Cooks Books

We had the privilege of being guests at a dinner at the home of  a couple with the perfect troika of taste, talent and resources to make life appear effortless. Their home was efficient and clearly divided into family space and well used entertaining space.  Everywhere you turned in the this jewel box of a house you'd say to yourself, "why didn't I think of that?" or "we could do that", but you'd never be so gauche as to take a photo and in the morning the memory of joy had the evening before is all that fills your fuzzy head.

What I clearly recall is the family room, the mainstay of the entertaining space.  I was gobsmacked by their bookshelves.  The family room bookshelves were filled, floor to ceiling with cook books.  Not simply with recipe books, but with what I refer to as cooking books and eating books.  The Joy of Cooking is a cooking book, Eating by Jason Epstein is an eating book. Memoirs, reviews, nostalgia, culinary history as well as travelogues  count as eating books. My bride prefers one sort I the other, especially that rare combination platter served by an author who who can mix his metaphors and provide both under one cover.  The unexpected informality was not only whimsical but incredibly comforting. "We'll do that in our next space" I thought.

Our new home was a blank canvas without hint of where to store a tome.  I'd sit in empty rooms and imagine bookshelves here or perhaps there aping our friends inviting room.  Daydreaming was followed by sorting through captured photos of book rooms, book shelves, book cases and stacks and stores offering guidance and inspiration.  Small spaces need storage everywhere you can fit it, but must also look good . This project needed decisions quickly in order to build before the furniture arrived.

The carpenter's secret to building bookshelves is found in resell it shops or Habitat for Humanity's resale emporiums.  Look closely, most use bathroom vanities or kitchen cabinetry for their base.

It's cheap, easy to do and it works. Now we need to fill 'er up.

Toad

Mayberry and The Park

Let's get acquainted shall we?



Let me tell you a bit about Mayberry. Mayberry lies on the the eastern shore of the Missouri River, just a few miles, as the crow flies, from where the Big Muddy, meets the Mighty Mississippi.





It's principal claim to fame is that it is home to America's largest strip mall, and has the hubris to believe that its levees will survive the 500 year flood, that comes every 15 years or so.





Its a pretty nice place to live, and some 32,000 people call it home. The crime rate is low, but the police force is self funding.





Mrs T and I live just about in the geographic center of town. A mile to the grocery store, post office, gym, doctors office, schools and good restaurants.





Like many outer suburbs Mayberry happened almost overnight. I recall coming here 50 years or so ago to visit two of my father's aunts. These two old gals handbuilt homes side by side in the 1930's. Their houses still stand today along side a highway exit. As a kid it was an hour drive from home. Today with road improvements that would be 20 minutes tops.





Our homestead, The Park, is a product of a time long before anyone considered actually living in Mayberry. The Park was built in the waning days of the Eisenhauer administration by a family that was self reliant and wanted to get away from the crowds of the big city. The original house is a fairly small 4 over 4 southern colonial style brick pile built in the middle of the woods. It is solid, the walls are concrete, floors are oak. It has since been added to several times to meet the needs of its owners, but it still feels like the snug old farmhouse it originally was. It was also sited very well. While in the center of the community that developed around it, The Park is a million miles from anywhere.



When the trees are in leaf, you cannot see another house, hear road noise, or the screeching horns sirens and kids you hear in the city While we do share a drive with two neigbors, our nearest physical neighbor's house is a 2 + mile drive away.





As much as I adore this place I have several complaints. We live in the woods. Gardening is tough when you get very little direct sunlight during the day. Also due to our wooded location when the leaves drop in the fall, the volume of leaves to deal with is almost biblical. I have tried offering them for barter and selling them on EBAY but to no avial.

Soon I tell you about my other complaint, white tailed deer.





Be well.





Toad