Book Heaven

One corner of Powell's

Have you ever been to book heaven?  Recently I think I did.

Recently the hubby and I went on a mini vacation and headed up to see some friend in Salem, OR.  To any of my friends in Oregon who are reading this and upset that I didn't see them, please forgive.  It was a quick trip and we plan on coming up again.  PROMISE!

Our friends took us to Portland, OR to Powell's City of Books.  OMG!!!!  This a book lover's dream!

Powell's claims to be the largest independent new and used book store in the world.  And I'm inclined to believe them.

Selfies are hard when your group stares at you for wanting a selfie

It takes up an entire city block.  You read that right!  An full city block!  It contains over 68,000 square feet (about 1.6 acres) of retail space.  Can you even imagine?  They have 4 levels.  Four!

I thought I was going to faint.  It can be a bit overwhelming when you first start out.  I didn't even know where to begin.  My poor hubby followed me around for nearly 15 minutes watching me spin in circles.  I think I know how Belle felt when the Beast 'gave' her the gift of the library.

They also have 9 color coded rooms.  That's right they section things off by color so you know if you're in the right area!  And they have over 3,500 different sections.

The inventory?  A-MAZING!  The inventory for its retail and online sales is over four million new, used, rare, and out-of-print books.  And Powell's buys around 3,000 used books a day.

Whew!

Stopping for a sweet treat & caffeine

We spent a lot of time and money in there.  In fact we stopped in their coffee shop for a coffee and sweet treat to bring up our energy levels.

If ever you're in the area, I highly recommend visiting this place.  Who knows, you might even find one of my stories there.  

Read Across America

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America day, I thought I would share this.  Take the time to read!

The Sound Of Silence

The house has been packed up and empty.  Now I'm just waiting to move to our new home in California.

While a part of me is excited about a new adventure in my life, there is another part of me that worries.  I've settled here on the east coast and am now in a comfort zone.  The same can not be said about the west coast.  I will have to learn new routes, patterns and places to go.  An adventure in itself.  But the organized part of me, or maybe it's the paranoid part, wants to have plans and have everything mapped out.

Inevitable

Isn't that an odd title for a blog post?

If you read my 'bio', you'll know that I'm a navy wife.  And in military life, you always know that inevitably you will be moving.  See, I've just explained the title.

We've been fortunate enough to stay in the Norfolk area for 8 years straight.  Shocking to many people, I know.  We've been here off and on since 1994 and have honestly come to think of it as home.

However, that streak is about to be broken.  In mere months we will be moving to the west coast.

So my summer has been filled with painting and prepping the house for renters.  Now the house has to stay in a constant viewing stage.  Which, I guess is good because it's a much cleaner state than normal.

Now it's time to make sure I do those last things that I've always wanted to do in the area.  I've been here 8 years, why didn't I do it before?  Probably because there wasn't a sense of urgency.  So now I need to make that bucket list for the summer and start checking things off!

I promise to post more as our crazy adventures continue.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!  I know I will.

Coming To Terms

Death is inevitable.  We all know this, but none of us truly want to think about it.  It's morbid and depressing.  No one wants to think about loosing the one you love.  I mean that's something that's going to happen in the distant future so no need to worry about it now.  Right?

Since becoming an 'adult', I've attended three funerals for people that are not related to me in anyway.  Being an adult can suck sometimes.  Tomorrow I go to my fourth funeral.  For the first time it's for a military spouse that I knew.  This was something that I never thought would happen.

I know I could probably get away with not going, because we weren't close.  But I won't.  Funerals aren't for the dead.  They are for the living.  So tomorrow I will go so that her family feels that they aren't the only ones who will mourn her passing.

Time is fleeting, so treasure each moment.