RIP Beverly Cleary

I'm a few days late on this post, but I couldn't let the passing of Beverly Cleary go unmentioned.

When I was in 4th grade, our teacher, Mrs. Heineke, read a passage to us from "Runaway Ralph" by Beverly Cleary.  I was instantly hooked.

By then, I already enjoyed reading, but strictly of shorter children's books like Babar the Elephant,  the works of Dr. Seuss, the Berenstain Bears, "Harold and the Purple Crayon", "Where the Wild Things Are", etc. This would be my introduction to "chapter" books.  

It helped that the cover was so darn cool.  The blazing red cover with a mouse riding hell-bent down a hill, wearing a crash helmet made from half a ping pong ball and a rubber band, whiskers blowing in the wind and his tail carefully tucked under his arm to keep it out of the spokes clinched it. How could I NOT want to read this?

You Can't Take It with You

Wow, that was a long gap, but here I am again, popping up when least expected.  Well, it keeps you on your toes, doesn't it?

This will be a little bit different Garage Sale post in that its about something that didn't come home with me.  But it was something that struck a personal chord and triggered fond memories.

I was at an estate sale this weekend (a particularly good one, I might add, but that will be for later).  As I walked into one of the bedrooms, I immediately noticed the door, or more specifically, what was on it.