What I learned

This past Sunday to Tuesday, Jeff and I took our first backpacking trip together. We left Sunday morning for Athens, OH near Lake Hope area on a designated backpacking trail. It was absolutely gorgeous, even though it was 150 degrees and our skin basically melted off. Exaggerate much? Yes. But it was hot, in the 90s. The trip was a total of about 9 miles and while I was incredibly sore (and still am), I think I could've gone further. DB graciously let me borrow all his wonderful camping gear so I was able to go on this trip. Here are a few tidbits I learned:

• Tennis shoes are NOT okay substitutes for trail shoes. I am still recovering from a major blister and cannot wear any shoes with backs.
• While birch bark may burn very well, the wood itself does not like to burn. At least, that's the type of tree we *thought* it was.
• Gnats are evil. They are evil incarnate. They swarmed us everywhere we went and were especially interested in our ears and eyes.
• I will NEVER make the mistake of not bringing the walking poles again. I definitely could have benefited from those.
• The strap that goes across your chest does nothing but constrict breathing and cause panic attacks. Okay maybe the latter was just a Sassy thing but it was real!
• Coyotes, while totally harmless and scared of their own shadow, are not any less creepy to hear in the middle of the night close to your campsite.
• I am capable of more than I thought I was. Both physically and mentally.
• I've got a really good guy in my life.

We plan to go again sometime, hopefully soon and I now know what I have to do. I have to start saving up for a good pair of hiking shoes so my feet don't cause me so many problems again. I need to continue exercising at the gym and focus especially on my legs but continue arms and cardiovascular workouts. And hopefully next time it'll be a little cooler.

Sassy the Librarian in action!

This was at a family fun night at a local elementary school. It was so much fun! The kids went from station to station and my station was called "Sally's Stories". Best ever! I'm reading two of my favorite books to read aloud. In the first picture, it's Bark, George by Jules Feiffer. Second one is Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox. EXCELLENT books especially for reading aloud! Another favorite is I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont.

I hate my dog

Okay, not really, but after last night she's lucky to be alive with all four legs still in tact. So here's the story. Lyra is quite fixated with Monkey right now. Clearly it's because Monkey actually runs away from her. Sammy puts up a fight (and a good one at that) so Lyra gets bored with him. Monkey likes to climb up on the landing above my kitchen and hang out. Lyra spends a LOT of time staring up at him, waiting anxiously to come down.

Last night, Lyra got courageous...or just fed up with waiting. She actually tried to jump up on my kitchen counter to get at Monkey. Nothing about this manuver was graceful. Lyra's not a small dog. She's about 45-50 pounds and she's ALL legs. (and ears). In the process of her jumping up on the counter and me yelling obscenities, she knocked my crock pot over onto the kitchen floor. It shattered. The ceramic bowl on the inside of the crock pot is in a million pieces.

This is especially frustrating to me because I have recently gotten into cooking. *gasp* I know. Family, you know what a big deal this is. I have actually been cooking! And I don't mean my previous definition of cooking. (for those of you who don't know, my previous definition of cooking involved anytime I have to heat something up or do a lot of movement). I mean like actual real dishes from actual real cookbooks. So the fact that now my crock pot is out of commission is a huge deal. HUGE.

So suffice it to say Lyra needs to thank her lucky stars that she doesn't have an abusive owner because a less patient person might have done something really mean. Not that I was nice. If Lyra understood English...or language at all...she would probably be quite offended by my choice words. Now I just have to add crock pot to my list of things to buy. So annoying.

(two of) The Boys

This will give you an idea of the size of Lyra's ears, if you haven't gotten the perspective already. They're quite incredible, if I do say so myself!!

Worst.

I try to keep an open mind in my job. I hear a lot of things, see a lot of things that at face value could be taken the wrong way and misunderstood. But every once in a while something happens that throws me through such a loop I can't help but be disgusted.

Case in point. I was helping the pages clean up the lobby last night. There were a lot of middle schoolers working on a school project. There were bits of stuff everywhere. Not a big deal at all. However, one of the little bits I picked up...well...I shudder to even think now. I picked up part of a tooth. Oh. My. God. Once I figured out what it was, I immediately threw it across the room and promptly freaked out. I still feel a little nauseous thinking about it. GROSS!!

A Sad Day

We have lost one of the best children's authors of all time, as far as I'm concerned. At 88 years old, Madeleine L'Engle passed away today of natural causes. A very sad day indeed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/books/07cnd-lengle.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

The dingo ate mah baby!

I have confirmed Lyra's breed. When I got her I just assumed she was a mix of German Shepherd and Yellow Lab. But it never really fit quite right. After I jokingly told a co-worker that my new dog looks like a dingo, she later brought me information about a breed I had never heard of: Carolina Dog. I contacted someone at the Carolina Dog Association with pictures of Lyra and a description of her temperment and she wrote back saying that yes, in fact, Lyra is a full-blown Carolina Dog.

Carolina Dog is also known as American Dingo, Dixie Dingo, Southern Dingo, Native American Dog, the Indian's Dog, the Southern Aboriginal Dog and Ol' Yaller. It comes from southeastern U.S. and has been linked to the Australian Dingo. They also have some physical similarities to sighthounds (greyhounds, whippets, etc.) which is exactly what Lyra looks like.

It's really neat to learn more about the breed, it has a pretty interesting history and I couldn't have asked for a better dog, she's perfect!! Sure she makes me messes and loves to play "let's see if I can fit Sammy's head in my mouth" but all in all she's the best dog I've ever met. Of course I will always have a special place in my heart for Levi but I never had a connection with him that I immediately had with Lyra.

Here's some more info if you're so inclined (I certainly am):

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/caralinadog.htm

http://www.carolinadogs.com/

ichc

A long-awaited release

Well I tried. I checked out the first book of Harry Potter and had every intention of reading it over my vacation but alas, it didn't happen. I don't know why, but I just couldn't bring myself to pick it up. Too many other things to read right now. For instance, I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Stephenie Meyer's 3rd book in the Twilight series. Eclipse is here!! I was practically giddy to be number 3 on the waiting list for what I'm sure is going to be an amazing installment to this incredible series about vampires, werewolves, love, family, identity, and everything in between. Plus never before did I understand the concept of having a crush on a fictional character from a book until I read Twilight. Edward? Oh yeah, good stuff. Read it people, it's fabulous.

The only other series that I yearn for the next installment is Darren Shan's Demonata series. I was hooked during the first book. It is an amazing horror series. Kind of gory, but well-done in my opinion. Cirque du Freak is his other famous series, but it's geared toward a much younger audience with lots of adolescent boy humor (nothing wrong with that, just not my cup of tea). Demonata is much more sophisticated with older themes and characters. Plus it's just so interesting. I'm really excited to see what the next book brings in this amazing world of good vs. evil.

Good lord no wonder I'm having nightmares about zombies, nuclear war and all things dark. It's worth it. These books are so good!!

A confession, or, "what is the title of the third book?"

I am a librarian. You know this already. I am a children's librarian. This, also, should not come as a surprise. However, what I am about to say may cause a few gasps and jaw-drops from the audience. I...have not...read...any Harry Potter books. It's true. I'm ashamed to say it. I feel as though I have neglected one of the most important duties of my career by skipping over this all-too-popular series.

Now it's not because I am not interested. In fact, I am very interested, especially considering the recent excitement over the fate of our beloved Harry. Plus, I love the movies! It's just a matter of the fact that I've always had other things on my nightstand and I'm not good at reading more than one book at once. I know once I start reading them I won't be able to put them down and starting a series of books, each volume containing around 700 pages, is a little overwhelming to consider.

We received our copies at the library today. They might as well be guarded by heavy artillery, armed guards and trip wires. I joke, but the publisher doesn't joke around. No one is supposed to get a peak at the highly coveted titles until midnight tonight. Internet leaks notwitstanding.

There has also been a certain electricity in the air at the library surrounding this larger than life event. One of my co-workers (one of the collection development librarians) spoke about the Harry Potter craze, "when I hear people say 'this is the biggest book of this year' I can't help but laugh and say 'year?! How about the last 15 years!'" And it's true, no other series or single title can come close to surpassing in widespread popularity of HP.

Everyone is shocked when I tell them I haven't read the series. Then they all say, "you need to listen to them." The books on CDs are read by Jim Dale, who is a phenomenal narrator. I highly recommend him and any of his work.

I swear I'm going to go check out the first one...even though I don't know the title...probably after I finish the book I'm on...and maybe after the next 15 I have checked out. Oh nuts. I'll get to it eventually.

Your Linguistic Profile:

75% General American English 15% Dixie 5% Upper Midwestern 0% Midwestern 0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

The oatmeal joke = lame

So...here it is. In all its glory.

A bowl of oatmeal walks into a bar and sits down to order. The bartender comes up to the bowl of oatmeal and asks "what would you like today?" The bowl of oatmeal says "I'd like a bowl of oatmeal please." The bartender says, "I'm sorry, we don't serve oatmeal here."

I thought the double meaning of the joke was absolutely hilarious. So weird.

The whole fam damily

Announcing

Please welcome the newest member of my little family. Her name is Lyra. She is a yellow lab, german shepherd mix. She looks a lot like a dingo and if she could flap her ears I swear she could take flight. She's around 45 pounds and is basically full grown (not very huge, which is odd considering the breeds she's mixed with...she must have been the runt). She's about a year old and she is the sweetest, gentlest dog I've ever met. She loves to play but when it's time to sleep, it's time to sleep. She's the best apartment dog on earth. Sammy and Monkey love her. Monkey was quite skeptical for the first few days but he's now understanding Lyra is about as much of a threat as a sweet potato. Sammy loves her and especially loves stalking her tail. She's also met Jeff's dog, Roland, and they quickly became best friends.

She's still figuring out what life is like outside the apartment (she had accidents at Jeff's place last weekend) but I'm sure the more stability and routine she has, the better she'll get. It's clear to me, and the people from whom I adopted her, that she was pretty severely abused as a pup. She was also quite malnourished but she's rapidly puttingon some good weight and seems to feel really good. We'll start some training in the next week, which I know will help with her confidence and trust issues. She's extremely affectionate and just wants to be loved!!

I can't wait for my family to meet her, she's a wonderful dog and after we do some more training, she's going to be a great addition to our huge clan! It's a bummer she can't come to vacation, I know she'd have a fabulous time, but such is the way of the world. She was a birthday present, and one of the best I've ever had! (don't worry, she wasn't a surprise, I would never bring a pet into my household without lots of preparation before bringing her home).

Other than this, things are about the same. Work is work, kids are awesome and weird and I just last week signed another year lease where I'm living. I realized this is the longest I've stayed in one apartment in about 6 or 7 years. Roots? Not quite, but it's better than renting a truck. :)

The summer challenge

For our summer reading program, we have asked kids from grades K-5 to "tell the librarian a joke." Once they do this, they are one step closer to receiving one of the first prizes of their summer reading log. As I'm sure you can imagine, we have had quite a few that are...ahem...interesting.

Of course we've had the standards such as "what is black and white and red all over?" With answers such as a newspaper, a nun falling down a hill, a penguin after a fistfight, that sort of thing. We've also had the occasional long, drawn-out, made-up story that isn't actually a joke, but the kid thinks is absolutely hilarious.

Here are a few good examples:

What did one eye say to the other?
Between us, something smells.

If an American is an American in the living room, what are they in the bathroom?
European!

What's yellow, rubber, and holds up banks?
A robber duckie

And then there are the knock-knocks. I don't know at what age you develop humor, but clearly some of these kids have a ways to go:

Kid: Knock knock.
Librarian: Who's there?
Kid: Monkey.
Librarian: Monkey who?
Kid: [pause] Monkey banana.
Librarian: [vocally] Ha ha! [inside] ?

Kid: Knock knock.
Librarian: Who's there?
Kid: Elephant.
Librarian: Elephant who?
Kid: Elephant Australia.
Mother of kid: It's her own joke.
Librarian: Oh, I see. Well that's great!

I was lucky enough to hear this one myself:

Kid: Knock knock.
Me: Who's there?
Kid: Banana head.
Me: Banana head who?
Kid: Garbage.
Me: Ha ha! [on the inside: ...really?]

Of course we always give a big geniune laugh because often times these kids really think the jokes are absolutely hilarious. I remember it well from my own experience. My family might remember the joke I was so proud of as a kid. The one involving a bowl of oatmeal. Anyone with me?

Overheard at the library

Today I heard a kid yell this across the library:

"MOM! HOW DO I GET TO WWWWWW.COM???"

I swear to you he had that many w's.

Another good conversation

An adorable 3-year-old girl comes to the desk.

Me: Do you have any questions today?

Her: Um..I have lots of questions.

Me: Would you like to ask them?

Her: Yes...............when I was a baby I was one year old. And when I was two I was two years old.

Me: Aaahhh...and how old are you now?

Her: I'm still three. But I'm almost four.

Me: Oh yeah? Do you know when your birthday is?

Her: July.

Me: Excellent! Me too! Do you know the day/number/date?

Her: Umm...well...I'm not having a real birthday with candles.

I have no idea what that meant except she didn't really know her birthday. I just love these kids!

My New Favorite Book

"Animals should definitely not wear clothing" by Judi Barrett, illustrated by Ron Barrett

It's just a fact, people. Animals + clothing = not awesome.

And so it begins

Summer and switfly approaching...okay, summer is HERE! I can't help but laugh whenever someone says "well you'll be getting a nice break during the summer, right?" Um...not so much. Schools have already started letting out and the library has been quite busy today. We are air conditioned and if the heat keeps up the way it has been so far, we will continue to be a cool haven for all the warm bodies!

Luckily we have some incredible things happening this summer; programs we are putting on as well as special performers we are bringing in from the outside. It's going to be an incredible summer! PLUS it's going to go by so quick. Even though it's going to be wonderful, I can't help but feel a pang of jealousy when I hear friends making their summer vacation plans. Sure, I do have a few fun things planned but nothing major until August. Boo. At the same time, it'll be here before I know it.

I'm thinking of something witty and creative to say but nothing's coming to mind. That's all I've got for now.

Not much

I don't have too much to report but I feel like I should post something. It's been a while. The kitties are still the same. Ornery, furry and fun. Sammy's still in the sink. Well, on and off, but more on than off these days. He's very happy about his discovery, so far as I can tell. What a goofball.

Work is somewhat slow right now. However, this is very much the calm before the storm. Summer reading is gearing up slowly but surely. It always makes me chuckle when someone says "well I guess with summer coming up you'll have a nice break!" Umm...no. I'm not a teacher. Summer is the busiest time of my life which actually says a lot considering how busy the library almost always is. However, as I said before, May has been a relatively slow month. Program numbers are down and I think it's mostly because suddenly it's nice outside so people want to be out there enjoying it. I don't blame them. If I could, I'd be out there with them.

I did have one great conversation with a girl about 5 years old today. She came up to the desk and here's what transpired:

Girl: Can I have a sticker?

Me: Well sweetie I don't have a sticker to give you, but here's a bookmark with monkeys on it! [I hand her the bookmark]

Girl: [walks away, pauses, returns to the desk] But this doesn't have a sticker.

Me: I know, I wish I had a sticker to give you, I'm so sorry! Would you like another bookmark?

Girl: [picks up about 150 bookmarks...yells across the library] MOM! HERE! BOOKMARKS YOU HAVE!! HERE! MOOOOMM!!!

Me: [Hesitating..] Umm, I'm not sure if mom will be too happy with all those bookmarks, why don't you take one of each?

Mom: Sweetie, we can't take all those, we have to leave some for other people. [puts giant stack back on desk, walks away]

Girl: [walks away, pauses, returns] Do you have any monies?

Me: [Laughing] No sweetie, I'm sorry I don't. Is there anything else I can help you find?

Girl: [walks away, starts to talk to our stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh toy]

Awesome!