Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

As we're constantly barraged about the way that we look, and achieving that perfect body, it's nice to hear a song (and see a fun video!) about someone rocking their body image. Love it!

Library Director – Petoskey (MI) District Library Petoskey, Michigan has been a destination for generations. Make it your destination, too! The Petoskey District Library ’s new Library Director will be a critical contributor to the Petoskey arts and cultural community. The successful candidate will lead a committed, talented staff and active, vital Friends of the Library bringing innovation and creativity in generating new and effective library programs and services for the 14,568 residents of the City of Petoskey, Bear Creek Township, and Resort Township. Building on a new strategic plan outlining core values, the Director, with a five-member Board of Trustees, a $1.2 million budget, and a stunning, new Library (2004), will work to implement goals including, but not limited to, building relationships with surrounding townships, expanding library hours, and developing the talents of a dedicated team of library staff. Petoskey, MI , known for the famous “Petos...

It is hard to think of something as grand to write about as Europe...so, as I recoup, I'll share a picture of my adorable furry son, Hemmy.

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....

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...

The EPIC Mac n' Cheese You know that feeling you get when you're traveling and you feel almost overstimulated by the amazing food you've been eating, but there's something a little not right...you realize that what you're really wanting is some "home food." That happened yesterday.  Yannick and I were supposed to run to the market to get stuff for dinner and today, so I offered to make Mac n' cheese--I based it extremely loosely on Mark Bittman's recipe--and what I made was pure magic! Normally I just use Vermont Cheddar, but as they don't have that here I used half Irish Cheddar, half Dutch Gouda. Oh my sweet and gentle Jesus!! WAY BETTER with real European cheeses. Nadine requested it again for dinner tonight. Yannick and I agreed. :)   Today we'll be going out to see a few more things here, but we're going to stay in tonight and get to bed early. We want to have the car packed and be on the road tomorrow by 9a.m.; we'r...

Beautiful 13th century architecture in Bruges, Belgium Amsterdam at night The best lunch EVER. Homemade bread with mustard, ham, violet creme fraiche, gherkins; salad. Amsterdam The Bern Munster (Church), Bern, Switzerland Freiburg, Germany Beethoven (born here) watches over this square, Bonn, Germany City Hall, Hamburg, Germany Normany U.S. Cemetery and Memorial, France Commemorates D-Day invasion, Omaha Beach Sacre Coeur, Montmartre, Paris France The Eiffel Tower, Paris