Shirley Mills: MAKING A BOOKSTORE IN A SMALL TOWN

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 03:09:41 GMT

FINISHED...

Took these photos just before leaving the shop tonight, ahead of the second wave of snow. Yesterday's drifts had melted in town by midafternoon, but I still needed to turn the hubs and make my way back to the Old Same Place in 4-wheel-drive. Brought home hay, finally, for the hungry llamas. They galloped down off the hillside in the dark to chow down. They were down to a heap of crumbs early this morning when I took down the teakettles of hot water to their frozen trough and gave them their oat ration. Running all the necessary errands and keeping the shop open and getting home to the animals before late is a challenge. Plus, if there's any chance of precip, anything I have to haul—books, say—won't get hauled if I have to get out in 4WD, because I have no cover for the pickup bed. Tomorrow, though, I'll fetch more big heavy-duty garbage bags. I can seal book boxes up in the bags and haul them that way. I was remarking to a friend yesterday that I haven't had a lot to say here since turning capitalist. He allowed as how he'd noticed. Really, though, the problem is mostly coordinating computers. Now that I have the new operating system on the big blogging computer, I imagine I'll schlep it back to the shop the first sunny day and set it up again as a server. The crippling exhaustion of the month past finally has been displaced by garden-variety tiredness, and not too much of that. Today was a great day in the store. It seems the first wave of customers, in the earliest weeks I was open, were folks used to libraries, thrift stores, yard sales, and free boxes, and the prices scared them off. The next wave was the urbanized younger folks, Barnes & Noble-ites who smirked a lot at my miniscule inventory. Now, though, I've been discovered by the book people. I was so heartened today. One person after another opened that door and exclaimed: "At last! A bookstore!"; "How long has this been here?!" "Wow!" and one woman, leaving: "Please, please don't go away!" A businessman told me I was doing everything just right! And I sold lots of books. And I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Sat, 19 Nov 2005 23:21:10 GMT

WHAT WE'RE DOING ALL DAY TODAY...

And probably tomorrow and the day after that. New shelving. Chaos. All the books out and then back again:

I've planned a walkabout for morning tomorrow, though. I'll bring some pictures back with me. Feral's been feeling a little claustrophobic since all this store business got started.

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 17:35:26 GMT

SON JESSE ON OPENING DAY...
Taking time off from his job pricing books in a used book store to come here and price books in a used book store.

Door logo detail:

Wed, 02 Nov 2005 19:53:49 GMT

FIRST SALE:
Indian Wars of the West (hb, 1954), $3.50. Shall I frame my first fiver?

Sun, 30 Oct 2005 02:04:49 GMT

WE BEGIN FILLING IN THE GAPS... Two views through the windows, and one from just inside the door.

Fri, 28 Oct 2005 22:05:39 GMT

SO FAR...

A little lean, but with potential. Photos represent a left-to-rightward arc.

>

Sun, 23 Oct 2005 22:53:09 GMT

GET ACQUAINTED WITH THE TOWN We stop on Hwy. 299 to photograph Alturas through autumn haze:

The awful truth (junction of 299 and 395):

Exterior remediation issues:

Ta-da!

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 19:09:43 GMT

When the bank account bit the dust on Tuesday so did we, and we kept on going, burrowing in for the duration. We may not drive out again until payday. My ability to plan based on my shaky grasp of arithmetic—never my strong suit—is totally out the window in our present circumstances, given the current cost of fuel and the need to transport ourselves and our shelves and books and implements of construction across great empty distances as we travel from home to town to mailbox in another town and home again. I'm doing everything possible to find a house in Alturas (the town where the store is), and soon I'll close the P.O. box in Davis Creek, and then gasoline won't be a consideration. Meanwhile, it occurred to me in the night that today is the 21st of October and November 2 is, what, ten or eleven days off. I lost my ability to sleep. I've had to pull Brian from the program for two weeks, both because I can't take him there every day and because I can't do this alone. Having my brother-partner-assistant-aide there every day (I'd originally asked he enter Nov. 1, but they sort of insisted on October, and I caved) meant I had to wait for weekends to move stuff, which meant extra trips, which meant extra fuel, and around and around. Hence, the hunkering. Today the truck is full up with stuff and waiting. I'll call Erika down at the post office to see whether my paycheck came in. If so, we'll light out. If not, we'll light out anyway. I have a smidge of gas in the lawnmower can that may give us another round trip. I have to reach a post office to mail books that people have bought from me online, and Brian's thyroid prescription has run out, so one way or the other we're out of here. The issue of time: I'm not sure shelf-painting will happen. I'll have to do my own window lettering because the person I'd hired for it came up with a sort of lame proposal and then went on vacation out of town for two weeks, but I have a good idea about how I can make it look very professional myself. I still have to buy paint for the toothpaste wall, and more paint for the exterior. Repair the sale shelf and buy and install good casters so I can wheel it in and out the door every day. And because the gentleman who offered the excellent free carpeting also has gone on vacation for two weeks, I'll have to buy carpet for the back room after all. Oy Oy Oy The important thing is to keep moving and not think too much. That way the momentum itself can make everything happen. Blessings to all. Photos to follow.

Sat, 08 Oct 2005 23:08:41 GMT

MAKING A BOOKSTORE, PART 2 First, the "teal."

Oh, I don't think so... THIS COLOR WILL NOT BE USED. I show it here only to share its evil hideousness. We try something different:

The back room as yet unimagined:

The inevitable unfortunate bathroom, out back, shared by all the shopowners. It is not particularly insulated:

I fear our leader's glorious visage was pushpinned there with unintended irony. (There's just no escaping the watchful eyes of BB...)

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 22:43:18 GMT

GOLDEN EGG BOOKS--IN PROGRESS, PART ONE From the front: Partner Brian helps clean up the back room: First load of shelves arrives: We're down the street from the Calico Cow clothing store: And across the street from this... (Needed: a little boost in civic self-esteem)