versatile blogger

Thank you very much to Miss Smith for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award in a recent post. (Oh and wait, be sure to check out this post that details some crafty holiday ideas!) Really, I am a winner because you are here, reading this.

el camino, Brunswick, ME

Sometimes it's my turn to be fragile and I am today. So it seemed like an extra good idea to remember that my connections and community are broad and wide, thanks to this little thing called the Internet.

I think being versatile is a way to describe a lot of things in my life. Am I a true Renaissance woman? Probably not. But being a librarian is pretty versatile: there's a fluidity in my work on a few levels. For one, I am meeting each person with an information need in the moment. There will never be two interactions that are the same and my job is to figure out the scope of what is being asked so that I can find a source for the answer.

I am versatile in what I read. I like a good Young Adult book (Will Grayson Will Grayson, The Book Thief, My Most Excellent Year), graphic novels (The Arrival, French Milk), meaty works of literature (Cutting for Stone, Italian Shoes, The Elegance of the Hedgehog), and sometimes things that are totally fluff (here, here, and here).

I am versatile at home, but you know that already.

So here are 7 things about me, as per the instructions for this award:

1. Rats, tomato horn worms, and my basement scare me. Bats, heights, and dogs do not.

2. I am reading the new Ken Follett book right now, The Fall of Giants.

3. I have at least three unfinished knitting projects that are lying dormant right now and I have no plans to do anything with them other than occasionally finding them and feeling guilty.

4. I like sweet better than salty. But chocolate with salt is wonderful.

5. My idea of a perfect morning does not involve my family; this sounds mean, but it's the truth. I still dream of having a nanny for the mornings who would get everyone fed, ready, and nagged, and I would float down the stairs in my silken robe to administer little kisses as my family left me a quiet house in which to enjoy a cup of coffee, my breakfast, and a book.

6. The autumn is my favorite season. But I also really like winter until about the end of February.

7. I would rather knit a new pair of socks than darn them.

a little early holiday cheer

from someone who knows me well

So, now the hard part: picking a few good bloggers out there who make me smile when I see a new post waiting in my Google Reader. If you'd like to take the torch and run, great, and if not, take this as a thank you for sharing your good ideas, humor, and talents with the world (and me).

Tollipop

(she deals with scorpions with panache)

StillmanSays

(versatility to the extreme)

BeautyThatMoves

(inspired, always)

Mail Love

Ladies and Gents, I give you Angelo,
a Christmas robot programmed for World Peace, made by Miss Smith.

No, I have not forgotten about my Pieces of Me assignment, but there were some technical difficulties and so a post is in the works for later.

The world has become a smaller and more interesting place, through the blog-friendships I have formed. Remember that package I sent along off to New Zealand? You'll recall it was for a swap, with Miss Smith. And so thrilling, the package arrived to her! I love swaps, and I love sending art in the mail.

Her handwriting is quite similar to my best friend from high school's.

Now I am not saying I am an American with no geographical interests, but before knowing Jenny and her sister Mary Anna, New Zealand was a place that sounded cool, beautiful, interesting, but probably not a place I was likely to visit. Now, the idea of New Zealand with its opposite seasons to us Northern Hem folks, is something I think about weekly by visiting these blogs. If I have some travel bucks sometime, I would love to come visit.

Look, a calendar full of NZ native wildlife! This bird is a Kea.

And here are some nice wooden vintage buttons. Ready to be crafted.

And Jenny, just so you know, I am sorry that your only experience in the US was in Los Angeles. I have never been and don't plan to, and I can tell you that here in Maine, we tend NOT to be small, blonde, and tan. In Maine, we are mostly oblivious to high fashion and people often dress up, but still wear sensible shoes. In fact, one time I went to pick up Jonas from school in about March, and since I couldn't stand the sight of my pale and pasty face one more second I was wearing lipstick. Jonas's teacher asked me where I was going or coming from? Like, lipstick was so novel, I would have to have an occasion or something.

The photo that was meant to accompany the last post.
A piece of Mail Love from Rhode Island,
illustrating that vellum envelopes are always better.

Blogs, Book Tag, Busy---Oh My!

This is the morning To-Do slate around our house, which I write out the night before. It's an attempt to give fewer reminders verbally, or in the worst cases, what we call nagging. Jonas, a reader now, has words---some of which may need explanation, like "girls," meaning the chickens (not all girls, we have some roosters, but we used to have only hens and it stuck), and "drainer," meaning the morning chore of emptying the dish drainer. Sylvan, a pre-reader, gets pictures (and a couple of words because I didn't think that even 3 years of art school would result in a realistic-looking pile of clothes to be put away, using chalk), which left to right are: lunch, putting the silverware away, rainpants, and toothbrush.

But the real headline of today is:
Sylvan lost his very first tooth!

In Blog News...
You may have noticed a new Favorite Stop, over at the right: Miss Smith at Home. I feel like I have encountered my Southern Hemisphere soulmate down in New Zealand! Yay Miss Smith, for leaving a comment and letting me discover your wonderously fun blog. I have been parceling out the archives, trying not to consume too many, too quickly, to make it last!

I was inspired to try this delicious sugar-free recipe for Muesli bars, that I first saw here. I overcame the celcius to farenheit conversion, as well as deftly adapted grams to cups, thank you very much. Sweetened with a combination of dried fruits and freshly squeezed OJ, full of yummy oats and cinnamon, they were deliciously sweet enough to satisfy everyone here. And no one was wound up unneccessarily before bedtime. (Susan and Matthew S. and Jenn, if you're reading, you better try these at home!) Perfect with my tea tonight!

Playing Book Tag
So then Miss Smith tagged me in a Book Tag. Here are the rules:
Go to the closest book to you, not necessarily the book you have just read, or your favourite, but the closest. Turn to page 56 and copy out the 5th line, followed by the next 2 to 5 lines.

This was hard, I did so want to cheat, for something fiction-y. But honestly, here is what was closest:
Life Lists for Teens by Pamela Espeland, subtitled "Tips, steps, hints, and how-tos for growing up, getting along, learning, and having fun." It's awesome, so full of great information for teens to have, like "Top Ten Reasons Why You Look Hot," "7 Ways to Tell if You're Flirting or Harassing," "Twelve Reasons to Tell the Truth," "12 Ways to be a Great Guest," "10 Reasons Not to Get a Tattoo or Body Piercing" followed by "...And 10 Things to Do if You Decide to Get One Anyway," "25 Quotes on Goal-Setting," and my librarian's freedom fighter heart goes pitter pat, "10 Books Some People Don't Want You to Read." I plan to leave this book lying about in a few years, hoping that some teen in my house will find something in its pages.

So, page 56, 5th line followed by the next few (more than the suggested, I couldn't help it), in the section "If You Live with Someone Who Drinks Too Much or Uses Drugs:"

"...the help you need to feel better and to have a safe and productive life.
Remember the 7 Cs:

• I didn't CAUSE it.
• I can't CURE it.
• I can't CONTROL it.
• I can take better CARE of myself by COMMUNICATING my feelings, making healthy CHOICES, and CELEBRATING myself."

Pretty great advice even if you aren't living with an addict, just as general rules for living with other people in a complicated world.

So, Chris (Muddy Puddle Musings) and Heather (Beauty That Moves) are you up for playing along?

And one last P.S.
I have just been accepted to graduate school to continue my library science passion; since I am almost done with my bachelor's at very long last, why not keep the fun coming? I will be studying online at San Jose State University beginning in January! Hooray...and GULP!