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once I was a gardener

"But now in September the garden has cooled, and with it my possessiveness.  The sun warms my back instead of beating on my head ... The harvest has dwindled, and I have grown apart from the intense midsummer relationship that brought it on." -  Robert Finch  Stumbled upon this quote, and was struck dumb with a sadness I feel for the garden I once had. I love our cozy little condo--we spent so much time during our courtship there; it was a place of refuge when I was tired of library life in Ohio; it's our first home as a married couple. But, our condo has no space for a garden, and this makes me sad.  I think of the hours of time I spent on my knees planting, pulling weeds, picking produce. My garden was often one of the few spots were I went to feel alone in a community of 100 people; the place where I had the silence to day dream. I miss the day dreams dreamed there because the day dreams of 20-something me are so different than those of 30-something me. *sigh*...
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September 11th

I always pause and remember the horror of that day.  I pray for those lost.  I pray more for those who lost loved ones, who continue to move on. I pray for peace. Stumbled across this today and thought I would share.  "I did not see the devil's face at Ground Zero. I saw the face of God in the people working, caring, sweating, crying, rescuing, recovering and being very spiritual in their very humanness." -Franciscan Father Joseph Bayne , chief chaplain of New York's Erie County Emergency Services
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nearly a month and...

Nearly a month ago I wrote about my New Library's problems with: Leaking roof (may be caused by roof windows) Leaking windows Bad door seal, leaking Outside in-ground lights full of water and not working Electrical issues with exterior light programmer Inability to use light switches for a week, due to the fact that the electrician screwed something up when trying to fix the light programmer Dead water softener What's been fixed after a month: Decided to not repair or replace in-ground lighting due to cost, so we've gotten solar powered lights  The water softener computer has been replaced and the unit is up and running. Neat thing I learned, no one has EVER added salt to the water softener, EVER. OMG! Wonder why it's broken!! Still waiting on repairs for everything else. *sigh* 
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glamorous life of a Library Director

I have never owned a home. When I lived at the Farm in New England—what feels like a million years ago, and as many miles away--we were wardens of sorts over our cabins and houses. Problems resulted in written “tickets” to the Maintenance Team, who then resolved the problem. The same can be said of all the apartments and house I’ve rented; a call to the landlord usually resolved the issue (I fortunately always had good landlords, for the most part). ChicagoBoy, the homeowner (I guess that makes me a co-homeowner in a couple months?), is a handyman and a Landlord himself, so much more adept at handling problems. And yet it’s me who is stuck with the mounting challenges of a new building. I’ve gotten good at reading warranties—only one problem has still been under warranty—and getting recommendations for service people. I’m learning the jargon of these people, getting better at home to explain the problems. I’ve dug in. In my first 3 months at the New Library I’ve had, and am ...
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lovely

Stumbled upon this today while searching for "the perfect Walt Whitman quote." So lovely. And Garrison Keillor! Who knew he had it in him... When my body and your body Lie together under a white sheet Your head on my arm Your leg thrown over my leg The whole long continent of you The pale ridgeline of your ribcage and hip and thigh Neighbor to me There is nothing that needs to be explained Or accomplished, the world is at rest and complete And though We drift apart in the eddies of the day We will find our way back To the slight hollows that mark the place Where we lie now, astonished, saying nothing. -Nude Study, by Garrison Keillor, in 77 Love Sonnets
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less than 3 months

You guys, our wedding is just under the 3 months away mark!! This past weekend we: picked out tuxedos for the guys--Vera Wang tuxes!! ChicagoBoy let me choose and they are SMOKING HOT!! ChicagoBoy finally renewed his passport--Scotland and Ireland here we come! I backed up music onto our new 1TB external hard drive to transfer to our home computer, so I can start getting the wedding music for the reception together! This week's wedding goals: Seating chart Quotes about love for the tables--each table is named after an author, so will feature a quote about love by said author Start working on wedding music
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reprieve

Something most libraries/librarians have been watching VERY closely. I can't believe we have to fight so hard to protect our libraries and schools in our country. Sad panda. Colleagues, I’m pleased, but with important cautions, to tell you that all of our collective work to Fight for Libraries! is poised to pay off dramatically. Key parts of the House Appropriations Subcommittee bill that is scheduled to be voted on tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 EDT were released late this afternoon. The bill does NOT cut last year’s funding to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Once final, that would mean no cuts to LSTA in this critical first vote stage! (We’ll know about Innovative Approaches to Literacy tomorrow.  Now the cautions… While unlikely, an amendment could be offered to the bill that changes the IMLS appropriation. In addition, after tomorrow’s vote, there will be at least two further procedural opportunities for the bill to be amended. After the House acts, of ...
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