Pottering along.

A pleasantly social week so far. I caught up with J over wine and nibbles Tuesday and with K last eve. The first mentioned is much as usual, back at work after an operation on her inner ear and planning a trip to Mexico in the autumn. She works as a sort of concierge to a block of retirement home flats she calls 'Happy Valley'. K has a new addition to her household, a very pretty young cat. Perhaps it was the cat's witchy presence that caused us to have a slightly hysterical evening; the grilled salmon got dropped on the floor (very useful for puss) and I spilled a whole cup of coffee over a beautiful pale bue tablecloth. Apart from - or maybe because of - all that we had fun.

In the shop there have been a few tourists and one elderly gentleman who browsed long and intently the Scottish stock, raising my hopes for a sale but spending a modest £3.50 eventually. He was good value in other ways though, jovially telling me of the falsehoods in some of the accepted local source-books. He is an historian of some note it seems and amused by local councils (Perth was mentioned) who ignore the facts in order to have centenial anniversaries when it suits their calendar rather than when they should arise.

On the whole I am thanking the Overlighting Ones it's Friday and looking forward to visiting the car boot and indoor mart in Elgin tomorrow to scare up some stock. If I'm going to keep this shop going again I'll have to make an effort. I had one very nice surprise. In a 'what's on' publication for the Grampian area there is a page of advertisements for the other secondhand bookshops in the area (the ones who weren't planning to close this year) and there is my shop too, appearing as a recommended 'small but perfectly formed' place to visit - all for free!! That seldom happens. They say the owners (sic) have a good sense of humour, which I hope all my regulars, who laterly might have found me a bit on the surly side, will believe.

I'm deep into the first Stieg Larsson now. Very absorbing. Not sure what it says about me but I can take the sexual violence (as mentioned by Chillsider) in the context of the tale without it doing more than make me shudder, as of course it should.