We awaiting the start of the storm, which won’t be until late afternoon, early evening. The forecast varies. It all depends on the line that will emerge at some point during the storm; those who live above that line will have mostly snow and a lot of it, those who live below will have snow turning to sleet and/or ice. Most forecasts for our area are predicting 8 – 12 inches. However, it seems to be a very fluid situation, so we’ll see.
In the end, we have no choice, do we?
But we’re starting our day with french toast over at Rick and Doug’s. We haven’t seen them for a while; they were traveling and then Rick had some minor surgery, and we were busy, as well. We’re overdue.
My package from John Sandoe Books came yesterday. I’ve been waiting and waiting. When Don came up the drive with a stack of mail and I saw a brown envelope, I shouted out to him “Where’s the brown package from??” He looked down, started to read the label out loud, “John Sandoe…” and he looked up at me and grinned.
I can’t show you all of the package because I don’t want my address revealed, but it looked just like the packages I saw stacked in a corner when we visited the shop in October. I’ll show you bits:
I oh so carefully opened the envelope (I’m saving it, of course) and gently pulled out the inner package.
It was wrapped in this paper.
Oh my! If you know me by now, you know I’m going to frame it.
Again, ever so gently, I removed the paper, doing my best to keep it intact.
And here’s the book:
It was just like I imagined it might be, when I took a picture of that stack of packages waiting to be mailed to customers throughout the British Isles, and beyond. At the time, I thought how cool it would be to live in England and have packages arrive from John Sandoe Books. It wasn’t until I got home and read their IG post on this particular book that I realized I could treat myself to that same pleasure.
I wrote a post about it on IG – you may have seen it – and I spoke of the same things I’ve written about here, as well as a level of customer service that we hardly see anymore. Personal, kind notes via email, a carefully wrapped package, knowledge shared freely and earnestly – I felt as if I had made some new friends across the pond.
Imagine my delight when I saw this note from John Sandoe in response:
See what I mean? Not only a thank you, but a recommendation as well!
Can I move to London simply for the pleasure of visiting John Sandoe Books whenever I want to?
I’m sort of not kidding.
London or Paris. Maybe London with the wonderful option of visiting Paris whenever I want to. That would be heaven for me. I love where I live, but if I had the opportunity to move there, I just might do it.
Hey, I can dream, can’t I?
Okay. Have to get a move on. If you don’t hear from me on Sunday or Monday, we’ve lost power. Fingers crossed that won’t happen.
Happy Saturday.
hope you get much less snow than predicted, won’t lose power and are in the “no sleet zone” (hope no one gets that awful stuff)!
also hope the oil’s been delivered, your cupboards are full and you don’t have anything else to do but stay home and read your new book.
glad you bought yourself a treat from your favorite bookstore! i might do the same.
and i’d frame that drawing, too. hope you will share photos of that as well as the “king lear” program signed by sir ian mckellen and don’s “etm” poster sometime, please and thanks. (i love art and seeing what people choose to display in their homes).
we had another six inches of snow last night so i’ve taken a slow start today, but now need to get moving.
hope you have a good day!
kathy in iowa
We haven’t had any of it framed yet – framing is expensive! We also have a lithograph that we bought in France that needs to be framed. It all adds up!
Thanks, Kathy!
agree. framing is expensive … super expensive! and just like eyeglass frames (sorry) and most medicines, i don’t understand why that is. that said, i think it’s worth it to frame things we love like photos, art and ephemera. hope you can get those things framed soon so you can better enjoy them!
also hope the storm weakens, if it has to come your way at all. and that you have plenty of oil!
kathy in iowa
It came. We don’t have oil yet. Sigh.
84, Charing Cross Road.
Exactly.
We are at minus 25 Celsius, and it is COLD. I am looking forward to your comments when you have read the book, it looks very promising.
It’s cold here, too. Monday will be in the single digits with wind chill below zero.
The book, the packaging and the comment. Wow. I would dream about living over the pond myself. I think Paris is my first love though. It is raining and cold today, our part of that horrible winter storm you will get. I hope you don’t lose power and stay warm and safe. I think I’ll have a cup of tea today. Hugs!
I love Paris! But from a practical viewpoint, we speak the same language as the Brits.
That does make sense and it’s easy to visit Paris.
xo
That package! omg! xo
I know! Thanks, Annette!
Such a wonderful package! I slowly read your post and savored the pictures as if I were with you.
We are in the beginning of brutal cold and wind. Last night was sleet covered with snow, not so much though. The dangers are the wind and cold.
Enjoy brunch and I hope your weather is lighter than predicted. I am ready for spring!
It’s started snowing here and we’re preparing for the onslaught.
Oh, that package…. and the packaging!!!!! Wondrous! And that recommendation sounds wonderful, as well!
This storm is “fluid” for sure. We were to get flurries. Then about an inch. Then maybe 2″. This was changing about every 90 minutes all day yesterday. By the end of the day, we were under a Winter Storm Warning. Unreal. We ended up receiving about 5 inches or so. It is bright and sunny today, but quite cold, and the cold is supposed to continue over the next many days. So over all of it.
Hope your oil arrives, the storm goes in another direction, and your electricity isn’t affected! It really is an hour-by-hour event. At least it surely was here!! Take care & be safe!!
We’re going to get between 7- 14 inches, with sleet and freezing rain. The oil has not arrived and we’ve been told we won’t get any until Monday, I pray the oil holds out until then.
84, Charing Cross Road.
I was thinking the same thing!
I have only been to London once. but since I know I’ll never get to return…
once was enough. I have the fondest memories of REAL London. not just touristy London.
I could live there in a heartbeat. there was time enough to explore every bit of it.
my brother gave me the gift of 23andMe last year. and it confirmed a lot of what I already knew. the majority was England… Scotland… and Wales. it literally is in our blood.
I loved everything about it. even the bloody history.
good luck with the approaching storm. xo
English, Scots, and Irish here – with a bit of German, as well. Thanks, Tammy.
yes, framing is expensive. I learned how to buy a frame at the thrift store and frame things myself because I like to mess around with those things and I like a lot of pictures on my wall.
I would love to move next door to that bookstore! I am doing the next best thing, buying my favorite authors online. I want to switch out the paperbacks for hardbacks, and have a decent looking library. Also I like reading them.
The lithograph we bought in Paris is vintage and we want it done professionally. It’s too expensive for us to mess around with!
I looked up that book online and I’m very interested what you think of it. When you finish it could you share a little review about it? Thank you
I will. Thanks, Carol.
Stay safe and warm. I miss the snow. It is fun to get a pretty package. It doesn’t happen much these days. Sometimes we have to make it happen for ourselves like you did.
Yes. We need to treat ourselves!
Lovely, lovely package. And to think cities were full of charming little book stores once upon a time before the big box stores and then on-line shopping. Sigh…
Like Chris K. said in her post, we’ve gotten about 5″ and it is still prettily coming down- very light and fluffy. I hadn’t been able to be on-line much this past week as my youngest brother is in midst of health emergency. My other brother and I drove down to St. Louis absolutely flabbergasted at the amount of snow in southern IL and St. Louis area. We had nothing on the ground up here. Returned home Wednesday rather than sit all day in an ICU waiting room and heard he was going to be weaned off life support today a bit at a time. So, finally able to breathe and concentrate on other things. Look forward to catching up on your posts of the past week.
Take care and stay safe. Hope the electricity stays on and your furnace continues working. I hear frigid temps are on the way after the snow.
K.
I’m sorry to hear about your brother – sending wishes for his recovery.
Thanks, Kay.
to kay …
same from me … prayers for your brother, rest of your family and you. take care.
kathy in iowa
Here also, Kay. Keeping you in my thoughts…
Thank you all.
Claudia, next time I’m in London, I’m definitely visiting John Sandoe. I didn’t get to Chelsea this past summer and it’s on my list of more London areas to show my daughters. The drawing of the bookshop reminds me of the one I visited in Bath. Similar windows in the front, many many small rooms and narrow staircases. Tables with heaps of books. After a week of intense rain, I’m looking forward to a week of sunshine. I’m attending Little Women, an opera, this weekend, put on by the local opera company. Seeing/hearing one of my favorite books set to opera will hopefully be very enjoyable.
Have a good time, Wendy!
I just knew you would want to frame that outer wrapping as soon as I saw it. We also only got 5 inches or so here too….with a deep freeze coming. Hope the oil has arrived. And…I really hope you don’t get 12 inches plus ice…that’s adding insult to injury.
You’ve got a new book to read…stay warm! ;)
Looks like we are going to get that much plus sleet and freezing rain.
My frist though also was 84, Charing Cross Rd. :-) The bookstore illustration is lovely, and what an exquisite book cover. Do let us know how you like this book.
I live south of Boston; may we all be safe and warm when the storm arrives.
Stay safe, Janice!
Of course you are going to frame it. I would too! Or maybe it would become a mural for some future miniature project — I could see that, too! Just getting the package would be exciting enough but to have the perfect label makes it better. We with passions for book, paper, packaging and England totally get that!
We are getting our first Michigan snow — so far about three or four inches. Don’t know if this is the one headed your way but wishing you well with the power. It’s pot pie night tonight. Pot pie, glass of wine, “Grace and Frankie.” I’m no winter fan but winter nights can be quite nice!
We’re getting snow now. It’s going to be a doozy. We started Grace and Frankie last night. So glad it’s back!
That book looks lovely. Just the right thing to cheer one up while waiting for a snow storm. Enjoy the book.
Marilyn
I will. Stay safe and warm, Marilyn!
What fun it must have been opening that wonderful package!…I watched Bird Box on Netflix yesterday and have to tell you that it kept me on the edge of my seat!…Great cast and Sandra Bullock was awesome as always!!
Isn’t it great? Sandra Bullock was wonderfully fierce!
I learned to do framing acid free in order to save some of our precious pictures. Some of them had been done wrong. We have a few from Paris that we would not want damaged. Also I saved a few original watercolors from awful framing jobs. One has a partially done watercolor on the back that looks like it was meant to be Judy Dench!!
xo
So glad London came calling just in time for you to savor the pleasures in the calm before the storm. I hope your power stays on. Snow is hard to deal with, but ice is a real problem in terms of power, especially as the temps are going to be so low. If your friends have a fireplace, I hope you can get to their place to wait it out. Keeping you in good thoughts!
Ice is very scary. We got sleet, but we haven’t been outside yet to assess the situation. Thanks, Nora!
I want that book, if only for the cover. I am ordering right now. I have been lucky many times by finding old frames to repurpose with new art. I framed a number of pieces last soummer and the prices! Do you know if Michaels does good work? I see a lot of coupons for framing there.
I had something framed at Michael’s a few years ago, and I’ve had some other things framed there. Yes, they do good work.