Anyway, I found a bookstore in Norwich, finally, but it was closed when I got there. I walked around the building to search for a sign that stated its hours, but no luck. However, I did find a yard sale being held in the same town. The profits were going to be donated to a charity to help kids in third world countries so I thought--fine, I'd go take a look-see. It turned out that someone had emptied out their personal library and had spread the books over the lawn. So you can guess where I spent most of my time at that yard sale.
I also went to a flea market in Quechee. Now that was a lot of junk. Old tools, dirty glassware, china, shiny trinkets, collectible postcards, records, and magazines, antique furniture, street signs, jewelry that needed a good polishing, prints, ancient toys. There was one guy who was selling off his sci-fi books and he informed me that he knew them all and would tell me about them if I asked. And then without prompting, he started a spiel about L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth and how the movie starring John Travolta was so great--you have no idea how hard I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I was half afraid he was going to foist the book on me or start preaching about scientology.
There was an antique mall next to the flea market which I looked through, but I got bored pretty fast. It's one thing to search through bargains so you can bring your find to the next Antiques Roadshow but quite another to hoard shiny things like an old lady with a packrat compulsion. I have no inclination to turn into the latter.
A small food shop was annexed to the antique mall; it primarily sold Vermont produced foods. They had some home made fudge in different flavors for sale. I got a pound (quarter pounds of four different flavors) to try since I didn't remember the last time I had fudge--if ever. When I got home, I cut off a bite sized piece from each flavor to taste. After the third flavor, I felt as sick as a kid who had consumed an entire tub of cotton candy. Fudge is really, really rich and I have my doubts about finishing off my purchase by the end of the year.
