Museum of Me: November 2022 Exhibit

November 14, 2022 By Carole

It’s time for this month’s new Museum of Me exhibit, my unsung hero. I didn’t have to think long and hard about this one because my unsung heroes are, not surprisingly, librarians.

Librarians, and I’m mostly thinking of librarians who work in public libraries, promote life long learning and are the protectors of the people’s university. They hold reading in the highest regard, of course, and are committed to matching any and every reader to the book that’s just right for them. Beyond reading, they are also promoters of cultural enrichment through arts and music, providers of free and valuable programs and entertainment, and are often trailblazers for human rights and social change .

Librarians are staunch defenders of democracy, ensuring free access to all types of information with an equal voice for all. They remain neutral, procuring and presenting materials to help individuals make their own informed decisions, while also doing ensuring that the information available is factual and accurate. They often act as teachers by instructing in the use of technology and computers, as social workers by navigating housing and healthcare and financial forms, as advocates of social justice by sharing books on human rights and personal choice, and as detectives by finding the book with the red cover that’s about 2 inches thick and tells the story of a beloved dog but the patron can’t remember the author or title.

And yet, despite all this good, the librarian is the butt of many a joke. Librarians are portrayed in movies and television as old fashioned and lacking style, as quiet and mousy, as unwelcoming and rude. These stereotypes couldn’t be further from the truth as the librarians I know are fun and quirky, friendly and welcoming, and some of the smartest people I know.

Today’s librarians are facing more challenges to books and censorship than ever before. They need our support as they hold the line against an intensely polarized political landscape. I urge you to celebrate the unsung heroes in your community: your public librarians! Tell them you appreciate them. Bring them a sweet treat. And don’t show up with a whole pile of things to photocopy when it’s 2 minutes before closing.

Thanks for visiting this month’s exhibit.

Eye Candy Friday

November 11, 2022 By Carole

The warm weather we had the last few weeks woke up my clematis and I found this bloom on the kitchen porch the other day. A reminder of the summer gone by and a promise of the summer yet to come is always welcome.

Happy Weekend, friends. And don’t forget to thank a veteran today.

Three On Thursday

November 10, 2022 By Carole

To honor the month of November, my Thursday posts will be all about the things I am thankful for. I want to preface that by saying that I’m not going to be listing the obvious things you’d expect, like Dale and the kids and my family and job and health. Instead, I’m going to be sharing the small things, the every day things, the things that might get overlooked if I didn’t really think about them. Let’s get started.

I am incredibly thankful to live in Massachusetts and I am celebrating our election results. Maura Healey has been elected governor, putting a Democrat in that seat for the first time in a while. Not only that but she is our first elected female governor, the first openly gay woman to take the office in the entire country, and she and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll are one of the first all-female teams to lead a state. We also now have a female Attorney General, a female Auditor, and a female Treasurer. I am so excited about this new wave of women in our top elected offices because, as we all know, women get shit done.
I’ve been picking up Jackie from preschool on Friday afternoons since September. My absolute favorite thing about this, and the thing I’m so thankful for, is the little wave he gives me each week when he spies me waiting for him. It’s adorable and sweet and the look on his face is so full of love that my heart just bursts right open.
About a year ago I decided to replace all of my bakeware. I got rid of all of my mismatched loaf pans and muffin tins and cake pans and bought all new matching ones from King Arthur Flour. Last week I decided to add a few more so that I’d have 3 round cake pans (in 8″ and 9″ sizes!) plus another 9×13 pan and another quick bread pan. I used the 2 quick bread pans on Sunday to make this pumpkin bread and it is so good and those pans are so awesome (no sticking and perfect edges) and I’m really grateful for the means to do this.

That’s all the thankfulness for this week, friends. I encourage you to think about what you’re grateful for, I believe this practice is life changing and the more you do it the easier it gets.

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Rituals

November 9, 2022 By Carole

I have all kinds of things I do on a daily basis. Writing 5 things in my gratitude journal every morning while my coffee brews. Walking through the library early in the morning when I’m there by myself, soaking in this beautiful place where I work. Taking care of my skin with delicious smelling and soothing moisturizers. Knitting every day, even if it’s only a few rows. Reading in bed before I go to sleep.

And making myself a cup of hot tea every afternoon, no matter the season. It’s delicious and something I’ve done for most of my life. Sometimes it perks me up and sometimes it soothes me. Sometimes I have a snack with it (I made pumpkin bread this week and that has been a delicious treat with my tea) and sometimes I just have the tea. Sometimes I think about all of the cups of tea I had with my mom and sometimes I just drink it and don’t think about anything. But I always, always have a cup of tea in the afternoon.

Rituals ground us in a very particular way. What are some of your daily rituals?

For the Love of Reading: October 2022

November 8, 2022 By Carole

October was a slow month of reading for me, comparatively speaking. Of course, one of the books I read was over 600 pages so that accounts for some of it. I blame the rest on an increased interest in knitting lately. In any event, it’s not a contest, I’m happy for all reading and knitting time, and here are the books I finished last month:

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a weird review to write because I enjoyed this book but also skimmed quite a bit because at times it just felt tedious. Still, it’s a fast paced story and easy read. I figured out some of the twists but not all and the ending shook me a bit and certainly gave me a lot to think about. In fact, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and I don’t think I’ll ever look at the experience of deja vu the same!

Fairy Tale by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoy today’s Stephen King. He’s still a master of horror but in a far more subtle way that I find engaging and fascinating. Fairy Tale feels like part Wizard of Oz, part Rumpelstiltskin, part Jack in the Beanstalk, all combined to create a creepy, magical, imaginary world. The hero is very much a typical teenage boy yet he rises to every challenge placed before him and becomes, quite literally, a prince of the people, seeking justice and a solution to the problems of the fantasy world he has entered. The book is long, incredibly well written, and utterly engrossing. Highly recommended.

The Midcoast by Adam White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
What would you do if you saw someone living far above where you expected? Would you wonder (and then investigate) how they made their fortune? That’s the story behind The Midcoast, a novel about Damariscotta, Maine, and the native son who returns there to raise his family only to find that the uneducated lobsterman he knew years ago is now the richest guy in town and his teenage bride is now the mayor. There’s a dark underside to all of us and The Midcoast does an excellent job of exploring it.

Hallowed Out by Barbara Ross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Really more of a short story, Hallowed Out is another installment in this cozy mystery series about a little town (Bar Harbor, I think) on the coast of Maine. With none of the details and side stories of a typical book in this series, this one gets right to the point and wastes no time in reaching a satisfying conclusion. Recommended for fans of the series.

And that’s a wrap on October’s reading.