Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Want to finish writing about the weekend, but want to spend as much time as possible with Mummy Dearest! Movie night with my bestie now that the kiddos are in bed; some cuteness to tide you over, in lieu of a post. Happy Thanksgiving from Hemingway!

Last weekend I had dinner with B1 & B2 and Jay. I brought the dessert: homemade pumpkin pie. Mmm...right? Wrong. I was so dissapointed; not only was my "fast" crust terrible, but the pie itself was also flavorless. The three other diners were more than gracious. For whatever reason (I think the excess of rain due to Irene and other coastal storms) has left the pumpkins less sweet this year than in years past--my pumpkin, my only one, rotted because of all of the rain! Anyway, I learned my lesson last weekend, so when I offered to bring dessert to a dinner at M & N's this week, I vowed the pies would turn out better. I again returned to Mark Bittman's How to cook everything-- no longer blaming him for last weekend's failure--and decided to try doubling everything in the recipe. The recipe should be called, "How to double everything pumpkin pie," har har. Anyway, I literally doubled everything: the cream and the eggs, doing this made the pies eve...

I stole this from bestie Mummy Dearest . It is a gem.

Before I get started on this blog about dieting, let me say a few things. I hate the word "diet." I hate when I talk about this "new way of eating," and people make this scornful "diets never work," face. And though I may agree with them, it still pisses me off. Especially if they're those naturally skinny types. I want to scream, "well, EXCUSE me for eating my emotions since 1991! And besides that I am fighting against some chubby genes!" The whole reason I decided to try Mark Bittman 's, " Vegan before dinnertime ,"--or "Vegan until 6," as I call it--is 1. for the most part I respect Mark Bittman and 2. my friend Sierra did this and found it worked for her.  I am not a dieter by nature. I know most fad diets either don't work because they set up unrealistic expectations or shouldn't be done because they aren't good for your body. The difference with Bittman's is that it's a damn way of life, whi...

"A clear midnight" This is the hour, O soul, thy free flight into the wordless, Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done, Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best: Night, sleep, death, and the stars. ~ Uncle Walt (Whitman) I feel that I so seldom write these days. Is it the winter sluggishness that makes me less prone to writing? I'm not sure, but lately I feel like I have zero energy at the end of the day for anything like writing, or (still) organizing things in my not-quite-new-anymore-cabin. Today was a rough day. Emotionally rough. I had a strange (and later resolved) confrontation at work; and Tuesdays are just long anyway. I work 6:30am-2:30pm then have a meeting from 4pm-6pm. I have stayed away from my little cabin all day and am avoiding it now. Avoiding the inevidable cold which will greet me both out of doors and in; having turned my thermostat down to 60degrees F this morning. I am now mak...

  I needed a shot of some girl power tonight and I found it in this kick ass picture by Amanda Visell .  I have been feeling all of these things lately. And I have finally been feeling stronger, recovering from my week long cold; feeling buoyed and very supported lately by some great friends: Best friends L, K, College Kim and Mummy Dearest. Thanks ladies! Together we could run the world!

Mummy Dearest and I walked the three mile loop around the Farm tonight. It was humid--the sky having only spitted rain earlier--a mugginess which made our clothes cling to us and sweat trickle down unpleasantly; beads gathering on my forehead and along my temples, on the nape of my neck. We hiked, leaving behind the Farm, walking past a neighboring farm and then on past houses. We walked towards dusk with the hopes of seeing a bear. All we saw were deer. Two deer, the first pausing in the road to stare at us as we approached, somehow making me feel as though we'd intruded upon something sacred. After disdainfully glancing upon us the first deer leapt into the woods followed closely by another. As we slowly made our way up the hill I glanced past Mummy and saw the deer watching us still, this time from the shadows of the woods, looking wonderingly at us one more time before bounding away. While we walked I told Mummy how lately I struggle with my writing, since really ...

3 States 2 Countries 1 Continent I feel as though I have been so far removed from blogger-dom that I have to explain where I have been. Life has been so crazy busy as of late. I have had between 3-4 papers due every week for the past month+ and so much reading. Last week was especially bad, one of those "I am going to quit right now...I don't need this degree" kinda weeks. I turned in a 9 page paper on the history and literary comparisons (of 7 different versions) of The Emperor's New Clothes, which interestingly enough, may not have been originally written by Hans Christian Andersen ; but may have come from a varied versions of a tale told centuries before in Italy and Spain. I turned in a "Book talk" and "Notecard" for All quiet on the Western Front . And most horrible of horrible, I had to give a presentation of my research proposal (this is the big final paper I have to write--though only 10 pages in length--and it sucks because what is the poi...

Happy Birthday Mummy Dearest- Life in Avalon ! You inspire me daily with the beautiful, graceful way that you tackle being a good wife and parent and working, and still find time to admire the beauty in every day all around you. I can’t wait until we are neighbors again! I dedicate this poem to you on your b-day Mummy Dearest! I love you! At Great Pond At Great Pond the sun, rising, scrapes his orange breast on the thick pines, and down tumble a few orange feathers into the dark water. On the far shore a white bird is standing like a white candle ---or a man, in the distance, in the clasp of some meditation ---while all around me the lilies are breaking open again from the black cave of the night. Later, I will consider what I have seen ---what it could signify ---what words of adoration I might make of it, and to do thisI will go indoors to my desk ---I will sit in my chair ---I will look back into the lost morning in which I am moving, now, like a swimmer, so smoothly, so peacefully...