Friday, September 29, 2006

Crazymaking Conversations I Have Had

This morning for example. After I pulled some clean underwear out for Sprout to put on, like I always do.

Sprout: [naked] Dose are not my gotchies.

Me: Yeah, I think they are.

Sprout: No, dose are your gotchies.

Me: No, they're not mine. Can you put them on?

Sprout: I'm not wearing dem.

Me: Okay, fine.

Sprout: Dose are not my gotchies.

Me: Whatever. Can you find some other ones and put them on, please?

Sprout: Dose are not my gotchies.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Scurrying

In some ways it's a time of change for this squirrel, and in other ways life is so elemental.

Yesterday was my last day in Info Services, and Monday I start my new job. I did a pretty good job of tying off most of the loose ends, and wrote a how-to manual on details of the job, but who knows if it will all make sense. I love working in IS with my colleagues, so I feel like I'll be back there again someday. It won't be the same, though. Some people are getting older, and so perhaps they will have retired before I ever work there again. It's sad.

This whole baby-boomers-retire-in-one-big-rush not only leaves the organization scrambling for corporate memory, it leaves us missing the funny, clever people that we used to work with.

Anyway, so I'm having maudlin thoughts like this, and pondering career changes, and rushing around to clean off my desk. But I'm also doing simple things like walking in and out of the Co-Oc grocery store 3 times in one night to buy more than my limit of the toilet paper that's on sale.

Yesterday I was completely distracted. I was convinced that I lost my eyeglasses all day. I went back to work at 8:30 p.m. and searched for them for half an hour. And where were they? I found them in my backpack. Too many things going on at once in my tiny nut brain.

Auntie Bean is working very, very hard on her shop in our back yard, and the shop is looking fantastic. I talked her into trimming the exterior out to match the house, and we're painting it red and orange to match. It's so beautiful, especially when you consider that it is a new building. New buildings usually look like crap. Auntie gets frustrated about spending all the extra time that the trim takes, but agrees that it's beautiful. Today I have a holiday booked to help with shingling the outside, and sundry other tasks. Must attend very important conference planning cttee meeting first, though.

Gotta go. Sprout just woke up and will dominate my time from here on in.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Toupee!!!

Isn't toupee the funniest word ever? There really isn't a toupee in my life; Jimbo has a full head of hair.

He is in a flap, however, because our hairdresser's phone number is disconnected and he needs a haircut! She is a genius, and it is possible that she has retired. Uh oh. Now we're both up the creek, possibly with bad haircuts...

Ethical Dilemma

Hw much wd culd a wdchuck chuc, if a wodchuc culd chuc wd.

Hw t brea it t sister that I dropped her eybard this mrning, and nw the and the dn't functin cnsistently...

It's in the Genes

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

New Branch

I was going to say "New Tree" - going with the squirrel theme - but couldn't pass up the opp to pun with "New Branch".

Yes, indeed, I have a new job in the Library. In October, I am going to become the branch supervisor at the small branch with the big heart. It's not a financial promotion - I'll earn the same as now - but it's a heck of an opportunity to learn about planning budgets, developing community ties, and managing people.

And so I am not only an occasional blogger, I am an occasional blogger with a job to tidy up in three short weeks. Sorry if you hear from me even less than usual...

Thursday, September 07, 2006

A Book Meme for Ms. PostCards

My friend from afar, Ms. PostCards tagged me ages ago with this book meme, et voila!

1. One book that changed your life? Keep the list short, and exclude the Bible, Koran, or any other spiritual authority:
"The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding", a La Leche League core text - those first days of nursing were tough, and this was a lifeline. If you attend LLL meetings, there are parallels between breastfeeding culture and spirituality that make me giggle. They toss around fabulous phrases like "the healing power of the milk". Wow.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
I used to read "What's Bred in the Bone" by Robertson Davies annually, but more recently it has been supplanted by "The Beekeeper's Apprentice". It's too good not to read over and over again. (Note to self: must buy the whole series some day soon.)

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Hmm. I'd want the OED too... the one with the tiny print and the magnifying glass, so I could look up words and also start campfires!

4. One book that made you laugh:
I remember belly-laughing a few times over some of the Janet Evanovich books in the "One for the Money" series - Grandma is a real hoot.

5. One book that made you cry:
I cried my guts out in the shower once in high school after reading part of "Gone With the Wind". I can't remember what was sooooo sad, but there was a LOT of sobbing. Cliched childhood of a squirrel destined to be a librarian? Sigh.

6. One book you wish had been written:
Gosh, I don't know. Okay, how about a cookbook written by my German grandmother. I hunt in vain for jam-jams that taste like hers did, and oh, that chicken soup with homemade noodles...

7. One book you wish had never been written:
There was a picture book that scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid, but I don't know what it was called. I only remember fleeting images of animals that were part-this-animal and part-that-animal, and they were soooo scary. Needless to say, it was NOT a children's book. And there were NO bunnies in it.

8. One book you’re currently reading:
I am not a great reader. I binge read. My most recent binge read was "The Human Voice : the Story of a Remarkable Talent ", which I started by reading 3 chapters in 2 hours, and then haven't picked up again. It's a fascinating book.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
I keep trying to make myself read "The Dance of Anger", but I'm too bored to sit still and do it when I'm at home. And hey, who really wants to confront their puppies anyway?

Hey! I'm done! And now I think I get to tag someone. Perhaps I will tag our little furnyture maker. Lumber Bum! You're up!