Monthly Archives: February 2011

Etc.

Silence…and teeth

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This has been a blechy year for me, and for the last week and a half I’ve been dealing with a particularly blechy thing, an infected wisdom tooth, and haven’t felt much like writing blog posts.  As of tonight, the problem has gotten much worse (I look like a freakish lopsided chipmunk right now), and I’m afraid that if I were to write a post about work at the library or children’s literature or storytimes or book groups I would just be grumpy and not at all interesting.

So I’m going to nurse my sore mouth-face-neck for a bit, get ready for the inevitable wisdom tooth removal surgery, and only write a post here when I’m in a good mood again.  Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later.  Meanwhile, feel free to catch up with me via my Etsy store, since jewelry making is one thing that’s keeping me from being too grumpy right now.  Probably because it doesn’t involve talking or eating, and is demanding enough to be quite distracting.  So there you have it.  Time for me to retire for the night, not that I’ll be able to sleep much with my freakishly swollen face.  And I’m getting grumpy…signing off now…

Book groups, Storytime

No storytime today

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I’ve come down with a yucky cold, and have decided that I should keep myself home this morning instead of infecting my coworkers and the storytime children.  So no storytime today, my apologies; but I’m guessing everyone would rather miss one storytime than get a cold in the midst of this already miserable winter.

I will be in for this afternoon’s Skype visit with Ellen Potter, being very careful not to spread my germs to the fifth graders in the book group.  (Luckily, the author won’t be susceptible to my germs!)  Until then, though, I think I’d better take a nice long nap.  Achoo.  Hack hack hack.  Sound of kleenex being used.  I hate colds.

Book groups, Children's book reviews, Children's literature, Etc.

Reading…ah…

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With all of this blasted snow that’s been falling (and needing to be shovelled) lately, with trying to “start up” my new “business” (it’s all a joke, really, who am I kidding?), with the messiness of the bathroom renovation – with all of that taking up my days and energy, I haven’t had much time to read.  And reading is my favorite winter activity, sitting all warm and snuggly and carefree by the woodstove.

So this morning I decided to get a million things done before breakfast: pay the bills, go to the bank, mail the bills (necessarily in that order), go to Idylwilde for food supplies before the pre-storm crazy people get there, come home and refill the three suet feeders and the three bird feeders, dig out an exhaust tunnel for the furnace vent pipe (again), and bring in a big load of firewood.  And then, start the fire, vacuum up the mess of detritus in front of the woodstove, make a lovely pot of Cheericup tea, eat breakfast standing up because I’m so famished, check in on my Etsy store to see if I’ve made any sales (of course not), and write this blog post.

Guess what comes next?  Reading!!!  Since Ellen Potter is Skyping with the 5th grade book group on Tuesday, I’ve decided to settle in and have an Ellen Potter marathon.  First up is the rest of the Olivia Kidney series [note that there are three separate links to the three sequels], then Pish Posh, then The Kneebone Boy.  I’m really enjoying Potter’s style of writing and quirky take on the world, and I’m really looking forward to Tuesday’s Skype visit.  The only unfortunate thing about a book group Skype visit is that I doubt I’ll have much time to chat with the author – this visit is about the kids, not me, and I’m guessing they’re going to be exploding with questions for Ms. Potter.  And I’ll be busy moderating and trying to aim the webcam at each speaker.  But it will still be exciting and new and different, and it’s inspiring me to read a bunch of books that I’ve been meaning to read for quite a while.

And on that note, I think I’ll get to it.  Happy reading to me!!

Etc., Spare time - Culture

Snow, round two

It’s official: my back is killing me.  Poor Jim had to go to work today, but the library, like every single school and library in the state, is closed, so I’m home today.  Which means that I get to shovel.  Again. 

Here’s what the snow piles at the end of our driveway look like – one view from inside the front window of our house, and several outdoor views, including a view of the load of heavy road snow that the plow keeps depositing at the base of the telephone pole that’s at the end of our driveway.  The snow piles in our yard are at least ten feet high, which is why shovelling is such a painful chore right now.  (Click on images to enlarge.)

But still, I’d rather be doing this shovelling today than driving in this muck like poor Jim has to do.  And I hear the freezing rain hitting the windows now, so it’s obviously time to go clear the snow before it gets ridiculously heavy.

Etc., Spare time - Culture

Ugh

It’s snowing.  Again.  The roads are terrible.  Again.  And it’s supposed to snow tomorrow.  Again.  By the time tomorrow evening arrives, we might have twenty new inches of snow on top of our already existing three or so feet of snow. 

So, the library closed early today; I had a yucky but ultimately ok ride home; and now that I’ve had a nice carb-laden pancake lunch, it’s time to go outside and shovel – again.  Hopefully I’ll be able to at least get the heavy deep stuff at the end of the driveway shovelled before Jim gets home…though I have absolutely no idea where I’m going to put the snow, since our snowbanks are about two feet higher than my head.  This is getting tiresome, very, very tiresome.  Ugh indeed.