Quote of the Day

A friend is a second self — Aristotle

Here's a blogger shout-out to all those friends of mine who have been "weathering the storms" this summer due to one thing or another. The forecast here is that the dark cloud bank seems to be passing and the sun's peaking through ... finally! Here's hoping your storms pass soon, and that the skies remain bright and calm.

Auntie Nettie's Summer Projects, Part 2

Continuing the list of the summer and other "hooking" projects

Crochet Projects:

#65-68: Decorative Crochet Snowflakes

(Still need to be starched for "ornamentation")

#64: Maroon Rainbow Skull Cap (not available)

#63: Blue Rainbow Skull Cap (not available, donation)

#62: Cream Rainbow Skull Cap (not available, donatiom)

#61: Mint Green Hat

(coordinates with #48, not available, donation)

#60: Orange Mohair Scarf (not available)

Close-up of the ends

#59: Pink/Grey Ribbon Scarf (not available)

(also like #34 and #58)

#58: Greyish Blue Ribbon Scarf (not available)

(much like #34)

#57: Blue/White Flower Scarf - 11 rounds

Close-up of the "round"

#56: Blue Flower Scarf -- 15 rounds

#55: Shopping Bag - One Strap (not available)

#54: Shopping Bag - Two handles
(as of 11/2013 no longer available)

#53: Stuffed Frog v.2 (not available)

#52: Stuffed Frog v.1 (was a Toy Society Drop, see here)

#51: Stuffed Cream/Green Bear (Donated to Toys for Tots)

#50: Stuffed Goldfish (not available)

(stay tuned for Mr. Fishie's Adventures in the U.K.)

#49: Purple-hued Spiral Scarf (not available) #48: Mint Green Spiral Scarf (matching hat #61)

When Busts Go Bad

aka what library employees do to amuse themselves when The Shushing Librarian is MIA.
I wonder why Beethoven is mad. Is the lack of musical respect? The bad corsage? The scared baby? His missing nose? The misuse of his decorative self?

MIA? Thanks for noticing ...

Is it "starve a cold, feed a fever" or "feed a cold, starve a fever?" I can never remember. Not that it matters now ...

Almost a week into the cold/flu bug that knocked me flat on Wednesday, and I'm just now beginning to remember what it's like to not have snot dripping down my face. (Lovely, right?) Now I'm just exhausted, pale, hacking with post-nasal drip, and ready to go back to bed again. Fooey with this working thing.

It's times like the last week -- when my nose was peeling from all the sneezing, when I was wracked one minute with chills and the next with a raging fever, and when I was falling asleep about 1 hour (or less) after my last nap only to awake in a puddle of sweat and drool, and when my apartment was covered with tissues and discarded o.j. containers -- that affirmed to me once again that I hate being sick.

Is it time to go home yet and go back to bed?

Auntie Nettie's Summer Projects, Part 1

I thought it was time to record and share the status of all the summer projects, which were alluded to earlier in the season. For some weird reason I thought I hadn't done much, but once I started taking pictures and cleaning up the UFOs (UnFinished Objects), I realized that I haven't been as unproductive as I thought. I guess the crafts therapy balanced out my other issues this summer. Who would have thunk?

Anyway. In addition to all the "hooking," (projects are now nearer to 65) I've tried my hand at stamped cross-stitch and other arts and crafts, i.e. frames and various holiday ornaments. Between the paint fumes and the glue gun, I've inhaled and burned myself a lot. It was totally worth the trip to the hardware store, especially when the crusty manager asked if I was over 21. (THANK YOU BUDDY! No, please. I insist. Check my i.d., please. )

In no particular order, here's what was completed as of 6:00 p.m. last night. I did go on to finish about 10 more ornaments before it was time to crash. Photos to come.

Small (3"x3") Frames:

Larger Frames:Cross Stitch Ornaments:
(Um, Surprise Jenn!)Puzzle Piece Snowflake Ornaments (7):Puzzle Piece Wreath Ornaments v. 1 (3):
More ornaments in the works:
Except where noted, everything is available for sale. Prices and dimensions upon request.
I can take more photos if you need other views.

Stay tuned for the crochet objects.

What if ...

Lord Byron was a public ... librarian? Would his poetry read like this?

Away with your fictions of flimsy romance,

Those tissues of falsehood I shelve - oh so weary!;

Give me the mild beam of the soul-breathing glance,

Or the rapture which dwells in a public library.

With thanks to Michael from BCPL in Starke, FL. via the PUBLIB -- a discussion list concerned with all aspects of public libraries.

It's a Good Thing

I was surfing The New York Times today (instead of working ... of course) and stumbled across this August 10th article about my "favorite" person, Martha Stewart.

"On Sept. 16, Fine Living will unveil a new original comedy series built around a provocative premise: mocking Ms. Stewart. For a half hour, two hosts will critique — in “candid and often acerbic” language, according to the channel — old clips from her 1990s cooking and craft show. Fine Living ... calls the series “Whatever, Martha!”

There's probably been a college drinking game along these lines for years and I just didn't know about it (there's one for almost anything). This is PRICELESS.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 and mocking Martha Stewart?! GENIUS
Why didn't someone -- besides Martha -- jump on this bandwagon sooner?

My Cablevision package doesn't carry Fine Living. That's NOT a good thing.

Countdown delayed

Word on the newest Harry Potter film is that the release has been moved to NEXT summer ... I blame He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Now how am I going to bond with my father?

ANOTHER I Love New York Tourism Plug

It's amazing what you can buy on the streets of New York City. On one block near the office, I could buy a hat, new earrings and other accessories, veggies and fruit, and large (like 6 ft long) framed and matted photos for my oh-so spacious apartment, not to mention get coupons for body modification/hair removal/repair, political flyers, and be solicited to participate in surveys to help the environment. ONE BLOCK! I just want to go to the Post Office.

Here's proof, courtesy of my mad-genius guerrilla photography skills -- aka holding the digital camera up away from self and clicking as walking by and dodging people. I'm just glad it came out. Just imagine what a skilled photographer with equipment could do (ahem, J and Casey)!

Do you need a fedora or a Easter bonnet, a large brim or a small brim, a cloth hat or straw?

Personally, I like the chapeau with the fleur.

Bridge over Troubled Waters

AKA Views from the Metro North Commuter Train

When you're travelling on the train, and you cross the big blue bridge, you've officially made it on and off the isle of Manhattan.

Out the other side:

Crossing the bridge, looking east toward Queens/Long Island

I know that none of these will win awards of excellence for their composition, etc., so keep your editorial comments to a dull roar. It's hard to compose and shoot on a rapidly moving train. I'm doing this for documentation sake. For out of town folks who think commuting is glamorous, let me assure you, it's NOT. I've seen ALL kinds of things, like raucous St. Patrick's Day celebrators, lots of sluttily dressed Halloween revelers, testosterone-filled high school punks chasing each other up and down the train, and one memorable event when an undercover cop pulled a gun on a traveller to escort him off the train (and this was pre-9/11, so it really got my attention). However, I was never so as uncomfortable as I was Monday night on the way home.

Most commuters know the unspoken etiquette. Although the seats are tight, you try to maintain as little body contact as possible, especially if it is a "mixed" seating arrangement. You try and be aware of the jostling and accommodate the other person. You deal -- you have to. To be fair, there are instances where people move their seats, but it's usually due to people needing to move cars to exit onto various platforms. I've never had to move my seat because I was uncomfortable, but I came very close on Monday. Just as we pulled out of the second train stop, my lovely solo ride was interrupted when a guy flopped down next to me. I thought little of it until suddenly I was "seat-squeezed." I tried to ignore it and to give the guy the cold shoulder, but it got worse and worse. Turns out the guy had passed out, as in, Gone. Out of it. No one home. Dead to the world. Snookered. Smashed. Blitzed. I'm pretty sure it was "drunk" and not "stoned," though I can usually smell the booze. He was so out of it that he was sliding out of the seat into the aisle, and really what's worse here, flopping onto me. One of his buddies from back down the car finally figured out something was wrong and had to come up and try to revive him. Let me tell you, the term "dead-drunk" takes on a whole new meaning when repeated slapping of the face, calling of a name, and hard poking and punching doesn't elicit a response. The buddy finally had to heave the dude out of the seat and cart him elsewhere. I say cart, but there was some limb dragging involved. I'm pretty sure the guy wasn't dead, as they would have stopped the train later for a "medical emergency."

I'm glad the buddy came up when he did because I had NO idea how I was going to get out of there, but I was already plotting which stop it was were I was going to bolt. There's not a heck of a lot of room to maneuver to begin with, and frankly, moving cars+swaying cars+ungraceful people (aka me)+no-room-due-to-drunk-dude would have equalled some very uncomfortable moments for everyone within eyesight.

See, doesn't that just sound fabulous? And my friends from a former job thought I would meet men on the train ... Ah, just another commuting story for the blog.

Quote of the Day

"I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality."

~ H.A. Overstreet


Classical Mood music: Berlioz's Symphonie Fantasique; Mussorgsky's Night on the Bare Mountain; Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko; Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, Mvt. 4, Symphony No. 5 (all the bangy bits in the first and last movements), Symphony No. 9; and Orff's Carmina Burana

New York in the rain

There's an old saying in New England, "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes..."

Are we completely sure that New York isn't part of New England? The weather has been wild and wacky today. We've had sun, roiling clouds, green skies, pouring down rain, HAIL, and then sun again in rapid succession.

I had my nose pressed up again the windows when I remembered that I had a camera. Unfortunately, these don't do justice to the rapid nature of the changes, what the light really looked like, or how stormy it truly was.

View one (looking south)

Five minutes later!

You can't see the rain in this shot ... or the lightening. Those skyscrapers are only about two blocks away and you can't really see them anymore.

View two

If you look at the light reflecting off the skyscrapers, you can tell that the skies to the north are still clear.Five minutes later ... not so much.I wish I had a way to open these windows. I adore crazy storms. I love the electrical energy in the air. I love the elemental ferocity of the rains being whipped everywhere. I just wanted to be out there in the middle of it, barefoot, and screaming my head off.

MISSING!

Dear Missing Persons,

I am writing to ask your help in tracking down my Shushing Librarian. Months and months ago she departed on a what was supposed to be a relatively short journey to the West to visit the Testmonkey's Lair. I know she arrived, as I saw her unopened shipping container when I visited the the offices of the Monkey ... way back in May.

She's been missed at the Big J. People have asked about her. They wonder where she is and why more of Amazing Adventures haven't been seen here on this blog.

Sniff. I thought she was going to have some adventures, meet some people, spread the good "shush" throughout the land. I should have staged a jail break when I saw the package. My only consolation is that while she has been deprived of air and light, S.L. was able to feast upon the candy and chocolates that I put in the container with her (and it was good stuff too!)

Perhaps the rules I set down for the IT boys were too hard? Perhaps work has interfered? Maybe she's buried under dead computer parts? Has a Mac rotted upon her? Who knows?!I just want her back safely by some point in the fall semester so she can go back to the Library and help me wrangle the Prep kids and their parents.

Enclosed is a photo (shown almost actual size) to remind you what she looked like.

If you have any information on the whereabouts and the adventures of the Shushing Librarian, please let me know by blog.

Thanks,

Auntie Nettie

Bibliophiles with Style

For you Marie, you "fierce" wannabe librarian ...

What happens when guests at the American Library Association Annual Conferenc meet people obsessed with Project Runway?

This ...

At the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Jim Averbeck and Maria Van Lieshout (with a little help from SLJ librarian blogger Betsy Bird) conducted a string of red carpet fashion interviews on the night of the Newbery-Caldecott awards banquet, then took some of that footage and put together this Project Runway parody.

Aufwiederzehn!

Sisters - Friends or Frenemies?

Sibling relationships always seem to have an interesting dynamic, whatever age you are. No matter how much time goes by, your geographic/physical/emotional distances change, how many wives/husbands and children enter the picture, or how much you "mature," the sibling relationship affects and effects who you are.

There are all kinds of books and studies done about birth order, middle children, sibling rivalry, etc. However, I've always been curious about the relationships between sisters. You see, I'm the oldest of three and the only girl. My mother was an only child, and for most of my life, we've lived about 3,000 miles away from my father's younger sisters and my one female cousin. My maternal great-aunts are really the best familial examples I've had of the long intertwined bonds of sisterhood. Even my oldest and best girl friends from middle/high school and college are generally the only child or the girls in their families.

I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister; would it be a good thing or a problem, especially if she were older, younger, smarter, thinner, prettier, you name it. My brothers married lovely ladies, who both have sisters of their own. I've enjoyed learning about their multi-layered relationships with their sisters. I'm glad to count them as my sisters and I hope my friends. Even so, I guess I'm still wondering what it's like to have a sister, especially now that I have two beautiful little nieces.

Why the contemplation? My brother finally posted new photos of my nieces, sisters Amber and Elle.

For some reason it just cracks me up, delights me, and worries me all at the same time.


Are we looking at a precursor of things to come? What kind of relationship will they have? Will they grow to understand what a wonderful thing is is to have each other ... and to fully appreciate the other little siblings that are in their future? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, to my sisters-in-law and my many far-flung girl friends, thanks for being my sisters-in-spirit.

If I had a million £ ...

I'd be on a Virgin Atlantic flight to London faster than you can say Cheerio!

Why?

Imagine one sci-fi nerd/librarian/former English Major/Shakespeare lover, finding out that:

the Tenth Doctor aka David Tennant

and

Captain Picard aka Patrick Stewart

are appearing in Hamlet together

RIGHT NOW at the RSC!

This better hop the pond to the Great White Way.

I'm just saying.

This AngloSciFi-le demands it!

Plus, there's this!

My favorite painting AND David? Raptures!