a pseudo remedy for winter. part one: books

I love this city. Everytime I take the train over the Manhattan Bridge and I can't help but stare at the river and dowtown. The interesting thing is that most people do this on the N train between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Looking at the city from a distance, when the busy streets and sidewalks seem orderly and beautiful never gets old, tourists and locals alike. But the busyness and constant change and motion can be wearing when you are in the midst of it; especially when it's winter and it's rare to enjoy a moment outside.

Despite the two windows I have in my bedroom now, this winter has been like all the others: I am angst ridden most of the time because I cannot change the weather. I just have to endure it, and doing so inside a little apartment (although it is my biggest so far) can make me go crazy. So this winter I've tried to deal with my lack of weather control by controlling what I can: the design of my apartment.

The only snafu has been that New York rent combined with a teacher's salary doesn't leave much of a budget. My remedy has been to create little corners around my apartment that make me happy. I organized the shelves of my bookcase all differently, but all following a vague color scheme. This is new for me, as previously I loved the look of books following no order, overflowing. But the lack of order stressed me out. I found new places for the overflow. Here are some of them (i apologize for the sideways ones. Haven't figured out how to not do that on blogger) :