HI HO, HI HO - IT'S BACK TO WORK I GO!

Yup.  After not working for 11 months, I now have a fantastic part time job!

I knew when I retired that I would need to work part time for a few  years.  First, to build up my liquid cash reserves and have money to travel and secondly to get me out of the house and around people.  However, I didn't think it would be so long.

It's not like I haven't enjoyed my retirement.  I have.  And, it would be great not to need this job.  But, I do need it on so many different levels besides what I mentioned above.

It took longer to get a job because I needed the time to heal from the turmoil of 2010.  Emotionally, I wasn't ready to work, although the last couple of months my bank account was starting to look scary. 

I had applied back in February with Kelly Temp Services.  Although I did extremely well on both the interview and skill tests, the only two jobs offered me were long term and a long way from my house - equivalent to at least an hour drive to and from work.  No thank you.  This spring I started applying to local collages.  Nada.  But, I had a list of websites I checked weekly and bi-weekly and planned to keep trying.  I was getting a little concerned, though.  I needed a part time job.

I had applied on and off to be a Library Assistant with the Sequoyah Regional Library System, which serves three counties here in Georgia - Cherokee, Pickins and Gilmore.  Never got called for an interview.  Then, in February they experienced huge budget cuts and lay offs.  Oh, well . . .

I still checked out the library website for job openings.  And, in late May they had openings for both a Research Assistant and a Library Assistant at a library in my area.  I applied for both.  I was called to interview for the Research Assistant on Monday, interviewed on Tuesday and was offered the job on Friday!  Yippee!

It is the perfect job for me.  I work 16-17 hours a week, the pay is more than minimum wage, I work only every 4th Saturday, I never work later than 6pm and I GET TO WORK IN A LIBRARY!  I'm learning so much, too.  The people I work with are great and I am working with the public, which is fun.  Yes, parts of my job are rather tedious, but overall it is a perfect fit.  If I wasn't in a library I would be whistling while I work! 

I got my first paycheck.  hehehehehe  It was only for 27 hours, but I was as thrilled as if I made my first million!  LOL  Another thing I find so rewarding is seeing so many books come across my path that I have read.  And, I am starting a list of books/authors I want to read.  Plus, learning the ins and outs of helping people do research is very interesting. 

I am so fortunate!  I'm happy and so is my bank account.  Now, I better start researching English gardens, or maybe Tuscany or possibly Paris.  Where's my passport?

Reading via Kindle

I love books.


One of my very first memories is being read to. I think it was my father reading to me, I really don't remember. But I do remember the book - The Poky Puppy, a Golden Book and the little puppy was fuzzy. I was probably hooked on reading from the first time I was ever read to.


From Golden books to Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, Caddie Woodlawn and all and everything in between. I loved to read. When I was little the Milwaukee Public Library system had a summer Billy Bookworm Club. Oh - I loved that and strived to read as much as I could each summer.


I truly believe that one of the best thing about America is that we have a free library system. We can walk into any library in any state, city or village, sit down and read to our hearts content. I rarely purchase a book unless I will use it for reference or it is one of my all time favorites like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.


And, the books. Thick, thin, large font or small. There is just something about holding a book, paging through it - even the smell of a new book at a bookstore makes me feel absolute delight. What adventures are within these pages? What laughter and/or tears? What will I learn? How will I feel when reading it? Will it stay with me long after I am finished?


My boyfriend also shares my love of reading. He reads every night before bed, lying on this tummy. It's kind of cute. He prefers non-fiction, historical books; however, we have shared books and it is fun to discuss them. Even if we are not reading the same books and don't plan to, we will talk with each other about what we are reading.


So, for my birthday he bought me a Kindle. A Kindle is an electronic book. It is about the size and weight of a paperback and you can download books from Amazon.com or other places. Most books cost to download, but it is cheaper than purchasing the actual book and there are lots of books you may download for free. You can page forward and backwards, download newspapers, blogs - all sorts of things. It has a back light so you can read in the dark and you can change the font types to your specifications. It's pretty cool.


I have to be honest and when he told me what he had bought me I was very disappointed. I have a rule: No presents that need to be plugged in unless requested and then think twice. He seems to have forgotten that as I got a GPS for Christmas. But, I digress. By the time I unwrapped it, I had checked out the website. I admit I was starting to get curious and excited. His logic was that I would be able to take it with me when traveling and I could download books from anywhere. He really was being thoughtful when he bought it for me.


I have completed my first book on Kindle. Luckily, it was a delightful little book that I really enjoyed - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, otherwise I may not have liked using the Kindle. And, I did enjoyed using it. It takes a litle while to get use to, but it worked out just fine. It will be great for traveling as it is easy to pack and carry. I like it and will use it a lot. It was a great gift.


However, for me, it cannot ever replace a real book. A Kindle will never, ever replace the joy of walking into a library or bookstore where I can walk up and down the rows of shelf after shelf of books, picking one up here and there, thumbing through pages and exploring what lays under the cover.



I hope years from now electronics don't replace all books and libraries. What a sad state our world will be in then.


P.S. - interesting observation. Notice I always say "use" a Kindle and "read" a book? Hmmm. . .

Nan, Bert, Freddie, Flossie, Nancy, Cherry, Vicki, Trixie and the Rest of the Gang

When Shelley and I were little (we met when we were 8) we both loved to read. Still do, but I digress. Our favorites at that time (c. 1963) were the Bobbsey Twins (Nan and Bert, Freddie and Flossie).

We would walk over to each other's houses and spend the hours reading and trading books. I had copies that my sister's had read.

As we got a little older we moved on to Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames and Vicki Barr. Everyone knows the girl sleuth, Nancy Drew. However, many might not know nurse Cherry Ames or stewardess Vicki Barr. Oh, the adventures these girls took us on. I was especially fond of Cherry Ames as my mom was a nurse.

A few years later along came Trixie Belden with her best friend, Honey. She was more our age by then and we loved her.

We knew all of the characters in these books and would act out the plots or make up our own. It was great fun. At the time we didn't realize that these fictionalized girls probably taught us a lot about gumption, adventure, friendship and that girls can and could do anything, even if (at that time) a handsome boyfriend, brother or father rescued them when they got into trouble ( and they always did). In today's novels that wouldn't happen - the girl hero's would figure it out and rescue themselves or another girl would come along and save the day. The point is, these characters were not afraid to seek the truth, conjure good over evil and help others.



To celebrate our vacation together, Shelley, who is still in love with all things Bobbsey related, made us each the tee shirt below. With the help of her daughter, Brooke, she copied book images off the web, ironed them on to the shirts, added little X's and cute buttons. Shelley had a blast makng them and I appreciate the gesture. They were a riot to wear. Women all over Savannah recognized the books. Unfortunately, I got a couple of stains on my shirt (now all removed), but could not wear it again during vacation, but what fun we had that one day.



Times have changed and books for young girls are more sophisticate. For us though, in the early to mid 1960s we were very innocent. The books were appropriate.



So, hats off to Nan, Flossie, Cherry, Vicki, Trixie and Honey and all the other "girl" book characters. I still love and admire you. Thanks for the memories. And, the lessons.

BURRRR: Thoughts on my dogs and quilting on a cold winter day

It is cold outside.

My dogs go out, go potty and run back in. No sniffing, no poking around. The doggie door on the outer porch door gets very stiff in the cold and little Gracie has a hard time pushing it with her head to get in the porch and, therefore, back into the warmth of the house. Lucy Lou, on the other hand, gives it a good shove and strolls on in. I notice that Gracie waits for Lucy Lou when she can and catches the door once Lucy Lou is through it. However, this morning she wanted back in and pawed at the stiff plastic door until she got through it. Poor pup.

Yesterday Phil and I picked up my "doggie" themed lap quilt made for my doggie sitter, Mary Sue. It is a very simple, large block quilt I sewed together in less than 5 hours and took in to have professionally quilted. I'll post pictures when Mary Sue comes to pick it up. Late yesterday afternoon after Phil when back to Illinois, I machine sewed the binding on to the front of the quilt.

As I settled in last evening to start hand stitching the binding to the quilt back I decided to bring in the latest book on CD I am listening to in my car. There is nothing worth watching on TV and I wanted some noise in the background. I'm not much of a listener to music when I am alone and the TV is off, preferring the quiet. But, last night I wanted sound.

What a delightful evening I had! The lap quilt was spread out on me, keeping me very warm. Gracie jumped up and snuggled in under the quilt as I stitched, adding another layer of warmth. Lucy Lou was in her basket snoring gently and I listened to my book. It is Time is a River by Mary Alice Monroe, another good Southern female writer. (I really like Southern women writers). I'm enjoying it.

I like my own company. I like keeping busy when alone, which is one reason quilting has become so important to me. I'm being creative while making things that are useful. During the daylight hours I do the cutting and sewing of the quilt pieces, watching the blocks accumulate and the quilt pattern appear. I enjoy the quiet of my home, watching the birds at the feeders from a couple of different windows, stopping to rub the bellies of the dogs or play with them, cooking simple meals. Piecing together scraps of fabric that turn into something beautiful.

Now I have discovered another pleasure for the evenings. When I want a little company, while hand stitching at night, there is always a book on CD awaiting to be discovered.

Ahh, another simple pleasure.

Good Reads / Bad Reads

I have read or listened to a couple of books recently. Two of them are for my book group. The others are just for pleasure - although I consider reading (or listening to) a book one of the greatest pleasures in the world.

In January the book club discussed The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst. The overall consensus was that it was well-liked and enjoyable. It is the view of a marriage from the husband whose wife died when she fell out of tree. He is trying to come to terms with the fact that she was mentally ill and committed suicide. The only witness to her death was their dog, Lorelei (great name for a dog). Therefore, he feels he must get Lorelei to tell him exactly what happened. It is the story of a breakdown and the coming back from a great loss. It does also tell the story of some very sick people who believe dogs actually can talk (communicate like humans) by surgically altering their vocal cords, jaws, etc. Luckily, that part is not a large part of the story. I enjoyed it. I thought it had interesting characters and character development. The main character was not interest in surgically altering his dog, so the way he was trying to teach her was both sad and funny. The book was a fast read, too.

In February we will be discussing Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult . Let me begin by saying that when my girlfriend, Sally, read Picoult's My Sister's Keeper she called me up and said, "Girl, you got to read this book!" She went on to say the ending would "knock me on my ass!" Well, I did read (actually listened to) My Sister's Keeper. It was an awesome book and, yes, the ending blew me away. When the surprise twist came at the end I actually pulled my car over. I couldn't believe it.

So, I looked forward to Plain Truth. It is about an Amish girl who delivers a baby in the family barn, which is later found dead and the high powered, burned out lawyer who defends her. While I enjoyed the basic story, learning more about the Amish and liked most of the characters, I found the story turned sluggish and I got a little bored. The "surprise ending" was no surprise. All throughout the book I kept thinking, "why isn't she (the attorney) asking the obvious question." So, when the question was answered, by a character volunteering the information, I was more angry at the author than surprised at the story punch. Duh! A good attorney would have asked this question from the beginning. Oh, well . . . it will be interesting to see what the book group thinks.

I listened to, or tried to listen to Half Moon by Alice Sebold. Having loved her book, The Lovely Bones, again I looked forward to this book. The story is about a woman in her late 40s who has been caring for her elderly mother all of her life. One night she snaps while caring for her now 88 year old mother and smothers her to death. The next 24 hours examines the daughter's life with the domineering mother, the actions she takes and her relationship to others around her. Now, I really can't relate to a "mother from hell." I had a warm and loving mother. So, maybe this had do with not relating to the main character at all. I wanted to slap her upside the head and yell "SNAP OUT OF IT." Therefore, I stopped after the 5th CD and skipped to the last CD and listened to the last few minutes of the book. The whole thing irritated me. I really didn't like the main character and since she narrated the book, I didn't care for the book. Also, the "reader" of the book on CD had a monotone, bored voice. This didn't help.

As for Pillars of the Earth? I'm well over half way through and still plugging along. I still am enjoying it. And, I will finish it. Really!

Plugging Away

My boyfriend read Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth. It took him a while, but he loved it and refers to it as one of the best books he has ever read.

After he was finished he gave it to me to read. And, I have been reading, and reading, and reading.

I must say that I am enjoying it. All 973 pages. I'm currently on page 442. And, I will admit to glazing over part of it.

It is about a monk in the 1400s who builds a cathedral. Now that is a grand simplification. There are a dozen subplots and all of the characters are interesting. I am learning about the Middle Ages - its mason work and how these great cathedrals were built, the Church and its influence over every day life, politics of the time, what life was like for both the peasants and upper class, life on a monastery, etc. It was not an easy life not matter where you lived or what you did! Plus, there is a lot of violence, raping and just plain meanness going on. On the flip side, it also shows love between a man and a woman, love of family and love of God.

Since I started it I have read one other book (Dogs of Babel for my book club, which I recommend). I doubt that I will take another book break from it as I'm pretty caught up in it now that I'm almost half way through.

So, if you want to spend these long winter evenings reading a good book, I recommend this one. It will take you through to spring!

Oh, one more thing. I thought of listening to it on CDs in my car. Thirty-two CDs for the unabridged version! I'd have to drive to China and back!

More Books

As I mentioned in my last post, there were 19 books that were not chosen to be read by my book group in 2008. Of the 19 I have read 4 (Time Traveler's Wife, Anywhere But Here, Daughter of Fortune and The Thirteenth Tale) and have 1000 Splendid Suns (audio version) on the waiting list to get from the library.

Will I read the other 14? Don't know. I'm only familiar with a couple of them and I might read those. So unless I get any input on any others, I probably won't. The book I recommended, The Thirteenth Tale, didn't make the cut. It is a great book, unusual, somewhat Gothic. Sally recommended it to me and I loved it. Oh, well . . . it has a great website - http://www.thethirteenthtale.com/ - check it out!

Here is a list of the books not chosen:

Evil Genes by Barb Oakley
Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Almost Moon by Alice Seybold
1000 Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Dante Club by M. Perle
The Most Wanted by J. Michard
Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson
Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beach
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
Bethlehem Road by Ann Perry
Farmboys by William Felloews
Being Dead by Jim Crace
Daughter of Fortune by Isabelle Allende
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Vegetable, Animal, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
The Most Famous Man in America by Debby Applegate
Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
Service Included by Phoebe Damrosch

Enjoy!