magazine solutions

 I made out very well at the thrift stores on Thursday. An off white flat sheet, brown velvet scarf, wood desk organizer, a little mason jar - I never pass those up - an oval mirror with an eagle on the top, rather Federal-looking, and sturdy basket.

This is a figure eight shape, if I can call it that. It looks the same on the back as here on this side. I have three years worth of Country Living (British edition), and some Organic Gardening, Mother Earth Living and Country Gardens which were withdrawn from the library. I thought if I took out the issues pertinent to the season, I'd make better use of them; no sense keeping things unless you can benefit from them. So I put them out, along with a few Tasha Tudor books in a bag on my floor. It didn't look very well. I decided a tall basket was what I needed, but at Goodwill this one caught my eye. Could it be more perfect? The magazines curve into the sides and the books fit in the middle! It looks so orderly and... intentional. I'm working on organizing my desk area now.

About the Country Living - I had a subscription through the publisher, Hearst. Several months ago I noticed that I'd missed a couple of issues; this wasn't always easy to be sure of, since it was coming across the ocean and was often late anyway. I didn't want to claim a missed issue and then receive two because the original was just later than usual. Anyway, I finally thought to look at my account online and discovered it had been cancelled! I emailed, and they told me CL wasn't shipping overseas anymore. This was painful for me, since I love it so much. (an uncharacteristic lack of communication) Anyway, I immediately checked Amazon and they were still offering it! So, I quickly subscribed there. But after a few months they also ended it. 

I can't say I blame them. Since COVID, mail delivery isn't what it was. (Have you noticed that?) They were probably losing money over lost issues which needed replacing. So, I'm going to reuse my old ones until I've exhausted their usefulness. And I actually can see the current issues of it online, with Libby, which is free through the library.