Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Eric Carle's sloth is pretty much my spirit animal these days. I am in week 3 at the new library--I've yet to cook up a code name for it--and feel like I am slowly, painfully slowly getting things. I am still struggling with learning how to do all of the finance work, as I had a F.O. at my last job. Last week I met up with local directors and felt a little better hearing about similar concerns, but a little worse when they kept saying words and IL acronyms that I did not understand! Oh, Ohio libraries how I miss you so. I miss a lot of things in fact. I miss my Youth Services Coordinator, PrairieDawn, and our friendship and shared jokes after years of working closely and sharing an office. I miss some of my old staff. I miss my old regular patrons. And sometimes when ChicagoBoy does things that frustrate me--I mean come on, the dirty laundry bin is RIGHT THERE!!! WHY IS YOUR DIRTY UNDERWEAR ON THE FLOOR--I miss my old single life a little bit too. I came to IL to be wit...

No one at the Farm has had as much impact on my music-cation as TSO . He introduced me to all of the bands/artists listed below, and who knows who all else. Today as I am preparing to leave I am thinking back to my summer in grad school; TSO came for a visit that took us up for a long weekend around Traverse City, hiking Sleeping Bear Dunes, and all the way back to Detroit for a Ben Gibbard concert. How different our lives are 7.5 years later. Thanks TSO for all of these folks: The Postal Service Ben Gibbard Death Cab for Cutie She & Him Fleet Foxes Blitzen Trapper Dar Williams Gillian Welch Ingrid Michaelson Iron & Wine Madeline Peyroux Matt Nathanson Damien Rice MIKA Nickel Creek Regina Spektor Rufus Wainwright Sufjan Stevens

For a while B1 & B2 were living in the Buffalo area, which put them about 1/2 way between me and the Farm, and made for a couple visits and a memorable New Years Eve carpool to the Farm. On one visit B1 & B2 introduced me to Joe Purdy (some of his music was featured on Gray's Anatomy). Kinda forgot about him until just now, totally ordering some of his music when I get back to work!

I have never met someone who loved Bob Dylan as much as ValleyGirl. A year or two younger than me, I always thought of ValleyGirl as an old soul. When we met I hated Bob Dylan, hated hated hated, until one day something got into me and I liked him...a little bit, at least.  And while I will NEVER be in love with him the way she is, I will always have a soft spot for certain Dylan tracks, this one in particular. I can't help but picture ValleyGirl simultaneously strumming her guitar, playing harmonica, and singing "Oh Sister."  

Many are the gifts of Farmers. Wayne, the head of the Farm department, always mystified me with his ability to rattle off stanzas on command. Filthily clad in jeans and flannel, gnarled hands, smelling like cows and manure or haying season, Wayne would show up for breakfast--always late--and occasionally surprise everyone with a poem or two. I didn't even know Updike wrote poetry until Wayne shared this:  "Hoeing" I sometimes fear the younger generation will be deprived   of the pleasures of hoeing;   there is no knowing how many souls have been formed by this simple exercise. The dry earth like a great scab breaks, revealing   moist-dark loam--   the pea-root's home, a fertile wound perpetually healing. How neatly the green weeds go under!   The blade chops the earth new.   Ignorant the wise boy who has never rendered thus the world fecunder. --John Updike  

My Farm housemates and I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia aloud, something I'd never managed to read all the way through in my childhood, and I absolutely fell in love with the series, and particularly with Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Writing about Eustace Scrub on New Years Day feels right, because if ever anyone needed a new beginning, it was Eustace Scrubb . This passage is about Eustace, who, through his greed, was turned into a dragon and was unable to return to his human form. “Then the lion said - but I don't know if it spoke – ‘You will have to let me undress you.’ I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it. “The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the p...

Amos, TSO, B1, and I all lived together in a big old Farmhouse for a while, and though we had our moments, I think we all loved it. When Amos left us for American University in D.C. I think we were all a little heartbroken; Amos made and mailed to us a soundtrack for our time as housemates, and 10 years later I still listen to that playlist. One of my favorite songs, and the one that always makes me think of driving home to the Farm is Aimee Mann & Michael Penn's take on The Beatles, "Two of Us." Enjoy! And Happy New Year! Hope you all are with the ones you love.

I was introduced to so much stuff when I lived at the Farm; this amazing 5 years of my life where pop culture fell away and I was stuffed with things I'd not yet really experienced: folk music, scores of poets off the beaten track, novels I'd never heard of. I'd like to pretend that I didn't fight it tooth and nail at first, but eventually, it started to stick... And now I miss those days of sitting around and reading poetry aloud, or listening to a song with a friend and really hearing it. So, in honor of my Farm-cation (Farm education) I will post things I met and fell in love with when I was living in New England, over this next week while I'm at the Farm. I head out for my 11 hour roadtrip tonight, so will begin today. Thank you, B1 for Sharon Olds: "I Go Back to May 1937" I see them standing at the formal gates of their colleges, I see my father strolling out under the ochre sandstone arch, the    red tiles glinting like...

Sighing with relief this morning, for many reasons: My friend Ian , from back in my Farm days, stopped by last night en route to Minnesota. It was wonderful to share a meal and introduce him to the TV show, Arrow, my new love. I love love love seeing Farm friends and am always so glad when anyone is able to pop in. I am ALMOST to vacation! I work 8a.m.-8p.m. tomorrow, then get in the car and head to Massachusetts and the Farm for a week with my dear friends there! I've offered our open position to someone. And I gotta say I loved her response when I called her, "I will take 24 hours to meditate on this and will give you my answer tomorrow." Like how badass is that? I'm more the spazzy, "YES!!" shouter when offered jobs. Glad the decision is made, bummed I didn't have 3 positions, as there are two other folks I think would do great too. Maybe next year! And since I was working on hiring, etc., found this nice rejection letter from the Society of Huma...

I've been so busy busy busy! Furniture finally delivered to the new house this weekend; new bed ordered--a queen! I've been sleeping in a twin for the last couple years since my apartment stairways were too small!--and Hemmy is adjusting well. Library's been busy too: Santa, Gingerbread houses, seasonal crafts, and Christmas storytimes galore! Job posted for a new Circ person. Ugh ugh ughing the interviews to come. Since I don't have much time to write today, thought I would copy and paste an old post from 2007: I never liked holidays growing up--there was always something--I will leave it at that. When I lived out East at the farm I stayed there for every single holiday for nearly three years, absorbing some of the farms traditions; and then continued to go back for some of the holidays even after moving back to Michigan [and now to Ohio]. To avoid being too much of a Grinch I will share 14 things to do to make Christmastime fun... 1. Make pinecone bird feed...

Feeling truly blessed today. Nobody wants to work on their birthday, but today has been a blast, and yes, I have gotten very little done. My staff surprised me with a cake My dear friend Liz sent me a stunning bouquet of flowers Mom, Prairie Dawn, and I went to one of my fav restaurants in Sticks for lunch Two of my favorite kiddos surprised me a homemade card and chocolate chip cookies And I get to be dressed in costume (one of my favorite things to do!) because Sticks Trick o' Treat Night is tonight and our FRIENDS group throws a huge party for kids passing through Feeling so grateful, grateful, grateful today; thankful for a job I love, folks who care about me, and health and happiness to appreciate every day of this grand life! Part of the card the kids made for me Part of the card the kids made for me

Ben, Beth, Everett Ben carrying my niece through one of the small caves. My niece had a huge crush on Ben, asking him to carry her through the park. She has good taste--Ben's a gem. My brother A3's family: Alex (8mos), Dayna, A3, Savannah Our weekend away was lovely. I took a half day on Friday and after 3 hours of fall colors alongside the roads meandering south and east, I wound up at the house we were renting. Right around the time I finished unloading my car and stowing all the food in the fridge, A3 and company were pulling up, followed 5 minutes later by Beth, Ben, and Everett, who'd traveled from the Farm in Massachusetts.  The weekend was typical Midwest fall: colorful, blustery, rainy at times, perfect for being snuggly tucked away in a lovely house with friends and family. We were able to find a pocket of time when it wasn't raining and headed to Hocking Hills for a couple hours of camping. The kids were EXCELLENT the whol...

By the time you're reading this I will be on the open road, heading northeast for a weekend I've been looking forward to for about 6 months! My brother A3, sister-in-law Dayna, and niece and nephew, and friends Beth & Beth and their baby Everett and I have rented a house for the weekend near Hocking Hills State Park . So excited to see my dear friends and meet their new baby! So excited for lots of laughs, shared meals, time with people I love, hiking, and fall colors! What are you doing this weekend?

So, I fell in love with Berlin and can't promise that I won't be going back there for more. The " free tour ," we found--which winds up being free, with you paying what you feel the tour was worth at the end--was amazing! I would definitely recommend this tour company (New Berlin Tours), but be advised that you should go online the night before and register, so you have a spot when you show up. There were over 100 people at the meeting place when we showed up and they split us into groups of roughly 25, those who hadn't registered weren't guaranteed a spot. Our group had this wonderful tour guide named Alexander "Zabi," a half German, half Englishman; a fascinating fellow who knew his history (and could have been James McAvoy's cousin!), and who loved to tell the most fascinating stories (both of the history and the players) of each thing we saw. He was well versed in the history of each place and absolutely interesting as hell! And funny....

Going out of town the last 3 weekends has been lots of helpful practice for when I go to Germany in LESS THAN A MONTH!!! Lots of opportunities for how/what I am going to pack, and what I am now deeming unnecessary. Last year when this was still a pipe dream, Yannick, Magdalena and I were talking about what I'd like to see if I made it to Germany. Me, the ever crazy one blurted out, "EVERYTHING. I want to see as many countries as I can, in the time I have with you." We laughed about this not too long ago, until we got to talking in a Facebook message between the 3 of us where we all agreed that we'd be game for an EPIC roadtrip. I LOVE roadtrips. They are one of my absolute favorite things on the planet. And doing it with some of my friends IN EUROPE! Could my life be any better!?!? So, I read travel books and make half-assed notes in my journal. I shock people when they saw, "So, what are you going to see? Which cities are you going to hit up" to which...

This weekend with Chicago Boy was woooooonderrrrrful and so hard to come back to work from--at least this is only a 3 day week, as I have a 4 day weekend in Michigan coming up Friday! Chicago Boy and I: Skillet apple pie. Tasted a lot better than it looks. :) Went to Lou Malnati's for a pizza celebrating his recent birthday I made him my first homemade apple pie. We loved it and gobbled it up in just over a day with copious amounts of ice cream. I had forgotten my pie pan and since he didn't have one I wound up Googling skillet apple pie recipes--basically the spiced apples in a buttered pan with crust only on top. Hands down DELICIOUS.  Had a Lord of the Rings-a-thon all day Saturday. Staying in pjs and air conditioning on a muggy day was fine by me. Grilled dinner on Saturday Swim practice getting cancelled Sunday morning meant more sleep and making breakfast together A PERFECT Sunday--forecasted rain be damned. We had baby blue skies and puffy clouds for my fir...

Can we just talk about how awesome Maira Kalman's books are?! And her illustrations--which the New York Times referred to as "Matisse-like." HIGH PRAISE INDEED! Just look at her illustrations in Michael Pollan's Food Rules: An Eaters Manual ! I was super excited when I saw her newest: Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Everything because I love love loved her book, especially Looking at Lincoln , and also because I am FASCINATED by Thomas Jefferson. I. Was. Not. Disappointed! Kalman is able to introduce her young readers to her subjects with interesting and insightful information, that she cleverly presents (I love her occasional tongue in cheek comments). And aside from her fun and super duper colorful illustrations, I like that Kalman doesn't gloss over the uncomfortable history (she mentions Sally Hemmings!). I also love that she has a simple and fun way of presenting the text! But don't believe me, just check the book out already!...

This week I had the opportunity to chat with some friends I don't get to talk with as much as we'd like to because, well, life happens; though time passes I feel as close to these folks as I did when we shared jobs, houses, a community. Upon reflecting on my many friendships I decided: There is something so magical about friendships that transcend great distances and years. I have made so many mistakes (and still do) in this life, but my friends cannot be counted among those. Walking out the door to head to Columbus, then Indiana and camping bound. Have a great weekend!

We had 3 babies born within the last 6 months in my inner circle of closest friends: my best friend Kim & Joe had my Goddaughter, Mika on my birthday (October); friends Kate & Chris had Ellie in November; brother A3 and sis-in-law, Dayna had my nephew Alex in February. My sweet Savannah Banana celebrated her 2 nd birthday two weekends back, all of us gathering to celebrate her and all of our babies being together for the first time. It was just too sweet. Lots of little smiles from the girls; lots of passing around Alex, our newest addition and his first time meeting the gang; new parents looking up any time a baby cried, to see who it was, since all of them spent the afternoon not holding their own. Mom is coming down today for Easter weekend with me, though we're going to meet A3, Dayna, and these two for breakfast tomorrow.  Life is good. Protective big sister, Savannah with Alex Savannah and Alex, sweet sibling love

Being at the Farm always reminds me of the gifts of this place. Not just the healing that happens here, but also the amazing people who work here, or just pass through for a spell. I am always awed by the amazing women I've met and now call friends; women who've helped me be a better person, who've made me feel braver and bolder, who've encouraged me to challenge the stereotypes the world can still hold for us, women who serve as role models and sounding boards. There are many gifts in my life because I said yes to this place 11 years ago, but this weekend as we celebrate B1 and her changing life (as she and B2 prepare for their first child), I'm thinking much of the women here.  This  article is great and left me grinning.  "If you are a dreamer come in If you are a dreamer a wisher a liar A hoper a pray-er a magic-bean-buyer If youre a pretender com sit by my fire For we have some flax golden tales to spin Come in!  Come in!" ...