How to entertain an almost 1 year old

My nephew is just a couple of weeks shy of one and is in that stage of standing on his own for short periods of time but not really walking, except maybe a step or two by accident. Since I arrived a week ago, I have been taking him on walks. They started out small, and now they have evolved to a certain route, and a good 15-20 minutes at a time. He has reached the point where he just holds his hand in the air as a signal that he expects a hand to appear to walk him around. We have the main floor loop:  living room, kitchen, living room; the upstairs loop: girls room, boys room, girls room, bathroom if the door is open; and the downstairs loop: behind the couch, over the treadmill, front of the couch.

Basically, I've spent a large chunk of my vacation bent over walking like a duck with a 1 year old hanging on to my fingers. He's gotten a lot of exercise, and I guess I have too (along with the weird posture). But, as soon as you hold out your hands, he just takes off running with joy, so what can you do?

Weekend Highlights

And now it's time for our weekend highlights.

The weekend started out with a trip up to Idaho. Not surprisingly, there was a late departure, meaning I hit the weekend traffic. Fortunately, the roads were fairly clear weather wise and the timing of arrival still worked out okay. And it would have been even better if I had known I was supposed to go to my parents' first, not my brother's, but it worked out fine.

A quick meal at the parents' and then on to brother #3's house for a sleepover with the kids made for a bit of a late night, but breaking with custom, there was sleep.

The next morning got off to an early but rousing start with a sword fight--gotta love those foam swords. After such a great workout, we had a hearty breakfast of Costco muffins and a viewing of Psych the Movie. Nothing like dessert to kick off your day!

We also got lucky enough to get a snowstorm, so the kids played outside while I got ready, then I went outside for a few minutes and took pictures, and then we went back to my parents' for some craftiness. Meaning, making of crafts. Which was great because I got to see my other niece and nephew, and we played outside some more.

After that we all went our ways. I headed back home, because it seemed better to drive in daylight in bad weather.

Saturday night I went to my cousin's wedding reception, which was nice. I'm always kind of amazed at how great my extended family is, and a bit in awe in some ways, maybe. I also got my last Christmas packages sent out.*

Today's highlight was going to a friend's and making gingerbread houses. There were some very impressive feats of graham cracker and cookie architecture, but I don't even remember the last time I made a gingerbread house, so mine was pretty modest.

Even so, I really enjoyed unleashing my inner 5 year old, and am very proud of the Sour Patch kid floating on a life saver inner tube on the pond/lake. 

All in all, a good weekend. Probably good that it's over, because I'm kind of sugared out!**

*But not Christmas cards. It is very weird to me to think that I am adult enough that I should be sending out Christmas cards. When did that happen?!

**Check in with me at 10:00 tomorrow to see how that situation has changed. 

OOTD

This day needs chocolate.

[OOTD: One of those days]

The Roach Hotel

Today I went with some ladies from Church to deliver Christmas goodies to all the adult women in the congregation (almost 300 people). Other than the awkwardness of meeting a lot of people I don't know and feeling really bad at coming up with graceful chit chat on the doorstep* it wasn't too bad. Except for one apartment building we went to.

First off, I just have to complain about apartment buildings in general. It used to be you could take cookies to your neighbor without needing top security clearance or serious stalker skills to get in the building. But now everything is super locked down. Just to get to my front door you have to get through an outer gate to the complex (key required) and then through the door to the floor of my building. Seriously a pain when you are bringing home groceries.

This particular building was also locked down, so we snuck in when someone came out. This would have been the end of the story if the building hadn't been designed by a lunatic who was high on paint fumes (or something) when they designed it. A friend and I were assigned to try and find 2 apartments on the 4th floor, and then cover all the ones on the 3rd floor. So, we got off on the 4th floor and walked the hall, looking for B4--. This in and of itself was weird, because most of the apartments didn't have a B in front of them, and the ones that did vaguely resembled custodial closets or utility areas, the kinds of places only employees can access. But, we checked anyway. And whoever did the numbering either:

• didn't know how to count
• was playing "pin the number on the door"
• was high on something
• or numbered the doors on take your kid to work day, when their 3 year old kid was with them, and they let the kid number the doors. 

Because on one side of the hall was 411, 412, B451, B454, 417, etc. No rhyme or reason to it at all. We walked the entire 4th floor, and no B4-- that matched what we were looking for. At the end of the hall (which had a number of twists and turns) there was a door, and thinking that the door might lead to more of the 4th floor, we went through it. 

It did NOT lead to more 4th floor. It led to an elevator, and a staircase. And once through the door leading to these things, you couldn't go back through it without an access card. So we were stuck. Logical thing to do? Move on to the 3rd floor and figure out the 4th floor at the end. Which we did.

Except we couldn't get into the 3rd floor, because it was the same setup as the 4th. To get from the elevator to apartments, you had to have an access card (never mind that you had to have an access card to get in the building. Or be sneaky. But being sneaky, you didn't need an access card to get to the apartments. No sense at all). So my friend stepped into the courtyard to see if any other doors would get us to the apartments without requiring a card. I stayed behind so I could let her back in.**

And, no joy. We were stuck in the elevator lobby/stairwell.

Well, we took the stairs all the way down and finally came out on the opposite side of the building we'd come in on, looped back around to the entrance, and called someone in the building we were going to visit so they could buzz us in. And started all over. Fortunately, this time we had a resident accompanying us. And, yes, the 3rd floor was just as insane. 323 was next to 310 on one side and 301 on the other. 309 was across the hall from 301. The apartments at the end of the hall were the mid-teen numbers. And there were random B3--s sprinkled in, which may or may not have been actual apartments (some are and some aren't?). Making it all even more fun, there is no 2nd floor in the building. Just 1, 3, and 4. And there may be some numbers missing from the sequence; for example, maybe there is no 302. It's hard to say, because the whole place felt like a black hole. If you somehow managed to penetrate its defenses, it definitely wasn't going to let you out to reveal its secrets.

By the time we'd made our first drop off, the other team was done with their deliveries, so they helped us finish. I think they thought we were kind of dense for having gotten lost, but then they ran up to the 4th floor again, and when we met up in the lobby, they had come close to repeating our experience (except we'd had our experience and they learned from it). So, no, we weren't dense. The building designer was just a sociopath who thought it would be fun to create the most confusing numbering plan and lock system possible, so that normal people wandered around for days trying to find their way out. Definitely not us. It's the building.

So, the new rules of visiting apartment buildings?

1. Always go out in pairs. 
2. Always leave one person behind the door until re-entry capability is verified. 
3. Take some string. Tie it to the entry and unwind it as you go. 
4. Pack some food. You may be in there a while. 

*I've discovered most people are very kind and don't mind that I'm completely absurd in a lot of social situations. People are very understanding and I can't even remember the last time anyone looked at me like I had three heads and a chicken was sitting on one of them. They may have looked like that, but not while I could see it. Which is a good thing, because then I go and meet people and don't even worry that they think I'm weird. It gives a person a lot of confidence.

**We quickly learned. After the 4th floor, our rule was only one person through a door until you know if you can go back through it the other way. It shouldn't be this complicated. 

Pobrecita

Yesterday, I returned from a lovely (and too short) Thanksgiving break in time to run some errands before returning the rental car. And, of course, rather than leaving immediately after unloading my stuff from the trip, I dillied and dallied for a bit. This ended up being a rather unfortunate mistake, because I failed to remember that it is the downtown lights season, and I live in downtown. And my street has free parking after 6:00, which means all the visitors are going to park there.

Forgetting all of this, I moseyed out and did my grocery shopping (it is so nice to have a car when grocery shopping) and really stocked up. And, of course, when I got home, there was absolutely no street parking. Since I don't have a car, I opted not to pay for parking in my complex every month, so I rely on street parking when I rent cars. The closest I could find was a church parking lot across the street, and I then had to haul all of my groceries from the parking lot (and not one of the closest stalls), across the street, through the locked gate, to my building, through the locked door, and into my house. I figured it counted as my daily workout, so at least there was that.

Then, during one of my trips, the keys to the car fell out of my pocket. I retraced my steps all the way to the car, didn't find them, (had this terror that someone trying to be helpful picked them up and turned them in to a lost and found somewhere, which would not have been helpful), walked back to the apartment, and lo and behold, they were on the lawn outside my building where I completely missed them (not sure how!) when I started my search.

Groceries unloaded, I treated myself to some food, and in slicing my English muffin (even though they are supposed to be pre-sliced. They never really are), also sliced my finger. Not the worse I've ever seen, but it's a good half inch long, right on the joint of my index finger. And weirdly, today the knuckle below the one with the cut is sore.

After that, I think I gave up on doing anything productive other than returning the rental and unpacking, very late, before going to bed. Oh, and looking at cars. Not because I felt like everything I did was ending up a disaster. Just because it was a Saturday night and I'd just gotten back from traveling, and that is always really sad.

The Unscandalous

I know there has been a lot in the news the last couple of weeks about awful and despicable males. These people should be held accountable for their actions. There is no excuse. But, lest we despair of fifty percent of the human population, I just want to go on record as saying that this is not normal behavior. I know a lot of men--not millions, or even thousands, but I have lived and worked in the same environment of a number of men, and I don't know a single one who would think it acceptable to behave like the males in the news have. Not because they are afraid of getting caught. The men I know wouldn't do that because it is beneath them, because they respect themselves and others, because it is flat out wrong whether they are going to get called on it or not. 

This is normal human behavior and I hope that we will make that clear moving forward. But let's not throw everyone with an X and Y chromosome under the bus simply because of their genetics. The world needs good men and they are out there. Yes, there are scummy ones, for sure. And it is good that they are being called out, because they should NOT be seen as the standard of manhood. And maybe I'm overly optimistic, but my experience gives me reason for that optimism. I have seen so many good brothers and husbands and friends who don't fit the media stereotype. I want to be married to a man, and I certainly wouldn't marry someone who would behave like these men in the news have. I don't think many women would. 

I know it's not the cool thing to stick up for men right now and it might seem like a defense of manhood is a betrayal of women. But virtuous, good men are one of the best ways to support the cause of women.*

And maybe I just won some kind of lottery to know so many good men (and women! I just know good people!). If so, I'm happy to share the wealth. Anyway, I just hope that we don't forget that the rotten apples in the media don't represent the whole crop. 

*And vice versa.

The Magic Touch

At work today I was called on to solve no less than five tech problems. I dread tech problems because I have a very limited bag of tricks. I managed to solve all five, but really, I didn't do anything special: I had 2 reboots, one checking the cord, one retyping the URL, and one where I just did the same thing the patron did, it just worked for me.

When I solve a tech problem, the staff who called me in are typically impressed. I keep trying to tell them that I just glare at the computers right, and I'm sure they just think I'm being modest. And as long as they keep asking me easy to solve problems, we'll be good. But the truth is if my basic bag of tricks (rebooting and trying the same thing everyone else did. And I suppose a couple of other cheats I've picked up) runs out, I'm in big trouble because then I really have no idea what to do.

So, here's to easy fixes and tech that I can glare into submission!

Are you going to stand for that?

***Warning: the following post contains ranting and getting on soapboxes.***

So, among the big news in the last couple of weeks has been Facebook, Google, and Twitter testifying before Congress about the Russia hacking fiasco. I haven't read a ton about it, but I've skimmed here and there. Just for the record, yes, I think the Russia hacking thing is a problem, and yes, I think that it's high time Congress realize the influence of big tech companies have. However, am I the only one who is also highly offended by their attitude towards everyone else in America?

I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person. Not a genius by any means, but I can typically reason my way through an argument. So I can't help but be more than a little offended at the attitude of these Big 3 and Congress, who seem to assume all Americans are too dumb to question what they see on social media.

That isn't to say that we all did question what we saw on social media. From what I hear, a lot of Americans, particularly voting ones, didn't actually take time to think through the arguments. But, let's be honest. That's on us. Not on Facebook, or Twitter, or Google. And I'm not a huge fan of a lot of their work, so it pains me a little to say that. And the journalists do exactly the same thing. They talk about us like we are so intellectually barren that if they weren't there to tell us what to think and believe, we wouldn't even know how to put our pants on. And I get that we have to get information from somewhere, and these are the places we get it. But we are responsible for weighing that information.

Could our information providers have done better? Yes. But ultimately, who is responsible for handing over their thinking to algorithms and social media platforms and the press? That one's on us. And since no one else is going to hold us accountable, maybe we should hold ourselves accountable. Let's expect better of ourselves. We deserve it.

Soapbox out.

Road Trip

Last weekend, I took my niece on a road trip to her home so she (and I) could attend her sister's baptism. I was a little nervous, as I think I mentioned, because it was 10 hours there and 10 hours back, but it went remarkably well.

So what do you do with your niece for 20 hours in a car?
-study physics. I am pleased to say I do remember some of what I learned 20 years ago, although it may not have been super helpful to my niece.
-expound on the consequences of a lack of dancing among Puritans. I'm pretty sure the world would be a more peaceful place if they had just danced a little more.
- read more pages than you have to for Linguistics (my niece, not me)
-discuss the woes of being a college student, such as deciding on a major and a career and LIFE! (Good news? You actually can get do-overs. Majors and careers are a lot more squishy than you'd think).
-name rock formations that probably already have names, but ours were way more fun, like Jabba the Hut and Platypus Rock.
-sleep (No, not me. I was driving, remember?)
-stay awake by eating lots of carrots (this was me). And I did have plenty of other snacks, most of which were fairly healthy. Let it not be said that road-tripping with me is bad eating.
-enjoy the beautiful scenery and then get really sad that you can't pull over and photograph it. (SO many great fall colors! And the landscape was the perfect backdrop for those colors!)
-Spontaneously name your GPS Georgina and try to convince her that you aren't starting your trip from Chicago.
-discuss the world situation and come up with solutions*
-review American Heritage homework. I was pleased with their curriculum but slightly disappointed (and also relieved) that the infamous "nailing jelly to a wall" quote has been de-emphasized.**
-conduct physics experiments (which counted for her homework assignment)

The worst part of the whole trip was being about 30 miles from home and getting stuck in traffic on the highway. We took an hour to go 5 miles or so. It was soooooooooo annoying. Apparently it was because of construction, but when we got to the actual construction, we zipped right along. I do not understand traffic.

Anyway, it was a delightful (though exhausting***) trip and totally worth it. There were lots of hugs from kids, there was a baby to adore, I got to see another niece perform with her flag team and take great pictures with my new lens, and now I can't wait for Christmas when I get to go back!

Fine, yes, I did pull over and take pictures. But only once!

*US President, North Korean President, or whatever he is called, Dr. Phil, and a ball pit. I think this could work. 
**When I took the class, they were very taken with this phrase - or something like that. Nailing jelly to something. Apparently Washington or some other revolutionary bigwig said it, and I swear we talked about it incessantly.
***Why is sitting in one place for long periods of time so tiring?

Keep calm and breathe on

This weekend, I'm taking a road trip with my niece. It will be about 20 hours round trip - a day down, a day there, and a day back. So, it's a lot of driving and it makes for a packed weekend.*

Which would be fine, except I will get back late Sunday night. I have to get to drop off the rental before getting to work early to install an exhibit that a week ago I didn't even know we were going to do**. Right after that, I have another meeting. Then another meeting. At lunch, we are holding the inaugural session of a local archives group which is kind of a big deal if I think about it. Then back to work, desk shift, and afterwards, an event I'm attending with a friend. The event is about 45 minutes south - I wonder if my friend will be offended if I take a quick nap on the way down? So, packed weekend, packed Monday.

But Tuesday will be great, right? I'll be able to relax? Well, not so much. More meetings, catching up on work for having taken off Friday (to make up for working last Saturday), another desk shift, and then a Church activity that night.

But I think by Wednesday night, things might settle down. I might just have a chance to catch up on life at home, which I'm sure will need to be done. I know for some people, this is life. Nonstop happenings. But for me, it's exhausting to think about.

So, I guess I just won't think about it! Problem solved.


*and I'm remembering that I'm not 30 anymore which is how old I was the last time I did a long road trip. That trip was 1600 miles over about 3.5 days, solo, and by the end of day two, it was painful.
**which in this particular case, is actually less frenzied than you might think.

And then there was today

Some days are ho-hum. Some days are amazing. And some days are like today.

On the plus side, I made it to work on time. And, when I wandered out into the reference room and said I planned on hiding under the desk for the day, I made our volunteer laugh good and hard.

But I really did want to hide under the desk. I would have gone home, except I had too much work and I had a desk shift. But by 11:00 I was definitely hitting my limit. I warned multiple people that if anyone asked me a question about anything prior to 1900, it would not be pretty.

When I moseyed out to the reference room in the morning, there was no one. By the time I had my shift in the reading room, there were at least half a dozen people with a load of questions. And when I got done with my shift at 5:00, I walked into the reference room and, well, yeah. Craziness happened.

I finally left the reference room at 6:00, took a few minutes to take care of some business that I hadn't gotten to, and walked out of the building at 6:15.

To my credit, no living things were injured in the making of this blog post. Everyone I interacted with went home in one piece, and fairly satisfied to the best of my knowledge. So, a win in terms of my contribution to world peace. Sometimes, that's all we can do.

A is for Apple, which I can eat again

Last Monday, I went in for my final checkup after the oral surgery I had. As I left the office, I felt like jumping for joy because finally, FINALLY I could eat apples again!

And my SweeTangos did not disappoint. I ate one for lunch and it was delicious! I have had one everyday except yesterday and they have all been amazing.

I have also eaten raw carrots, chips, Triscuits, cold cereal, and meat! It's been thrilling to be able to eat normal food again.

I still have figuring out what to eat for lunch and dinner, but at least I have all the options and am not limited to smooshy stuff. Hurray for eating! Hurray for teeth! Hurray for crunchy food!

Bad books

I have a friend from Brasil who is expecting a little girl in a few weeks. In preparation for her shower, I wanted to get her some books in Portuguese.* I did manage to find one that was all Portuguese (not English/Portuguese) with a cute picture of a sloth on the front. It seemed like a possibility, so I ordered it.

When it arrived, of course I flipped through it. I am not remotely fluent in Portuguese, but I can pick up on quite a bit as I do know Spanish, more or less.** The gist of the book, from what I picked up, was that this sloth fell asleep everywhere--the bank, school, etc. Not a compelling story, but whatever. Then, on the last page, the sloth falls asleep at the wheel of the car, and the picture shows the sloth behind the steering wheel with the airbag deploying! WHO WRITES A PICTURE BOOK LIKE THIS?!?!?!?!

I get the desire to teach kids safety, but really? In a picture book? For little kids? With a cute sloth? And maybe I'm missing some key detail in my lack of Portuguese, but the airbag was hard to miss.

No. Just no.***


*It is really hard to find Portuguese books in the US. Can we fix this? But, I did check out Amazon and Walmart's Brasil sites. Who knew Walmart was a thing in Brasil?
**Usually less, methinks.
***This book will be returned. I'd like to not cause my friend's baby trauma. 

Rainy Days

Rainy days perfect for:
soup
blankets and pajamas
curling up with a book
naps
puddle hopping
walking in the rain
warm cookies

It's here!

This week, we had this brilliant rainstorm. I walked out of my house right after it started and walked the one block to work, where I took off my shoes and ran around in my socks most of the day so my shoes could dry out. It was beautiful. I wished I'd had my camera, because it was coming down so hard, and there were thousands on thousands of raindrops bouncing off the granite plaza all at once and the effect was really cool. Of course, if I'd had my camera, it would have gotten very waterlogged, and then I might not have a camera anymore, but still. 

Well, the rain cooled things down quite a bit, and ever since then, there's just been that autumn feel in the air. Mornings are a bit chillier - I've shut the window in the living room for the first time in months. And darker. I wake up and it's dark outside, which I kind of love. There's something about being awake before the world is moving, before the sun is out. It's quiet and reflective. The only problem is I have to get out of bed instead of staying in it. 

It's also darker sooner. I used to photograph sunsets after nine. Now, I catch them around 8:00.

And I wore jeans for the first time in months. And socks to work! Time to say goodbye to my ridiculous sandal tan*:

Before you know it, it will be time to pull out my fall jacket and the sweaters and everything will have that autumn feel. Personally I'm glad. I love autumn. It's never quite long enough. Still. What happened to the last nine months?!

*This tan is the a composite tan from two pairs of sandals. One, a pair of Tevas, the other a pair of dressier sandals. I find it very entertaining. Why would anyone ever try to have a uniform tan? It's so boring!

Fall Food Tragedy

About two and a half weeks ago, I had some oral surgery. It was an experience. I never had my wisdom teeth out, so this was a first for me. I had the fun of getting very swollen, which made it entertaining when I had to pick up the prescriptions from the pharmacy; the joy of stitches in my mouth and a modified diet; the fun of being incredibly numb - I've never had my ears numb before! But mostly I'm recovered. My lower lip is still a little tingly-numb and the roof of my mouth (where they took the graft for the surgery from) is feeling-less* but it's not much to worry about.

The only real lingering problems are 1) being cautious while brushing and 2) a still modified diet. My menu has expanded, but I still have to eat soft foods (soft including rice but not steak). Which is getting really boring, for one thing. I don't think I've ever wanted to eat something with a bit of substance so bad in my life. But the real tragedy is apples.

Apples, not surprisingly, count as a "hard" food so I can't eat them currently. I do tend to eat a lot of apples, mostly because it's pretty easy to find good tasting apples whereas my luck with, say, peaches is hit and miss. I struggle to find the right moment for eating. Even so, I would be okay taking a break from apples except for one thing. It's Sweetango apple season, and I can't eat them.

Sweetango apples are, in my book, the most amazing apples on earth. And they are only available for a limited time. Namely, now. And for the next 3 or 4 weeks, max. And I can't eat them.

But apples keep for a while, right? And I should be back to regular eating in about three weeks. So, if I just buy a few apples every week, and save them for a couple of weeks in the fridge, I can still sneak in some Sweetangos. This can work. Right? Because I need my Sweetangos!


*It is odd to realize that you do actually feel in the roof of your mouth. It doesn't seem like a very 'feely' place.

Why Diversity Matters

Today in church, we were talking about individual worth and our divine nature. We'd talked about how to see everyone as having worth, and also about how comparing yourself isn't fair, things you'd expect to come up in such a discussion. And then the question was asked, "How can we improve our own sense of individual worth?"

As I pondered this, I was reminded of when I first moved to my current job. It had a different dress code than my last job in a couple of ways. First, because it is a religious institution, there is a standard that is a little more modest than other institutions, but also, I had to wear dresses or skirts every day*. I'd go to work and see all these people wearing really cute clothes and I felt like I had no fashion sense at all.

I never had that experience at my previous job. Yes, we all dressed professionally, but that varied a lot depending on who you talked to. I didn't compare myself to everyone else because given my religious values, I had a different standard than they did. I wasn't looking down on them, I just didn't compare myself because it made no sense to. I did look at their styles as things to explore, though. "Oh, maybe I should try that cut of pants" or whatever.

So, I'm thinking about all of this while in church today, and it occurred to me that diversity helps me recognize my own worth. If I'm one of 10 piano players, I am definitely not going to be the best one and will try my darndest to defer piano playing to someone else. When everyone around me has a skill or ability or trait that I have, I am way more likely to think they are all better than me. But when I'm in a group with a diverse set of abilities, the things I'm good at stand out more. I'd never realized that before, but I think our perception of our worth diminishes when we are all the same.*

Basically, what I learned is that diversity isn't just about benefiting everyone else's worth. It increases my sense of self-worth, too. Who'da thunk it?


*This has since changed and pants are now allowed for women. However, they changed the policy in July, when it was close to 100 degrees outside every day, which is not when you want to wear pants. Come winter, though, it's going to be very nice. 
**Of course, there are some things we should all strive to be good at: loving one another, being respectful, being unselfish. And in that case, being around people who are better at it than me can help me find a role model and provide examples of how to be like that. But I think if that same person was better than me at everything, I'd probably just really not like them instead of trying to be like them. 

So this is life

I woke up this morning thinking of the to-do list I compiled over the weekend of outside work tasks. And then I started thinking about work and building the to-do list for things there. And I suddenly realized my life is a series of unending, incompletable to do lists. No matter how many things I finish, they are never done. There's always a new list waiting in the wings.

I suppose that kind of is life, in some ways. (I refuse to accept that that is life in all ways. How boring would that be!) And there are some upsides to that concept. But on a Monday morning when you just want to hit snooze, I gotta tell you, it's not very motivating. And it definitely can't compete with my bed.

Broken streaks

In case you hadn't heard, there was a big eclipse today. While I wasn't so avid about it that I went to where there was a totality, I did go check it out. As predicted, it was more entertaining to watch everyone watching the eclipse. Not that it wasn't cool, but the people part was pretty funny. And fun.

Anyway, I deliberately made the choice not to take my nice camera*, but I did grab my phone in case there were any great people watching moments. And a good thing, too, because I would have been really bored just staring at the thing non-stop.**

So, I goofed off with my phone camera, which isn't that great of a camera, but I did get some interesting effects. 

There were cool rays and the whole crescent-shadows from a tree effect, which were fun and interesting to take.

And then I realized that I had taken some selfies. I'm not a selfie person. I don't know that I've ever taken a selfie before. If I have, I can't remember it and it was probably with a niece or nephew who was playing with the camera. But certainly not on purpose. I've been in them when other people have taken them, which also doesn't count. I have taken pictures of myself, but I've done it with a tripod and remote shutter release, so I don't think those count. But an actual selfie? Never! Until now. Streak over. 

I figure it's okay though, because it's all in the name of science. And once-in-a-lifetime occasions (so they say). And my face is pretty much invisible because of the lighting. So, I guess if you have to end a streak, this wasn't a bad way to go.

*I already had too much stuff to carry. Besides, I knew the rest of the world would have great pictures and stuff. 

**I suspect the total eclipse would have been a different experience. 

This little piggy likes freedom

Just before all my traveling, I listened to a Freakonomics podcast about shoes in which they recommended going barefoot more often. So, when I went through security at the airport and found myself barefoot, I figured, "Hey, what's the rush to put my shoes on?" And I went up the escalator and all the way to my gate in my bare, unstockinged feet. I felt like such a rebel.

Tonight on my way home from the Library, I decided it would be a terrible waste of nice green grass (which is a pretty amazing commodity in my neck of the woods) so I whipped off my sandals and unleashed my little piggies. It felt really nice.

So go a little crazy and bare your feet. It's pretty fun!*

*Although, I do recommend keeping your tetanus shot up to date. I was barefooting it around my complex doing laundry and stepped on what I thought was a stick. I later realized whatever I stepped on punctured my foot. And hours later I remembered they had been re-roofing my building. So, yeah. Be current on your shots. 

Packing

Today I leave to attend a professional conference and I spent the weekend mulling over packing. There is this dilemma where they don't make suitcases the right size for my needs. They are either just a titch too big or too small. Also, I no longer have a backpack that also carries a laptop, which is a problem when you have to take a laptop on your travels (most of the time I don't). To make this all even more fun, I carry a DSLR camera, which is an item of luggage in and of itself. considering you have to pay to check bags, and half the time you have to pay to carry on bags, and you only get one personal item*, this becomes hard to afford.

Also, between the laptop, camera, purse, luggage, etc., that is just a lot of baggage to haul around. Plus, I think I always over-pack, which doesn't seem like a big deal, but it just adds to the travel clutter. It makes the suitcase more of a disaster, which drives me nuts. So I am very motivated to pack as lightly as possible.

That being said, I am incredibly proud to announce that I have fit everything for one week of travel (including professional clothing for the conference and recreational clothing for afterwards, and shoes to go along with) into one duffel bag, one laptop bag, and one camera backpack (which is mainly the camera). Which seems like a lot of bags, but considering last year I took an enormous suitcase and backpack and the camera, I'm feeling pretty good.

Another bonus: there's not much room left over, which means I don't have a ton of space for souvenirs, which is a good thing.** That will be nice on my budget, which I need to save for my trip next week to Michigan.

Yay, travel!

*I have issues with this. I can easily fit my camera bag and laptop bag under the seat in front of me, so what is the problem?
**Not that I expect to come home with many souvenirs. Last year, I wound up with a squid hat, a snow globe, two books, and a lot of photos. And while I am going to be in Portland, which I hear has a book store so large you need a map to navigate it, I don't anticipate buying many books. I'm trying to cut back. On buying. Not on reading.   

Change the channel, please!

A few months ago, they installed two TVs in the break room at work. I'm not sure why, but there they are. Personally, I find them distracting and it seems like I eat there less than before, but that could just be because it's sunny outside, or because I've had a lot of lunch meetings lately, etc. But I can cope with the distraction. The real problem is the channels they have chosen.

One TV is set to ESPN. I don't actually mind that, because half the time, it's actually just people talking about sports, not actual sports. And while I enjoy a good game or match or what have you, I don't follow sports much, so it's not as attention-sucking for me.

But the other TV. The other TV has been set to a 24 hour news channel. There is something terribly depressing about having a perfectly good day ruined at lunch time by finding out the latest absurd thing that has come out of Washington, which is 90% of what is covered on news channels. And I'm really sorry, but the fact that the current POTUS has said two contradictory things in the last 24 hours is NOT breaking news. It isn't. I know you want it to be, but no. Neither is the White House press secretary holding a press briefing. Not breaking news. And why are we taking time in our news coverage to announce that the POTUS is going to make an announcement the next day? That's not news. The announcement is news, but not the announcement of the announcement.

Anyway, there have been occasional efforts to change the channel, but it never lasts more than a day, and we are stuck with the White House Reality Show*. With an occasional break for other actual news, that then gets beaten to death for the next few hours. It's just annoying and so I have one request:

Will someone pass me the remote?

Things I need more of

In no particular order:

Hours in a Saturday
Hours for sleeping
Perfect watermelon
World travel
Energy
Time with family
Visits from old friends
Rain storms (rain storms - is that a thing? Thunderstorms are okay, but the main thing is that there be rain)
Comedy
Whimsy
Leftovers from restaurants
Smoothies
Baby elephant videos (why cats when there are elephants?!)
Rainbows to go with those rain storms
British friends
Reasons to use my drill
Certainty
Space, especially in the kitchen
Things to write about on my blog

The religion cookie

This week I was listening to a podcast* and one of the comments was about how this person felt religion is fine, but not in public.

Now, I'm not sure what exactly they meant by that and I don't plan on getting into a debate about religion in the public square or anything. I am also assuming that this person had a specific concept in mind when they spoke--maybe it was in regards to legislation, or praying in public, or wearing a headscarf. I don't know because it was just one line with no context around it, so it isn't fair to judge them by that one statement. And I'm willing to bet that they are a decent person, a good neighbor, someone who is trying to do the right thing.

But taking the statement as spoken, as a religious person I couldn't help but wonder how on earth I'm supposed to do that? Maybe it is different for other religious people, but I just don't know where to draw the boundary on my religious actions and my non-religious ones. It would be like telling someone they couldn't be Texan in public. Or like trying to sort out the flour from cookie dough once it's mixed.

I know there is a lot of talk about this topic these days. Especially around legislation. And maybe that's what this person meant--don't bring your religion into public policy? But it's my religion that teaches me not to discriminate and to be kind, and not to steal or lie or kill. It's my religion that teaches me to serve in the community, to pay my taxes (and be honest about it), to help the needy. It's my religion that teaches me that every one has worth and to see them as people who matter. Oh, sure, the law says a lot of that to. But I learned it from my religion first, and I choose to live up to that standard because of my faith, not because of the government. So, you see, it's a bit tricky, because my faith defines my identity and how do I keep that private?

And because my beliefs are so much a part of me, I can understand how someone else's beliefs, religious or not, are equally important to them. And they shouldn't have to hide that part of themselves when they leave the house, either. Not that that gives anyone permission to force their values on anyone else, but we do need to be able to be our whole selves in a way that is respectful and to be able to appropriately express our beliefs in the public square. There's a lot to be gained from doing so.

And when we do, we have to be prepared for some give and take. Sometimes, society will go in a different direction than what my religious beliefs encourage. But in my experience, there is always a way to make that work. We can get along! There's room for all of us and our beliefs! Without anyone going into hiding! It takes respect and kindness, and being willing to not be offended, but it's doable.

It's also our best option, because there's pretty much no good way to get flour out of cookie dough.

*Me and my podcasts. I think I might actually be podcasted out. I need more comedy podcasts, but it's so hard to find clean comedy. Times like this, one resorts to Terry Pratchett audiobooks.

Fox in a graveyard

Yesterday, as part of a family reunion project I'm working on, I went to the cemetery. Knowing it would be hot, I went kind of late, so I left about 5:30, and I took along a lot of water. Which stayed cold for about 10 seconds on my 2 mile walk. (Good news? When I got home, I'd gotten in my exercise for the day).

Anyway, I got to the cemetery, got the photos of the headstones I needed and had just finished getting a shot of the location marker when I saw this guy:

I'm guessing that's a fox, but somehow I always thought foxes were smaller. I took some photos and Foxy wandered off. I meandered for a few more minutes, and Foxy was back:

Poor guy (gal?) just wanted some shade, and I can't blame him. He seemed pretty content to chill there until I left. I was tempted to try and get closer, but somehow, stalking a wild animal on a hot day didn't seem like a smart idea. Besides, this critter deserved to sit in his shade in peace.

It must have been a hot day for all the little animals, because when I was almost home, I saw this:

And, no, that isn't a giant bird bath. For people, it's a fountain. Apparently, for birds, it's a pool.

And yes, I'm jealous.  

The mysterious mind of me

I was listening to something today and they mentioned the Washington Redskins. And I realized that whenever I hear "Redskins", I think of potatoes. I think it probably has something to do with red potatoes, which would then have red skins. And I did grow up in Idaho, land of the famous potatoes. Nothing about Native Americans makes me think of potatoes. But when I hear "Washington Redskins", I envision a buttered baked potato.

It makes no sense. I didn't grow up on red potatoes. We had regular old potatoes when I was growing up. I don't know if I even knew there were other kinds of potatoes. At least, not when I was young. But then, I probably didn't know there was such a thing as the Washington Redskins, either. Maybe it happened in my teen years? I don't know. It's weird, and I'm not sure what it says about me, but there you have it.

Now I think I could go for a baked potato.

Dear Brain

Dear Brain,

You know how when I'm sitting around feeling like I should get up and do something productive, and you always come back with, "That is such a huge task. It will be so hard [boring/tiring, take so much effort/concentration/energy/time]". Or, you take the "I just can't get it to stick in my brain" or "I'm not making any real progress" line?

Just stop. You know it's silly.

"I should do the dishes, but it will take forever"? Fifteen minutes, usually.

"I've photographed everything I can think of, and I don't really know what I'm doing. Plus it's hot"? You always find something cool to photograph and you come back having enjoyed yourself and feeling less stressed.

"Irish is crazy. I have no idea how to pronounce anything and I just can't remember the words and their meaning"? Okay, it's true. They have CRAZY spellings and I have yet to figure out how a combination of 5 letters can make the sound of a different letter that doesn't appear anywhere in the word. But you do actually remember things, and if you focused a little more (and maybe only worked on one language at a time :S ?) you'd remember even more.

Yeah. You always enjoy it way more than you think you will. And you enjoy binge watching Netflix (or Prime) way less than you tell yourself you do.

So could you just remember that the next time I'm feeling lazy?

Thanks.

Non-binary

At work, I'm part of a group that is developing leadership skills. On Friday, in preparation for our next meeting, I got a link to a survey designed to help you find out your leadership style. Thirteen questions, no big deal right?

Ha. 

The first question was, essentially, "Do you prefer to let people do things their own way or do you want them to do things your way?" I get option A, they can do things their own way, or B, do it my way. I have so many problems with this question. (Yes, I got stuck on the first question). 

Am I supposed to assume that they are doing their own thing within the policies and procedures laid out? If so, I choose option A. Or am I supposed to assume absolutely no context? In which case, neither A or B. I am fine with people finding their own methods. But there are a lot of things we do at my job that have to be within certain parameters, so, no, don't go making up your own rules. And I have absolutely NO guidance on this!!!! Surveys never give context, and context matters! 

Further, why is it assumed there are only 2 possibilities? As I've pointed out, sometimes it is great to have people coming up with their own methods, but not always. This is another huge problem with surveys. They assume that there are a limited set of options. I remember doing one of those dumb employment personality questionnaires they make you do for department store jobs (Why? Seriously?!) They were asking some question about what you would do if a co-worker was breaking rules. Would you ignore it? Talk to another co-worker? Talk to the offender directly? Talk to your supervisor? You can only pick one, because apparently, no one would ever try multiple approaches. 

This has always seemed absurd to me because I very incredibly rarely would ever choose just one of the answers. But then, yesterday, I was listening to an Invisibilia podcast - their Part 1 on Reality - and they were talking about whether the reality is that bears are dangerous or that they are safe (you'll just have to listen to it). The whole time, I'm thinking, "Duh! Both!". And then, about 9 minutes before the end of the episode, the host says, (I paraphrase): "Then this guy told me something that changed how I thought about the question. He said in western culture, we have this binary thinking. It can be A or B, but they are mutually exclusive. In eastern culture, they are comfortable with A and B can both be true." 

Now, I'm not sure whether she was referring to this new piece of knowledge about eastern vs. western ways of thinking, and that is what she didn't know, or whether she had never even realized that two seemingly incompatible things can both be true. But my big aha moment was that there are actually people who really, honestly, think binarily.* 

This is kind of mind-boggling to me, because I don't generally think that way. And I do get that you could think that way about a specific topic or issue. But are there really people who think in binary terms about most everything? Is that a thing? If so, the state of society makes way more sense, but why is this a thing? 

I'm guessing this is just a thing people do on certain issues - like when it comes to Cindrella-ing it up with wild animals. I am going on the premise that most people don't think in all black and white all the time. But it's just weird to me that there are areas where they are solid in their binary thinking. I admit, sometimes it does seem like a nice way to think. When someone's made me mad, for example, I have a short window in which I can place all the blame on them, and then eventually I start to think about what I did that wasn't so great and I don't get to feel self-righteous anymore.**

Anyway, this just confirms that 1) Not everyone thinks like I do (I suspected as much) and 2) multiple choice surveys stink. 

*Binarily? Binaryly? Binarily. It's not a word. But it should be. It is definitely an adverb, as it is a word describing a verb, so it receives an -ly ending.

**Being indignant sounds good in theory, but I am actually grateful that, for whatever reason, I see both sides. It seems much less stressful in the long-term. 

Presents Day

'Tis the season to be frivolous! I talked to my brother the other day and he reminded me that it's the time of year when we celebrate Presents Day.

What is Presents Day, you ask? Presents day is the day you buy presents. Not presents for individuals, but presents that the whole family (or whatever group you happen to be part of) shares, so they belong to everyone and not just any one person.

Why Presents Day? Why not?

When is Presents Day, exactly? Presents Day occurs on the first Saturday after school gets out. However, if school gets out on a Friday, it is the Saturday after the first week of no school, not the day after school lets out. I don't know why, that is just the rule. And if I'm messing up the details, I fully expect my brother or his wife to correct me. In my case, since I'm not in school and no one in my house is in school, I get to pick. I can go by the school district I live in or I can pick between my relatives' school districts.

How do you celebrate? Well, you buy presents, obviously. They don't have to be big, and again, they have to be for everyone, not just one particular person. You also have to have some kind of treasure hunt to find the present. This is a bit of a problem for me, since I live alone, so I'm thinking I may have to do swapsies with a friend. They hide mine, I'll hide theirs.

So, happy Presents Day! Get yourself something, just because.

A Tribute to my Bed

For the last month I've been working on getting to bed at a consistent time. It's been great. So the next step naturally would be to get up at a regular time. But I have a problem with my bed.

Now, I really like my bed. I got it for $5 from a student who was moving back to Japan the next day and really needed to get rid of it. It was the first bed I've ever purchased (and only bed, to date, unless you count air mattresses or the couch I slept on for a week until my stuff arrived at my new place) and was definitely a steal. It's way more than a $5 bed. It only has one fatal flaw: it is at its most comfortable between 6 and 7 am.

It's a comfortable bed all night but I tell you, it's never more comfortable than in those moments after my alarm drags me back to reality. I fall asleep pretty quickly so I can't enjoy the comfort nearly as much as it deserves. But by 6 am, it has become the most comfortable place on the planet. The pillows are perfect, the covers are perfect, the mattress is perfect and I'm just awake enough to enjoy it as I doze off between the snooze alarms.

So, as soon as I figure out how to solve the problem of my comfortable bed, I'll get working on getting up at a routine time. But given the complicated nature of this dilemma, it could take awhile.

What I do for a living

I confess, I'm pretty excited to have the day off tomorrow. Contrary to popular belief, librarians don't really sit around all day reading books. Especially when they aren't really librarians, they are reference archivists.

So what do I do all day, you ask? I answer questions. (Moms everywhere can sympathize). All day, day in and day out, my job is to answer all the questions that people can come up with. If I'm lucky, 1 in 10 of them can be answered with Google. But in most cases, if they could google the answer, they wouldn't be asking me. Information Professionals: Smarter than Google.* I also can't answer them by looking in a book. (Books. Those are for libraries). I have to check in 3 or 4 different collections - non-indexed, not word searchable, and sometimes handwritten. On paper, or even crazier, microfilm.

It has gotten to the point that I've developed a mental twitch every time someone walks into the Reference Room or I get a new email. Deep inside my brain, I have this tiny moment of panic as I ponder what it is I'm going to have to know the answer to in the next 5 minutes.

Actually, the in person interactions aren't too bad. Essentially, I show them the catalog, give them some pointers on how to search, and get them searching on their own. (Unless they don't know how to use computers. That's a whole different ball game). The tricky part is that there's no time to figure out an answer. You really do have about 30 seconds to come up with something, and in archival research, you don't get answers in 30 seconds. Usually, you don't even get them in 30 minutes.

Online questions, on the other hand, give you some time to figure out an answer. The drawback is, you also have to do all the research. And when most questions are going to take a couple hours of research, and you get about 20 a week, it doesn't leave much time for anything else. And some of these questions! Honestly, they astound me sometimes. The longer I do this job, the more I realize that of the 7.347 billion people on earth, I think I understand where about 50 of them are coming from. We get some very strange questions. And we answer them as best we can. It's what we do.

Like I say, I don't hate what I do. There is something really satisfying about unraveling an information mystery: you dig a little here, then follow a lead there, which sends you to another place with a tiny bit of information, and after checking a dozen different places, you finally put the whole puzzle together. And the whole time you are picking up random little tidbits that you never would have found out otherwise.** But sometimes, you just need a break, even from the fun world of archives.

*I'm trying to sell people on this as a motto. So far, no luck.
**Most of which you'll never use again, but occasionally they do come in handy. Like the time someone wondered why spring break was in February and I actually knew the answer.  

Tips for Conferencing

This week I attended a conference for work. It was for libraries, which made it kind of weird because I really work at an archive/special collections library, which is not really like a public, academic, or school library outside of the fact that both have books. But, there's always something that is applicable, so I made the most of it and developed some trusty tips for coping with conferences:

1. Get a good night's sleep. Sitting and listening for 8 straight hours is exhausting. I know, it sounds ridiculous and counter intuitive but it's a fact. So, be well rested.

2. Pack a sweater or a jacket. Even if it's 110 degrees in the shade outside (especially then!), layer up. Because conference centers are freezing.

3. Hit the vendor hall. The goal is to get as many free pens as possible (I managed 10. At this rate, I will never have to buy another pen or stylus in my life!). Or to stock up on chocolate to keep you alert during the sessions.

4. Always go to at least one "just because I want to" session. I know you're there for work and you feel obligated to go to all the sessions relevant to your particular job but give yourself at least one session that is something that you are interested in and that sounds fun and interesting, regardless of how relevant it is to your work.

5. Give yourself some down time. The one I went to, even lunch was scheduled with speakers. A person needs some time to not have to engage with strangers if they don't want to, to not have to be surrounded and 'on' as it were. This conference was only a one-dayer, so it was alright, but a person definitely needs to have a break.

So, there you go. Conference survival strategies. You're welcome.

Definitely NOT a foodie

I have a serious problem: I can never figure out what to eat. I get up in the morning and there's cereal or cereal or cereal. Or toast, maybe, if it sounds good, which lately it hasn't. Then I have to fix something for lunch, which means cooking something. Cooking takes so much time and effort and it's just for me. And if I make a lot of it, I end up eating the same thing every day for a week. And don't even get me started on dinner. Who wants to spend time fixing food when they've just worked a full day and there's no one to enjoy it with?

None of which would be that big of a problem if something actually sounded appealing. But seriously, food is just so boring lately. This is a situation that isn't going to improve with the summer, because heat will put me off food faster than anything.

So, yes, huge problem. But, today at work someone mentioned Hawaiian Haystacks and it sounded delicious! There was a food that I wanted to eat! So fingers crossed that I will still want it tomorrow at lunchtime. I need to eat something.

The art of play

I am incredibly pleased to report that I still know how to play with five-year olds.

I'm pretty good at playing with kids, I think, but I typically play games or tell stories or am playing with 3 and unders, which is a different kind of play all together. (It usually requires being able to do the same thing over and over for long periods of time).

Yesterday, though, I had the chance to play with my 5 year old niece and 9 year old autistic nephew. For my nephew, my brother invented slide bowling, so mostly our play involved setting up the pins and handing him the balls and cheering him on. (By the way, slide bowling is awesome and the $8 bowling set was worth every penny, even if I were to never use it again).

With my niece, we played. It started out with Twilight Sparkle (one of the My Little Pony crowd) and we had to find the bezel treasure. (I don't know what exactly this looks like, except pizza-ish somehow?) We found/drew the treasure map, and the treasure was hidden by the mountain flowers. So we found the mountain, and the mountain flowers, and sure enough, the bezel treasure was there. We got the treasure, but then the monsters chased us, so we had to make it to the Leaf Tree. When the monsters got there, they turned into fairies. Turns out the mean witch had turned them into monsters, but the Leaf Tree undid the spell.

Then we had to stop the mean witch, of course. First we had to find the gold medallion and the special butterfly. Then we had to go to the fairy tree and get a little fairy to help us. And then we had to find the witch, which was tricky. Turns out she was at the mountain the whole time. When we got to the mountain, the butterfly and the fairy caught the witch. Then we threw the medallion at her and cast a spell with our wands (I believe the spell was enchanticus simpaticus. In case you ever need it). And the witch turned into a good witch, the mountain became Lovely Mountain again, and the mountain flowers came back (not sure at what point they went away, but you know how these things go).

So yeah. Pretty much saved the world. You're welcome.

Burn Out

Is it just me, or is the world exhausted? Last week I took a 6 hour nap. Which usually means I will not sleep well at night, but I went to bed and slept all night long, no waking up at all. And I am ready to do it again.

I hear about all these women who have started 18 non-profits and saved the world and raised their kids and gotten a half a dozen degrees and speak at all these conferences and are great leaders and I think, "Where did you come from?" It's a little terrifying that that is what the world expects of women now. 'Cause I just can't do it.

I go to work and deal with questions all day long. With every question, there is a flicker of panic where my brain says, "What new topic do I have to become an expert in in the next hour?" I have to solve problems all day long, and I'm not even sure I have the authority to solve most of them. I need another twenty to thirty hours in the work week, but just can't give the time because I'm trying to hang on to my sanity.

Somehow, this is just draining, and by the time I get home, the thought of fixing food for just myself is completely uninteresting. I eat a lot of pb&j and cereal for dinner. (And why not? How many dinner-like meals does a person need in a day?) Then I try to stay informed by reading the news, but honestly, I just want a couple of paragraphs saying "Here's what happened, and here's why it matters". I've resorted to reading headlines--which are remarkably informative.

Then there's working out (ugh, so boring! I do love modernity, but I think we missed the boat on the whole exercise thing), cleaning, and running the household. This really doesn't take as much time as I think it does, and I don't have that much of it to do, so that's nice. Errands can be a pain - grocery shopping is a huge time suck when you don't have a car. But, it can be a good way to get exercise. And/or some photography practice. Most of the time, it's really not too bad.

And I should be doing more photography practice, and language learning, and learning to code, and piano practicing and writing and stuff. So much to do! So much that is rewarding to do! I just have to get past the fog of exhaustion in my brain.

Of course, the best way to do that is to actually push through it. It's amazing how you forget you are tired when you go and do stuff. And so, note to self: Don't listen to Tired Whiny. Go do something cool instead.

Those funny kids

I went to visit my brother's family for Easter. He has four kids, and they are a blast. They are also the biggest bunch of posers ever, which is great for my photography hobby. The youngest, about 18 months, was hilarious. When he saw me taking his picture, he'd squint his eyes and smile. I have no idea why or where he got it from, but it was pretty funny.

The older kids wanted me to jump on the trampoline with them. The three-year old gets nervous when the bigger kids jump to high, and at one point, her brother was getting too excited for her. She said, "Aunt Elise, um, the Boy is jumping too high." I found this odd, but she referred to her brother as "the Boy" a couple more times. When I asked her parents about it, they said, "Oh, yeah. That's what she calls him. He's the Boy and her younger brother is the Fella." She definitely knows their actual names and how to pronounce them, because I did hear her use them. She just prefers to call them "Boy" and "Fella". And it's not that she doesn't like them. She got very upset when we were getting ready to go somewhere and she couldn't find the Boy.

One of the afternoons that I was there, my older niece (8) was playing with her dolls, and Belle was marrying Spiderman (there is a shortage of male dolls in their house). I was kind of listening when I heard her pronounce them what sounded like "waffle-y wedded" husband and wife. I even asked her to say it again, and I'm 80% sure that she did indeed say waffle-y wedded (It's a very subtle difference, and even looking dead at her while she said it, I could have been mistaken). Which, quite frankly, sounds delicious. I am now seriously considering having a waffle-y wedded reception should I ever get married.

Life doesn't get much better than kids.

I need a jet

Today I went to a lunch and learn where a colleague presented on his trip to Egypt and Petra. And, my mind being what it is, it sort of wandered within the scope of the presentation. It wandered thus:

1. It's a good thing not everyone is like me, because I think I would have said, "No way am I spending my life carving away stone to make that building." And there would be a much less beautiful world. I'm not artistic myself, but I definitely appreciate people who can create from physical materials and am always in awe of their skill and patience. I would have said, "A plain facade is going to be good enough for this temple at Petra." So, we can all consider ourselves very lucky the world isn't full of people just like me. Because Petra would definitely not be what it is.

3. Speaking of Petra, I remember looking at photographs on some Google Virtual tour thing or something like that, and one of the most mind-boggling things was the image of the camels sitting on the ground. Their hind legs bend backwards! Who knew?! Camels--fascinating.

2. I was reminded of the person who said looking at photographs in National Geographic was all she needed to get her taste of the world. How can that be enough? I look at photos and want to hop a plane and go see these places for myself. Photos are great, but the real thing is an experience. A photo can't give you that.

4. I don't think I want to travel with a tour group. This is not the same as not wanting to have a guide, someone who knows the ropes and can keep me safe. But I don't really love tourist travel. I don't want to see the castles of Europe or the Pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall of China. I mean, I do. But I don't want to just see them and then whirl off and only know about this tiny drop in the bucket, the things outside of the context of the people. I want to live in Europe. I want to see the people in Africa. Because humanity is so beautiful and there is something about watching people be themselves, seeing them live and work and laugh and play. The best moments of my trips last year were the moments with people, not the sights. I just want to sit in a park in some new place and watch humanity go by, and please let there be children! So, I want to tour humanity. And, sure, I'll hit up some museums and sights while I'm at it. Why not?

Anyway, I think I need a jet. And a pilot.

Brought to you by the internet

The Internet: Supplier of all things Peeps, such as the Peeps sculpture contests and Peeps Pizza (as if humanity hadn't given enough cause to wonder yet).

But never fear. The internet can be useful, too. Where else would you get all your latest scientific developments, such as finally, FINALLY, learning the answer to that question that has occuppied every waking moment of your life: Why do shoelaces come untied?

But at least the internet can help us find a good way to party, such as the Smigus Dyngus. I'm pretty sure I need this to be a thing in my life and I just want to say, bravo Poland. (And extra kudos for such an awesome name!)

An antidote to materialism

I have a lot of stuff. Cool stuff. Flying screaming monkeys, Nerf guns, awesome games, great stuffed animals, even a squid hat! Most of the time it doesn't get used, because it's just me and some things are just more fun with other people. 

So, it is a delight when nieces and nephews come to visit, because then I get to play. But anyone who has spent time with kids knows that messes are made, things get broken and dirty, and you can kiss "mint-condition" goodbye. And every now and then, when the kids come to play, I have this moment where I am hesitant to let my cool stuff get ruined. "Dare I let them play with my magnetic sand? If it spills, then what?" Or, "what if they lose my darts?" 

But I'm pleased to say that the moment passes quickly when I remember how much fun they'll have, and how much I will enjoy remembering how much fun they (we) had. And if the darts get lost, or my nice shirt gets ruined by a loving baby, or the screaming monkey loses a hand, well, so what? It's all just stuff. Stuff that spends most of its life waiting. How much better to let it be used and enjoyed?

And so, I am infinitely grateful for the 24 wonderful kids who help me keep life in perspective. I'm a better person because of you all. 

With love,

Aunt Elise

Sing your heart out

Warning: This post contains sweeping generalizations about groups of people. The author fully realizes that these are generalizations and appreciates the reader making allowances.

On Friday, I went to a luncheon at work where the speaker was a wonderful woman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She had fled the Congo, ended up in Uganda, where she reunited with her husband (who had been imprisoned) and other family members, and she and her family eventually made their way to the US.

I confess, I missed a lot of the details of the story, for several reasons. 1) I was very tired, so even though I heard them, I now can't remember them. 2) She was speaking Swahili. Of course, there was an interpreter, so it's not like I had no clue what she was saying. But I think I kept getting distracted by the Swahili--I was so interested in what it sounded like that I think I forgot to listen to the English. 3) I was too busy observing everything and getting lost in my own thoughts.

See, not only did we have the guest speaker, but there was a choir of women, maybe a dozen or so, who sang several songs in Swahili. Plus, the speakers family, and a few young children of the choir members. So, what was there to observe and ponder, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

1) The speaker was really beautiful. And her family was beautiful. Recently, I've read some articles about 'colorism' and there's always issues with skin color in society. And I just kept watching them trying to fathom why it is that those are things. And why people think that it makes such a difference. I watched a little boy sit on his dad's lap, and saw exactly the same humanity that I see when my nieces and nephews do the same thing. I saw moms trying to hush their kids. And maybe it was the setting, because it was a sort of religious event as well, but I just saw a sister at the podium.

2) Like I said, I was caught up in the language. I did a little bit of linguistics in college and find language really interesting. And I really really wanted to learn Swahili. (And Irish. And Russian. And Arabic. And German. And Portuguese. And just about every other language on the planet. But not Klingon). It has this very jaunty, very upbeat and rhythmic sound that lends itself to swaying and moving. The choir was up there singing and swaying, and I admit, I joined in. Which for me is saying something, because I never do that sort of thing in public usually. And no one else was, but what can I say? Anyway, it made me think that English is probably a very stuffy language to the rest of the world.

3) Another side note to the singing: these women SANG! I sing in my church choir, and the director is constantly trying to get us to sing out. He would have loved these women, because they were confident and joyful and they sang with their hearts. I think I am too prim and proper and afraid of being heard when I sing because I don't know if I sing well or not. These women sang great, but even if they didn't, I think they still would have belted it out. Because the point was to sing and be happy, not to be acceptable.

4) There was so much color! White people are so boring when it comes to color. Especially in the winter. Ugh. (It's probably due to our pigment impairment. Bright colors might make us look like death). But this crowd was bright and cheerful. Also, I was slightly jealous that their culture has headwear, because that has to be awesome for hiding a bad hair day. Anyway these Africans know how to live boldly.

5) The whole time, I felt a great sense of unity. Here are these women, strangers to me, natives of another continent, but I felt like they were my sisters and my friends. It made me very happy. (And less tired!)

6) These women were also happy women. The speaker went through some awful things, but over and over said how much God loves us. She radiated happiness. (No wonder she was so beautiful!)

So, now you can see why I missed some of the details. There was a lot going on. But even though I didn't hear all the words, I think I probably got the message.

March Madness

It's March and here at the 40th parallel in North America it's 70 degrees outside. Which is all wrong. It's supposed to be 50 on a good day. The last of the winter storms. Windy with the siren song of spring. Not June. 

All of which is foreboding. If it's 70 degrees now, June, oh so lovely June, is going to be a nightmare. And I don't even want to think about the month of August.  

On the other hand, maybe this explains the insanity that has been the past month of my life. Not so much at home, I suppose, but work seems to be chaos. I don't dare set foot in the Reference area for fear that I will get sucked in to the black hole of "I Have a Question" and only manage to return to my desk an hour later. Another hour I have fallen behind on my other work and at which point my brain is exhausted. It's hard work figuring out how to track down answers that you don't have. Just one of the many reasons I believe librarians and archivists should adopt the tag line "Smarter than Google".* 

None of this is helped by the lack of quality sleep, which I am also blaming on the weather. And stress, probably. And the general weirdness in the air. Or water. Or what have you. Whatever it is, I think the world is ready for a vacation. 

I definitely am.

*If people could Google it, they wouldn't be asking us. Usually. In theory. Not always. But still. I stand by my slogan. 

Best Disclaimer Ever

I just finished watching Doctor Strange all the way through the end credits. I noticed this in the movie theater the first time I saw it. At the very end of the credits, it gives that great disclaimer about how any resemblance to actual people or events is just coincidence.

Good thing they warned me, because I totally thought maybe it was based on my next door neighbor who tried to take over the world and give it to some crazy other-dimensional creature to absorb. Good thing my co-worker stopped him with his magic hands.

Yep. Happens all the time.

This week..

Something I watched: I started watching White Helmets. Didn't finish because I had some other stuff I worked on and couldn't do two things at once. White Helmets deserves my full attention. And I have to pay attention to be able to catch the subtitles.

Something I accomplished: I finished making a book for my niece. And I did a little embellishing for the first time. Nothing fancy but hopefully it cooled it up a bit.

Something I wish had gone differently: I wish I hadn't been so frazzled and cranky at work. And had gotten more sleep. But I always wish I had gotten more sleep.

Something I read: I finished a book called The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. It was fantastic! 

Something kind I did: I made someone laugh. 

Something kind someone did for me: A co-worker bought me an amazing juice drink to cheer me up.

Something amazing I ate: the pizza I featured in photos on this lovely blog. SO good!! (Not the burnt one. The other one). 

Something I tried out for the first time: Modal. I bought some pajama bottoms - story is irrelevant - and they are made of modal, which I have heard about on ads on my podcasts, and WOW!! It really is pretty impressive. Very comfortable.

Something I listened to: I listened to a really great podcast about Putin. Which seems like a contradiction, but it was really good and informative. It was done by the BBC and you can listen to it here. 

Something fun I did: I played hide-and-seek with my nieces and nephews in a room with absolutely nowhere to hide. Super fun.

Take 2

I tried my pizza again tonight. I think I learned from my mistakes, because it turned out beautiful:

Unfortunately, I then made muffins and left the sugar out. Maybe I'll try those again tomorrow, too. Second time's the charm?

Smoke gets in your eyes

Tonight, I tried a new recipe for a skillet pizza for two. I was pretty excited and it was turning out to be a lot easier than I expected (although, lots of dish washing). I did make the mistake of putting in too much oil--teaspoon, tablespoon, so close--but figured it wasn't that big of a deal.

So, I get to the point in the recipe where you cook the pizza on the stove, just til the crust starts puffing up, because then you throw it in the oven. And, I figured I had a minute or two (or five?) and dashed into my room to take care of something. Where I got distracted. And, either I was distracted longer than I thought or it really doesn't take that long for the crust to start puffing up, or more likely both of those things, because when I came out my house was full of smoke

and the bottom of the crust looked like this:

Distractions are the number one cause of kitchen accidents in my world. 

The bad news:
My smoke alarm didn't go off. Do I even have one? Because it seriously should have gone off. I couldn't even see across the kitchen there was so much smoke.
Everything in the house, including me, is going to be permeated with the smell of smoke. And I have to be to work at 7:30 tomorrow and really don't want to wash my hair. So, I either go to work smelling like a bonfire (there are worse things, but it's not ideal), or I have to get up and do the full deal shower.
I'm clearly not eating pizza for lunch tomorrow. Although, I was able to scrape the top layer off. But it's mostly cheese and a thin layer of crust, thinner than thin crust crust. So I could eat it, but do I want to?
I had also contemplated making a cake to take to work, but that isn't going to happen. It would taste like campfire.
I am sitting in my house with the windows open and the AC fan running, and it is 38 degrees outside.
It sort of warped the skillet I cooked it in.

The good news:
I have enough ingredients to try it again, and since I doubled the sauce recipe (because seriously, what am I going to do with half a can of diced tomatoes?), half the work is over!
I don't have to make a cake tonight. Which is great, because I am tired of doing dishes.
I can eat sort-of pizza for lunch tomorrow.
A quick jiggery doo and the skillet is more or less back in shape. And it wasn't even hard to clean.
The house didn't catch on fire.
The smoke is mostly gone, so I can turn off the AC and close the windows soon. And it isn't even that cold.
No one really gets close enough to smell my hair at work anyway. It would be weird if they did. So maybe I can get away with not washing and styling it. Fingers crossed.

Fruit Basket

Last night, I ate a grapefruit. The beautiful thing about grapefruit is you kind of expect it to taste sour and weird, so you're never disappointed. Not like oranges, where you can definitely tell when you've got a bad one. I've had better luck with clementines than oranges, but this year I bought a bag and it wasn't so great, so I gave up. 

Apples are another reliable fruit. Pick a good variety and you're probably going to have a good experience. And there are so many varieties that you can just stick with reliable old apples and still not get bored.

Bananas are pretty straightforward, too. The biggest problem there is that they ripen too fast, and who has time to go to the grocery store twice a week to buy bananas? This is another advantage of the apple - longevity.

Grapes are great, but I can never get through an entire bag and they don't sell them unbagged so I can choose how many I want. Cherries are the same way. 

Peaches and nectarines are great, too, if you can find a good one and time it right so you get it when it is the right ripeness. That's my problem. I buy them but they aren't ripe yet and somehow I never hit the window for ripeness. They go from rock hard to mush with no in-between. Pears are easier but can still be problematic. I think with peaches and pairs, I'm also at a disadvantage. I remember the good old days of canning season as a kid, with boxes of fruit in the basement, when you could always find a ripe juicy peach or pear. Nothing has been able to live up to the memory.

I could live off of watermelon all summer long. My only complaint with watermelon is there isn't enough center, which is the best part. 

Fresh pineapple is always a delight and I can count on getting 1 or 2 as a Christmas present every time I visit my sister's family for the holiday. It's good that they help me eat it, because too much pineapple will singe your taste buds, which is a real shame. 

I've never really jumped on board the mango and papaya trains. My first experience with mangoes was in the Dominican Republic, and it was just a little too early in the season. All I remember was eating a very 'hairy' mango (really, the fruit was just fibrous). Did NOT love that. I've since had some good mango and no longer outright reject it, but I'm still cautious. In my life, I've only ever had one bite of papaya that actually tasted good, so it's still on my blacklist. 

I've always preferred dried plums and apricots to fresh, for no reason that I can explain. It really doesn't make any sense, but there it is. I think maybe they aren't juicy and/or tangy enough for my liking. Drying them brings out the tangyness, though, which I love.

I've only ever had passion fruit as a juice, or more recently a gelatto. It is divine!!! One of my great loves from the Dominican Republic.

If we're talking berries, I like the flavor of raspberries best, but strawberries are great, too, and much easier to eat. Raspberries have that seed issue. I never really got blueberries until I tried them in Michigan. Who knew they actually had flavor? Still not my greatest love, but good blueberries are pretty tasty. 

And what is the point of all of this? Well, there isn't one, really, except that I ate a grapefruit. But, if you ever need an ice breaker, you can start with "Are you a fruit or veggie person?" and then move on to "which fruits?" It beats talking about politics.