Browsers bookstore... a new family hangout

The boys are now old enough to go out to restaurants for a meal without reducing me to tears, so it has become the new incentive for good behaviour. This usually means a trip into Hamilton, our closest town,(God, that makes me sound like a country hick!) in the evening. Both kids rarely go into town and frankly, that's fine with me. But a town at night?! The lights, the sounds, the sights...now THAT is a different story! That becomes education!
After dinner we go for a walk along Victoria street and the boys get to see a whole different side of life...pavement diners, smokers outside bars, bouncers at nightclub doors, restaurant touts,graffiti on almost every surface possible,completely inappropriately dressed girls and the boys who trail after them...it is a whole gamut of experience.They love it ...and then we came to a bookstore called,Browsers. It is a second hand bookstore...but a wonderful second hand bookstore! No Mills and Boon here, just floor to ceiling books of all sorts but mostly, just interesting. It is open late and attracts those , like us, who love a browse and a book after dinner. The wooden floors, bowing shelves and books stacked on every possible surface , every which way, the art deco armchairs for serious browsers, the cardboard boxes of pot-luck books, the mustiness of ink and paper, the door disguised as a bookcase(a thrilling discovery for the boys) and impeccable taste in music(they were playing The National album, High Violet, a recent  discovery) all add to the wonderful ambiance...but I never thought it would become a favourite of the boys! It took me an hour to get them out of there...and $50 worth of books!  I took some reference photos to paint, which I have done. I shall do more and simplify them.

                                                             Charles,mid-browse

                              They had a big red rocket book stand for the Tintin books...we coveted it! It was a paint to paint! All that detail needs to be simple.

                                                 

This is Julius, leaning on Lucien, as they peruse books. They stood like this for about 10 minutes. So sweet.

And then this is a little something I did as a experiment. Daisies in the grass.

Hurry up, Spring! I need some warmth!