October 2006

I love my laptop. I am ensconced in the recliner in my slippers and robe with my handy little space heater making me all toasty. Perhaps I will write an ode to my laptop. I wrote an article while handing out candy to trick-or-treaters the other night - using my handy laptop. Of course, I could have used a notebook and pen but then I'd have to type it all into my laptop anyway.

So what have you been reading? Not this blog that's for sure since I get little or no comments. Let's have a little sharing here!

I have been reading the books of Philip Gulley, a Quaker minister who writes about a (gasp) Quaker minister who returns to pastor the Meeting he grew up in, in Harmony, Indiana. I tell my teenagers that these books are for those of us with a few years behind us since most of the characters are in their 30s and up - way up in some cases.
We Quakers in the Blue States will have a hard time recognizing the entrenched conservatism of Harmony but committee meetings are the same throughout the entire Quaker world. Similar to Jan Karon's Mitford series, the Harmony series is a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek look at a town in which people have "always done things this way" and of the young pastor who loves that town, unreservedly.

I wanted to tell you about the books I am going to read. One of my good dragon friends went into NYC and picked up Tamora Pierce's book, Terrier and got Tammie to sign it for me. I am so excited. I should stop typing and start reading right this instance! Except I won't. I wanted to tell you about the two books on my desk at work but I don't remember what they are. Oh wait, Monster Blood Tattoo is one and that has received a lot of positive attention out there in YA Fantasy land.

My memory is a bit hazy because I have been cursed with some awful ear infections and that sinussy, sniffy thing that has been going around. The library sounds like a tuberculosis ward some days with all the coughing and hacking and hoarse whispers of sore throat misery. But yesterday, I felt SO MUCH BETTER. I had two programs back to back at the library with grade school kids and then I went through my poster stash pulling out all the Children's Book Week posters that I and my predecessor collected over the years. (Children's Book Week is November 13th -19th this year. )

And then, because I was all better hehehehe, I went to the Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild's Fright Night at Little Pond Retreat Center in Bath or Nazareth or somewhere in between. We told in the barn, not on the hilltop because of the wind and rainy conditions. The barn is a way cool place to tell spooky stories. The wind rushes through the trees and since the barn has one whole screened side (not suitable for overnight stays in winter) you can hear the stream that rushes beside the driveway and the trees whispering in the wind. The door at the end of the barn bangs from time to time and rustling and pounding noises race over the tin and timber roof. We had some excellent stories, including mine, and some very scary moments.

Then I came home went to bed and woke up (surprise) exhausted and achy and hence the robe and slippers of the first paragraph. I will bestir myself to put the chicken in the oven and maybe do a little bit of house work (itsy bitsy tiny bit of housework. Maybe I'll hang up a dish towel or something.) but today is official lying around day.

Take a look at Library Thing. You can catalog your personal collection of books and share that list with others. Some YA and high school librarians use Library Thing to showcase their collections and I may do that sometime. But not today (see above.)

Back to Children's Book Week - during November the Parkland Community Library collects used children's books and distributes them to agencies that work with at-risk and low income kids in the Lehigh Valley. So clean your shelves. You're not really going to keep "Fuzzy Bunny learns to read", are you? Yeah, I would, too. But there are probably some books you can part with.

We are also collecting used eyeglasses and hearing aids for the local Lion's Clubs. I wish I had the sky blue pink cat glasses I wore in third grade to donate. They would be so in style right now.
See you at the library.