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)

It's like a magical library elf...

I've discovered a really cool new toy. Library Elf is a web application where you can enter all your library cards and see what you have out in one centralized location. It also emails you before your books are due to remind you, lets you know when your holds are in, and nags you when you have overdues (if you want it to).

It's super useful (and good geeky fun), especially if you belong to more than one library. Check out the site and see if your library is supported (Edmonton Public, Toronto Public, and the Free Library of Philadelphia are all supported).

A good cause

This August my sister is walking 60 km in two days to raise money for breast cancer research in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. She needs to raise at least $2000 (CAD), so if you have any urge to be charitable this summer, I highly recommend sponsoring her. You can donate online at her walkathon website

Go Judy!

VACATION!!

Yay, at six tomorrow morning Liz and I will be heading to the airport on our way to Toronto! Four whole days of vacation in a row! I'm so happy, I don't even care that I haven't even started packing and probably won't get any sleep tonight!

See y'all next week, and see all y'all Toronto people this weekend!

Hermiting

This has been a major socializing weekend with some amazing people. I am now social butterflied out.

I've just had a lovely few hours spending quality time with my tv (I recommend the miniseries "Slings and Arrows", a behind-the-scenes drama about a theatre company), and look forward to a fabulous evening in the company of a good book. If you don't hear from me until Thursday, it's because I am enjoying my fortress of solitude so very very much.

Friday I'm going on an actual vacation - so if anyone is going to be in Toronto and I haven't already talked to you, get in touch - maybe we can meet up at Tim Horton's!

The upside of poor service

Liz and Rachel and I went to Copa tonight because we were craving burgers and margaritas. It took, I swear to god, 45 minutes or more to get our food after placing our order. There was much muttering going on at the table about the service, and we actually mentioned it once tables seated after us got their food before we did. At the end, however, our waitress brought us free margaritas and comped Rachel for her meal (it looked pretty inedible from where I was sitting). Never underestimate the power of free drinks to placate disgruntlement.

The problem is that Copa makes great burgers, so we can't boycott the place. You just have to expect piss-poor service every once in a while.

End of an affair

A deep and passionate love affair ended this week. It only lasted a short time, but I fell hard. Even though workplace romances are frowned upon, I could not help myself. It all ended today when I discovered that my love had vanished. I tried to console myself with another, but it was a weak, rebound fling that ultimately meant nothing.

I am, of course, talking about Hershey's Kissables. They appeared in the staff vending machine a few weeks ago, and I became obsessively fond of them. I had to get a pack every day at work, even though I usually do not buy junk food. It was a glorious, illicit, delicious time, but when I went up today to get my fix, the vending machine stock had been changed. I had to settle for Reese's Pieces, which just don't measure up. I ate them, but inside I was mourning my Kissables.

I suppose this is a good thing in the long run. I really don't need to be addicted to vending machine chocolate. It was good while it lasted, though.

Book title of the week

What would Machiavelli do?

Lovingkindness only gets you so far...

Christmas in May

A colleague of mine went to paradise this past weekend. And by paradise, I mean BEA - Book Expo America.
At BEA all the publishers gather to woo booksellers and librarians with new offerings. Hundreds of authors, thousands of books, and so much free stuff you need a U-Haul to get it home.
My wonderful colleague came back with boxes and boxes of free books, including tons of pre-pubs that won't even be published for months. And she shares!
I have stacks of books on my desk, with the promise of more coming when she finishes reading them.

My favourite title so far:

Goy Crazy by Melissa Schorr

Storytelling

Last weekend I was asked to tell a story. I'm not a children's librarian, so I don't have a repertoire of ready stories to pull out and tell, but I do have one or two favourites that I can pretty much recite word for word. So I went rummaging through my brain and came up with Robert Munsch's Paperbag Princess. My mum bought me this book when I was little because it had a strong heroine and it was one of my regular read-aloud bedtime books when I was a kid. If you have little girls (or if you're just a little girl at heart) and haven't already bought a copy of this book - run out and get it! It's fabulous and funny and has a great message and is written by Robert Munsch - one of the best kid's writers alive.



Oh, and evidently when I tell the story I get a California accent. I didn't even know I knew how to do a California accent. I learn new things about me all the time.

Spoiled!

Someone (and you know who you are!) posted on her blog the results of last night's Amazing Race finale, even though she knows that the rest of us are getting together and watching it tonight and we don't (didn't) know the winners. And she knows that I regularly read her blog.

Grrrr.

Bad, bad friend!

UPDATE: She says she emailed us this morning warning us not to read it. I never received that email. But I'll give her the benefit of the doubt (plus, she'll beat me up if I say nasty things about her)

UPDATE 2: She's planning on posting a screenshot to prove she sent the email. I BELIEVE YOU! It's not your fault the email didn't reach me and I read your blog every day. I'm just bummed that I'm spoiled. I'm going to hope that some time/space warp will occur tonight and the results will be different.

UPDATE 3: Her last email: "...I tried to warn you. Who would have thought [work] have intercepted the mail! I am sorry. But you do not know what happen anyway. How and what! So watch the show. Don't be bumm. Sorry, I can hynotize you if you like"

Harry and the Potters

I was supposed to go to a Harry and the Potters concert tonight at the World Cafe Live. Instead, I am going home and crawling into bed to try and stave off getting even sicker than I already am. That sucks.

On the bright side, they'll be back in Philly on August 17, so I'll have another chance to see them, and by then I might actually have read the last two Harry Potter books.

If you've never heard of the band before take a look at the description from the band's website:

"The idea is that the Harry Potter from Year 7 and the Harry Potter from Year 4 started a rock band. And now, no one can stop the wizard rock."

How much geeky fun is that!?

And on the rain topic...

I apologize for the fact that it will probably rain in Philadelphia today. I forgot my umbrella at home. It is a proven fact that whenever I forget my umbrella on days with even the slightest chance of showers I will inevitably be rained upon. It's just the universe's way of letting me know that it notices me, I guess. Anyways, sorry.

On a lighter note I present to you my book of the week:


Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys

I'm a huge Neil Gaiman fan from way back. I discovered Good Omens because of Terry Pratchett then the Sandman graphic novels hooked me in deeper. And "The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish" is one of the best picture books I've read.

I read Anansi Boys this weekend and really enjoyed it. It takes a bit to get into it, but becomes addictive very fast. The book builds from the base of the Anansi stories from West Africa. Fat Charlie Nancy's dad has died and his heretofore unknown brother Spider has shown up and stolen his job, his fiancee, and his life. Now Fat Charlie has to figure out a way to get Spider to leave him alone and go away.

If you want a funny book with depth and scope, this is a great read. You really can't go wrong with Neil Gaiman.

The mystery of rain

It rained all night last night and I walked in to work this morning in the damp and post-rain wetness. About midway through the walk, I began to wonder why, in one of the largest cities in the United States, does it still smell like earthworms after it rains? I expect that back home, where everyone has a front yard and there are poor waterlogged earthworms everywhere on the sidewalk so that you have to constantly look down to avoid them. But here? With no real dirt bordering the sidewalks? It confuses me.

Oh, and hello all of Jeremy's LiveJournal friends!

How books make (or don't make) money

I recently read this description of the economic life of a mass market book. Very interesting reading, especially if you have a vested interest in seeing how books are published (or like me, you're a librarian who just like to know things in general).

C is for Cookie

A few weeks ago I went to V for Vendetta. Liz and I thought it was really good, Dot and Marianne thought it was kind of silly. We think there might be a generational difference in how we saw it.

But whether it's silly or prophetic, it's definitely funnier with Muppets!

Best comic of the week

Luxury

What's better than a brand new mattress?

A brand new mattress covered with a 3 inch memory foam mattress topper!

Oh, was it hard to roll out of bed this morning...

After a long absence...

It's been weeks. WEEKS, I say. I just realized how long it's been since I posted.

I hosted my first ever Passover seder this year. I cooked for 10 hours straight and fed 10 people (with lots of lovely brisket for leftovers). I even got everyone to sing! Of course I have now been told that I must do this every year, so this is the beginning of a new tradition. Maybe next year some of my Jewish friends will be able to make it as well, and I won't be the only one who knows Daiyenu.

Spenderiffic weekend

A few weeks ago I decided to buy a new bed. Why? I have a twin bed that has been with me since I was a little kid. It's a good bed, but it's really really old and I think it's time for a big girl bed.

This weekend Jen and I went bed shopping. We started with the old standby - Ikea - and ended up at Sleepy's (with a stop at Famous Dave's along the way). After spending about two hours trying the beds at Sleepy's and becoming instant buddies with Julia, our salesgirl, I ended up dropping more than my monthly rent on a Kingsdown Emerald Crown mattress and boxspring.

Not only did I buy the mattress Saturday, it was delivered on Sunday. Not only that, I was given a 4-8 delivery window, and it was delivered at 4:15.

The first challenge, deciding where to put it. My room is a fairly decent size, but it is an awkward shape. And a full sized bed is a whole lot bigger than a twin. So now the bed kind of looms in the middle of the room with a bit of space around each side to move.

But how does it feel? I slept last night on it and I wasn't sure at first because it was so much softer on top than my old bed. But it was so comfy! I ended up sleeping through my alarm, so that might be a problem. Good thing I don't have to go to work until 12:45 today!

This morning on my way to work I'm going shopping for linens and a duvet cover and such, as I have to get everything new for a new sized bed. More shopping! My credit card is going to be hurting next statement.

Making choices

I make decisions every day. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad, but ultimately they're mine. But if you've been following the news at all you'll know that in South Dakota I am evidently unfit to make one of the most important choices there is.

Recipe of the week

This weekend I felt the need to use up some of the bananas that are in my freezer, but I didn't want to make banana bread. I ended up stumbling onto a wonderful recipe for mocha chocolate chip banana muffins at allrecipes.com. I modified the recipe slightly and made the best banana muffins I've ever had. If you want to see the original recipe, click here

Here is the recipe with my few modifications:

INGREDIENTS:

* 1/2 cup margarine or butter
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 3 ripe bananas
* 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules, dissolved in
* 1 tablespoon water
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Blend butter or margarine, sugar, egg, banana, dissolved coffee, and vanilla for 2 minutes. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and soda, and blend just until flour disappears. Add chocolate chips and mix in with wooden spoon. Spoon mixture into 15 to 18 paper-lined muffin cups.
3. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks

Yummy! Enjoy!

Book of the week

Today at lunch I read Every Person on the Planet by Bruce Eric Kaplan.



This is a delightful little book that takes only minutes to read - it's a picture book for adults about Edmund and Rosemary, a couple who decide to have a holiday party and end up inviting every person on the planet. And then everyone actually shows up (except for the ones who got bad directions and couldn't find the place).

This is a great book if you've ever had anxiety about throwing (or attending) a party. And really, who hasn't?

A complete waste of 140 minutes

Last night I decided to watch Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. I'm amazed and appalled that so many reviewers gave it a good rating. This was, beyond a doubt, the worst movie I've seen this year. Possibly the worst movie I've seen since the last Star Wars movie. It's the usual suspects for me: badly written dialogue, wooden line readings, to many explosions and not enough character, and this time even the special effects felt fake and flat to me. It wasn't even fun in the "wow, let's watch things blow up" sense. I really like Ewan MacGregor, and I think, possibly, he was trying to do some real acting here, but it failed. I like Natalie Portman, but she wasn't even trying. A waste, I say, a total waste of time.

In order to cleanse my mental palate, I felt the need to rewatch one of the funniest Star Wars spoofs ever. It's an old one, but Troops always makes me giggle.

Tonight I watched the previous night's Amazing Race (Damn you, CBS, for running it an hour later this year and making me unable to watch it the night it airs. I refuse to abandon my precious lying in bed with a book time just because my favourite reality show is now on at 10 instead of 9) to wipe this execrable excuse for entertainment from my memory.

Treats from the street

I usually go to work every morning by meeting up with my walking buddy Rachel on Broad Street and heading up from there. This week, however, I've been meeting up with my backup walking buddy Micaela and then walking across Market St. Let me tell you one of the Market Street advantages (besides being about 3 minutes faster): Free food!

For the past two days there have been people giving out Quaker Oats Breakfast cookies to pedestrians.


Over the past little while, while walking along Market Street, I've gotten yoghurt shakes, coffee, granola bars, gum, and Quizno's coupons. And a group of us did get $5 Starbucks cards while strolling in Rittenhouse Square last year. Walking up Broad Street - nothing.




Nothing else really exciting, I just wanted to share my love of getting free stuff.

7 Stages of Falling in Love with an Author

This weekend I got hooked on Kelley Armstrong's "Women of the Otherworld" series. I've read the first four books in the last three days. If you like Laurell K. Hamilton and/or Kim Harrison you'll like Kelley Armstrong.

All things considered, it's quite brilliant that I received the following cartoon in my inbox yesterday morning:
























And now I must go read the last book (so far) in the series. Very slowly.

I think I gained 6 pounds...

It's Restaurant Week again in Philly, and last night a group of us went to The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant. Oh my goodness, that was a lot of food! Delicious, delicious food. I felt like a big marshmallow trying to get my jeans done up this morning, but it was so worth it. If you ever go I recommend the Flaming Turtle chocolate fondue - pretty much a pot of melted Turtle chocolates flambeed tableside. We all got spoons when we ran out of things to dip so we wouldn't waste a drop of the chocolate (Oh yeah, we had pure dark chocolate fondue as well, but I'm more of a milk chocolate fan).

In honour of my eating my body weight in cheese and chocolate and meat and such over three hours last night, I give you this video. I remember seeing it last year some time, but it makes me laugh especially hard right now. Enjoy!

Reasons to learn a new language

I've been debating whether I want to take French again, and I have just discovered a good reason to learn a new language:



Maybe I'll take up German... Just in case...

Gold star for me!

Two fun Library patrons this afternoon:

I had a patron on the phone who, after a fairly long refernce question where we both ended up laughing, asked where I was from. When I said Canada, she started going on about how we had a commercial that made her cry. Evidently Canada used to (or still does, who knows) do tourism advertising on TV here. This lady then proceeded to sing me the commercial jingle, which she remembered after umpteen years, because she thought it was so beautiful. This is my first serenade while on the desk. I quite enjoyed it (plus, it made me laugh)!

Right after that I had a lady who wanted to read a book series by an author she didn't remember, featuring a character she didn't know the name of, whith titles she didn't know. I pulled out my super-librarian sleuthing skills and with the only clues being the character lived in Maine, solved myteries, and fixed houses, I found it in 3 seconds flat! Literally! Sarah Graves' "Home Repair is Homicide" series. The lady was thrilled and gave me a gold star (well, she said, "Gold Star for you!!" which I will accept as an acceptable stand-in for a real gold star). I'd like to thank Google, for making my ability to answer reference questions appear even more magical to the patrons.

All hail my mad research skillz!

The Illness

Argh - this month has been crap for getting sick. Everyone I know has been or is ill in some form or another. Last night was my turn (again, for the third time this year). I think I have the flu, or food poisoning, or something. It's 2:30 in the afternoon and I've finally made it out of bed into the living room. I'm now okay sitting or lying still (a big improvement from midnight to 7 am this morning). I'm still queasy, but it's not as awful anymore. I hate being sick! Hopefully I'll be okay tomorrow as I have a ton of stuff I really want to do this week at work. Plus, tomorrow is Girl's Night - What's a Thursday without gathering to heckle Project Runway?

But it's not all sickness, self-pity, and boredom. Check out the movie trailer below! I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain yet but oh my, is this funny!

Book suggestions from the Great White North

I had two books recommended to me from some of the Edmonton folks in the past month or so. I finally managed to get my hands on both of them.




First we have The Game: Penetrating the secret society of pickup artists by Neil Strauss. This was recommended to me by Susan, who thought it was brilliant. Me, not so much. I got 98 pages into it before putting it down for good. I figure if I'm going to read about some guy learning how to pick up women for quick one night stands, I at least want him to be funny, sympathetic, and/or sincere. This guy is none of the above. I didn't care about him, any of the other people in the book, or what they were doing. I guess Susan might have liked it because it was all about salesmanship, but I just felt vaguely icked out and bored. I suppose the one good thing about the book is that looks exactly like a bible. Faux black leather cover, gold trimmed pages, red ribbon bookmark. I felt very religious reading it. Ironic, really.




Secondly, my friend Dave's wife's brother bought a copy of Spin by Robert Charles Wilson for his father for Christmas. He showed it to me when I visited baby Zaara (and Dave and Gaia, of course). This science fiction novel begins when all of a sudden all the stars in the sky disappear. The flyleaf description sounded fascinating, and I made a note to pick it up from the library. I finally got it and read it this week. This is one of those books that you want to just keep reading. I resented anything that took me away from my book - work, going out, sleep. And to make the already interesting book even more fun, it had a subplot about fundamentaist Christians trying to breed a red heifer. A couple of months ago Mark explained the religious thought behind the whole red heifer thing, and we've been joking about it ever since. I really liked this book, which had interesting science, big ideas, and great character development. Thanks, Dave's wife's brother (whose name I'm blanking on, but for some reason I think it might start with an N)!

This one's for Liz

Mu friend Liz is what you might call a coffee fiend. This woman does not play well with others uncaffienated. She also loves chocolate (who doesn't?)

In her honour, I present to you -- CHOCOLATE JOLT (no, not the pop)

This seems to be the quick antidote to food coma if you like chocolate and coffee (and the associated massive influxes of sugar and caffeine). I wouldn't recommend taking this before you go to bed.

Mmmm... new bus smell

I never thought that a bus could have new bus smell, but the number 12 on my way home from work tonight had just that. Moreso, the seats were vibrant blue, the pull cord was shiny yellow, and the floor was relatively clean. It was lovely, and smelled like a showroom car. I give it about a day before the new bus smell wears off. I feel privileged to have experienced it.

And on the cat theme...

I'm Widget-sitting for the wekend, and today I (and my laundry) have been having a lovely time at Sally's. I get to play with the cutest kitten in the world, and I get to avoid the laundromat - how wonderful is my day?

Also, Widget seems to have acquired a new skill - impersonating a gopher.

R.I.P. Snoopy

I can top this one...

Snicker. But I can relate to poor Dewey here:



I can beat him, though. A few years ago I hurt my back by sleeping. I swear - I was fine one day, the next day I could hardly walk. Months of drugs and physical therapy later, and I am down to just twinges in my back. But seriously - sleeping broke me!

TV, and S'mores - does life get any better?

Thursday nights are the best! Today Liz and Jen and Sally and I got together to watch last night's Project Runway. We discovered over the past few weeks that it is a lot more fun to heckle the tv in a group than by yourself. From now Thursday night is TV Night at Dena's. Gotta love the Tivo!

Tonight we also got to try my new S'mores maker (thanks Marianne!!!) - it's a blast, and we had quite a good time lighting marshmallows on fire, as demonstrated here by Jen and Liz. My poor hanging light possible got a bit singed, though. Next time I move the table a bit.


And for tv dessert, we watched the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars - yet again a fabulous show to watch in a group and heckle. We can't wait for Skating with Celebrities, which we hope will be an even more hilarious train wreck. 

Books I have read (yesterday)

I read two books yesterday (well, I finished one and read the other entirely).

My Fifteen Minutes by Sarah Faith Alterman

Cute, and nice to have a book about a woman in LA who has no interest in being famous or a movie star (even though there is a movie star in it)


The Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab by Gideon DeFoe

Cute, but shallow and very silly. Took me about an hour to read, maybe a bit less.

I have moved on to Diana Lively is Falling Down, which is promising to be cute, but not too shallow. It's also a slower read than the other two.

New Year's Fun!

What a good New Year's it was this year! New Year's Eve day began with a lovely breakfast at Honey's with Carl, Micaela, Mark, Dawn, and Liz. After that Liz and I went up to Mark and Dawn's to have the first Philadelphia Corner Gasathon, where we watched 17 episodes of the second season of Corner Gas, a Canadian tv sitcom that I have addicted quite a few Philadelphians to. I fell asleep during the curling episode, but I've seen it before, so that's okay. We still have to watch the last episode, as we ran out of time.
After the marathon, Liz and I headed out to Jen and Kim's place to have a grand holiday dinner (yummy turkey and stuffing!), play trivial pursuit, and ring in the new year while sitting in the slightly broken hot tub with glasses of champagne.
It was the perfect New Year's Eve day!

Jewish Christmas

I flew back to Philadelphia on Sunday, and Carl and Micaela were really sweet to pick me up from the airport. We dropped my bags (plural - I had to buy new luggage to hold all my stuff. Typical.) at my place and then headed directly into Chinatown for dinner.

Here are Carl and Micaela enjoying their first ever Jewish Christmas at Lee How Fook, entirely surrounded by a restaurant full of Jews celebrating Christmas the way we know best-dinner at one of the only places open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Winter in Edmonton

I've been away for a while - actually I'm still away. I flew up to Edmonton for my mom's surprise birthday party last week and have been here ever since. I couldn't talk about it because mom actually reads my blog (at least, she'd better), and it would ruin the surprise that my sister and dad and I had been keeping secret for three months. Well, no need to worry about that - dad spilled all the beans the day before the party (just because mom ended up in Emergency on Saturday, humph). So the party wasn't a huge surprise, but it was fun. Happy birthday, mom!

I've been crazy busy running around the city meeting up with friends this week. I did go to West Edmonton Mall today for the sole purpose of watching all the frantic Christmas shoppers and laughing at them, but I was disappointed that the mall was relatively empty. I guess people were well prepared for gift-giving this year. Darn.

And the wonderful thing is that it has been freakishly warm in Edmonton this week. It's been above freezing for the whole week and I did not need to break out the long underwear once. Nor did I have to do up my coat to go outside for most of the week.

I fly home bright and early tomorrow morning and land in time to go to Chinatown with Carl and Micaela for Jewish Christmas (dinner at Lee How Fook). What are the odds that the Tim Hortons in the airport will be open at 6 am tomorrow morning so I can get a box of Timbits to bring home with me?

Roomba pet!

You know how I have a Roomba? And how all my friends think it's really cool and tease me about it being my pet substitute? Well, now I can get even closer to anthropomorphism with Roombud, which sells cute little costumes for the Roomba



And, I just found out that there is also a Scooba, which is a floor-washing robot to go along with my vacuuming robot.

Dance like you've never danced before!

I really don't like dancing. I'm very self-conscious about the fact that I look pretty stupid on the dance floor. Give me choreography and I can fake it pretty well, but club dancing is right out.

But now I can learn how to dance properly. This might all the difference. Well, not really, but it's hilarious to watch. Check it out.

Luna Bar Maggot update

As I wrote last week, I found a live maggot in my daily Luna Bar last week. I sat down and emailed what happened to the Luna Bar people:

I took a Luna bar to work today for breakfast (as I do every day). Today, however, I had a bit of a shock. I opened the bar and started eating it. I looked down at the bar after about two bites, and notices a crumb (I thought) moving. Turns out it was a small maggot or something- quite alive and happily living in the bar. It looked like the bar was sealed before I opened it, so I have no idea where it came from. Needless to say it was a pretty unpleasant experience.

I received a response from one of their customer service guys today:

Hi Dena,

Thanks for taking the time to contact us about your unpleasant experience with finding bugs in your Lemon Zest Luna Bar. I am so sorry that this happened to you and apologize for your discomfort. There is a simple explanation for what has occurred with your Luna Bar. What you discovered is an Indian Meal Moth. I assure you that while Indian Meal Moths are definitely unappetizing, they are not harmful to ingest, and do not become parasites.

These moths are pantry pests that are attracted to grains, dried fruits, chocolate, nuts, cardboard, birdseed and other preservative-free foods. The moths seek out food sources when they are ready to lay their eggs and the larvae are so tiny they can enter sealed packaging though microscopic pores and weaknesses. This can occur at any point in the distribution chain.

We do not know where the infestation occurred, but we are confident that the Indian Meal Moths you encountered did not originate in our warehouse or bakery. Our warehouse and bakery are kept scrupulously clean, and both are equipped with pheromone traps, which are checked on a daily basis. Additionally, after the Luna Bars are baked, each bar is sealed in a Mylar wrapper.

Unfortunately, as you found, the moth larvae can occasionally find their way through the packaging. Of the millions of Luna Bars we’ve sold in the past year, moths affect a very small percentage. While this doesn’t make finding them in your bar any less unsettling, I wanted to assure you that it is not a common experience.

I hope that this information will help to ease your concern. I would like to send you a box of fresh-from-the-bakery Lemon Zest Luna Bars as our sincere apology for this incident.

If you have any other problems or questions in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me at jhantman@clifbar.com or at (800) 884-5254, ext. 105. Thank you for your understanding; we appreciate your business.

Take care,
Jeff - Consumer Service
www.clifbar.com

Book of the Day

I started a new book yesterday: Irma: Memoirs of a Vampire Gone Dry, by Laine Jacob.



I'm quite enjoying it so far. I thought it would be chick-litty, but it's really more "literary" than I expected.

First Snow!

December 4, and we had our first snowfall of the winter!



Just snowy enough to realize that winter is here and to melt all over the place and make it wet and slippy to walk on. It still doesn't get below freezing in the daytime yet, but it's a beginning.

Survivor Philadelphia

It's the disgusting food challenge!

I usually have a Luna Bar for breakfast every morning. This morning I took a slightly squished LemonZest bar. Here come the disgusting part. I started eating it this morning and then looked down at the bar. There was a little live maggot on the bar! Ew! Ew!

Needless to say the bar went into the trash, and I had potato chips for breakfast instead.

Thanksgiving

In honour of it being the day after Thanksgiving, here is a look at one of the projects that the Children's Librarian at one of the branches did with her kids:




Apple Turkey!

Materialism rocks!

I have now found my favourite shoe store. I was at Franklin Mills on Sunday and bought the cutest boots in the world (at least for now).

The Clarks/Bostonian Outlet sells Clarks (and it's sub-brands) at about 50% less than list price. They're still expensive, but oh so worth it. Clarks are the most comfortable shoes I've worn. I bought a couple of sandals at the Clarks store in Scotland, and they were the first sandals that I have bought that I have not had to break in. From now on, I'm buying Clarks (or Merrells) Cute AND Comfy! A great way to follow my father's rule: Always wear comfortable shoes.

Unintentionally funny book cover of the day

Um, is it about a handyman who can't reach the ceiling? Possibly his shirt is stuck up there.

No! It's about some pro wrestler. Check out the leather pants - not the most practical attire for a handyman. Wouldn't want to spill paint on those puppies (or cows, whatever).

Actually, I'd probably want to read the book more if it was about a handyman.

Oooh, Shiny!

A group of us went for drinks and barbeque the other night, which is not the important part of the story. Liz and I were offered rides home, and we were walking through the parking garage to the car when Ernestine noticed a really classy car. We looked closer and realized it was a Rolls Royce. I have never seen a Rolls in person, so it was really cool. It was a Silver Spur, and it looked like the passanger door was actually monogrammed (I know some car afficianado will now tell me that that's some standard Rolls thing, but I was impressed). Talk about conspicuous consumption.

New addition to my reading list

I just picked up the new book by Lynne Truss. She's the author of Eats, shoots, and leaves - which is supposed to be a really good an funny book on grammar (which I haven't read, but Lucie would probably encourage me to do so). Her new one is called Talk to the hand: the utter bloody rudeness of the world today, or six good reasons to stay home and bolt the door.



UPDATE

I finished the book last night (Monday) and spent the rest of the evening being hyper-polite to everyone. Cute book, easy and fast to read. I like her writing style. She is very self-deprecating and funny.

Cool stuff being made

My dad loves going on tours of factories. He's been to paper factories, cement factories, a strip mine, a shellfish factory, a hydroponic tomato factory, and tons of others. In honour of my dad, and all the other mechano-geeks out there, here's a great website that has videos of things being made.

Want to see an aluminium can being made?

How about Campbell's Potato Soup?

Sit back and enjoy the show!

Strike, Day 7

No more strike! Just as I was beginning to enjoy my walk into work, SEPTA and the unions settled and I can go back to being a lazy bus rider. Yay, I guess.

The end of a season

You know it is fall when the fruit carts pack up for the season. My fruit girls near the library left last month, and I believe that today was the last day for the fruit salad and smoothie guy down on JFK Boulevard. In honour of this sad occasion, I trekked down to the cart to get my last strawberry/banana/pineapple smoothie of the year.


Goodbye, beloved smoothies and fruit salad. I will try to eat healthily during the cold and bitter winter months, but I can't guarantee anything.

Strike, Day 3,4, and 5

As promised, I have been walking too and from work for the past few days. It's actually a really nice walk in - Rachel and I meet up at Broad St and walk up together, so I have a very chatty walking buddy. It takes about 45 minutes, I get in at the same time as the shuttle from hell, and it's a much nicer experience. On the way home I walk with Micaela, and occasionally (ok, once) her boyfriend picks us up halfway home bearing Godiva chocolate. Yum.

Yesterday I ended going up to a branch in North Philly to help weed, and on the way back a drive that usually takes 20-25 minutes took about an hour due to the massive amount of traffic. Because so many people are driving instead of taking the bus, the whole city gets completely backed up. Walking is easily faster than driving in Center City.

And it's going up to 23 this weekend! I must plan outdoorsy things to do.

Strike, Day 2

My well intentioned plans to walk to work every morning fell by the wayside today when I decided to take the library shuttle in to work. Of course, you're now picturing a van or a bus or something, right? Well, the library shuttle is neither of those things. It is one of the library delivery trucks. When it pulled up to the corner I was waiting on, the driver hopped out and went 'round back to open the door. By door, I mean the sliding door on the back of delivery trucks. Because it's a delivery truck. There was a wooden plank bench along each side of the interior. We all sat along the sides, laughing about how bad it was. Then the truck started moving. This thing had no shocks - it was like taking a very fast wooden wagon ride over cobblestones, and with every sudden stop and start, we were thrown about the back as there was nothing to hold on to. At least there was some light because the roof was translucent. It felt like a prisoner transport. It's really nice that the library is providing shuttle service, but I think I'm done with it.

I believe that tomorrow I will walk to work. I'm pretty sure it will take about the same amount of time, and be much more comfortable.

These boots were made for walking

SEPTA has gone on strike as of 12:01 this morning, so now I will be walking the 45 minutes to and from work for the forseeable future. It's not that bad, as I typically walk home anyways, but I am a lazy girl and like taking the bus in the mornings. I'm sure all this extra walking will be good for me, as long as the weather doesn't get crappy. This week it's gotten nice again, so that's good. I, at least, have the option of walking, which is so much better than poeple who are now stranded without bus or subway service.

The last strike here was in 1998 and lasted 40 days. Hopefully this won't last as long.

Important invention honoured

My friend Liz can sleep through anything. That's a good thing, when it means that she can sleep through sirens and loud drunk people outside her window. It's not such a good thing when it means that she sleeps through her alarm clock.

A few months ago I found Clocky, an alarm clock that hides from you so you have to get out of bed to find it and silence it. This would be perfect for Liz!



This month the creator of Clocky, Gauri Nanda, won an Ig Nobel Award in Economics.

From the Ig Nobel website:

ECONOMICS: Gauri Nanda of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for inventing an alarm clock that runs away and hides, repeatedly, thus ensuring that people DO get out of bed, and thus theoretically adding many productive hours to the workday.
WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Gauri Nanda

Four Blanket Night, Part 2

Well, there was no heat after work on Thursday, even though the landlord had been by to bleed the radiators. My upstairs neighbor was freezing too. I called again yesterday morning, and we finally discovered that it wasn't a bleeding problem, but the fact that the pilot light on the hot water heaters in the basement had blown out sometime over the summer. Easily fixed, so now it is toasty warm! Yay!

Four blanket night

It's cold down here! For the third winter in a row my radiators need to be bled, and I still don't know how to do it. This means that I have no heat in the apartment, even though my thermostat is set to 75 (I have no idea what that is in Celsius, but it's nice and warm). I talked to my landlord on Sunday about it and he is supposed to come in today or tomorrow, but until then it's been downright chilly in my apartment.

I come home from work and put on my wooly robe and fuzzy slippers and wrap myself in an afghan (blanket, not nationality). I light candles and pretend that they are giving off heat. Last night I put yet another blanket on my bed, bringing the total up to four. I'm practically living in my flannel jammies. And it hasn't even dropped below freezing - my place was 14 degrees Celsius this morning.

Hopefully I will have blessed, blessed heat when I get home tonight.

Skinny equals happy

A few weeks back my friends adopted a new catchphrase. It came about because Karen caught her boyfriend Steve admiring his behind in the mirror, thrilled that he'd been losing weight. He delightedly proclaimed that "Skinny equals happy!"

And it has been a happy, happy week in skinny world. All the girls will get it
(and Steve). I've been a size 10 for years. As long as I can remember, I've been a 10. A couple of weeks ago I went shopping for jeans at the GAP because they were having a great sale. I think they are being all screwy with their sizing all of a sudden, because now I fit quite comfortable into a size 8. Not only that, but I went shopping today for some more jeans (because I'm bored of my clothes and am doing a wardrobe purge and replace), and I fit into a size 6! I know that I haven't lost that much weight, if any, so this must be some "let's make the women feel good about their weight and change all the sizes" thing, but hey, I just bought a jeans in size 6!! Hee!

And on that note, take a look at an open letter to the totally impractical size chart for women, which Judy blogged a few days ago and I'm shamelessly stealing.

This one is for the librarians

The reason I haven't posted in a few days is because on Tuesday we switched over from DRA to Sirsi, so the past three days have been a combination of staff training (as I am evidently the department expert on everything from Sirsi to making a printer work), damage control, soothing patrons, and catching up on a two month backlog of processing.
In fairness I can say that Sirsi does not suck as much as I was dreading. I don't understand, however, why I could not for the life of me find a copy of Bernard Corwell's "The Last Kingdom" on cd in Workflows, but it popped up no problem on the web catalog. I had to get the database control number from the web catalog, and then plug that back into Workflows to find it. And there are other irritants, but hey, we can check in and check out and put things on hold, so it's a start.

Nature, it's a wonderful thing - especially if you can eat it.

I went apple picking this morning. The last time I did this I was knee high to a grasshopper, so I don't remember anything about it (although there are pictures of me in a very fetching apple-picking outfit). This time a group of us drove out to Media (yes, it's a place) and picked a bushel of apples (four different kinds). We even had a little red cart to pull our boxes of apples along in.

Of course, none of us brought a real camera along, but my cell phone has a crappy-ass 640x480 camera.


Look, I'm communing with nature!

The orchard also has a pumpkin patch, and a store where I bought peach butter and strawberry-rhubarb butter and a huge bread stuffed with sausage and peppers and cheese and onions (lunch for the next to days). And there were fried mushrooms and apple-cider doughnuts and soft pretzels and caramel-chocolate covered apples.

And when we finished Micaela and I went to a mall and bought pretty new clothes.

It was a very good day.

Yup, it was good!

Saw Serenity last night - and yes, it was worth the anticipation. So good!