 1946 and the other from 1953. And each less than half the price of a coffee!
There was oodles and oodles of fantasy, science fiction books. Izzie would have loved to lurk and search for some Stanislaw Lem. Had some wonderful conversations with the Cat on this very same subject. There was Terry Pratchett and that Julian May and the usual selection of Star Wars and Trekkie stuff. But it was just so so crowded and so much hustling and jostling that I was not in the mood.
On Monday it will be a bit quieter. Due to the minor inconvenience of work and bad Floo network connections, getting there on the weekend is a bit difficult.
On the last day the books are half price or five bucks a box. Most of the boxes are from bottle shops so they have enough room for 12 bottles of wine.
Needless to say, none of the squillion copies of 'The celestine prophecy' were going to darken my box. Foul pestilent waste of trees that rubbish. Many years ago Iz and a friend were staying in a backpacker's hostel where some one had left it on the coffee table. We took turns reading it out loud which was rather difficult to do between fits of hysterical laughter.
Izzie somehow thinks that five years from now, there won't be too many Potters in the boxes at bargain basement prices.
But before the book sale was another big treat of the day. Just renewed my Zoo membership last month and decide to make the most of my last bean free week. Back with the Goblins on Tuesday.
Every day at 11.15 is a creature feature in the reptile house. One of the keepers gives a talk and that usually means "Pat a python" time.
Tuesday the keeper was walking around with a woma python draped over his neck. Gorgeous brown and beige striped little critters they are. He says that a lot of the snakes are in the breeding season at the moment or shedding their skins which makes them cranky and increases the chances of damaging them.
Thursday Izzie was back for more. The keeper announces that the rumours about this being 'pat a python' time are unfounded. For the exactly the reasons given previously, there would be no slinking snakies to stroke. Instead he would tell us about the lizards. Izzie was not amused but understood the reasons nevertheless. The poor things have a right to scrub their scales or snog and snuggle in peace and quiet.
But not only did he talk about the Lizards, starting with the blue tongued skink, but picked them up and let us pat them too. Next was a horntailed skink. This creature was all lumpy and bumpy with spikes on its end. It hides in the rocks and puffs up and the spikes on the tail help keep it from being pulled out by its predators. More lumpy bumpy creatures included the 'bearded dragon' that had skin with the texture and colour of tree bark.
And today, Greedy Izzie was back again for more! Again no snakies. But this time it was munchies on the menu. Live crickets and frozen calcium dusted cockroaches.
The Lizzies got their fix. We got to see those cute blue tongues. But the highlight of the day were the green splendid frogs. They are all dark green except one exceptionally fat luminescent lime little number - a girl who bears a most uncanny resemblence to Dolores. In fact the minute Iz sets eyes on her..that is what I call her. But they have other ideas. Jabber is her name. If the zookeeper did not dish them out fairly to all residents, this fat green lump would have gobbled the lot. As it was she was eying up the tray of cockroaches the whole time, and looked like she was about to land on it any minute.
To watch her swallowing these 'particularly juicy flies' was just a most delightful experience.
We had the keeper in there 30 mins with us dishing out dinner to all the creatures. As horrid as it is to say it, Izzie being a slythie and all, it was much more fun than patting any python.
My final fix of monsters was the adverts in the window of a department store announcing this weeks' special. The Monsters Inc DVD is half price for the week. How could Iz resist?
Except for the unfortunate matter of purpleness, Randal epitomizes all the most desirable Slytherin traits. And what an utterly adorable smile.
The sale always starts on a Friday evening 6pm and invariably there is a queue of vultures from about 4pm onwards. Since the weather was so gorgeous, I figures I will go watch my sunset at the beach with "The Precioussss" and catch the 6pm bus to be at the sale around 30 mins later. Was I ever surprized to see a queue at that time.
Last year when they didn't have crowd control, people squished and squashed in like sardines and it was just horrid. Even after 30 mins the air was stuffy and stale. But who cares! This is an orgy of ecstacy for bibliophiles.
Izzie usually makes a beeline for the business books just in case there are some course text books at give away prices. I definitely need the Auditing handbook this term.
But today I started at the religion section. Izzie is always on the look out for that Dorothy Sayers number and anything by Anthony de Mello. Rabbi Harold Kushner of "When bad things happen to good people" is also always worthy of a second look.
Mohammed for Beginners looked good until I seen the price tag of 5 silver sickles. But what really delighted me was after rummaging through boxes and boxes of books last time, on the tables, under the tables, where ever, I walked away empty handed. This time within 5 minutes I had found 2...yes 2 copies of "The Man born to be King" One from 1946 and the other from 1953. And each less than half the price of a coffee!
There was oodles and oodles of fantasy, science fiction books. Izzie would have loved to lurk and search for some Stanislaw Lem. Had some wonderful conversations with the Cat on this very same subject. There was Terry Pratchett and that Julian May and the usual selection of Star Wars and Trekkie stuff. But it was just so so crowded and so much hustling and jostling that I was not in the mood.
On Monday it will be a bit quieter. Due to the minor inconvenience of work and bad Floo network connections, getting there on the weekend is a bit difficult.
On the last day the books are half price or five bucks a box. Most of the boxes are from bottle shops so they have enough room for 12 bottles of wine.
Needless to say, none of the squillion copies of 'The celestine prophecy' were going to darken my box. Foul pestilent waste of trees that rubbish. Many years ago Iz and a friend were staying in a backpacker's hostel where some one had left it on the coffee table. We took turns reading it out loud which was rather difficult to do between fits of hysterical laughter.
Izzie somehow thinks that five years from now, there won't be too many Potters in the boxes at bargain basement prices.
But before the book sale was another big treat of the day. Just renewed my Zoo membership last month and decide to make the most of my last bean free week. Back with the Goblins on Tuesday.
Every day at 11.15 is a creature feature in the reptile house. One of the keepers gives a talk and that usually means "Pat a python" time.
Tuesday the keeper was walking around with a woma python draped over his neck. Gorgeous brown and beige striped little critters they are. He says that a lot of the snakes are in the breeding season at the moment or shedding their skins which makes them cranky and increases the chances of damaging them.
Thursday Izzie was back for more. The keeper announces that the rumours about this being 'pat a python' time are unfounded. For the exactly the reasons given previously, there would be no slinking snakies to stroke. Instead he would tell us about the lizards. Izzie was not amused but understood the reasons nevertheless. The poor things have a right to scrub their scales or snog and snuggle in peace and quiet.
But not only did he talk about the Lizards, starting with the blue tongued skink, but picked them up and let us pat them too. Next was a horntailed skink. This creature was all lumpy and bumpy with spikes on its end. It hides in the rocks and puffs up and the spikes on the tail help keep it from being pulled out by its predators. More lumpy bumpy creatures included the 'bearded dragon' that had skin with the texture and colour of tree bark.
And today, Greedy Izzie was back again for more! Again no snakies. But this time it was munchies on the menu. Live crickets and frozen calcium dusted cockroaches.
The Lizzies got their fix. We got to see those cute blue tongues. But the highlight of the day were the green splendid frogs. They are all dark green except one exceptionally fat luminescent lime little number - a girl who bears a most uncanny resemblence to Dolores. In fact the minute Iz sets eyes on her..that is what I call her. But they have other ideas. Jabber is her name. If the zookeeper did not dish them out fairly to all residents, this fat green lump would have gobbled the lot. As it was she was eying up the tray of cockroaches the whole time, and looked like she was about to land on it any minute.
To watch her swallowing these 'particularly juicy flies' was just a most delightful experience.
We had the keeper in there 30 mins with us dishing out dinner to all the creatures. As horrid as it is to say it, Izzie being a slythie and all, it was much more fun than patting any python.
My final fix of monsters was the adverts in the window of a department store announcing this weeks' special. The Monsters Inc DVD is half price for the week. How could Iz resist?
Except for the unfortunate matter of purpleness, Randal epitomizes all the most desirable Slytherin traits. And what an utterly adorable smile.
