Book Talking

  I'm going to spend a few minutes talking about my life as a librarian here.  I'm also going to copy this post onto my blog "Books for Teens". Believe me, it's all related.

One of the most important parts of my job is getting kids fired up about reading.  As a person, I want to live in a well educated society. I want the kids we raise to be smart, intelligent critical thinkers who are capable of making inferences, drawing conclusions, and making great leaps and discoveries that will benefit all of mankind.  All of that begins with the library. My professional/personal philosophy is that kids spend 9-10 months a year being taught how to read. The summer should be all about parents helping their kids to love reading. 

How do we do this? We encourage our children to find books that they enjoy reading. Whatever those books may be.  Whether they are above or below grade level doesn't matter. If the kids are tearing through a pile of books that you think may be "too easy" for them, they are increasing their fluency and comprehension. Those skills are critical for school success come fall. When they finish the current series that they are working their way through, they will find another series.

As one of my teachers says "Life is too short to read books you don't love. If you don't like the one you're reading, find another one."  

I spent the last week of May and the first week of June talking with the kids at our schools about summer reading. I introduced them to books that I love and that I think will appeal to them. I talked about the summer reading program at our library. And I encouraged them to come in and find books that they love. 

I talked with the elementary grades.  Children in grades K-5. 

I want to share the books that I found with you.  I think they're awesome, and I hope you will love them as much as I do.

I wanted to post this today, on Monday. Each day this week, I'm going to post a different list.

If you have favorites that you feel belongs in each category, feel free to add them in the comments!

 

A New Lawn Mower

About 5 years ago, our riding lawn mower quit working. It was well over 40 years old. There comes a point when no matter how much maintenance you perform on a lawn mower, it's just not going to work.  We were well past that point. 

We live on almost an acre, and for the last 5 years, husband has been mowing that lawn with a push mower because "he was able to do that when he was a kid and lived in that house."  Keep in mind, he was in his teens then, and it's been at least 30 years.  

For the past 2 years, I've been fussing at him so much because I thought it was too dangerous for him to keep that up on 100* days at his age.  So, he took to mowing the lawn on days when I was at work.  

For father's day this year, I got together with the kids and we bought him a new riding lawn mower. It was delivered on Saturday and that man has been so happy ever since!  Unfortunately for him, it rained all day Saturday. But Sunday afternoon after the grass had a chance to dry, he couldn't wait to get out and mow the lawn.

While he had complained non-stop that the kids thought he was too old to mow the lawn the "old fashioned" way anymore, he couldn't stop singing the praises of that lawnmower.  What had been a week long rotation of "I can cut this much and then the mower runs out of gas" was complete in an hour.  ONE HOUR!  We were actually able to eat dinner together!

It might not seem like much, but after 5 years, it really is a big deal.

Thrifty Thursday

 Maintain your car. 

When I was growing up, I remember hanging out with my Dad over the hood of the car. Most Saturdays would find him tinkering with the engine in some form or another and me watching eagerly, waiting to see what new wonder I was going to see. (You would honestly think I would have become a car mechanic instead of a librarian...)   

I also remember one time when Dad rebuilt the carburetor and had pieces leftover when he was finished. That car broke down on his way home when we were in Virginia. If I remember correctly, that was well over $200. I mention this because if he’d taken it to the mechanic instead of attempting to fix it himself, it would have cost less than $50. I remember this because Mom kept mentioning it when they were arguing. 

I mention all of this because it’s actually really funny that when I was in my teens my dad kept telling me (nagging me) about how a car needs to be maintained and why. 

If a car is not fully maintained, it will be more likely to break down. Breakdowns lead to costly repairs. Repairs that could have been avoided if you had paid a measly $40 for a new part two months ago instead of the $400 now.  (Like that time we broke down on a highway in Texas hours after he had worked on the engine, and he had to walk 2 hours to get to a gas station to find a tow truck to come and pick us up. Funny now, kind of funny then.) That repair ended up costing over $700 in 1970’s money, and 2 extra days of his leave while the car was fixed before we could head home. 

Tires. Your properly inflated and rotated tires ensure not only a longer life for your tires, but they also increase gas mileage. Not sure what pressure your tires should be inflated? On most cars, there is a tag with that information around the frame of the driver’s side door. In some cars, it is just inside the door frame, below where the latch is located. On others, it is on the door frame on the floor. Your foot crosses over that tag every time you get into the car.  

As an adult, I have always maintained my car on a schedule. Oil changes, tire rotations, belts, etc.

I have an excellent relationship with my mechanic. One that involves him not talking down to me or telling me why I'm wrong or what I don't know. I tell him when something isn't quite right with my car and he will find out what's going on. I am well aware that my mechanic is a gem. I found him after trying 3 other places that did not meet my standards. (Talk to ME. Don't try to sell me things I don't need. Don't ask me when my husband will be in.)

I bought my first car in 1989. It was a Honda Civic. We have owned 3 Honda Civics in total since that time. You could lay that on the engineering of the Honda Motor Corporation, but our second cars have always been used. We've bought 3 second cars since 1990. Kia, Honda, and Mercury. We tend to drive our cars as long as we can because new cars are expensive and maintenance is cheap in comparison to the cost of a new car.

Seriously, this is the one area that makes a big difference in your bottom line. Maintain you car.

A Trip to the Vet

 Waiting for the vet to arrive.

Princess Hermes hates riding in the car. I suspect that this is because at the age of 2, she was taken from the home where she had lived all but the first 6 weeks of her life and dumped at the animal shelter. When I picked her up, the poor thing was so scared she threw up, pooped, and peed in the carrier on the way home. 

I’ve taken her to the vet 3 times since then. We were fostering to adopt with her, and once we made the decision to adopt, I filled out the paperwork and took her to the vet. We didn’t even make it out of the carport before she pooped, peed, and threw up all over the carrier. Keep in mind, we live 2 miles away from our Vet’s office.  

Last year, we made a full mile before she totally lost it.  The poor thing threw up again on the way home. My vet joked that it was nice of her to present a full stool sample when she walked in!

Last week, I was prepared for anything. I put her in her carrier – and I had a towel at the bottom. This time, I thought ahead and took an extra towel wrapped up in a plastic bag. We made it with no issues. And then, I picked up her carrier to take her into the vet. That's when she finally lost control. Fortunately, she only threw up.  

I whipped out the soiled towel once we were in the office and put the new one inside her carrier. The soiled towel went into the plastic bag to be washed when we got home.

She approves of the towel on the scale.

And Hermie? She had a great time. She explored everything and talked with the vet when she came in with a wide range of purrs and small “mrows” and only one hiss. She had no issues going home.

Considering that we’re moving in less than a month, I’m really hoping that we will do okay with the 30 minute drive to the apartment. There’s nothing worse than an upset cat trapped in a car.

Portland Japanese Tea Garden

 The cherry blossoms were in bloom when we were in Portland!  So beautiful!  Husband flew out on the last day of our conference and we spent another week exploring Oregon.  I had never been here before.  It is breathtaking country!

One of our first stops was the Japanese Tea Garden.  It was so elegant.  Somehow, we managed to snag tickets for the very first entry time.  It wasn't crowded during our first hour there, but it was getting crowded as we left! Sadly, I couldn't get reservations to the Tea House. I waited a little too long and lost any chance that I had at all of getting a reservation.  Take note of that - if you can get tickets ahead of time, snag your reservations for lunch at the Tea House at the same time.  I really wish that I had done that.

In the spirit of minimalism, I am not going to post my words with the images.  I am going to let the images speak for themselves!  

More information about the Portland Japanese Tea Garden: https://japanesegarden.org/

My Resolutions

 How are you doing on your Resolutions? I have a list of 12 things I wanted to accomplish this year. Just 12. That's one per month.  There are some big goals on here, but I think that we can manage them!

I haven't posted my progress since Feb. 1, so I am going to catch everyone up with where we are now. 

1) Post 1 book review a month on my YA blog. 

I have posted 6 reviews so far. Most of them were published in June, as that is when I was looking for and reading books to talk about with the schools. 

https://librarynut-booksforteens.blogspot.com/

2) Renovate the Master Bedroom & Bathroom. 

This is happening!!!!

3) Find good homes for the books  

I have about 20 more boxes of books...and someone to come and pick them up today.

4) Go explore 2 new to me places  

Who doesn't love an adventure? I have a list of places that I want to go see. I'm going to put out a map, and get some darts, and see where we end up.

1) Oregon

2) Turkey Run Park in Virginia

5) 40 Bags in 40 Days Lenten Challenge

These were kitchen size garbage bags full of stuff, along with several BIG boxes.

6) Get together with 1 friend each month  

I don't think I should have to write this down, but you know, it's been a weird couple of years. I want to make seeing people we love a priority. Doing this after 2 years of COVID Restrictions is going to make this an extra special challenge.

January - Jim & Kathy! We had a fire outside in the firepit and got to catch up over a couple of hours!

February -  Joe, James, Dan

March - Crissy, Gloria

April - This was the month we had Covid, so we saw nobody and went nowhere.

May - Vince & Suzanne, Judy

June - Sharon

7) Another stamp in my National Park Passport

The Mission Trail in San Antonio!

8) Landscape Front Yard 

This has been on the list for several years now. I really want to get this checked off this year!

9) Clean out the Garage

If you've read the blog for any length of time, you know that we bought this house 16 years ago from my in-laws. And you also know that they were borderline hoarders. We've made progress in the house, and while there is still clutter in the basement, I believe that we will have the last of it out by the end of this year. (See the 40 bags in 40 days challenge.) But the garage is another story. 16 years, and we have not yet been able to park our cars in the garage because of the amount of their stuff. Our goal is to be able to park a car in the garage by the end of the year.

10) Get the kayak out in the water once each month during May, June, July, August, September, and October.

Seriously, we have a kayak.  Why aren't we getting out in the water with the kayak more often? What is our excuse? The kids have moved out. We don't have to worry about finding a sitter or getting an extra kayak for them.

We didn't get it out in May.  We still have time left!

11) Get my Bike fixed and get out for some bike rides.

I bought my bike over 30 years ago. I rode it a lot before the kids got busy in high school. Now that everyone is out of the house, it is time to pull out some of the things I really used to love. The top of that list is riding my bike. In order to do that, I need to get the bike fixed. The tires are dry rotted, and I'm sure it's got a host of other issues going on.

12) Visit My Cousins in Texas (a trip postponed from 2020)

Done! We made it down over a long weekend in January! It was so good to see my cousins and my aunts and uncles!  I even posted a few pictures from the River Walk in San Antonio. It's been 10 years since I last got down here. I can't wait another 10 years to get back. Family is too important. And time is fleeting.

Breckinridge Park! We met up with my cousins at the same outdoor pavilion where I had my 5th birthday party! That pavilion is just off to the right from this picture.

Other Goals:

I’ve got a couple of other goals I would like to accomplish this year, but I honestly don’t know if I’ll be able to get to them. If I do, I’ll be thrilled beyond words. If not? I’ll add them to the list of things I want to get to in 2023.

This is going to be so much fun!

Thrifty Thursday

If you work outside of the house, what do you find yourself doing for lunch every day? It's all too easy to stop somewhere fast, drive through a handy window somewhere, or stop in the cafeteria to pick up something fast so you can get back to work quickly. 

I admit - I close 2 nights a week at work, and the temptation to run across the street to one of the many restaurants is strong. Besides the usual fast food places, we have Indian, Ethiopian, and Japanese restaurants. I had never tried Ethiopian Food before that restaurant opened. It was love at first bite. But with a dinner from one of those restaurants running over $20 for just me, eating out has become a once a month treat.

As a result, I have begun prepping my lunches for the week on Sundays. 

This past week, I roasted 3 pounds of russet potatoes and a great big onion. I portioned them out into 5 containers.

But then, what do I put on those potatoes?

We had taco salad Saturday night. When I made the protein mixture, I stretched it out with 2 cans of black beans and corn, along with a can of diced tomatoes. I then took the extra protein mix and added a heaping quarter cup to the potatoes.

Now, because it's just the 2 of us at home, we had extra taco meat left over. I put it into a freezer bag and labeled it so that we could use it later.  I pulled it out last night for a quick dinner. I made a fusion stir fry.  We sliced up a head of broccoli, and stir fried that. We added that to cooked Ramen Noodles and the leftover taco meat.  I then added my sauce that I first started making back in college.  I don't think it's authentic anything, but it always adds a nice punch to whatever I make. 

3 pounds of russets, 1 pound of ground beef, 2 cans of corn, 2 cans of black beans, 1 bag of salad, 1 big onion, 1 head of broccoli, 1 package of gluten free ramen noodles, and 1 bag of corn chips.   The salsa I used? I canned that last summer at the height of tomato season.

That served me 5 lunches, husband took the leftover stir fry for lunch today, and the 2 meals for the two of us for a total of 10 servings.  

My favorite Stir Fry Sauce:

3 TBSP Soy Sauce

2 tsp corn starch

2 TBSP Dry Sherry

 1 tsp ginger

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Mix the ingredients together, set aside.  Pour over ingredients in skillet at the end. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Like I said, I don't think it's authentic anything. Maybe authentic 80's college student?