A strange sense of melancholia

I'm feeling... strange. I just got back from seeing "The History Boys" with Sebethis, and I thought it was brilliant. Thought-provoking, uplifting and then... the ending. It wasn't bad, far from it. It was just that the whole movie had such a sense of hope and aspiration and dreams as the boys went through the preparations for taking their entrance exams for Oxford and Cambridge. And at the end (stop here if you don't want to know)...

...we find out how mundane their lives turn out to be. Even if they aren't mundane. Even though they did succeed, it felt like such a loss. Of the possibilities that are there while going to school. Of the potential futures. Of the subjunctive moments. I feel sad and as if I've lost something. I was choked up at the end not because of any one event, but because of the loss of something ephemeral and something that I felt very personally. And it's not that I'm unhappy because I'm definitely not. It's that there's part of me that I was that I'm never going to be again. There will always be possibility and moments, but those particular ones were a product of a very specific time and place, and they can't be relived, only reinterpreted.

The agony of being a cover model

How Did I End Up On The Cover Of This Romance Novel?

Last week at the supermarket, while shopping for my weekly supply of three dozen eggs and 12 pounds of mutton, I spotted a rack near the checkout...

Funny by itself, even funnier when you go to Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and read about the Duncan Larksthrush fanfic contest.

I used to know these...

I got hooked on the Geography Challange this week. Disgustingly, my highest score is 80%, and my average is around 50%. I might suck at it, but it's highly addictive.

How awesome is this?

I get a daily email newsletter called Shelf Awareness, and in today's edition was the following article. What a brilliant idea!

Weller's Readers in the Window
Cool idea of the day. Every afternoon through Christmas Eve, volunteer readers sit in the windows of Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore, Salt Lake City, Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

"Decorated like a living room, the window is warm and comes stocked with snacks and hot drinks," the paper wrote. "When the store set out criteria for the window, it asked for all kinds of families--however people defined the term. So far, readers who signed up range from teenage friends to couples on dates to a grandfather and his grandson. 'It's everyone,' said Jennifer Nielsen, who is in charge of decorating the store's windows and coordinating the readers' shifts. 'All the customers have loved it.' "

Most people read, silently or aloud, but some have played board games or chat. Friends and family of readers receive a discount on purchases while the readers are reading. Readers themselves receive a discount after their face time is up.

All better!

Everything is back on track and I'm no longer depressed (or very stressed). Yay! That was a bad six days I just had, and it was more than enough anxiety for one lifetime.

Now back to our regular programming:

Cute baby animals!

I have a acquired a food fairy

Yesterday at the end of the day there were two massive chocolate bars waiting on my desk. Today I step away from the department for five minutes and when I come back there is a slice of cherry cream cheese bread on my desk. A girl could get used to this...

I guess the upside to being awfully stressed and depressed is that people feel the need to feed me. They also do lovely things like arrange to have an adorable two-year-old pay me a cheer-up visit.

I'm trying not to be tiresome about everything that's going on so as not to become that whiny girl. Times like these make me realize what wonderful friends and family I have. Thank you everyone - I do love you all, and I'll try not to take advantage of your broad shoulders too often.

Oh, for goodness sake

Sometimes there just have to be common-sense limits, don't you think?

Lawmaker aims to allow the blind to hunt

Durian

Smells bad, bad for you

Sing it out!

I saw this on Neil Gaiman's blog right before Thanksgiving. I think it's fantastic!

After the hordes descended

Saturday was the big Thanksgiving Potluck/Leftover Party, and it was a smashing success. We had tons of food and about twenty people to eat it all. Check out the table near the end of the festivities:



I do so love that all my friends are total foodies!

When they get it wrong, they get it really wrong!

Part of my job is ordering paperback books for the library. To do that I use the Ingram iPage website. Today I was going through my booklist for the week and pulled up Linnea Sinclair's new book. Cool. I really like her (and if you like romance and science fiction you will too). As part of the promotional blurb, the page has info about the author. It says at the end "Fans can reach her through her website at www.starfreighter.com"

Um, no they can't. Because I, all innocent, went to that link. And instead of science fiction, I got "SUPER GAY COCKS!"

I'm not quite sure how much of an audience overlap there is between straight romantic science fiction and graphic gay porn, but I'm guessing that it might be small.

Why I love my friends, exhibit A

Conversation (almost verbatim) with Micaela on the phone at work tonight:

M: Remember the best turkey burger in the world I told you about?
D: Um
M: From Delaware. I brought you half.
D: What?
M: I ate half and saved you the other half. I'm bringing it to you right now
M: I'm right in front of the library. Bring napkins and come out and eat in the car.
D: I'll be right out!

And she even got the timing right - just as I was about to go on my break.

Much as she would protest the characterization, Micaela is one of the nicest, most generous people I know.

Jingle hell

I stopped on the way to work to pick up a wrap today and inadvertantly stepped into the beginning of Christmas hell. The radio statio playing in the deli was B-101, which is now all-christmas music, all the time! until Christmas day. And it's not even Thanksgiving yet! Argh!

On a happier note, I finally used the gift certificate some of my wonderful friends got me and went for an aromatherapy relaxation massage at Terme di Aroma. I've never had a massage that wasn't dep tissue/therapeutic before, so I was stunned to realize that massages don't have to hurt!

So true!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
Philadelphia
The South
The Inland North
The Northeast
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Zombie Singalong! (...or, this is the week that was)

Tuesday I had an unfortunate peanut brittle accident. Don't ask - it was embarrassing and my finger still hurts.

Wednesday I had an evening of consolation drinking and greasy food with a friend who got bad news.

Thursday was Girl's Night - Indian food from Lovash (yum) and the first episode of Project Catwalk (the British version of Project Runway)

Friday I'm pretty sure I did something, but I don't remember.

Saturday I joined Sebethis going out to Ardmore to see Jonathan Coulton, my new singer/songwriter boyfriend. It was a great show, and he ended with an audience participation zombie song, so we ended the set singing "All we want to do is eat your brains!" Sebethis was ecstatic, as she is a HUGE zombie fan. Here she is squeaking with pleasure because she gets to sing about zombies:

And Ninja Stan, I remembered you - I have an autographed cd for you!

Little and Big

Yesterday I spotted my first Smart Car in Philly. I've seen them in Canada a lot, but this is my first American sighting. I wasn't the only one intrigued. Every person passing by stopped and checked it out. The guy in the picture was all but lifting the hood to see what made it tick. I think they're adorable - they look like little shoes, and I think I could probably pick one up and put it in my pocket. Plus, parking would be a breeze!



On a size-related note, my friend and I went into Famous 4th Street Deli today and saw the largest apple turnovers I've ever seen. Witness her amazement:



She bought one for her boyfriend, so I'm waiting to hear if size is any indication of quality.

*UPDATE* Apparently in this case size is an indication of quality. Carl says the turnover is delicious (and I figure they've got a week's worth of dessert now, so it's economical as well)

Sometimes packagers can go slightly overboard

I bought an adorable little Bodum teacup and infuser from Amazon. This is it:


Notice how small and delicate it is. The little box measures 3.5” by 4.5” by 3.5”

Now, take a look at what it came shipped in:



Yes, that’s two Amazon boxes, a sheet of heavy duty bubble wrap, and so much of the airpack packing filler that I could strangle a horse with it. You have to wonder sometimes. And on a related note, my much larger Bodum tea press came in a freakishly small Amazon box.

Things left unfinished

Today I started reading a book and after one chapter decided to put it down. I do not feel guilty about it at all. This is a big statement, since I've always been the type of person that finshed whatever she started reading. I always felt that I make a commitment to a book, and must see it though. It's only recently that I'm coming to realize that it's okay to put a book down without finishing it. It doesn't happen very often, but when I just can't get into a book there's no shame in stopping. Actually, I think I need a twelve-step program.


Anyway, I tried to start BreakupBabe today at lunch. I lasted until page 19.

That's worse than the other book I couldn't finish this month, Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose. And that one's for book club. I'm bringing the movie version as my contribution to Book Club, as I couldn't get past page 52 in the book.

New obsession

Thank you to Bruno Gridley, who mentioned Jonathan Coulton in a livejournal post. I've fallen insanely in love with him, as have all the friends I've played his stuff for. You gotta love a guy who can write a delicate and beautiful ballad to both the mad scientist on Skullcrusher Mountain as well as IKEA


He's playing a show out in Ardmore on December 16. Some of us are already planning to go and see him, so if you're interested, drop me a line.

p.s. thank you Grimmgirl, for introducing me to the joys of orange-mango mohitos at Copa!

...worries for another day!

As reported by the fine poeple at Zap2it, Fraggle Rock is going to be a movie!


Let the Music Play, indeed!

Book of the week

Brent (Dork Lord extraordinaire) showed me a book by Minister Faust called Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad

This is a completely cool book full of magic and sci-fi geeks and drug dealers and pop-culture and satire and other good stuff like that and it's set in Edmonton (yay!) I took it out of the library (yes, Philadelphia has it) and finally got around to reading it. This is a book with tons of character. There are many different characters telling the story, each with their own voice and dialect and rhythm and style. The words are like music - I found myself reading parts aloud just to hear the sound of the story. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes interesting uses of language and kick-ass urban fantasy.

Exciting new developments

It's been quiet here but busy in the real world lo these many days. My folks were in town for a visit and we had a great time, shopping and AIDS walking and sailing and picking apples and meeting my friends and such.

But the most exciting news is that I think I'm starting a new religion. Yes, I have been suffering from nausea for the last four days and I think I will attribute it to morning sickness. Immaculate Conception has reappeared in the world (or, depending on your theology, appeared for the first time) and I will become the mother of a new religion. I'm taking applications for acolytes and assorted devoted followers now, so get in while the getting's good!

Of course, I could just have a flu, but that's so boring.

On an added note - if this is what morning sickness actually is like, it sucks!

Bringing in the big guns

Having suffered one mouse invasion this year so far (and the score is Dena-6, Mice-probably still breeding like, well, mice), I'm being proactive right now with the help of Grimmgirl and her two strapping lads, Will and Jake. Will is the biggest (not fat, big) cat I've seen in a long time, and Jake is probably big too, he just looks normal size next to Will. They are the friendliest cats in the world, and are amazingly tolerant of Grimmgirl's abundant affection for them. Anyway, they came over for a visit last night and we had a lovely time urging them to rub against everything.

Owning a cat plusses: something to snuggle, keeps mice away, more fun to watch than TV
Owning a Cat minuses: litter boxes, car hair, being responsible for a living thing, half-chewed mice
Borrowing a Cat ( or two) = The best of both worlds!

They'll be coming over tomorrow for Girl's Night as well, and will be horribly spoiled by my friends who are already planning to bring catnip and toys for them. And hopefully the mice will be suitably scared so they don't come visiting when my folks are in town.

White and nerdy

I don't know what it is about "Weird Al" Yankovic, but I've loved him since the eighties. He has a new song and video, and I pretty much fell out of my chair laughing when I saw it.

Buy a friend a book!

I just discovered this lovely event today when playing around on Shiny Shiny. What a great idea! Four times a year BAFAB encourages you to buy a friend a book for no good reason, just because.

My problem: too many friends, not enough cash. I'll think of something!

Food that gives you pause

I'm on a food theme, it seems. Today Micaela was craving pho, so three of us headed out to Vietnam Palace for lunch. I wasn't hungry because I had had a large breakfast of leftover Thai chicken with cashews, so I started looking at the interesting drinks section of the menu. They have some really neat drinks, but I wasn't up for durian drink (durian smells like old sweaty mouldy socks, and that's me being polite). Right below that, though, was a listing for avocado milkshake. I like avocado, and I like milkshakes. Sounds kind of weird to put them together, but why not give it a shot?

You can't really see it in the picture, but it's a lovely pale pale green shade.


A weird concept, but in practice a truly delicious experience. The shake was extra creamy and tasted just like avocado, but sweeter. It was mild and delicate and I wish I had known about this during the summer. I'd definitely order it again. Actually, when I got home I dug out my ice cream cookbook and found a recipe for avocado ice cream, which I'm totally going to try.

food onna stick!

Because everything's better on a stick, even a heart attack!

Twins?

I think I now understand why people keep stopping my sister and me and asking if we're twins. I never got it before seeing these pictures.

Cheesy eighties fun!

I've been watching Celebrity Duets, and am now in full-on eighties flashback heaven. Watch the first 2:50 of this video and just try not to sing along! I'm beginning to really love Hal Sparks. And Dennis Deyoung of Styx makes me smile.

Aw, cute!

It's a baby panda infestation!

My not-so-new obsession

For the past few months I've been hooked on a fun and productive new activity. I started bookswapping, which fulfulls my desire to get rid of the stuff that's been sitting around the apartment, lets me know that it's going to someone who really wants it, and gives me the chance to get something in return.

I started out on (not just for paperbacks).

Then I discovered .

And now has started up and I'm using all three.

In the past few weeks Librarything, on which I've catalogued my entire collection, started integrating with swap sites.

It's fun, it's addictive, and it's a wonderful way to recycle books! If you want to join up (and give me valuable referral points), drop me a line and I'll refer you.

Avast, me hearties!

It's the Annual "Talk Like A Pirate Day" today, so a big "YARRRR!" to you all!

Book title of the week

Ways to my heart

If you are an author - especially a really cool author like Christopher Moore - and you are promoting your new book (in stores Jan 2007), what better way to a girl's heart than a bag of candy hearts? Yeah, I'm buying.



Thanks to Tess who went to the NAIBA tradeshow this weekend and brought back loot for me, including signed Eloisa James books.

HoYay!

Is it wrong that I think this is hot?

Not safe for work or young'uns. Mom and dad, protect your innocence.



Wait for it to load, it's worth it!

And one thing not to be happy about

Nights where you spend more time trying to fall asleep instead of actually sleeping. I don't remember actually sleeping at all last night, just hours of lying in bed telling myself that I'd better get tired, dammit.
I am one cranky librarian this morning, let me tell you!

Things to be happy about

1. I had a great vacation with my sister - 10 days, and with the exception of 1 hour I think we spent every single minute in each other's company. And it was fine!
2. Seeing "The Drowsy Chaperone" in New York
3. Finally buying the painting that I've been eyeing on the wall of Dessert for the last few months. My first real post-university art purchase. I love it, it makes me happy just looking at it!
4. Going hiking in the Wissahickon
5. Having space in my bedroom again now that the air mattress is gone.
6. Discovering the joys of Marshalls with Micaela.
7. Buying a fabulous pair of blue Clarks shoes at Ross for under $20.
8. Getting tickets for "The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee" for when it comes to Philly next month
9. Restaurant week!
10. The weather has broken and it's actually comfortable outside now.

The Case of the Alcoholic Mouse

Last night was girl's night, which was a blast. Pizza, Project Runway, and wildly inappropriate talk about animals, republicans, and babies. About halfway through the evening Jen jumped up on her chair, cookie in hand, and went all girlie about seeing a mouse. Philly mice are incredibly bold. This one (the first I've seen in almost a year) was on my kitchen counter trying to move a bottlecap from a mudslide. So not only do I have mice again, I have alcoholic mice. It's amazing how blase I have become about mice and creepy crawlies living in Philly. If this happened a few years ago, I'd be up on the chair next to Jen. Last night I just wandered over to the kitchen and chased the mouse away. It reappeared later on near everyone's shoes, so that pretty much put an end to the night, but since it was really late and everyone had to work the next day, that was fine. One of the reasons I wasn't freaking out was because I have a rat zapper, which I pulled out and reset last night after everyone was gone and I bleached my counter. This morning, one dead mouse. I'll keep the zapper on for the next little while just in case there were more than one of them.

Oh yeah, and my new VCR came yesterday as well, so now I just have to find time again to watch my tapes.

In the Aw, cute! category

Rare newborn albino Pygmy Marmoset monkey perches on a zookeeper's thumb at Froso Zoo in Ostersund, Sweden August 22, 2006.

It's dead, Jim!

My friend Alex taped the third (and final) season of "This is Wonderland" for me because it doesn't air in the States. He gave me the videotapes when I visited Edmonton, but I haven't had time to start watching them until today. And of course, when I go to turn on my VCR it dies a sudden and pathetic death. I suppose I shouldn't complain, as in this age of disposable electronics and designed obsolescence my VCR had worked faithfully for over ten years. Still, it's very frustrating that it happened right now, as I was looking forward to spending the evening curled up in front of the tv watching as many episodes as I could before falling asleep. Bummer.

On the plant theme

I fear that this might be my last resort if I ever get another plant:

Sayonara Bob

I was given a lovely little plant a year or so ago with the promise that there was pretty much nothing I could do to kill it. This is a very good promise, as I am able to kill just about any living plant-based life given to me. I haven't experimented on non-plant-based life, but I'm sure that the animal kingdom is grateful that I have a pet vacuum cleaner, and not an actual living thing. Anyway, Bob lived quite happily in my window for many many months, successfully surviving periodic drought (when I forgot about him) and tropical downpours (when I kept forgetting if I had watered him so kept watering him more, just in case). Last month I went away for a vacation, Philadelphia experienced disgustingly high temperatures, and poor Bob pretty much fried in his window. When I got back he looked a little brown around the edges. Over the next few weeks he became progressively more dessicated and leave started falling off in droves. I finally gave him a decent burial (well, I put him in the trash) yesterday, and Bob is no more. He lasted longer than any other plant I ever had. Longer than Betty the avocado I grew from a pit and the peanuts I tried to grow from a peanut farmer kit. It's a good thing that my tree is in the watchful care of my mother back home. Rest in Peace, Bob.

Things I didn't know, part 763

I walked to work yesterday morning with Rachel and Liz, and we took a different route than normal. We headed up Camac street, and I don’t think I’ve ever walked up that part of the street before. It was really cool because there's one part of Camac that is the last remaining wood block street in America. I didn’t have a camera, and evidently it’s not a popular image on the web, but here’s a shot of the wood blocks (in pretty bad shape in this section)

How cool is that?

Phenomenal book

I know I shouldn't be talking about this until after book club next Tuesday, but I just finished our book for this month and it was wonderful. Liz suggested The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I started reading it last night and instead of just finishing a couple of chapters, I ended up reading about a fifth of the book before realizing that would I probably need some sleep for the next day. Today I read on my breaks, at lunch, and pretty much resented anything or anyone who got between me and the book. I finished about ten minutes ago, and have just now stopped crying.
According to the publisher, "it's just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery...."

By a chapter in or so I was sucked into the power of the flow of the words. I finished the book with a tissue in one hand because I was crying for the last 75 pages. It was so beautiful and ugly and sad and powerful.
Go and take it out from your library and lock yourself away for the day or two (or more, I'm a fast reader) it takes to finish it. You won't be disappointed.

Zombie fun!

My friend Karin is a huge zombie fan. In her honour I present to you two zombie related sites:

Spelling with Zombies - type in any text and will be spelled out in zombie bodies.

Since we are within a couple of months of Halloween, this site shows you how to make realistic looking lacerations so you can make yourself into a disgusting, disfigured zombie to scare the kiddies!

The bookstore I wish I had as a kid

How cool is this?

Tonight is the big birthday banquet for me and Jen at Lee How Fook, so we're really excited about that!

Belated vacation conclusion

Right, so after my post last Thursday, I got way too busy to write anything else. Let me give you a quick summary of the final days of my Edmonton trip:

Friday: Judy arranged a birthday manicure (I have pretty pink fingernails now, like a princess!) and then gave me a birthday massage. Having a massage therapist in the family is a wonderful thing, even if she wouldn't let me complain about the INTENSE PAIN when she dug into my shoulders.
She does it because she cares, people. That evening I went for dinner with Matt at the Mongolie Grill, which I love, and even though they do not have traditional Mongolian desserts (yak milk custard, anyone?) they make a mean tiramisu. We then retired to his place and watched Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. I highly recommend the movie, even if you do not have a huge crush on Robert Downey Jr., like I do. It was hilarious and we both were laughing out loud.

Saturday: The folks and I went to the St. Albert Farmer's Market, the largest outdoor farmer's market in western Canada. Some great stuff, including dulce de leche for dad, hot sauce for me, a cool present for Jen, and some fabulous tasting throughout. It was tons of fun. That afternoon we met up with Judy and went out to Heritage Days - this year it was huge, with 58 pavilions covering about 70 cultures. We were trying not to eat too much because that night we had tickets to dinner theatre, but still we certainly tried alot. Turkey rocks! After a quick nap, we headed out to the Mayfield Dinner Theatre to see Ivanka Chews the Fat, which was cute, but it felt like an average Fringe play.

Sunday: Back again to Heritage Days. This time we went right when it opened at 10, and mom and I lasted about 5 1/5 hours. Dad left after about 3 hours, but mom and I still had eating and shopping to do. I got some adorable finger puppets for my children's librarian friends from either the Chilean or Venezuelan pavilion (I can't remember which) and a cute pink wool bag from Nepal. Mom got some great glass perfume bottles from the Arab Cultures pavilion and a beautiful silver pendant from Mexico. And we ate so much I think I gained 10 pounds over the weekend. At the end it was getting pretty hot, and I was looking forward to taking the air-conditioned bus home. I completely forgot that Edmonton buses are heated for the winter, not air conditioned. It was a miserable ride. That evening, while I was doing laundry (because who wants to come home to the chore of going to the laundromat?), Susan came over with avocado-chili dip and fed me some more.

Monday: Lazy morning, then off to the airport. As usual, I forgot a bunch of stuff in Edmonton. Judy will be delivering a skirt, a t-shirt, and hopefully the bag of underwear that I bought then misplaced when she comes next month. And as usual the airport in Philly took forever getting our baggage to the carousel when we landed, so I got home at about midnight. Good thing I was working late the next day.

All in all, a fabulous trip, even if I did not manage to get together with Stan for my birthday spanking :) Oh well, better luck next year. Love you all, and miss you already!

Vacation, part 3

All you Philly people really need to be here this week. It's lovely! The highs are around 20 celsius (that's 68 degrees fahrenheit) and it's not humid at all. Okay, that's it for the bragging - except to say that I bought some sweaters and a jean jacket (yay! I've been looking for the perfect jean jacket for months, and I found one one - on sale for $15!) and have been wearing them. The cute little skirts have stayed in the suitcase, as have the sandals. I know, I'll pay for my hubris when I get back.

Yesterday I hitched a ride downtown with my sister at 9, so I had a morning of wandering the downtown malls (and I can hear Liz and Jen and Micaela all laughing at me right now - nothing wrong with loving malls) and going to the main library to get baby picture books in spanish for Judy to help her with her Spanish lessons. The main library in Edmonton is so nice and well laid out and miles cleaner than the Philly Central Library. And the checkout is right at the exit, so everyone has to go through it and then the turnstile to get out. Very good design there. Afterwards I met up with an old classmate from library school for lunch, so it was my library day.

Judy and I then met back up and we went down to Whyte Ave, which is like the South Street of Philly, but with less dirt and sex stores and more bars and (polite) homeless people. Both street have some great little shops and Whyte has one of the two indie movie theatres in Edmonton, the Princess.
And then the highlight of the day: birthday pizza! Judy and I have a tradition that we go to Boston Pizza every time I'm in town to have Tropical Chicken Pizza (no pineapples on my half) and wings. It was delicious, but even two extra-strength lactaids were no match for all the cheese and alfredo sauce on the pizza. We've decided to explored other foods for our new traditional dinner.
After dinner we headed to the mall to check out the sales at Bootlegger and La Vie en Rose. I got a sparkly blue zip sweater for the winter for $5. Then we went to Mark's Work Wearhouse to see if Judy could find some cheap sandals, but they were mostly gone by then. We did find adorable hoodies in sherbet orange, so now we match. Good thing we live many many miles apart!
We ended the day watching So You Think You Can Dance and then had a sleepover in Judy's lovely foam bed. On a sad note, Edmonton cable does not get Project Runway at all, so I'll have to wait 'til next week to see the episode from this week. Don't spoil me!!
Today I'm meeting the newly engaged Linda for lunch, hanging out with my mom, and then going for dinner with more friends.

Vacation part 2

Yesterday I was very stupid. I was going to see some friends whose place I had visited last time, but did not realize, even after writing down the address, that they had moved. Only once I had walked an hour to their old place (in rain boots! not comfortable) did I think to double check their address. Once I finally got there I found out that everyone but Brent is sick like a dog (I saw Dave briefly as he stumbled into the kitchen for apple juice before going back to sleep).
So I hung out in the plague house with Brent for a few hours being fed chicken and rice soup and tea and flipping between classic Star Trek and Next Generation. Talk about rediscovering my roots :) Hopefully everyone will get better soon and we can try to get together again. P.S. Happy belated birthday, Brent!

I've also become that girl who buys the same pair of shoes in three colours. After a delicious Greek dinner with Susan of the hot sauces (if you want me to bring you back fabulous homemade hot sauce, let me know before Saturday) and the lovely and talented Jillian, Jill and I went to Mark's Work Wearhouse (not just steel toed boots anymore) to use a $10 off card I got. They had really cute flip-flop sandals that are the closest things to thongs without that annoying between the toe thing. They were on sale for $3 each, so of course I had to get them. Trouble was, I could not decide what colour to get. I'm now the proud owner of pairs in lavendar, orange, and black.

Today I'm taking a holiday from my vacation. All I'm doing until 2 is lounging and reading. It's wonderful, and I have some great prepubs from the ALA conference. This afternoon is coffee with dad and his friend and then dinner at the pub with other friends, then we might all come back to my sister's place for roasting marshmallows in her fireplace. We even have all the fixing's for s'mores!

I should have packed a sweater...

I flew into Edmonton Saturday afternoon (after spending the first portion of the flight waiting on the runway for an hour until the airport found baggage handlers to come load our luggage and then having a flight-long conversation with my seatmate, an arborist, whese name I never got). I was picked up by my sister, and as all good vacations start we promptly went shopping. Saturday night we went to Taste of Edmonton, which was great, but Normands was out of buffalo kebobs, so I was bummed about that.

Yesterday we went to the Callingwood Farmer's Market, and I overcompensated for the lack of buffalo the night before by buying buffalo sausage and buffalo pepperoni (and chicken satay and teriyaki beef and one of those delicious and painfully sweet peanut butter marshmallow squares) Susan was also there selling her hot sauces so I got a sweet chili sauce and her "somewhat spicy hot sauce"

Have I mentioned how cold it is here yet? And rainy? It's like fall! I don't think I packed enough warm clothes. Good thing I've come prepared to shop! I think it only made it to about 13 degrees celsius yesterday, and it started pouring a little after lunch time. It's supposed to be cool and rainy all week, which makes me kind of happy, as I see that Philly is having disgusting heat and is under a heat advisory now. My folks and I and a family friend went around the city to see all six Front Yards in Bloom finalists. We had to make a couple of stops for people to pull on sweaters and socks. Nature can be very pretty, but by the last few houses Esther and I were staying in the car and experiencing nature from a dry distance. Today I wear my rainboots and carry an umbrella. Good thing I packed my rain gear!

Westward Ho!

I'm about to fly off for my annual pilgrimage to food festival mecca. If you're around Edmonton next week, drop me a line if you haven't already and schedule in some quality Dena time!

Happy birthday to me!

Yup, today is my actual birthday, even though due to scheduling we're not celebrating for a couple of weeks. I do have to go in to work, as I'm using all my vacation time next week to fly back home. But Karin is bringing me a birthday tiara to wear, so it will be a festive day nonetheless.

I love birthdays!

UPDATE: I just got a box in the mail at work. Inside was a set of founding father bobblehead dolls from Hyperion Books for Children. There's nothing else in the box, but I'm guessing I probably won them from ALA. What perfect timing, eh?












UPDATE: I have acheived birthday princess-hood with the addition of a birthday tiara:

Understated, yet fabulous
(and in the background you can just make out the four bobblehead dolls I got today)

Reading Terminal Market, how do I love thee?

I had my very first butcher experience this weekend. I fully believe that meat grows in plastic wrap at the grocery store, but Micaela decided to educate me otherwise and took me to her butcher at Reading Terminal Market. Super cheap ground lamb, custom cut stew meat, and the fun of watching the butcher flirt like crazy with Micaela. As an added bonus, the quality of the meat was superb.

We also went to Iovine's to pick up random vegetables and fruits. It's crazy cheap, and they had amazing mangoes on sale for 2/$1.49. But the best thing was the container of dried apple rings I picked up on a whim. Wow, those things are like crack! I just went back today to get two more containers because they disappear way too fast. I'm taking a chance and trying the dried pears as well. Yes, my life is that exciting.

p.s. Happy Birthday Jen!

Two things learned before breakfast today

One: It is wise to follow the directions on the side of the migraine medication bottle. I took a couple of pills at five this morning on an empty stomach and although the headache is gone, it has been replaced with an awful queasiness. When something tells you to take with food, it's a good idea to follow the instructions.

Two: While wearing a 50's-style skirt, avoid walking over air vents. I had an unexpected Marilyn Monroe incident this morning on the way to work, so my lesson is learned.

Books of the Week

So far this week I've read two very good books. They're both continuations of series (one much more so than the other) and they both kept me up way too late reading them.


First we have Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey. Carey wrote a magnificent trilogy a few years ago about a kind of alternate renaissance Europe, full of political machinations, intrigue, treachery, sex, and grand battles. This is the first of a new trilogy that moves the narration from Phedre (the heroine of the first trilogy) to Imriel (her adopted son). I recommend reading the first trilogy (Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, Kushiel's Avatar) before this one. This is a series you really do have to read in order.


Second is Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes. This book is the fourth to follow the Walsh sisters of Dublin. This time it's Anna who gets her own book. It's hard to explain this one without giving away the plot twists, but Anna has sustained some serious injuries and her husband isn't returning any of her emails or calls. Keyes' books about the Walsh sisters transcend the stereotypical chick-lit genre. Other books about the Walshes include Watermelon, Rachel's Holiday, and Angels. It doesn't much matter which order you read these books, but chronologically (and publication date-wise) Watermelon is first.

And on a totally unrelated note, it is stupid hot outside today. High of 38 Celsius (99 Fahrenheit). And humid. I can't wait for autumn!

Great animation

The National Film Board of Canada just made available online 50 classic animated shorts. It's free to view, and they've got some great ones to see, like "The Cat Came Back" which totally creeped me out as a kid, and still does to this day.

I saw Christopher, Please Clean Up Your Room! at the ALA/CLA conference in Toronto a few years ago (I also totally scared my hero, Robert Munsch, at the same conference). I still love it, so check it out and see why. This one is for mom and dad, who spent years trying to get me to clean my room!

Birthday girl!

I have a birthday coming up (July 26th, party on August 11th), and for those of you who feel the need to get me a present (although it's not necessary), I've tried to make the job easier for you by making a registry that has some of the types of things I like on it to give you an idea. Check it out!

Petty Theft...

...or, yet another straw on the back of my faith in the inherent goodness of humanity.

Today I went to the laundromat. I've been following the same routine for over five years now - Wash clothes while reading, then put them in the dryer and go to the grocery store to do some shopping in the 28 minutes before the dry cycle is done. I leave my little old lady laundry cart, laundry bags, and detergent in the laundromat while I do this. I've never had a problem before. Today when I got back from stocking up on summer essentials (2 pints of blueberries, mango nectar, apricot nectar, and blackcurrant nectar) someone had walked off with my laundry detergent! There was only one person in the laudromat when I left, and no-one when I got back. The laundry lady who runs the place didn't notice him take it, but she said no-one else had come in while I was gone for 15 minutes.

So, Mr. Bright yellow shirt and dreadlocks, I hope you enjoy your 2/3 empty bottle of detergent.

Anyone have an empty laundry detergent jug I can have instead of you throwing it out?

Kitten!

Sally and Mark have a new kitten. He doesn't have a name yet, but from the list that they have, I like Tinkertoy the best (what makes that even cuter, Tinker is the kitten's mother). I snapped a few pictures with my crappy-ass cell phone camera today, so here are some pictures of the new cutest kitten in the world (sorry, Widget):

Ick

Our plucky and intrepid library volunteer Julia is going through all our videotapes checking circ stats. This morning she opened "On the Beach" and found a dead squashed cockroach. EW!

And oddly appropriate for it to be that movie, considering that they'll supposedly be the only things left alive after a nuclear war.

Essential safety equipment

For those of you addicted to Blackberries, Sidekicks, and other like them - you might need this:

An Inconvenient Truth

I just got back from seeing the movie "An Inconvenient Truth". Remember the feeling you had in junior high school (and I'm dating myself here) when you were absolutely positive that there would be a nuclear war in our lifetime? That's kind of the feeling I got watching this movie. It's not nuclear war, but it's something big and scary, and ultimately, something we have some control over.

I just switched my electricity from conventional fossil fuel to wind-power, and I'm going to go shopping for energy efficient light bulbs this week. Go see the movie and see what little things you can do to help stop global warming.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy 139th!

And in "how many people can you stuff in a phone booth" news, improbably I can fit 17 people in my living room.

Susan is (getting) famous!

My friend Susan sells hot sauces at farmer's markets around Edmonton. I'm planning on stocking up on some to bring back when I visit this summer because they sound wonderful. Yesterday she was written up in the Edmonton Journal - check it out:
















Sauce it up with tang, zip or heat
Condiment as common as ketchup on some tables

Judy Schultz, Journal Bistro Writer
Published: Wednesday, June 28, 2006

EDMONTON - THE VENDOR: Susan Chin

THE PRODUCT: Molly's Hot Sauce. These are condiments with Southeast Asian flare. In order to accommodate varying tastes for spices, condiment maker Susan Chin divides her products into three handy categories: mild, medium (the original strength) and hot.

She offers a long roster of tasty sauces including Molly's Original Hot Sauce, with a milder version for beginners. "It's a nice balance between sweet, tangy and hot."

Then there's Somewhat Spicy Hot Sauce (Medium) which starts out tangy, followed by some heat. Super Spicy Hot Sauce (Hot) has a tangy top note and lingering heat.

Molly's Sugar-Free Hot Sauce features Hot Sauce for the Brave (XHot), "Very tangy, very spicy," says Susan.

Molly's Ginger-Free Hot Sauce offers both the Somewhat Spicy Hot and the Super Spicy Hot versions. The Sambal Hot Sauce also comes in three heat levels -- chili pepper paste, which people love on green onion cake; chili pepper and garlic; and the deluxe, a combination of chili pepper paste and all the ingredients that are in Molly's Hot Sauce.

Finally there's Susan's newest creation, a spring roll sauce.

"The ginger-free, sugarfree and spring-roll sauces were added to the product line based on feedback from customers," says Chin. "Some people are not fond of the taste of ginger. For those who are diabetic or enjoy their hot sauces without any sugar, these are perfect."

THE MARKET: The sauces are available in five farmers markets: Festival Place Market, Sherwood Park, Wednesday, 5 p.m.; Millwoods, at 7207 -- 28th Ave., Thursday at 5 p.m.; City Center, 102nd Ave. and 104th St., Saturdays, 9 a.m.; St. Albert, corner of St. Anne's and St. Thomas, Saturdays, 10 a.m.; Callingwood market, 6655 178th St., Sunday.

THE BACKSTORY: "In my family, we've always used the sauce as a regular condiment at the supper table," she says, pointing out that hot sauce -- and we do mean HOT -- is as ubituitous on Southeast Asian tables as ketchup is on Canadian tables.

"We lived in Brunei, and the sauces were my mom's (Molly Chin's) creation," says Susan Chin. "I started eating them at the age of three. Mom is a professional cook, so she just made them up," says Susan, whose mother now cooks at Julie's in the Edmonton Inn. She's been there for several years, but is looking forward to retirement, says Susan.

Meanwhile, the dark, deep, spicy tones of the Chin family hot sauces continue to evolve.

"Our customers have come up with amazing uses for the sauce," she says. The sugar-free sauce has been used as a salad dressing (just mix with a little olive oil), and added to a multi-layered dip for nachos.

"One customer used the original hot sauce as a baste for chicken and shrimp skewers for the barbecue. Others have used the sambal sauces mixed with a sweet sauce (hoisin or maple syrup ...) as a rub for baked salmon."

Book of the Week

Well, the ALA conference in New Orleans is over, and I and my 67 pounds of books (not including the ones I mailed back to myself) have finally made it home. Due to really bad weather all along the east coast yesterday, our flight from Chcago to Philadelphia was delayed from 4:20 to 6:30 and then we sat on the runway for an hour and a half. Good thing I had a bag full of nifty advanced reading copies of upcoming books!

My new favourite upcoming book is by Ken Jennings, he of the record-breaking Jeopardy run a couple of years back. This is part memoir, part trivia history, all very entertaining. Jennings has a natural way with words and can occasionally be quite hilarious. I kept giggling to myself while reading it, earning strange looks from Jen and Liz.



This is the second year in a row that I've lucked out on a great book for the plane ride home (last year was Julie and Julia). It has already been passed along to Jen, who is enjoying it as much as I did.

And once I unpack, organize who is getting what books, and catch up on sleep, I'll let you know the highs and lows of New Orleans 2006.

New Orleans

I've been in New Orleans since Friday for the American Library Association conference. This is the first time I've gotten to a computer since then, and I only have a minute or two.

Amazingly intimidating swanky hotel: check!
Beignets: check!
Blistering heat: check!
Bourbon Street: tomorrow night
Boatloads of free stuff from the exhibits: check!

Right, and back to the exhibits I go, before I go into a full day of programs and a cocktail party tonight (with maybe a harbor cruise somewhere in there).

I am a 12 year old girl...

...and I have a teenage girl crush on Jason Dohring:



Sigh. He's so dreamy.

(2 episodes left in my own personal Veronica Mars-athon - 2 seasons in 1 week)

New TV Obsession

As some of you know, I have a tendency to get obsessed with TV shows. Previously it's been Buffy and Angel, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Lost (not the one you're thinking of), Amazing Race, Coupling (the good British version), Hex, The IT Crowd, and others too numerous to mention. Well, as I spent hours lying on my couch last week, I decided to start watching Veronica Mars. Liz is obsessed with it, and has been for two years. I never even got started watching it, but decided to give it a shot because a) it is available on DVD and b) the Save Veronica Mars campaign sent many copies to my library in an effort to get new viewers hooked. It worked.

I watched the entire first season in three days, and have started on the second (9 eps in, 13 to go!)

Note to self

When recovering from surgery, it is unwise to go berry picking just a few days later. While the berries are delicious, I think I pushed myself a wee bit too hard. Ouch.


But I have raspberries, straweberries, and cherries to last the week.

Invalid update

Everyone's being utterly fabulous! Last night Liz brought me Kool-Aid popsicles. Sally just stopped by bearing a chocolate malt and a little gift box of Godiva chocolates.



While Sally and I were having a nice visit, I got a delivery of a HUGE fruit basket that my two wonderful supervisors from work sent.







And there's still duck and cupcakes tonight. I love everybody!

Oh yeah, and recovery is going well. I'll be good as new really soon.

Under the knife

I just got back home from minor surgery and I'd just like to say how wonderful the Pennsylvania Hospital is. I've never had such consistently cheerful service in a hospital, doctor's office, or the like. Plus, my doctor rocks. And all the other people, from the waiting room receptionist on up. From now on, whenever I have to go to the hospital, I'm going there!

I haven't been allowed to eat or drink since eight last night, and as you know, that makes Dena a very cranky camper indeed. Thankfully they gave me juice and crackers when I woke up, but I'm still starving. I'm craving a bacon cheeseburger, but I'm not allowed to eat fatty foods today. Sigh.

Just in case anyone in the Philly area feels like stopping by to coddle the invalid, food is a lovely recovery gift (Micaela is bringing duck and cupcakes tomorrow. I love Micaela.)

Sailing, sailing...

Today I learned how to sail! Dot took me out on her sailboat, The Minx, and taught me the basics of sailing. I learned how to tie some kind of knot, was able to be in charge of the ropes (lines) on the bow of the boat as we left the dock, and steered for most of the time we were on the river!

We had so much fun, even when we accidentally locked the car keys in the cabin of the boat when we were done. Fortunately there were some really nice people (Allen and his wife) who drove us to Lowe's to buy bolt cutters to cut the padlock on the hatch, and then drove us all the way back to the marina. They were awesome!

And to cap it all off we went for Brazilian food afterwards. It was a great adventure, and we had a blast. I'm definitely going to go sailing again and learn even more. I'm feeling very yacht club.





Dot at the helm








Dot's boat, The Minx








Me at the tiller - I rocked the steering







Relaxing after the sail (but before we realized that I had locked the keys in the cabin)