Only two days of summer reading remain – yay!  I don’t think I’ve ever been so ready for a vacation as I am right now.  Last night Jim pointed out that I haven’t had any “down time” at work since I started this job, between learning the job, my first summer last year, then preparation for the library move in what would have been down time, then the move, then this summer.  With any luck, this fall will be that quieter time that we all need at work.  (When I ran the toy shop, one of my coworkers used to remind me that while December was outrageously busy, we’d “all be eating bon-bons in January.”)

At any rate, there are two days left, and two events left.  At noon today we have our summer reading Finale Picnic on the library lawn, for which I have to buy goodies at Donelan’s today, and then this evening we’ll be showing the new film version of Charlotte’s Web.  As a special treat, the town fire truck will be making a special appearance at the picnic, courtesy of the chief and firefighter Oona, who is much beloved by the kids in town. 

Tomorrow is the last day for the kids who have been tracking their reading to “cash in” their hours for prizes.  The supply of prizes is getting a bit dismal, due to unprecedented participation, but hopefully those kids who still need to get prizes will find something that they like.  And speaking of unprecedented, Renee started counting up the Heifer votes that have been placed, and the votes are in the THOUSANDS, with no clear leader.  Tomorrow after we close I’ll do the final count, and post a sign telling whether we’ll be donating a sheep, a llama, a goat, or a pig to Heifer International.  A second animal will also be donated, thanks to the generous friends and family who have sponsored me in my summer reading, since I reached my goal of thirty hours (I’ll be sending a donation reminder email to everyone who pledged).

Two other events occured this week:  the teen book group meeting, in which we discussed Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, and yesterday’s Origami Fun workshop.  I’ll write about each of these in their own posts, hopefully this afternoon when I’m home on my split shift.

But for now, it’s time to go food shopping.  Thanks to Donelan’s of Littleton for their generous donation of a $100 gift card to pay for the picnic’s food!