Saturday Mr. Lorna took me out to lunch at the Sherwood Inn in beautiful Skaneateles, NY. It's a picturesque little village on the shores of Skaneateles Lake. Although it was a dull, gray day, we still had a good time, and a lovely meal. (I had the wonderful potato-leek soup, and then the ham, swiss cheese and leek quiche. Divine!)While wandering around the village, we visited the local bookstore (all the books were face out. Hmmm), were disappointed to see that the ice cream shop was gone, as was the Christmas store (unless they moved way down the block). But the little thrift shop in the basement of a huge old home (now a real estate office) was still there, and of course I had to buy something. In fact, I bought three things. The first two were Syracuse China (restaurant china) soup cups. And as I was waiting to check out, something else caught my eye.
A gold ball.
I don't know what made me grab it. Maybe it was the price: $1.25. I'd considered buying witch balls before, but was always put off by the expensive (to this junker--$10+) prices. So when I saw this little beauty, I just had to have it.Later that evening, we were watching Star Trek Voyager. A very nasty virus had contaminated the ship and Captain Janeway stripped down to her skivvies and was blasting them with a phaser rifle. (Go, Kathryn!)
While we were watching, I'd taken the gold ball out of the bag and was rolling it around on the couch (which is a bit difficult as it's weighted--probably so it doesn't roll away). Captain Janeway had just blasted one of the aliens when Mr. Lorna says: "I'll bet there's an alien squirreled away in that gold ball."
Oh, dear. My lovely new toy might be a sinister death trap!
Suddenly I had a terrible decision to make: should I toss it in the trash and hope that when the aliens emerged they'd do it at the landfill, or should I be brave and hope to battle it out with them myself--sans phaser rifle.
Instead, I put it on my shelf and admire it's beauty whenever I walk by.
(But I'm still watching--just in case it does explode with a bunch of alien critters bent on destruction. Can't be too careful, you know.)
Did you see your books in the bookstore?
ReplyDeleteWhat's a witch ball?
The ball reminds me of the movie "Hellraiser" when the villian's ball-face came apart like puzzle pieces.
I love your excursions because I get to visit vicariously through you, small towns in NY.
Have a good Wednesday.
Sadly, my books were not at the store. Nor were any other cozy authors' books. The closest were copies of Hank Phillipi Ryan's books, and that's only because she did a signing there earlier this year. Because every book was face out, I fear this store won't be in business much longer.
ReplyDeleteDru, check out the wikipedia entry on witch balls:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_ball
I love to go junking. Of course, the sales are winding down this time of year, so I was happy to find something in the thrift store.
I will certainly be hoping no macro viruses pop out of your gold ball. :) Don't you just love Voyager? I just finished watching all 7 seasons last weekend for the first. I have no idea why I didn't do that while they were on TV. I guess I was too sad after Next Gen went off.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Lorna. Cool!
ReplyDeleteMy husband's favorite gift I have ever given him is the entire boxed set of every season of Voyager. I got it from Dealsnet.com for a great price. He loves Janeway. I collect witchballs. My favorite are the beautiful clear red glass balls. As for your gold ball just do a tricorder scan of it to see internal contents and then transport any stowaways off ship. Keep on writing.
ReplyDeleteI used to work at that book store in Skaneateles! They combined the books in with the coffee shop now (rent was two high for both sides of the building) and now it looks like they have a lot more inventory.
ReplyDeleteI realize I have four years late on commenting on this...but loved seeing it! I live in Auburn and regularly go to Skaneateles.