20
Nov, 2007

origami bugs and happy mail!

a week ago (or has it now been longer?), i received a surprise package in the mail from alkelda.  she’s a big fan of origami* and since i’ve been thinking about bugs and buggy decorations for next summer’s library program, i asked her if she knew of any easy origami bug patterns.  i figured maybe she’d send me a few links to some online instructions, but instead she surprised me with a whole origami bug kit–complete with paper and everything!  too, too generous, but very happy making.  thank you, alkelda!  pictured above are three little “fireflies.”  i think they’re my favorite.  very easy.  would be cute hung on fishing line.  i also have attempted an ant, a cricket, a dragonfly, a scorpion and a housefly.  but most of the butterfly patterns have “squash folds” in them and i’m not very good at those yet.  what fun!
*one time a woman came into the library and asked me for a book about “oh-rig-uh-my– you know, paper folding?” and ever since then, i still hear it pronounced like that in my head every once in awhile.

Posted in crafty stuff, library stuff, stuff that makes me smile | 4 Comments
19
Nov, 2007

nibble nibble

this weekend, mr. h-s’s parents are visiting us.  yesterday, we were playing the requisite hand-and-foot marathon (card game) and i called for a “20-minute branch break” to go outside, enjoy the beautiful weather and haul some of the brush out to the curb (we had some trees taken down this week).  it ended up being more like an hour long break, but we got so much brush cleared out of our yard and some branches that had been leaning on our phone lines cut down and it felt great to get those things done and also enjoy the brisk fall weather.  we noticed that in the crook of one large branch, there was a big chunk of some sort of food (pumpkin?  potato?  bread?) balanced right on the bend.  we laughed, imagining some enterprising young squirrel stashing his food there for later.

this morning, after breakfast, we were treated to the sight of the enterprising young squirrel (or one of his crafty companions) discovering the stash of food and nibbling away at it.  he was involved in eating it so much that i was even able to sneak out and take some photos before he ran off.

Posted in autumn | 2 Comments
16
Nov, 2007

frosty photos

i’ve been wanting to get some good pictures of frost, so this morning when i noticed the white hue on the ground at the park across the street from my house, i bundled up and headed out the door.  i’m not sure these photos are exactly what i was looking for (maybe there needs to be sunshine?  maybe just a heavier, more impressive frost?) but i liked the way this leaf was so precisely outlined with frost.  like silver-leafed edges.  or like being dipped in very fine silver glitter.

Posted in photography, winter | Comments Off on frosty photos
16
Nov, 2007

stripey tights 2: the return of stripey


i know i blogged about stripey tights before, but this is a different pair and i just recently got a simple gray wool skirt that looks soooooo cute with this pair of tights that i just had to show you a picture.  i went to a workshop today and got so many compliments on the tights.  i was just happy to have a programming-free day so that i could wear them!  it’s just not a good idea to wear a skirt (particularly a short skirt–even with thick tights) on a day when children will be sitting on the floor right in front of you or when you will be sitting on the floor with them.  i have so many fun skirts and i love to wear them, but… just not practical.

Posted in autumn | 4 Comments
07
Nov, 2007

a project for the future?

so, i don’t normally link to other people’s blogs–especially blogs of people i don’t know and that i don’t normally read and of posts that are almost a year old but….. a link to this post showed up on craftzine’s blog and i just love it.  i just had to show it to you all.

it’s a quilt where some of the blocks are made to look like card catalog cards!  here’s a close-up:

as a librarian and a quilter, this is just the ultimate quilt.  love the wood-grained quilting pattern too.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on a project for the future?
06
Nov, 2007

road trip and a restaurant review

sort of last minute today, i decided that i would go take care of one of my upcoming class assignments.  that involved visiting the children’s area of a library–not my own–and noting some things about the way they have things organized, their programs, etc….  i chose to visit a library that’s about an hour drive from my house because they also have a good baby storytime program that i wanted to observe.  i had a great time watching their programs and chatting with the librarians afterwards.  i found out about a fantastic puppet-making book and learned a few new rhymes for baby storytime.

when i finally got done gathering all of the information i needed for class, it was 2:00 and i needed lunch.  i asked the librarian for a local recommendation and she pointed me to this place which was just down the street.  maybe it was just because i’d waited so long for lunch, but everything looked incredibly delicious and i had a difficult time deciding what to order.  i finally settled on one of the daily specials–a blackened gorgonzola burger.  wow.  it was sooooooooooooo good.  here’s a picture:

it was served with a side of lightly seasoned corn chips and yummy salsa (a nice change from the usual potato options).  it was so tasty that i chose not to eat a mint afterwards (despite my rather bad breath) because i wanted to savor the flavor a little longer (don’t worry, i was in the car, alone for the next hour or so).  i also enjoyed this neon sign above their door:

i was completely full from my large lunch, but the librarian had also specifically raved about their desserts, and i’d been tempted by the dessert menu through the entire meal, so i ordered one to go.  my first choice was the pumpkin bourbon cheesecake, but they were out of that, so instead i got the caramel apple cheesecake.  i had some when i got home later.  deeeee-lish.

:) :) :) :) :)

Posted in library stuff, photography, reviews, yum | Comments Off on road trip and a restaurant review
04
Nov, 2007

annual women’s retreat

this weekend was my church’s wonderful annual women’s retreat.  my favorite weekend of the year, it’s really just a 24-hour retreat, but everyone who goes enjoys the opportunity to relax, read, sleep, walk, chat, craft, snack and generally do whatever we need to do to rejuvenate.  this year, i enjoyed a “photo-meandering” walk around the lake, collecting snail shells and taking pictures.  i love the sparkling light points on this brown leaf floating in the water.  i also loved the fact that we gained an extra hour on this weekend of all weekends!

Posted in autumn, stuff that sparks a glow in my soul | Comments Off on annual women’s retreat
01
Nov, 2007

beautiful orange

for the past few days, on the way in to work, i’ve been watching this one tree turn brighter and brighter orange. today, it was solid orange and against a bright blue sky the contrast was beautifully striking.

today was my last toddler time for the year and two little brothers (and their mom) brought me a potted plant–two perfect, bright orange gerber daisies.


on the drive home, i was behind a school bus with led tail lights that were round, but the led’s inside were arranged in the shape of a 5 pointed star. i don’t know why–but i thought they looked so cool! sadly, i didn’t have my camera with me for that one.

ok, that last one may have been a bit more red than orange, but i did think it was neat looking. anyway, thinking about all of these beautiful orange things reminded me that some years ago (possibly sometime in my childhood?) i decided that i didn’t like orange. this was a result of someone asking me what my favorite color was. i get a bit distraught at this question because in the right context, i like pretty much all colors. it’s easier for me to pick my least favorite color than my most favorite. at one point, the answer to this color is orange. now, i’m considering using orange as the “accent color” of my living room. at least for fall. so today i was trying to think of a replacement “least favorite” color. after some thought, i decided on hot pink. but then i got this screen-printed, limited edition poster from my professor who was cleaning out her office in preparation for retirement.

and i quite like the pink in juxtaposition to olive. so… then i decided that maybe yellow is my least favorite color. i like what yellow does to other colors (it adds a nice spike to greens, it warms up reds in an interesting (and orange-y….) way) and i like the bright gold of yellow trees in fall, but mostly when it’s next to other, differently-colored trees providing startling contrast. but yellow by itself….. i can take it or leave it. but that will probably change sometime in the next 20 years. what’s your favorite (or least favorite) color?

here’s one last autumnal orange photo for you to enjoy (curtains at macha):

Posted in autumn | 3 Comments
25
Oct, 2007

yummers

well, the color on this photo is a little off, but i just had to show you this autumnal deliciousness that almost made peeling that butternut squash worth it.  pasta with brown butter sage butternut squash and (optional) pecans.  i used less oil/butter than the recipe called for and i wish i’d used more pecans, but it was an excellent vehicle for a vegetable. i found it in wondertime magazine.  i don’t have the issue in front of me and i can’t find the recipe online, so if anyone really wants to know how to make this, you’ll have to ask me.

Posted in autumn, yum | Comments Off on yummers
22
Oct, 2007

my epicurean cat

one of my two kitties is much more interested in people food than the other one.  she always comes if she hears signs of ice cream or yogurt (not particularly surprising) but tonight she expanded her repertoire a bit.  i was prepping some butternut squash for dinner tomorrow night (and swearing at it.  i get very frustrated when trying to “peel” winter squash) when she hopped up onto the countertop and began nosing in the peelings and squash guts in the sink.  this is not radically new behavior for her–she loves avocado peelings because they’re fun to bat at and chase around the house and they shrivel up into such a satisfyingly disgusting shape when they dry– so i wasn’t especially surprised when she grabbed a chunk of the stringy, orange guts in her teeth and hopped down to the floor.  “that’ll be fun to find in the basement later…” i thought.  a few seconds later, i looked down and the orange stuff was gone.  gone gone.  not, batted down the stairs gone, but bolted down, into-mah-tummy gone.  she hopped up for another piece and got a bigger glob of it which she gnawed on for awhile.  not one to discourage anyone from eating vegetables, i scooped the rest into a bowl for her and tried to get a good photo to share with you.  she’s a bit camera shy and the lighting in my house at night leaves something to be desired, so this was the best one i came up with.  although i’m also fond of this blurry one where you can see her picking it up with her paw.

Posted in laugh | 2 Comments