I posted this photo on Instagram yesterday and almost immediately thought . . . oh snap! I should’ve saved that for Friday’s blog post. In the interest of economy of time, I’m sharing it here anyway. If we’re friends on Facebook or you follow me on Instagram I apologize for the repetitiveness. But it’s a pretty photo and captures the golden afternoon light of this time of year. Plus, red geraniums.
I’ve got some fun stuff planned for the weekend and I hope you do, too!
We interrupt your regularly scheduled Three On Thursday post for a very special thing that simply must be acknowledge.
Twenty years ago today I started working for the Town of Carver as the Library Director. TWENTY YEARS. That, my friends, is a long ass time to work in one place. To keep it slightly on point for today, I would venture that twenty years at the same spot means three things:
Since 9/19/99 I have worked for three different Town Administrators, answered to many, many Library Trustees, Selectmen/women, and Board members, submitted lots and lots of budgets and invoices, written tons of policies, hired and supervised some truly great people, witnessed retirements and resignations, attended a jillion meetings and a ton of conferences, mixed things up by adding in responsibilities as the Council on Aging Director, prepared reports for the state, completed performance reviews, checked out lots and lots of books, and so much more.
Of course I haven’t loved every moment of it, some of it is boring and some of it is difficult, and some of it is even sometimes disheartening (I’m looking at you, budget cuts), but through it all I have known that I am in the exact right place for me. I have known, with absolute clarity, that I’m where I belong, working with the best people and doing a job that truly matters in this world. Librarians for the win, my friends.
About a week after I started this job an article appeared in the local paper. The reporter introduced me to the town, talked about my background and education, referenced my lifelong dream of being a librarian, and made me sound pretty damn accomplished. The article was accompanied by this photo:
I sure look young! (I turned 34 two days after I started.)
The third paragraph of the article says: Julius said she can remember frequent trips to the library during her childhood and a vague feeling that the librarian had to be the smartest person in the world. In the fifth grade she said she learned that the librarian wasn’t necessarily the smartest person in the world, but, rather, knew where to find all the information. She latched onto that idea, determining to work in a library when she grew up. “Not many people set out to make this their life’s work, but I did,” she said.
Twenty years later and those words are as accurate as ever. I still consider myself lucky to have known what I wanted to do with my life since childhood. And I’m really honored to have spent so much of my career working in a beautiful building with wonderful people serving the people of a truly special town.
Friends, I’m having a busy week. It’s a good busy, full of work and plans, but it doesn’t leave a lot of leftover time for writing super interesting blog posts.
And so.
A watercolor (made with the Waterlogue app) of the sunflowers I bought back on Labor Day weekend. They lasted a super long time – in fact I only just threw them out yesterday!
Happy Wednesday, it’s almost the weekend!
I’ve got exactly … nothing to blog about today. That must mean it’s time for a catch all post! Here’s what’s happening in my world right now:
Enjoying: Our outdoor lights. We’re turning them on earlier and earlier and I am grateful for the loveliness of them.
Choosing: Paint for my craft room. It’s looking like Summer Wish from Valspar will be the one.
Reading: On Being Human by Jennifer Pastiloff. I just started this last night and it’s very well written and I feel like it’s not going to be a typical memoir.
Watching: Chernobyl. Actually we finished last night. It’s only 5 episodes and if you haven’t already watched it I highly recommend it.
Knitting: The Peace Cowl. Still. But I’m in the home stretch.
Planning: A dinner party to celebrate my birthday on Saturday. It will be small, with only the very closest of friends, and if the weather holds it will be under the pergola.
Anticipating: Fall decorating. I don’t love saying goodbye to summer but I do love swapping out the curtains and bedding and getting out all my autumn decor.
Dreaming: About that side hustle. It’s not ready for public input just yet but I’m working with a friend to start create a workshop to help women find their power and use it to fulfill their own dreams.
Coordinating: Calendars with Dale. I’ve got a conference coming up, he’s got a class reunion, we’ve got plans to make to get us through until the fall. The calendar discussion turned into a vacation discussion and that was great.
Feeling: Excited about strength training. I’m loving that circuit I linked to last week. I’m still only doing one repeat but I’m doing the full amount of exercises and can tell I’m getting stronger.
Planting: Daffodil bulbs, apparently. I got an email yesterday from White Flower Farm that my order was on the way. I checked and, sure enough, I placed an order last spring. I had forgotten all about it!
Diffusing: All the fall essential oil scents. Ginger, clove, nutmeg, orange and more. My house smells great and we aren’t breathing in smoke from candles. I love it.
Missing: Our hummingbirds. I haven’t seen any the last few times I’ve been on the deck. They may be gone and I’m sad.
Drinking: Excellent coffee from our new place in town, Restoration Coffee. I have to leave for work 10 minutes earlier in order to make the time to get there but it’s worth it. I’ve never been a fan of Starbucks (and we don’t have one near us anyway) and I’ve always tolerated Dunkin Donuts, but this coffee is exceptional. If you’re local and haven’t tried this place I can’t recommend it enough.
I guess for someone who didn’t have much to say . . . I actually did have a lot to say! Thanks for reading.
How about a weekend recap this Monday? I have some photos and will add some words to fill you in on what we did.
On Friday morning I met a friend for coffee and we brainstormed about an idea we have for a side hustle geared towards helping women live their best personal and professional lives. I’m really excited about the ideas we came up with and will be sharing more here as we move forward. After our 3 hour (!!) planning session I picked up Jackie and he and I headed to the grocery store. We came home, had lunch, went for a walk, watched all the school buses, read some books, and practiced our downward dog. Notice what we didn’t do? Nap. Apparently these days being with Nana is so exciting we just don’t want to nap.
After the little man went home Dale and I relaxed on the deck with a hot chicken dip and cocktails. I was tired and ready to chill, I can tell you that. Our evenings on the deck are limited at this point and we’re making the most of it but I’m definitely feeling the change in season as it is getting dark so early now. We came inside and watched Easy Rider, our classic movie of the month. As you can probably guess, Dale chose this one because I had never seen it. I have to say, that ending destroyed me and I was not too happy about this choice. Oh sure, I recognize that it’s a classic, but still. Brutal.
Saturday was our local town’s business expo on the Common. Kiwanis was there selling hamburgers and hot dogs for the first time and that was a great success. The annual apple pie contest had 7 entries and the pies looked delicious. Our new Town Administrator was there and I was able to introduce him to lots of business owners from our town. I chatted with friends and neighbors and really enjoyed a great gathering of our community leaders and then spent the late afternoon reading on the couch.
And putting together Saturday night dinner. Heh. We played Phase 10 and grazed on snacks and it was good.
Sunday was warm and sunny. There was football (how about them Pats?!?) and then we worked outside to refresh my tired planters on the deck. Dale emptied several containers (bye bye coleus and sweet potato vine and petunias) and I replanted them with ornamental kale and mums and then added some decorative gourds to freshen things up. We had some wine and beer out there and again lamented the earlier sunset . . . it was pretty dark at only 6:15. Sigh.
It was a busy weekend but full of small town life and I loved every minute of it.
