Dear Liza,
Before Auntie Katie can move into her new bookshop, in the wonderful 1927 building she has been refurbishing, she has to move OUT of her current shop. That means more than a hundred boxes of books that need to get packed, as well as all the shelves, fixtures, tables and chairs. This is a big job.
This morning I went over to help. I was not alone! Auntie Katie was there, as well as her helpful and skilled friends. Mel and Skye dismantled shelving, Leanne sorted the “floppies”, Sierra and I packed books, and Opus and his son Leo taped boxes to be ready to fill.
During the course of the day, we ran out of book boxes, so Skye went to the local U-Haul shop and bought them out! One hundred book boxes. “If you need more, we have to go to Clackamas, about ten miles away,” she said.
As we filled and labeled boxes with Manga, graphic novels, comics series, zines and LumberJanes, we began to build THE WALL, figuring it was the best kind of wall…one we could unpack and read if we wanted, and not keeping anyone out of anywhere.
Katie provided lunch for the crew, with cheeses and meats to go on those rolls I baked, and chips, drink, and Oatmeal Everything cookies.
As the day wore on and I worked my way backwards in the alphabet from X- Men to Archie, I realized that my 63 year old back was getting tired. “Once I finish this wall,” I told myself, “I’m gonna catch the 70 and head home.” But then, just as I sealed up The Avengers, in walked Grandpa Nelson! Hooray!!
I thanked all those wonderful people for their help in making my daughter’s dream happen and headed home to wash down some aspirin with a bunch of water and watch the Giants beat The Dodgers.
Life is pretty sweet, if you dare to live it.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 