Forts are for Adults Too

Do you remember as a kid how fun it was to create forts in the living room with quilts and blankets draped on top of chairs and tables?

Although it is not scorching by other North Americans’ standards, it’s pretty darn hot for Vancouverites here on the Wet Coast. (That’s not a typo). It’s been in the 90’s for over a week, and we are just not used to it! Hardly any of our homes have air-conditioning, as we only get “hot” summer days a few days per year. Combine this with some forest fires nearby which have created a post-apocalyptic looking smokey haze, hampering air quality and preventing us from opening our windows, and you have an extremely uncomfortable situation!

We are all scratching our heads and don’t know what to do! It’s too hot up in my little attic bedroom, so I slept on a blow up bed in the basement one night and I slept on the sofa (main floor) the other night. Not comfy.  Looking at the forecast for the week ahead, I decided to take action. Thank goodness I have a basement: I just had to make it work for me!

I treated it like a design exercise. Space: I moved a large layout table in my painting studio corner out of the way in order to have a space big enough for a double mattress. Furniture: I took the two narrow mattresses that zip together from the folding sofa/bed in the guest room, upstairs (they are pretty comfy) and brought them down. Finishes: The walls are rough-ish flake board in my unfinished basement, so I found some draperies and staple gunned them to the wall so I could lean against the wall and not get any wood slivers. Lighting: I attached a little spotlight beside the bed for late night reading.

It’s also kinda cobwebby down there, so I took a hanging mosquito net and placed it above the bed for double duty. I discovered a tiny old TV that had a built in VHS player, and also found a box of old VHS tapes with Sex in the City episodes, so I put that on a couple end tables I had in the storage room. I added some sheets and pillows and presto: I have a little fort where I can relax and stay cool. I feel like I’m glamping!

It was a fun project for a quiet Sunday night. I had my first good night’s sleep in a week.

Mom, got any books I can read?

Ahhh music to my ears. My twenty year old son is asking me for book suggestions… I waltz over to the book shelves in my den… hmmm….What could a 55 year old woman suggest to a 20 year young man?

I’m already thrilled he’s told me he liked The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen. I’m pumped to hear this. (I loved that book!) So I gather up a few that I think might work for him:

The 100 Year Old Man Who Jumped Out of the Window and Disappeared
by Jonas Jonasson

A delightful romp that has shades of Forrest Gump. A fun toboggan ride through history from such a crazy perspective.

The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern

A surreal story where a circus comes to town, and everything, and nothing is real….even the characters don’t know the difference. It’s magical, inventive, and full of love and betrayal, spectacle and shivers.

The Power of One
by Bryce Courtenay

An epic story set in South Africa of an English speaking boy coming of age in a racially diverse and tense society. Enduring abuse and hardships, he aspires to be a boxing champion. The physical landscape is beautifully described in this book that is a snapshot of history, of South Africa, of youth and maturity.

 Steve Jobs
by Walter Isaacson

An in-depth, fascinating bio – I learned all kinds of things I didn’t know about Steve Jobs and it was a captivating read.

Skinny Dip
by Carl Hiaasen

A hilarious “B Movie” style narrative. Thoroughly entertaining and fun! So very tongue and cheek and filled with over-the-top characters.

Wild
by Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed’s memoir of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail while rather unprepared; grieving the loss of her mother and her marriage. She threw herself wholehearted into this quest and her story is fascinating and heartfelt – speaking to themes of weakness and strength.

The Measure of a Man
by JJ Lee

A New Westminster neighbor, that I had the pleasure of meeting at the Vancouver Writers Festival, JJ Lee also writes for the Vancouver Sun on Men’s fashion and style. This story is about a suit, and the history of men’s tailoring, and of his father and their relationship.

The Pillars of the Earth
by Ken Follett

This story follows a prior, his master builder, and their community as they struggle to build a cathedral and protect themselves during tumultuous 12th century England. There is a wealth of historical detail, especially concerning architecture and construction.

Read on, young man! I love that you love books…

Used Treasures

Wandering past this book store in Puerto Morelos, Mexico last month, reminded me of my love of used bookstores….(mmm Alma Libre Libros….free soul books….what a lovely name….)

To wander through the shelves in these usually quite spaces – not bombarded with special displays or marketing, or the “top ten” – one has to have patience and perhaps a direction, a mission…or maybe not?

I’ve done it both ways: searched for favorite authors or titles or just wandered through various sections: art, fiction, design. I usually always find treasures: Vintage floral arrangement books, a beautiful old copy of Miracle on 34^th Street, a collection of short stories by Somerset Maugham, with an inscription from 1949 written in beautiful indigo ink… It gets my imagination going: who did this book belong to? What was life like then?

A few favorites, south of the border, where I used to hang out a fair bit: Henderson’s in Bellingham, Easton’s in Mt. Vernon and the granddaddy of them all: the wonderful city of books known as Powell’s in Portland (both new and used together… this should be on all readers bucket lists to visit). What a wonderful way to spend a cold rainy day.  And what a great way to recycle.

 

The Lovely Bookplate

Ahhh….bookplates.

Bookplates allow me to ceremoniously mark my treasured books as my own…(I will be the last reader standing with a paper book…).

I have books that I read and “pass on” and then I have books that I love to share, but want back. Putting a bookplate in them assigns them a certain status and may assist in them getting returned to me.

They are their own art form. I have many that speak volumes…different volumes…of whimsy, of reverence, of worlds far away, of sweetness and joy.

I haven’t met a bookplate I didn’t love.