Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

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 am still amazed and envious at how accessible European countries are to one another! In no time we were leaving Hamburg and Germany behind for flat, lovely southern Denmark. Aside from the Danish signage, much of it looked so much like home. We stopped in Esbjerg , Denmark, which is a seaport town, on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in the southwest part of the country, where we did a little shopping, enjoyed coffee and lunch before paying $415 Danish Krones (about $40Euro) for a ferry that took us and the car over to the island of Fano. Fano , an island in the North Sea off the coast of southwestern Denmark, is the northernmost of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands, and is absolutely gorgeous. The middle of it reminded me of farmy New England, while the sand dunes around the beach (near where we camped) and their neighboring brushy areas looked almost like the southwestern deserts that my brother A3 and I drove past on our roadtrip to California so many years ago. I hiked...

You remember Joan Didion's epic packing list post? Because I'm a dork I inventoried what I've packed for 2.5 weeks travel in Germany and beyond: Carry-on: 1 skirt 1 pair jeans 1 pair khakis 1 pair black capris Enough underwear, bras, socks for 1 week 5 blouses 1 thin sweater Bathing suit PJs: 2 pairs shorts, 2 t-shirts Hat Bag with: shampoo, conditioner, facewash, bar of soap, face astringent, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, hair brush, floss, tweezers, jewelery, prescriptions Backpack:  2 journals 5 pens Copy of Fodor's essential Europe (2014) Copy of Lonely Planet's Europe on a Shoestring (2011) 3 books Glasses Camera & charger Phone & charger 2nd pair of shoes flip flops Passport, Birth Certificate, License, Credit Cards, Cash Laptop & cord European power converters Chewing gum I only am packing for a week, as Yannick said I can do laundry at their apartment and we can probably do it at hostels along the way while w...

Been so busy lately. Feels like I can't catch up on work because I've had to cover the desk more due to illnesses and vacation days. Back in my office for a full day yesterday and finally caught up on Purchase Orders Budget stuff, Book orders Tidying up my office (TONS of books ready for the FRIENDS used book sale in September!) Financial Subcommittee work for a board I'm on Now if I could just get super motivated and creative enough to start putting together my Powerpoint for my OLC Conference presentation. I'd like to have a good chunk of it done, but knowing me, I'll get inspired post-vacation when I'm rested and really feel the less-than-a-month-until-my-presentation-panic! I just need to get to vacation. So hard to be at work!

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...

So many things I want to talk about! More on that soon, but until then I did want to share some pics of my mini-vacation-long-weekend! I drove down to Mummy Dearest's in NC on the sunniest and most glorious fall day! Clouds over Tennessee! We bought fresh flounder and shrimp--caught that morning!--from Gay's Seafood. Not sure what these are called, I'm calling them trawling boats. Mummy Dearest and I woke early on our last morning and watched the sunrise over the Atlantic. We were rewarded with dolphins! Little Fish (7 yrs. old) and I built this sand castle--she's got quite the designers eye!

Living in corn country has its advantages, namely...corn. This fall has made me homesick for beautiful New England at this time of year, and the part of Michigan where I grew up--both areas rife with beautiful foliage: fierce oranges and reds, sharp yellows; colors as crisp as the fall smell in the air. I went for a walk this past week and though these are not the most beautiful fall leaves I've ever seen, I was just glad to find some colors! I took solace in the cool evening, in the rain, and in the running into a friend and being invited in for conversation. I went home decidely less homesick. As you read this, I will still probably be in South Carolina on the ocean with my dear friends; sleeping near the ocean in a tent, enjoying weather so unlike what's happening in the Midwest...it will be hard to leave later today.  I'll bring some sand back for you...

I work a half day today, then I'm headed out on the open road to North Carolina, to Mummy Dearest and family. Friday we're headed to South Carolina and the salty smell of the sea. SO excited. Any guesses as to where we'll be staying?? Here's a clue:

Since I am going to the ALA Chicago Conference next weekend, and will be putting in loads of extra hours, my LOVELY Board approved giving me time off this week. Can I just say, I LOVE my Board, and am so thankful for them! Decided to take my long weekend at the Farm; to see my beautiful Berkshires in summer; to get together with RugbyGirl and KellyBelly and Eliza--my girls who I miss so much; to come to say goodbye to a friend who's moving on; to take a break from the flat Midwest and see the lovely rolling hills of New England again. I left yesterday and stopped en route in Syracuse, NY, where I stayed with my friend Christy--it was a nice time catching up and enjoying a couple meals together. But I was glad to get on the road today, as I was impatient to get back to the Farm; to see the sun shining down upon my beloved Farm, as my last glance of it had been a bleak and snowy day--Christmas Day in fact . When I turned on the road leading to the Farm, I was awed by how beau...

So much stuff to catch up on--life has been happening and I feel like I've been tottering from one thing to the next like a drunk toddler. The long and the short of it: My uncle died from cancer last week, so had to take some personal time to go home. Came back in time for a conference last week, only to head to South Carolina last Friday for some family time we've been planning on for over half a year (first time we've had Mom, all the sibs and spouses, and nieces and nephews together since my Dad died; my sis-in-law Dayna and niece Savannah weren't part of the family back then!) Came back to work Monday to catch up on so many things (computer ordering happened while I was on vacation, now dealing with all the fun things that go with that!) Anyway, I'm back, much I want to write about on a hundred things, but for now, as promised : 1st GRADE RECOMMENDED BOOKS Picture books to read aloud Amos and Boris, by William Steig – also Doctor Desoto and Sylveste...

Not much posting this past week because all this moving and getting settled wore me out enough so that I caught that nasty bug that's been floating around: Day 1 sore throat, congestion, runny nose, and fever Day 2 cough, sore throat, runny nose, congestion Day 3-7 cough and slight congestion Now I'm almost better and on vacation! WAHOO!! Today meant packing up and saying goodbye to Hem, and heading out after midnight; seeing the lights and bridges of Cincinnati after 3a.m.; crossing into Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina; sunrise over the Smokey Mountains; arriving to hugs from Mummy Dearest, Little Fish (6 years old), Big Fish (nearly 8 years old), and Mummy's Hubby! So glad to  be with my friends, so thankful to be experiencing a little bit of fall in the south. Stay tuned for pictures! Have a great week!

My time at the Farm was good, but a little sad too. While preparing for my trip my old roommate, RugbyGirl, informed me that she'd taken a new job at a Farm some hours away in NY State and would be leaving the Farm in July. This news came after finding out that another friend, Farmer MacDonald, is also leaving the Farm in July. Then during my visit I learned that a couple other farmers are moving on this summer...it is always hard to see friends go, but to lose so many at once makes me feel like the landscape of familiarity is shifting. The people who work at the Farm make up so much of the fabric of the place, I can't imagine how it will be to visit it without them there! I was just glad I got to make it out for one last hoorah with all these good friends. The Farm was definitely in it's pre-summer glory during my visit: everything was green, green, green; smells of hay marked our turn off the state highway, followed by the ever present manure smells from the cows (and...

Never finished blogging about my wonderfully relaxing vacation..still can't believe that it's been nearly a week and a half already since I was camping in lovely Maine. I think the pictures I posted of Acadia National Park speak volumes, but still manage to not quit capture the raw, natural beauty and amazing vistas of that place. As B1, B2 and I hiked through the woods, near enough to hear the Atlantic Ocean wooshing in and out from the rock lined shore, I thought to myself, "this place is as near to Heaven as I've been. I just want Heaven to be like this, but the woods would also be lined with bookshelves periodically...and a coffee counter." Yes, dear readers, these are the deep thoughts that go through my head. The time there was great. It rained the first night we were camping, but didn't start until the tents were up, this followed by two gloriously sunny and warm days, perfect for hiking. The hikes ranged from beginners to strenuous (The Beehive) and ...

into Mumford & Sons again...just read that their second album--a follow up to Sigh No More--will be out in the U.S. in September. Can't wait! Went out for breakfast with Amos and the restaurant was playing Mumford and all was good: catching up, good music, good food. I love being at the Farm.

Maine was amazing; can't wait to share pictures. Being at the Farm has been therapeutic for me; so good to be home, and be with friends, and be away from Ohio, and work, and summer reading, and my ordinary day life. Found this old list I compiled some time back and it felt appropos this week, so I will share it until I have time to post about the trip and share pictures galore! For anyone who has just recently gotten out of a relationship, some songs/anthems to rock to: Heartless, Kanye West This song is priceless. Best line? "How could you be so Dr. Evil?" Bad Romance, Lady Gaga Lady G has the market on hurt with this, the first of my three choices. The title says it all. Speechless, Lady Gaga Thank you Gaga, thank you. Paparazzi, Lady Gaga Making stalking cool enough to dance to. Single Ladies (Put a ring on it), Beyonce This song calls to be turned up really loud. I only dance to this in my black unitard with my closest friends. Don't stand so close...

There is this magic about the Farm, a connectedness you get with the people there if you let them get close enough, like that bond you get with a favorite sibling where you just know it's them calling before you even look at the caller id, or you both are humming the same song all day and realize later when you see each other--both true stories; my bros and I are just that cool. Anyway, the Farm has this je ne sais quoi, It's-a-small-world-after-all magic that allows for things to happen. This is what I was reminded of again last night when former Farm roomie and coworker, Neal, randomly texted me yesterday, then somehow caught me by phone during my break, saying, "I was sitting in a bar, having a beer and I thought of you and that I needed to call you and see how the hell you are!" I told him I would be in Maine for the weekend, but probably wouldn't have time to stop and see him--he currently lives in Portland--because we were heading straight to Acadia, he s...

For all the nit picky flaws that people find with Thoreau's Walden experiment, there is still something that I love about what he was trying to do. He tried to give up some of life's conveniences so that he might better see the changing world around him, might try to appreciate nature; isolating himself for some parts of the human experience, and aiming for simpler means. When I lived at the Farm parts of the below quote were in my title box on this blog, because, like Thoreau I made the active choice to leave my conventional lifestyle and move to a very alternative place, to live in community, giving up some of the "necessities" of mainstream culture, i.e. cell reception, internet at home, privacy (in some senses). What I did gain, was the ability to see the world around me in a totally different light, to really experience life differently, becoming a stouter, heartier person in the process. And that is really what Walden is about, not ju...

My next clue for next weeks camping destination: Humpback whales swim in the waters not far from where I will be! Photo found here --but no peeking if you are trying to guess! 

Wound up going to Michigan this weekend for the funeral of my friends' father; one of those necessary events in life which always leaves me wondering about the trajectory of my own life; I sat and marveled at how quickly life goes as I looked over at my best friend L's girls A (7yrs) and L (9.5yrs), sitting next to me. I thought of myself in my friends' shoes, sitting consumed by grief, trying to figure out how life could continue without my Dad...that was nearly 5 years ago... I also spent time with Mom (who's in MI for a month of visiting), friends College Kim & Jesse and their new baby Liam and best friend L and her brood; saw some extended family. Yet in all of this being with others I could do little more than think ahead to June. June will bring best friend Kim & Joe's wedding reception and time with a friend who's coming up from Chicago, my long awaited vacation to the Farm. It will be over 6 months since I left the Farm and moved to Ohio b...

The Grateful Dead - Ripple (Studio Version) Remember 8 million years ago (ok, in November) when I wrote about the music that reminds me of the Farm? No? Don't worry, the memory is an overrated thing. Anyway, "Ripple," by the Grateful Dead is definitely a song which always reminds me of the Farm. I was thinking about the Farm all day yesterday; my vacation days were approved and I am Farm bound for a week and a half in June! Hooray! Happy Wednesday everybody, the weekend is in sight.