I went to Union Terrace School in Allentown yesterday to meet with the librarian there, lovely Donna Forsythe, and the Reading Specialist, delightful Barbara Mahoney. Barb is a BIG Twilight fan and was able to explain some of that series' appeal. I'm not so big on vampires.

I was there to set up a storytelling event sometime next month. On the way across the playground, I heard a little girl say to her friend, "Let me tell you a story..." Warms the very cockles of my heart.

Are you telling stories? You should! Telling stories helps you figure out who you are. No, really. There is something to be learned about a teller from the stories that he or she chooses to tell. If you have little people in your life, the stories they hear should come from you - not from the TV or the computer.

HOWEVER, there are some very good storytelling websites. StoryBee posts hundred of stories told by storytellers from all over the country, including our very own Chaz Kiernan. On StoryBee, he tells a story of a fish story gone awry.

Other stuff, in my life...I am on the hunt for a new accordion. Alex Meixner, Accordion God and my sometime teacher, is helping me. I will keep you posted and I might even post a picture of my new accordion, when I get it.

I found a series by Marion Chesney that is about far from vampires as a series can get. And it's not really new, just new to me. The Traveling Matchmaker is the series and the first book is titled Emily Goes to Exeter. It follows the adventures of former housekeeper, Hannah Pym. Left the sizable fortune of 5000 pounds when her master dies, Hannah decides to travel. She has yearned to take the stagecoach, the Flying Machine as it is called, for years. So, even though it is winter, she buys a ticket to Exeter. It is a trip of several days made much longer, and more perilous, by a blizzard.

Hannah meets a runaway bride-to-be, a jilted bridegroom, a rich widow and her gold-digging fiance and other colorful characters. She foils a murder, is almost robbed and saves a couple of people's lives. Quiet, little middle-aged Miss Pym has the adventure she always wanted. Next, she plans to travel to Bath. And I plan to go right along with her.