Summer Adventures of The Shushing Librarian - Part 1

Hey there, it's me. The Shushing Librarian. Auntie Nettie has asked me to step in and guest post for a bit. She's been experiencing some BloggersBlock, and rather than leave old posts up until she can talk about what's going on, she's going to let me recap some of my Amazing, and not-so, Adventures from this summer.

There was a bit of travelling earlier this season, which I'll get to later. To summarize: I was in North Carolina with Auntie Nettie and Grandmary. Here's proof I was in Duke Country at Elmo's Diner in Durham. Good food. Lots of very young, and yummy Duke co-eds. Too bad they don't like Yankees or people cheering for the UCONN Huskies.I'm also planning on a hugely exciting trip in August with my friends Christine and Bob. To get ready, I've had to do some shopping at the local General Store. I need accessories and travel gear for this trip. It's not my normal type of vacation. It's without Nettie for a change and bodes to be very very breezy!Mostly though, I've been horsing around,drinking lots of Diet Coke to stay cool, and pigging out like there's no tomorrow. What a hog!All of that eating and drinking is exhausting, so I must grab a massage and a nap whenever possible. In this chair I can do both at the same time -- as long as my quarters hold up!

When I'm not relaxing, I've decided to try and improve myself. I started taking painting lessons. What do you think of my efforts thus far? Hey! It's hard to paint with a broken right arm.

Maybe I should stick to house painting? This house is shaped like a thatched tea pot, and I found out that it's hard to paint brick and thatch! (Also, being so close to a tea pot makes me a little crazy since I can't get the song "I'm a little tea pot" out of my head. See ... now neither can you!)

There have been moments of seriousness this summer. I'm not getting any younger, so I've started thinking about what happens after working all these years in a library. Wouldn't it be nice to travel all the time and not work? I'd like to retire before I get fired.

With that in mind, I made an appointment to talk to my mentor about my retirement fund.

Talk about scarey. The economy took a hit and so did my piddling little fund. I'm going to have to do a LOT more freelance work and kick money into the account to build it back up. I'm also going to have to work a LOT longer than I wanted to. PHOOEY! Phooey! PHOOOEY!

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy myself this summer and travel and eat when I can. You can only shush so much, you know?!

Coming up soon, my review of many many Southern barbeque buffets and joints.

Later ya'll!

Things that make me happy today

Literary hotties who may, or may not, be the influence for a family member's name.

Courtesy of this.

Quote of the Day

"The order of things should be somewhat reversed; the seventh day should be man’s day of toil and the other six his sabbath of the affections and the soul--in which to range this widespread garden and drink in the soft influences and sublime revelations of nature."

~Henry David Thoreau

Summer Fridays 2010: Planning

I was meant to be in Chicago today, so I had no plans for this particular Friday. The last few Fridays/weekends have been underwhelming because I was home and in bed with a fever and some medical mystery. The thought of remaining secluded for another weekend is depressing, but it's also one of the hottest and muggiest weeks of the summer so far. 103! 100! 98 and 99%humidity. YUCK! It's no fun to commute or exist in this muck.

To venture out or not to venture out. That was the question I posed to a friend earlier in the week

me: What shall I do on Friday? Where is the ac? Which museum will be cheapest?!

her: Maybe you can find a museum of air conditioners to visit and you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone!

Picture me going right to Google to find one. And, wouldn't you know it ... there is one. IN FLORIDA!

Thanks to RoadsideAmerica.com, I know now that I could visit Apalachicola, Florida and the John Gorrie Museum, a museum dedicated to the Man who invented Air Conditioning.

I guess an old postcard of a diorama at the museum reads: "Dr. John Gorrie points to the first air conditioner suspended from ceiling of sick room. A convection current of air piped from above passing over an ice filled vessel was cooled by the melting ice. Then he invented the ice making machine."

So, while I won't be visiting Florida today, I will be thanking Dr. Gorrie for his invention--I mean inventions!

Viva la ice machine. Viva la air conditioning.

Please let there be no brown/black-outs!

UPDATED: I didn't end up going anywhere after all. No energy. No money. No drive to leave my own apartment beyond visiting the local 711 for icey Diet Coke. Somedays it's an effort even to get up... This was one of those days.

Big Picture: Stolen Moments

Sometimes what you think you are photographing isn't really what you are actually capturing.

Finding Joy

Look carefully and you'll find that wisdom is all around you.

“The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within our reach, is Joy.” ~ Fra Giovanni

Urban apartments in the Bronx, c. July 2010, spotted from the train platforms

“Learning to live in the present moment is part of the path of joy.” ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

Happy Fourth of July!

c. Caramoor, July 1, 2009