Smiles

Margo's happiness was contagious this morning. She knows how to make even the fiercest jogger share a smile with her.

Paper Quilt

Izzy helped me pick out all the papers and cut them into rounded squares for my first collage quilt, so this is a special piece for me. I'm hoping to get it custom framed once we're no longer social distancing. Robert and I started visiting Izzy, which has been both really nice and also a bit frustrating because of social distancing. I'm hoping we can continue creating things together and have been pondering how to do that while we're still social distancing. 

Papers included in this piece:

* Three chocolate wrappers. Two are Alter Eco, and one of the Alter Eco wrappers came from a friend of mine, who saved all kinds of cool food wrappers for me.

* The paper from a disposable tea cup from Kew Gardens. I carefully peeled the paper off of everyone's cups and tucked them away for the right time. I still have some left for another piece.

* Yogi tea boxes, which are one of my favorite things in the world.

* Dried flowers.

* Perfume sample cards (so it smells good too).

* Shopping bags (including Hallmark's lovely tan and white printed bag).

* Samples from a fabric magazine. Sadly, I haven't found any fabric magazines for awhile, so I've been using the last few I have sparingly. 

Rain Boy

I used to post a random picture from a picture book with little or no context, and I almost forgot about this delightful and weird idea until I was reading Rain Boy.

Rain Boy was just a little too weird to get a stellar review from me, but there were some pee-your-pants funny illustrations going on.

Here you go 😂

Monkey Retrievers

I think it's fair to say we've run out of ways to entertain ourselves around here. Thankfully Margo and Josie are full of ideas. 

Rose and Ella were choosy about textures. They didn't like walking on plastic or rubber and were so terrified of the ramp that led up to the self-service dog bath, we just had to lift them into the bath like the 90 pound princesses they were. Ella thought it was great fun to be lifted gently into her bath by her royal subjects. Rose flailed around like we were going to drop her at any second.

Any time Margo and Josie see a playground they nearly lose it. They want to run over every part of it, jump off every ledge, and now their enthusiasm has even given them the confidence to try the previously-dreaded slide. Margo will actually slide down the slide just like a child will. Josie will start to slide and then make a spectacular leap when she's had enough. It is one of the funniest things ever. I've been laughing too hard to take a proper video but hope to soon.

When Josie saw a child in a tree a few days ago she actually started climbing the tree! Fortunately the child thought it was hilarious and we were able to stop Josie before she got too far. 

There is no such thing as a dull day around here. 

creepy librarian lady

Last week I covered a desk shift at a different library branch, and I had exactly two patron interactions during my four-hour shift. Thankfully I had a lot of work to keep me busy, but I did feel a little unapproachable in the weird librarian-in-a-closet set up they had at the branch.

Can this children's questions desk be any less approachable? 

Maybe if it were in a white van out in the parking lot.

I was a little worried someone was going to walk by, see me, and then promptly piss themselves, or worse, have a heart attack.

Though patrons couldn't find me to ask for assistance I couldn't give, there was always somebody in the children's area during those four hours. So I spent the whole four hours making loud keyboard clacking noises, whistling, and squeaking my chair so I wouldn't scare the crap out of anyone. I'm sure I looked and sounded a little deranged. Especially when I backed myself into a corner of the closet and attempted to eat half an apple out of a Tupperware container without touching it or breathing.

It was hard work being a creepy librarian lady hiding in the closet all night. I was hungry.

Ok

I don't have a lot to write about these days and some days I'm ok with this. Other days I feel a bit concerned I'm not keeping my mind and eyes open.

I think traveling gives us a new perspective, experiences we haven't had, which gives us back our childlike wonder. There have been a few moments when I start to miss the adventures we used to go on, the weekends we took off for some exotic place like Nebraska or Arkansas. I usually scold myself for this because my family is incredibly fortunate. We have been healthy, working mostly from home with all the comforts we sometimes take for granted - adequate shelter, air conditioning, jobs, and enough space in our home to get away from each other for our work. I often think about folks who came to the library for all of these things before the pandemic, and I feel equally grateful and guilty. 

Most days I am content to remain hunkered down and away from people while we get this virus figured out. I know too many people who are at risk, people I adore and already fret over because of their ages and illnesses. I know people who are struggling with the complications from the virus weeks after they contracted it. 

I recognize I'm very much an introvert so that's working in my favor too. Pre-pandemic I would go for walks and find myself turning in a completely different direction when I saw another person. I still do this, especially when I'm attempting to take a people break. Pre-pandemic I went from taking days off work because I needed a break from people. Now I work almost every day due to programming and telephone reference, and though it's more exhausting to provide services and programs for patrons in a virtual environment, I have more opportunities to take breaks from people, small chunks of time I can get away. 

Rachel is still set to go back to her university soon, but we've heard stories of schools changing their minds the day before students move back to their dorms. Rachel is more than ready to leave, but Robert and I are nervous about her going. School is such a sticky wicket! 

Izzy is doing well. She is in a long-term care facility and we have no idea when she's going to start school or how it's going to work. We talk to her almost every day and visited with her last week (while social distancing). We're still waiting for answers that may not exist. It's a one-day-at-a-time journey.

But like I said, not a lot is going on here. Today I think I'm ok with that.

Favorite July Reads

July was an excellent month for reading. I read a lot of different books including a teen thriller. It wasn't an amazing book, but I can officially say that I've read some kind of thriller. 

Here are my July favorites:

Picture This by Molly Bang (Adult Nonfiction)

Reading this is like putting on a new pair of glasses after going to the eye doctor and finding out your prescription has been off. Every picture book I've read since reading Picture This has been read with a new perspective. Each page is filled with intricacies I hadn't noticed before. Bang does a great job explaining how each illustration is broken up into shapes that communicate with each other and to the reader. This is a great resource for artists, writers, and educators. In addition to reading picture books with a closer eye, I can't wait to use what I learned in Picture This for storytimes, teen art/writing workshops, and in my personal art. I will never look at shapes the same way!

Like the Moon Loves the Sky by Hena Khan and illustrated by Saffa Khan (Picture Book)

I paused while reading this to look up the word, 'inshallah,' because I hadn't heard of it before. I had an idea of what it meant, but I appreciate any book that sends me on a word search. I think the message is one all parents can relate to, and was delighted to discover that it's a nugget of the Koran. I like when picture books take something huge and sometimes inaccessible to children and help them understand it better (and me too for that matter). I was also completely gobsmacked by the gorgeous illustrations. I can't get over them. Rich, soothing, flowing, and warm. They're deeply comforting and peaceful. This is definitely a book that gives away free hugs.

Snail Crossing by Corey R. Tabor

Snail is "cabbage bound," and nothing is going to keep him from the crunchy feast. But the cabbage is all the way on the other side of the road with cars and rain and ants and a hungry crow standing in his way. Who knew a craving for cabbage could turn into such a perilous journey? But the snail shelters the ants from the rain, and the ants return that kindness in a beautiful way. It's a perilous cabbage journey paved (and slimed) in sweetness.

A Fire Story by Brian Fies

I'm not sure how a book can be both devastating and inspirational, but A Fire Story is just that. I was amazed that Fies had the presence of mind to immediately begin recording his loss. Also, it's one thing to be vulnerable after you've had time to process something as enormous as losing your home, but to immediately share your hurt with the entire world is really quite brave. Though the artwork was a bit goofy, which didn't match the gravity of the situation, I gradually realized it's probably just Fies' artistic style. There were several eye-opening moments for me. Shortly after the fire, Fies and his wife, Karen, are writing holiday cards and his wife wonders how they're going to find the addresses of their friends without their address book. Fies suggests looking at the envelopes from the previous year and then they both realize they don't have the envelopes either. I also thought the unique perspectives of different neighbors and their fire stories was a thoughtful touch that made this book all the more interesting and heartbreaking. Even after the fire, the sense of Fies' community is still strong. Though neighbors were scattered throughout the area, they still met up with each other. I don't know a single neighbor on my street (with the exception of my mother-in-law) so I found that to be incredibly touching. Fies leaves the story on a positive note, which must have been tough but necessary for him to do. I can't imagine that battle! He leaves the reader with an illustration of daffodils and the hope of building a new house with all the love and memories their last house included.