I’ve been feeling a bit off today. Could it be all the wine that was drunk last night at the party? Nah, it’s just that today reality has set in. You see, the party we went to last night was a good bye party for one of my best friends, Christine. Next weekend she and her husband leave for New York to begin a new life adventure, and while I’m extremely excited for them I know I’m going to miss my friend.

Christine and I go way back. We met in high school English class, and probably my first memory of her is when we read Romeo & Juliet out loud in class and she had to read Juliet’s part. She was good. See, even literature played a major role in our friendship.

From then on, we’ve shared laughter, tears and triumphs. Our own adventures have involved everything from going to poetry readings (she introduced me to the poetry of Pablo Neruda) and book singings (we met Ethan Hawke) to traveling around Europe for a month. I know we’ll find a way to share more adventures and this won’t be the first time we live in different cities but it still doesn’t make it any easier.

I know that with her endless curiosity and zest for life she will conquer N.Y., and I’ll be eagerly awaiting her stories and beautiful photos, at least until I go visit her. For today I just want to share this New York poem for Christine and wish this wonderful couple all the best in their new home.

This is the quiet hour; the theaters
Have gathered in their crowds, and steadily
The million lights blaze on for few to see,
Robbing the sky of stars that should be hers.
A woman waits with bag and shabby furs,
A somber man drifts by, and only we
Pass up the street unwearied, warm and free,
For over us the olden magic stirs.
Beneath the liquid splendor of the lights
We live a little ere the charm is spent;
This night is ours, of all the golden nights,
The pavement an enchanted palace floor,
And Youth the player on the viol, who sent
A strain of music thru an open door.

~ Broadway by Sara Teasdale

Thanks again everyone for the wonderful support you give me when I go on jabbering about my adventures in bookbinding. I have a lot of fun doing it and who knows maybe one day I’ll be experienced enough to save a famous manuscript from becoming a target for the real bookworms! Wouldn’t that be a cool story to tell.

Anyway, I am ready for the weekend aren’t you? I hope to spend some time at the bookstore, go to a party and of course curl up with the books. I’ve got several going on and I want to begin some others too. Here’s what is on my “must read soon” stack.

• Immortal by Traci L. Statton. I’m about half way through this book and have found it to be an entertaining read. I’m not sure what will happen in the next part so it’s good to have a surprise in store.
• A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George. This is turning out to be a very good mystery novel.
• The World Without Us by Alan Wiseman. I’m only up to chapter three so I think this will take me a while. There’s something about the audio version that reminds me of those old movies we used to watch in science class but the information itself is definitely something to think about.
• The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro. Being that I want to read more short stories (signed up for the Short Story Challenge), I’ve also decided to take the plunge and join in A Curious Singularity. I’m really looking forward to sharing thoughts on short stories and I’m excited about hopefully learning to embrace the short story!
• Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This is a book group read and also one of my challenge reads. I have been looking forward to this book a long time.

I think that should keep me plenty busy this weekend. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I am going to try to post something for The Sunday Salon so hope to see you then.