I’m having another Bisy Backson weekend.
My brother is back(son) and we’re spending this weekend sorting out books (at The House) to sell separately to an antiquarian bookshop in town which specializes in books on local history. Our parents and grandparents had A LOT of that kind…
On and off all the decisions we have to make about things (and books) feels a bit like a counting-out game. When I tried to think of an English one it was Hickory Dickory Dock that came to mind.
Image from Wikipedia
Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock
We have a nonsense-one in Sweden that runs pretty much in the same rhythm (the words have no meaning so are not really Swedish)
Ole, dole, doff
Kinke, lane, koff
Koffe, lane,
binke, bane
Ole, dole, doff!
i wondered where you are.. now we know. i like the clock in The House and love that clock from Wiki... that hickory dickory dock will be in my head for days now. a common ditty from my child hood... good luck with your book sales, and if you have a lot left over you can create tables out of them, see ginny's post for details...
ReplyDeleteI sympathize with you. When my parents died, it was hard to go through all their stuff and assign new homes for their treasured items. I found it difficult to discard things that they had collected over the years.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on Hickory Dickory Dock, but I also like your Ole, dole, doff.
I always liked this nursery rhyme. You have gotten this room marvelously organized!!
ReplyDeleteWant to hear a German nonsense one? The words really don't mean anything, until the end, where it is about counting someone out:
ReplyDeleteEne mene
dubbe dene
dubbe dene dalia
ebbe bebbe bembio
bio-bio buff
Buff ist kein Wort und Du bist fort
Fort bist Du noch lange nicht
[and then follows a sentence I have, sadly, forgotten but which ends on "spricht"]
Funny isn't it how sometimes things like that just pop up in one's head triggered by "whatever". It's probably been decades since I even heard one of those counting games. I think Hickory Dickory Dock is the title of an Agatha Christie novel though so that's probably where I know that from. Even if I haven't read that one recently either!
DeleteJust a quick question. How do you make your header smaller in the blog? if you look on my blog for huntervalleyliving it is huge. I can't find how to make it smaller.Thanks.
ReplyDeleteRose-Anne I can't recall doing anything at all, except that I usually crop my header image to oblong shape (not too "high") and sometimes frame it. Maybe you have to do some adjustment in your template? (Design-Template-Customize-Adjust widths) I have my 'entire blog' set on 1000 px but I don't remember if I adjusted that manually or just followed the original template. This link suggests that headers should adjust automatically according to template: http://www.ehow.com/info_8784860_blogger-header-sizes.html
DeleteI know that it's a time of mixed emotions Monica but I do find going through books fascinating even if they are not 'my sort' of books. Mind you local history books presumably draw you in some of the time at least. It's not just books either is it? One of the drawers in my Uncle's roll-top desk that I have in my living room and use daily has a drawer still filled with his odds and ends exactly as they were when he died and although I occasionally look through the drawer and even use some of the things in it I find it I've still not changed it.
ReplyDeleteOh yes GB, that's one of the aspects which makes it tough. On the one hand Per & I seriously need to just get rid of most things (and books) - as neither of us has any space to spare in our own homes. But on the other hand there are so many memories stirred up by going through everything. Actually some of the hardest descisions have to do with pieces that one is pretty sure won't be worth anything to people who don't also have the memories.
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