Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

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.

This is the attitude I've decided to have today. It's either that or I hide under my desk and sleep. Somehow I think the Board would frown upon that.  I'm. So. Tired. 

Excited for my crazy, busy weekend that includes meals shared: dinner with my old high school teacher and his wife; brunch with an old college friend; a party at my bestie L's. A whirlwind weekend. I'm sure my head will be spinning when I get back to Sticks on Sunday, but I am so excited for the weekend away! 5pm can't get here fast enough! Getting ready to get away makes me think of this song; I love this cover, and I love the Beatles original too. The Beatles: Two of Us cover Aimee Mann, Michael Penn

The Beatles  First Ed Sullivan Show  Appearance (original) Today marks the anniversary of the Beatles famous visit to NYC on February 7, 1964; they arrived at NYC's Kennedy Airport to a screaming mob of about 3,000 people. Their equally famous first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on happened two days later on February 9, 1964

The Beatles - I'm So Tired As the song title would suggest, I am so tired. This past week and a half has been slightly overwhelming and busy and...constant motion. All this going, going and going has left me feeling tired and made me think of this old Beatles gem from the White Album. This has been the past week and a half in a nutshell: Last Wednesday: midnight train to South Carolina, 16 hours of travel Last Thursday: 8 hour drive to Ohio to get apartment--mission accomplished  Last Friday: 8 hour drive back to South Carolina Weekend with sister A1, brother-in-law Mikey, niece S (7 yrs), nephew A (5.5 years) and Mom in South Carolina Monday: picked up Mummy Dearest and headed to North Carolina Tuesday: back to South Carolina, packed Wednesday: 1am train ride (16 hours) to Connecticut, then on to Massachusetts Thursday (yesterday): Rugbygirl and I drove to Ohio, dropped off my furniture, 8.5 hours of travel with strange mix of weather in PA: sleet, snow, hail and LI...

Long before Mumford &Sons, it was the Beatles. I have been listening to and loving the Beatles since I was a little kid and still when it's too rainy, or I am too angsty, or I need to lose myself something fierce, I put on the Beatles and I slide back into feeling good. And understood.

The HUGE rock that my neighbor Rick and I planted sunflowers around. My first batch of sunflowers. Gorgeous! A sea of cosmos (in front of the sunflowers). And because the Beatles are my favorite and sometimes looking at sunflowers makes me start humming this tune: THE BEATLES- HERE COMES THE SUN

We are in the garden season here at the Farm, but for whatever reason, we don't seem to be getting as many vegetables in the Kitchen this year as we did last. To say that I am bummed out about that is an understatement. Long gone and terribly missed are the asparagus of May and June--these days we are enjoying lettuce and mustard greens, kale, Swiss chard and bok choi, mung bean sprouts; carrots and turnips look and taste amazing this year; broccoli, cabbage, sugar snap peas and snow peas have all begun to make an appearance in the Kitchen, and taste so fresh and green that I am in complete ecstasy with every bite. Eating things that were picked just hours before is such an amazing gift. I am always absolutely astounded by the difference in taste between a fresh vegetable and a store bought one. People who "hate" veggies have never tried farm grown, hand picked, fresh veggies. There is no way that you can hate foods which taste so good! The greens taste as leafy ...

I don't follow the lives of many actors or musicians. They seem a fickle breed. But one that I always loved and idolized as a kid and teen, and I guess even a little today, is John Lennon . I loved John Lennon of the Beatles, and as I grew up I learned to love John Lennon without the Beatles. I love that Lennon marched to his own drum; defied social norms of his time. Lennon, born October 9, 1940, was killed December 1980, not long after I was born, yet his music continutes to inspire today's generation of musicians, poets, and lovers. I was fortunate enough to travel a lot when I lived in Massachusetts, both within the state and through New England. One of the clearest memories I have of my visits to New York City is walking on a cold December day, stopping to sit in the Strawberry Fields Forever , in Central Park. The area is a tribute to Lennon, created in his favorite part of the park, not far from the Dakota Hotel where he was shot. At that time, in that moment, I was s...

Things are serious when Dead Celebrities Lady (DCL)calls during the week! Dead Celebrities Lady has only ever called on a Sunday, yet she called tonight, and why? You ask, dear reader. The Michigan budget. Our conversation: DCL: They raised the taxes, didn't they? Me: Excuse me? (our phone is a piece and notoriously cuts in and out) DCL: They raised the taxes, didn't they? Me: Do you mean the taxes in the state of Michigan, ma'am? DCL: Yeah. I heard they raised the taxes. Me: Yes, they did raise the state income tax by somewhere around 0.4%. DCL: They're trying to starve us, aren't they? Me: *laugh politely* DCL: How is that going to affect us? Does that mean that they take out a lot? Me: Well, it means that they take that percentage from what you make, so the amount taken is different for everyone. DCL: Well, I don't work that much. Does that mean they won't take out a lot? Me: They will base what they take out by what you make....

Yesterday at work I wanted nothing more than to be in Buffalo, hanging out with B1 & B2. After an uneventful day at work, part of it spent working on the church's library (more on that later), I headed out excited and ready, for my mini road trip, at 5pm. Stopped at the gas station to put a little air in my tire and oil in my engine. This is when the trouble happened. Somehow I managed, while taking the oil cap off, to drop the cap down under the engine, and onto this shelf-thingy. I took off my rings (safety first) and forced my arm down as far as I could, waving my fingers wildly to get the oil cap. The coiling around the engine, which I had to slide my arm past were still warm from the drive to the gas station, so with each swipe of my arm (looking like a monkey in a mad comedy to get the banana-I am sure!) I would rub my arm against hot coils, eventually burning the top layer of skin off. So, now I am burned, and frustrated to the point of tears. Nothing is working: not my ...

I must have heard The Beatles in the womb and fell in love with them then. I was going to marry Paul McCartney or John Lennon when I was a kid. When my parents told me that John Lennon had been killed a couple of months after I was born I cried as if it had just happened, though it was 7 years after the murder. My Mom loved the early Beatles when the songs were all about love and were thickly laid bubblegum rock. I love these songs too, don’t get me wrong. “I stopped listening to The Beatles when they got into drugs and their music changed,” my Mom told me. “That is when I started listening to them,” my Dad said. I smiled, because at 13 I knew what my Dad loved in the later albums- Revolver , Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band , Abbey Road , The White Album -all the lovely things and the pain too. I will never forget how I felt that first time I heard George Harrison croone “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” on the White Album, it all but blew my teenage mind as I sat there in my horm...