Today was a good day to stay inside and write. Gray and wet with no rain, but a persistent mist that left drops on the windows and turned our street into a blurred silver ribbon. I only went out to make my weekly visit to Acorn and Aaben, returning with an armload of books on San Francisco. I believe I’ve spent over $100 on books this week.

My days of buying armloads of books are behind me because I’ve reached the stage of life where buying a book means giving one up. There is simply no more space here. Some of those I brought home that day are undoubtedly lurking around here in the shadows, either on a shelf or packed in a box.

Acorn and Aaben are no more. Acorn’s space is now a boxing gym. Aaben was a carpet store and is now empty. The only bookstore left in our neighborhood is Russian Hill Books, now a legacy business.