Circle of Life

Now, I'm borrowing the title from a more recent Disney film, but it does tie in to this post. (Kind of)
I just finished reading a 1929 copy of Bambi, by Felix Salten.  This particular volume is the first edition of the book in English. (as translated by Whittaker Chambers).  The original first edition was published in 1923 in Austria, under the title, "Bambi: A Life in the Woods").  If you've never read it, I can recommend that you do so.  Be warned though, except for all the animals talking to each other, it has very, very little in common with the Disney version.  There is no character named Thumper.  There is a "Flower", but she is not a skunk, but a butterfly, and appears only very briefly.  There is not great forest fire, and Bambi's mother (and father) is with him only a very short time.  (As in nature.)  I won't give too much more away, except in this dark version of events, Bambi actually gets shot.  He survives, and later meets a couple of fawns which the text implies (but never actually states), are his children.  While this version was written as a children's book, it is more realistic.   Its worth the read, if for nothing more than perspective on how the passage of time affects family values.  Read and enjoy!

Spinning a Yarn!

Not to blow my own horn.....eh, who am I kidding, I'm tooting it like Satchmo in his prime!  I think its been a good week for the C.H., building up lots of brownie points with my sweetie.  Friday, I went to an estate sale over in Columbus and scored almost 80 skeins of high quality yarn for a really good price (for example, DKW told that three of the skeins usually retailed for $10 each- I paid a buck each.)  Then on Saturday, for no reason other than I wanted to, I got her a beautiful bunch of fresh pink carnations. - And they smell good too!  So my Sweetie is happy, and that makes me happy.

Now, let me back up a bit.  I'm not the yarn afficianado that Debra is, but I do know her tastes and some of the brands she usually purchases.  So I was pretty sure that if I purchased anything, it would be stuff she would like in use.  But I was relieved when I found out "I DID GOOD!".  Not so much what she said, but the smile on her face as she looked over the haul make me think of a delighted child on Christmas morning!  She looked so happy.  Now, once I had secured the yarn and stowed it safely in my car, (priorities - ya know)  I did take time to walk thru the house and secured a couple of items for myself.  I snagged a 1929 edition of "Bambi" in its dust jacket.  Now like most folks, I've seen the Disney movie and even read a Disney-fied version of the book, but I've never read the original, unabridged version of the tale.  Once I finish the library books I have checked out, I look forward to doing just that.  I've heard that while fundamentally the same, the story is much darker than the Disney version.  I also got a big box of cedar discs (various sizes, 6 to 12 inches in diameter).  I can think of all sorts of crafty things to do with them.
And I'm still loving my birthday present.  Got new tires all around and still getting lots of looks driving the "hippie bug" all around Stark-Vegas!
Peace! Out!