With the hectic time of the Christmas holidays over, we were finally able to make a trip to the library.  I checked the availability of the books and dvd’s we were wanting online before we left, so that when we got there we’d be able to make it a fairly quick trip as we had several other errands to try to get accomplished also.  Here’s the list of the items we checked out:

BOOKS

• CONFESSIONS OF AN ORGANIZED HOMEMAKER by Deniece Schofield
• MADE FROM SCRATCH by Jenna Woginrich
• STOREY’S GUIDE TO RAISING CHICKENS – CARE, FEEDING, FACILITIES by Gail Damerow
• DEEPER by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams
• HOW TO ORGANIZE JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING by Peter Walsh
• RODALE’S BOOK OF SHORTCUTS edited by Cheryl Winters Tetreau and Carol Hupping
• CARVING FISH DECOYS by James T. Cottle
• FAIRY SCHOOL DROPOUT by Meredith Badger
• PADS FOR PETS by Elizabeth Quinn
• WHO POOPED IN THE PARK? by Gary D. Robson
• ENDANGERED SEA LIFE by World Conservation Monitoring Centre
• ANIMAL ATTACKERS by David Taylor
• DANGEROUS CREATERS by Angela Wilkes
• THE FORGOTTEN CRAFTS – A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO TRADITIONAL SKILLS by John Seymour
• THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION – A HISTORY IN DOCUMENTS by Steven C. Bullock
• THE SIGNERS – THE 56 STORIES BEHIND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE by Dennis Brindell Fradin
• WELDER’S HANDBOOK by Richard Finch and Tom Monroe
• THE GREAT LEARNING BOOK byAddison-Wesley Publishing Company
• THE COMPLETE BOOK OF EDIBLE LANDSCAPING by Rosalind Creasy

DVDs

• YEAR ONE
• SANTA BUDDIES
• CENTER STAGE
• THE GAME PLAN
• HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE
• SECRETS OF THE FURIOUS FIVE
• DUPLICITY
• iCARLY – SEASON 1, VOLUME 1 (2 discs)

AUDIO BOOK

• CAT’S EYEWITNESS – A MRS. MURPHY MYSTERY by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown

OTHER

• MP3 player
• earbuds (purchased fo $1)

I’ve been settling on the couch whenever I have a spare moment to read through these, right now I’m maining going through CONFESSIONS OF AN ORGANIZED HOMEMAKER and MADE FROM SCRATCH.  Both are such great books and I’m getting a lot of useful information from each of them.  The book I was most wanting on this trip was STOREY’S GUIDE TO RAISING CHICKENS, as we’ve decided to try our hands at having chickens this year.  I honestly didn’t think my hubby would be at all wanting us to have them, but he’s getting as excited about it as the kids and I are.  I think what he likes are the rare breeds we are interested in, like the Silkies.  I’ll have another post later devoted to this topic.

I’m not going to make a list of resolutions that I’m going to try to do this year, considering I’ve yet to do any that I’ve ever written out. LOL.  I have some goals that I’ll be working towards this year, though.  One is to be more self-sufficient (chickens, gardening, etc.).  Two is to be more organized.  I’m working on the organization one already, it’s been a long time coming.  I’m not going to beat myself up like I normally do for not doing these things already, instead, I’ll celebrate the accomplishments as I make them.  Way more fun that way.

This is the last day of 2009, it’s been a great year, and here’s hoping for an even better 2010.  Happy new year everyone!!

All right, let’s get through this second crap year in a row.  Well, there were good things, but in general.  Gee wiz.  So we started the year with a surprise party for Kenna.  As much as it hurts to say it, we all were pretty sure it would be her last birthday.  I think that’s the first time I even admitted it.  By this time the crew was run down, depressed, and worn out.  Between sickness, moves, and short staff everyone was sad all the time.  So we felt a birthday party would celebrate what we all need to remember to celebrate.  We loved Kenna so much, and she deserved to be honored on her day, cancer and all.  We turned it into a pajama party and had massive amounts of carrot cake- her favorite.  I think with this party it was healing for us in a way, because it was going to be the last time Kenna was up and smiling. 

After the party, the next event was a hike at Red Rock.  My dad had a large “foot” he wanted everyone to see.  It was actually a blast!  And the weather was perfect, and it was some quiet time and friend time for all of us.  Right where God created some amazing colors and views.  And also in winter Caprice, Seth and I went sledding at Mt. Charleston and that was lots of giggling fun.  Ask Seth how he broke our sled. 

Unfortunately, there was also a funeral.  I am will only talk a bit about it.  Kenna died on President’s Day.  Which, God knew we all wanted to be there, because the library was closed.  Her closest and dearest were there for hours before her death, holding her hands, rubbing her back and accepting that this would be it.  She was not coherent, and yet you could tell the pain she was in was severe.  It was horrible to watch, it was horrible to witness and it was at the same time peaceful, rainy outside, and relieving to be there with friends.  We all finally could cry because we didn’t have to worry about how someone else would feel, and we were all able to believe this was for the best.  I think praying for her that day silently was the best healing I received.  The funeral was the first one I had ever been to, and my brothers (one real, one adopted) Seth and Bryan were pallbearers.  We thought we were all prepared until they came in and were so somber.  My brothers who were the goofiest, silliest guys were all the sudden grown up. And it was amazing to see her friends and coworkers from all the branches there, not only to support her family, but to support each other. I think that’s all I can say about that. 

What was also nice and full circle, is Joy had baby Jane.  It was such a blessing to have a new sweet baby.

Spring 2009 was brief.  It feels like no one really got out of their hole until summer.  Kendra came back to see us, and that was good for all of us.  Mae visited too, and there is nothing quite like a hug from Mae.  The Barzes were here too! 

Another sad note, I lost a friendship.  I don’t like saying a “friend” because in this particular situation, after stepping back and looking at it from the grown up I had to become, I realized the things we did were probably more memorable the relationship we had.  I was hurt and I was upset, but I kept my cool, and kept my mouth shut, which I think led to a better closing.  Nothing I would have said would have mattered.  And the memories are still rich and especially the trials we went through together are still appreciated. 

Oh and I bought  a Jeep Patriot.  I absolutely love it!

May- which I never know is Spring or Summer really- was my second trip to Leyden and my mom’s first.  We were once again entertained by the Messers!  This time they had a baby.  Little Eli Knight was seriously so cute.  We got to relax and kayak and eat so much.  The laughter of course was still abundant.  This time Beth had a birthday party for us!  It was a blast and I love them and their family.  And the bacon.

Summer.  Let’s see.  Things honestly started picking up.  I had four birthday parties counting the one in MA.  And the reference staff was finally a very cohesive group of friends and we started doing monthly dinners and events.  It only lasted a couple. We had Jennifer, Caprice, and Tiffany all start and they were so fun!  Along with Therese, Allyson, and Candace.     Summer 2009 also marks the first time I didn’t even leave my house until 10 pm.  Thanks to Courtney’s 21st birthday party and her band playing in some club at some…  Mirage? Revolution.  Yeah that’s it.  I never leave my house after 8 pm.

Randi came to see us for a bit! We had a fabulous day of kayaking and watching big horn sheep. I love seeing her.  The library family also decided to tackle kayaking that summer and that was way too much fun. And on that day! Nyah was born.  I was a fake aunt again!

Let’s see.  Mom and I took a 24 hour trip to surprise my aunt on her birthday and that was a blast.  I love their home, so any time spent there is a nice break.  Kailey turned one, Eli turned one.  I still didn’t have any dates.  What’s wrong with me?  I could list all the amazing movies, but that should be in an entire separate blog.  So many good ones that summer.  My GPA went up a little, and I finally planned exactly when to graduate. 

Fall.  I saw Rob Thomas.  Yay!  He is so hot.  Caprice and Jennifer left us.  That was sad.  More leaving. I also would like to note, that I was out past midnight one to two days a week in October. Mostly really awesome dorky stuff.  Liek a haunted house and dinner and the Bellagio fountains.  The big fall event for me was going to Oregon to be in Kendra’s wedding.  It was on the beach, and just gorgeous! She was gorgeous too.  And the best part is Nik, Mark and I schemed and surprised Kendra with Nik coming to the wedding.  Kendra didn’t have a clue!  I loved helping her and seeing her and seeing the ocean.  This is my kind of beach. 

This winter was long.  This year actually is not sounding as exciting because I think in general I was worn out, did not want to go to school, work, or even be a librarian.  Still working on that one.  So in winter, I tried to make it better again.  Bryan left though and that was really hard for me.  He was my big brother, and my tutor, and I could tell him anything.  He got an awesome job though, and they moved back to their family so I was happy for them.

One exciting thing we picked up was roller derby!  There are “bouts” once a month and after the first one we understood the rules and REALLY got into yelling for our team, the Tommy Gun Terrors.  It is one of the greatest thinks we picked up.   I also went back to my old church and it was like coming home. 

I probably missed a lot, but it was a tiring year, it was a trying year, and it was a tearful year.  I think the Christmas wrapped it up nicely though, because for the first time in a long time, it went well, more than well, it was fun!  And I got a Kindle from Seth.  I think this year I had to really grow up, I had to really wake up, and I had to become a different person.  Not necessarily bad, but any lesson I learned was taken to heart.  I think I will focus next year on moving out, riding horses, and I graduate!  I think the highlight would be through friends lost, this year I gained an understanding of people are who they are and I was able to aprreciate that and have fun.

Just thought I’d add share this cute pic of critters at my local library.

I saw a short news story on the News Hour about Google’s scanning of millions of books.  While I’ve been paying attention to this for awhile, I learned that the problems with copyright are limited to a pretty small number of those books.

Read my full blog and see the News Hour article on Conquent: “A book unopened is but a block of paper” http://www.t.conquent.com/k700

It was too directly bound to its own anguish to be anything other than a cry of negation; carrying within itself, the seeds of its own destruction. – Edward Ruscha and Mason Williams, Royal Road Test (self-published, 1967, third edition 1971). 

Created by one of the coolest librarians around, Buffy Hamilton

Notice how all of the teens in this video are talking about “experiences, relationships, atmosphere”

Amazing!  This is what the 21st Century Library is all about.

This month has been a real bitch for me in every way… And in many ways a fitting end to the decade of suck. May better days lie ahead for us all.

The Kingston Library & Heritage Service wishes all its readers and visitors a happy New Year.  Watch this space for further events and activities in the new year.

A stained glass window in Kingston Library

Yesterday the weather was spectacular.

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It wasn’t too cold, the sun was shining off and on, it snowed and the wind blew snow every which way.
Swirls of snow across the bay made me stop and take pictures.
I don’t think I did a very good job though.   Another interesting thing was seeing all the shanties already in the bay,
plopped down on what looked like they were floating on small shards of ice in the water

Looking from the Library across the bay and towards the Betsie River

This is the view from Main Street towards the Library and left across the bay to Elberta and
as you can see, they are already pushing the snow in place for the snowmobile races for
Shiver by the River
taking place in February
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The next three pictures were taken from the Elberta side of the bay,  aprox. 20 seconds apart.

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Cool huh?

This last picture is taken alongside Furnace Ave. in Elberta,
looking toward M-22 – across Betsie Bay