Things have been too nuts around here this week. So here is an update of things I've been doing.

Thing #5 - Painted shelf
I bought this shelf over a year ago, and just painted it gray to match my bathroom.

Before
After

Thing #6 - Apple Pie
Sour Cream Apple Pie - Yummy!!


Thing #7 - Black woven belt
This inkle woven belt has 52 warp threads in two colors (black and cream) and two different string weights in the blacks. It is for a good friend who wears a lot of Viking garb in her play in the SCA.



Thing #8 - Book list
I am trying a new thing this year. I want to track what I'm reading all year. I got started and the layout done today on this. It's not all filled in yet for January books read but the idea is there. Enjoy.

In catching up with some blogs I follow today, I ran across the comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. Hehe Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

( Click here to see it! )

OK - here's the situation - my parents just left for a weeks vacation, AND they left the keys to the brand new...oh, wait a minute...not the right thing to post. Hehehe

OK - here's the situation - I noticed Tokisage's post to the Northshield list earlier this week about looking for a book on shoes. He was looking for Stepping Through Time, but didn't want to buy it right now since it was a bit on the pricey side. So I looked through WorldCat - which showed it available at UW-Madison (but it was lost in 2005!) and also at U Chicago & UI in Urbana.

I didn't stop here though, since LibraryThing was on my mind from working with Web 2.0 products for work recently. I looked up Stepping Through Time, and found out that Baroness Eithni has it. I emailed him my search results, and hope he is able to borrow it from either Eithni or one of the university libraries. I love social networking sites sometimes.

The Rochester Public Library has a Rochester Reads program each year, and this year the book selection for it was Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace...One School At A Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Being a good librarian, I played along, and all I can say is WOW. Mortenson's story is amazing. Last night was the author talk held at John Marshall High School (which has a large auditorium), and I was blown away by the sheer numbers of people who came out to see Mortenson. I arrived at 6:30 for the 7:00 program, and had to park on the street - there weren't any spots left in the school parking lot!!

( The book's synopsis from its website - www.threecupsoftea.com: )

Greg Mortensen wasn't the world's best speaker, but his passion for helping the children of Pakistan & Afghanistan shown through his hour long lecture. I recommend to anyone interested in stories about the "common man" making a real difference in the world, and also to those wanting to know more about this "hotbed of terror". It's amazing what one man can do to educate some of the poorest children in the world.

Read the book - then follow me and donate to this amazing cause!

Last night, I got back from the Minnesota Library Association's bi-annual Leadership Institute. WOW, what a confrence! I am very excitied to take part in helping lead MLA sometime in the future!! The nicest thing about it though, is that they stressed leading in our own library systems and even in our non-library lives. Balance in life is making its way into the business mind-set finally!!

Some of the speakers we heard included Lonnie Dupre who has been an artic explorer for the last 2 decades, Stevie Ray who's presentations help you learn to get over being tongue tied with a variety of brain training games that have no point, and some great members of MLA whom I want to be like when I grow up...if I ever do! :) Everyone who attended, from presenters to Institute members, were very nice & I look forward to working with them in the future.

Other stuff:
This website was posted in one of my email lists, and I feel the need to pass it on, cuz it's too cool for school. LibriVox allows you to download (and do with what you'd like) audio books. You can also volunteer to be a book reader for the site. How cool is that!? This librarian thinks it's magically delicious & I plan to haunt it often!