Rabelais (“fine books on food and drink”) is moving to Biddeford.* I am happy for them that they are finding a bigger space and will get to showcase more of their really special rare books. You can read that as I am happy for them in the way that your boss is happy for you that you found a great new job elsewhere (assuming you’re a good employee, which I’m sure you are). I am sort of happy for them but mostly not happy for me. I’m like, 20% happy for them and 80% sad for me. Dave points out that this will probably be much cheaper for them, moving to Biddeford. Dave is a kind person who would probably be 50% happy for an employee moving on to greener pastures and only 50% sad for himself.

They will be in Portland through the holiday season and then they’ll be moving to a space in the North Dam Mills. According to the blurb in their e-newsletter, their focus will also shift more towards their rare and antiquarian books, imports, and really special American releases.

I can’t really complain (except that I just did!), because I might be moving, too! Not out of Portland, please, but to a slightly more suburban part of Portland. Cashew will have so many squirrels to bark at and corners to sniff and doors to push open because he cannot countenance a closed door in his house. We will have a second floor! And a small yard! And so much house maintenance, oh my lord, and also a whole lot less money. There is cold storage off the kitchen. We have talked about getting a deep freezer for the basement. In other words, when the zombie apocalypse arrives, you can come to my house where we’ll be eating sauerkraut, dilly beans, cooking meat on the grill,** and shooting approaching zombies from the upstairs windows.

We’ll have a grill! I like grilling at the state parks, but honestly, I don’t always super love hauling a cooler of raw meat around.

So, exciting stuff all around.

* For those of you not familiar with Maine geography, Biddeford is a town about 20 minutes outside of Portland. It is like moving from Boston to Malden. Or from New York to…I dunno…Long Island City? I’m not sure. I don’t think it works if you compare it to New York. Biddeford has some beautiful old mill buildings and a little bit of a drug problem.

** Depending on when you arrive, the meat might be squirrel. Don’t worry, my Joy of Cooking has a handy diagram for skinning and preparing squirrel.