One positive thing

I have FINALLY found one positive thing about Los Angeles: the Hollywood Bowl. I went last night with my friend Richard, and his friends Charlie and Jason. It was a beautiful evening for an outdoor concert, and I enjoyed it immensely. It was the LA Philharmonic doing selections from Prokofiev...including Peter and the Wolf, which I remember listening to when I was young. They showed an animated short for Peter and the Wolf, which was both charming and a little creepy. But mostly charming.


And they got me a delicious birthday cake from Sweet Lady Jane bakery. It was a beautifully decorated cake that was equally tasty. (Chocolate cake filled with a mixture of chocolate ganache, imported raspberry preserves and raspberry liqueur. Cut with a domed edge and frosted with chocolate ganache. Decorated with a buttercream fleur-de-lis design and fresh raspberries.) Yummmmmmm.....

Weeding Romance Books

I was recently weeding (i.e., purging, tossing, withdrawing, getting rid of) some Harlequin Romance novels that were in our library collection. I though you might enjoy some of the titles...I certainly did.

• Round-the-Clock Temptation
• The Millionaire’s Pregnant Mistress
• Love-Slave to the Sheikh (you'd be surprised at the number of books featuring Sheikhs in the title)
• Aunt Lucy’s Lover
• Rock Me All Night
• His Very Personal Assistant
• At the French Baron’s Bidding
• Public Wife, Private Mistress

And last, but certainly not least, as it is my very favorite of all:

• The Disobedient Virgin

Really, REALLY sad little cherry blossom tree

I'm sorry to report that my sad little cherry blossom tree (as mentioned in a previous post) is no more. Alas, a few weeks ago, someone had a car accident (everyone's fine) and their car ended up on top of the tree. All that remains are a few broken branches scattered across the library lawn. So, so, so very sad.

I was just watching "So You Think You Can Dance" and there were these two brothers who were both auditioning. The show did a joint interview with them and at the end of it, the older brother (8 years older) said, "My whole life I've been waiting for you to grow up so we could be best friends. And so, you finally made it." How sweet was that?! Do people say things like that anymore?

it's hot

too too hot.

harriet the spy

Today while I was at the reference desk, a customer called in and wanted to know if we had the movie "Harriet the Spy". When I told her we didn't have it, she asked if we had the Cliff's Notes for it. Seriously!?!?!?!?!

That was one of the funniest reference questions I've had in a long time.

sad little cherry blossom tree

Yet another reason to miss Seattle...the Cherry Blossoms. This little tree is in front of our library. It's small and not very full, but it's the only blooming cherry blossom I've seen this year. So sad. In Seattle, it's probably about to be snowing cherry blossoms. They're just so pretty. Sigh.

What a great day.

Today I found a brand-spankin'-new laminating machine in my office, tucked way in the back of a cabinet. Do you know how much fun a laminating machine can be?! It ranks up there in the vicinity of Label Makers. Oooooooh.

canterbury tales

Today a student came to the reference desk asking for a copy of The Canterbury Tales.
And in an instant, I was taken back to Mr. Rainey's 12th grade English class, when we had to memorize the first stanza of the prologue in middle English. I then began reciting for this poor student the first few lines, which are all that I can remember. She seemed embarrassed for me. Grownups are so weird.

For your reading pleasure:

WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth	5
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,	10
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende	15
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.