Shameless or Brilliant Marketing?

 

As we were leaving the beach the other day, I noticed something that at first seemed out of context, but then realized it was perfectly placed. 

A Little Free Library

There you are, baking in the sun with nothing to read. Solution – a quick trip over the sand to pick up a freebie book.

          I’ve usually seen these small windowed boxes on the edge of someone’s lawn.

I’m not sure what prompts them. Did the residents build it themselves in a fit of philanthropy?

      

    And then, oh-my-goodness, I’ve just done some googling. 

Little Free Library is a non-profit out of Minnesota. If you decide to host one, you become one of their stewards, and your library can be listed on their world-wide location map. 

Look up their mission statement – it’s enough to make this former English teacher and current voracious reader’s heart sing. (By the way, I noticed Amazon squeezed a plug onto one of the pages, offering to sell you the box to house your library.)

    

      Sadly, my impulse was less altruistic.

       

   I returned the next day with my own contribution – one of my books, with a few bookmarks that might just possibly have mentioned that more of the series is available on Amazon.

Disasters in Clay

Because last year we’d enjoyed our maiden voyage into the land of clay, my friend Ann and I returned to the Venice art center for another pottery class. Neither one of us lays any claim to artistic ability, but this seemed like something even we could do.

Beach morning

Today being about as perfect as a day can get, we decided to do breakfast on the beach. 

Rainy Day

 

Nothing gladdens the heart in the middle of a drought like a good rainstorm. Our totally fake ponds, not spring-fed, were looking very low. In fact, it’s been so dry this year that one of them has grassed over and will need mowing before long.

Babies, scooter, snakes, and rainbow

 

You would think that walking the around our complex would be tedious. I mean, it’s just a circle. About the only variety you can achieve is in which way you take it. Admittedly, I’m always listening to a book on my phone since I always feel like a hamster on her wheel by the time I’m in the second loop to gain some steps.

Day Trip

           So, just to get up and out, we took a drive to Matlacha, Florida, only a little over an hour away from us. Against all logic, it’s pronounced “mat-lah-SHAY.”

Limping and Blinking

There I was, on my way to bash that pickleball, when my sneaker hit the ground at an angle, my ankle did an unpleasant turn, and my knee was suddenly unhappy.