You can take a girl out of the prairies but you can't make her stop talking about the weather.

I was about to write "I've been thinking a lot about weather lately" but then I realize I always think about the weather. I'm a weather junkie. I had a lot of time to think about the weather-- more specifically the effects of grey weather on my mental acuity-- yesterday as I inched along home on the bus, hoping that my neighbours had a key to my house. I'd left my keys in my office door. I was too cold and tired of being cold to get off the bus and walk back and get them. After shivering in my office all day, shuffling home from my bus stop and then shoveling my walk, I can't begin to describe the joy I felt to open my mail box and see a Veseys spring catalogue peeking out. I had been wondering the night before when my Veseys catalogue would arrive; I am convinced that Veseys watches the weather as carefully as I do and then they mail their springy catalogue when they know people like me are convinced spring will never come. I'm pretty sure that they also know that people like me will find seasonal salvation in placing an order or two. I've not given in. But I know I will. I've read the catalogue cover to cover twice in less than 24 hours. The pink prairie mallows on page 34 are calling to me. And I know exactly where I'd put the black irises on page 36. Oh, and they have lupines. These Veseys people do it to me every year.
Today was Edmonton-ish: enliveningly cold paired with sunshine. Tasks that seemed impossible yesterday were suddenly pretty do-able today in the sun. Tonight it's -12 o C which I've come to call "Windsor cold"-- it's not really cold in the grand scheme of things but it's cold for us here in Canada's banana belt. We're in for some more meteorological murk this week. But, on the upside, they came to fix the heat in my office yesterday. My office hasn't been above 10 o C for the past 2 months. It's been a brisk 5 o C for the past few weeks. Room temperature has done a lot for my productivity not to mention my sense of self-- I feel less like Bib the Michelin man now that I'm not wearing 4 sweaters, a coat and a scarf all day. And I have a Veseys catalogue! I think it's going to be ok.

Antidote to grey

Perhaps its an exercise in expanding my aesthetic vision or maybe it's a way to cope with my low motivation on days like today; in the past few weeks, I've been trying to see the beauty of grey weather. I'm not sure how successful I've been. Even my houseplants seem sluggish and unmotivated to grow. Yesterday, as a way of coping with the grey, Dale and I headed to Detroit to explore some things we'd not seen before: Grosse Pointe, The Eastern Market, and the Belle Isle conservatory. In our drive, we drove through a few zip codes of Detroit. You can really see why the US is such a complex nation and so difficult to comprehend. In a matter of a mile or sometimes even a few blocks, you can go from seeing whole blocks of abandoned buildings, homes and businesses to bustling blocks of Starbucks, Ann Taylor stores and twitchy Italian Greyhounds in little Burberry coats. We poked around the Eastern Market(founded 1841) for a bit and bought a massive amount of cheese for less than $5. We now have a block of brie that seems to weigh more than our Lily cat. From there we went to Grosse Pointe (of Grosse Pointe Blank fame) and had some lunch. I don't think I've ever seen so many purebred dogs in designer clothes in one place before. From there, we went to Belle Isle which, like much of Detroit, has seen grander days but, also like much of Detroit, is still really cool. Interestingly, Belle Isle was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, who also designed Central Park. The conservatory is really lovely and instantly became one of my favourite places in Detroit. We were lucky to visit when we did since there were hundreds of orchids in bloom; orchids never cease to astound me. See my flickr site for more pictures.

Sites of the Week: Cows

"The cow is of the bovine ilk; One end is moo, the other, milk"-- Ogden Nash.
Happily, this week two people sent me two fantastic cow links. Dale sent me this one on Cowscapes and Cindy this one on a study that suggests there are regional variants for cows' moos: "Lloyd Green, a farmer from Glastonbury, said: 'I spend a lot of time with my ones and they definitely moo with a Somerset drawl.'" Gosh. If this is true, I wonder if American cows mock Canadian cows' pronunciation of certain vowels. Lord love a cow.

The "Dance Dance Revolution" Revolution: Coming to a campus grievance committee near you?

Reading this story about using Dance Dance Revolution to solve all sorts of library problems, got me thinking about how Dance Dance Revolution could solve some of the nastier problems at universities: grade appeals, promotion and tenure disputes, teaching loads, hospitality committee duties... it's endlessly fascinating to imagine. I can see it now: "The Grievance Committee suggests you 'take it to the mat' and dance off against against your plaintiff." Anyway, here's the original story from a library blog:

"Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting a teen librarian who keeps Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) set up all the time so she can invoke it as need be. For example, if a teen has overdue books, she will dance-off against the person, and if the teen wins, the librarian will waive the fines.

In addition, when the kids get into squabbles amongst themselves, she tells them to take it to the mat and dance off against each other. It's a great way to channel some of their energy."

Some good things: a weekend overview

Winter seems like it's finally here though I have to admit it's a feeble kind of winter; all the snow in my back yard might make a six inch snow man and "cold" is -11 o. Still, the grey is really getting to me and Dale and I have both been dueling with flu and colds-- he much worse than I. I won't say anything-- not a word, not a peep-- about flu shots. So, in the cold/flu/grey/snowy ambiance, it seems like a good time to ponder some good things.
1. While watching Dale curl on Friday, I ordered and for the first time ever I actually finished Roseland's southwest salad. It took me over an hour to munch my way through a salad bigger than my head. Though, come to think of it, left to my own devices, it often takes me that long to eat. Anyway, Dale's team won 12-3 AND we won the 50-50 draw ($22.50). And the snow was pretty when we left.
2. I woke up early on Saturday, dusted the snow off our newspaper and was pleased to discover that Dale,Paul and I got an honourable mention in the Annual Globe and Mail Literary Quiz. We got one wrong. The literary quiz is, in my mind, sort of a Biblio-Olympics so I was pretty happy with the silver. Next year: gold.
3. There are some really incredible musicians in Windsor and a number of them are playing at Taloola. This Saturday night, we went to the lovely Taloola cafe and heard Ron Leary play: he's amazing and so very talented. If you live here: Go see him play and buy his album. If you don't live here: Buy his album! A note to those with initials PJM: don't buy his album... just watch your mail box.
4. Flowers at the market. On a grey day, 2 bunches of daisies makes it all seem better.
5. Cold day, great books, warm tea: Sunday I spent much of the day under blankets reading two great books. The impressionism one mentioned below and Michael Cox's The Meaning of Night. Check out its first line: "After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper."

Fascinating Tidbit o' Historical Haberdashery Knowledge of the Week

This week I've been reading Ross King's really fascinating book called The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism. This morning I was reading a small section about John Hetherington, the inventor of the top hat, and I had to look into this a bit more. Here's what I've found out: "In 1797, haberdasher John Hetherington strolled out into the streets of London to show off his new invention: the top hat. The reaction, it must be said, was not as good as it might have been - he was booed and jeered, several women fainted, and a small boy broke his arm. He even ended up in court, and was fined £50 for "appearing on the public highway wearing upon his head a tall structure having a shining lustre and calculated to frighten timid people" Source. Just a caution to faithful cafe visitors: I wouldn't get too attached to the "Fascinating Tidbit o' Historical Haberdashery Knowledge of the Week" feature. I'll do my best but it may fall to the wayside.

Typed in "Librarian." Apparently "No jobs matched the query"

A girl can dream, can't she?

Site of the week: Optimism for a January day

Often, my sites of the week are weird and quirky but this week's site of the week isn't at all-- it's just inspiring. Though, come to think of it, in some circles I've run in (ahem) this hopeful optimistic essay might be considered weird and quirky for it's hope and optimism. Alec spotted this essay by Bruce Mau called "Imagining the Future: Why the cynics are wrong" and I think it's great. I'm constantly amazed at how in certain circles one so often meets with eye rolling or under the breath mutterings when someone admits to liking something or feeling positive about something. I'm also amazed at how often statements such as "I really liked that movie" have to be whispered or shared among trusted confidantes. Thus, it's great to read someone say this publicly:
"These days, to express optimism in educated company suggests that you are either wilfully ignorant of the facts or simply a fool. To be serious, to be critical, to have a voice, we have to be cynical. To strive for something — something better — is a Pollyanna project for the naive. . . But what we need to be reminded of is our own potential. We have the power to make change on a global scale, to solve the problems we are facing today. We have the means to make the things we love more intelligent and more delightful. We have the imagination and the ability to invent new ways of sustainable living in advanced, courageous, and open societies. All we need is the optimism to realize it."

Prof Snape's birthday

I just found out that yesterday, January 9, was Prof. Snape's birthday. I can't believe I missed it. Anyway, there is, yet again, another attempt to ban Harry Potter books in libraries. Sigh. When will book banners realize that, in the words of my pal Emerson: "Every burned book or house enlightens the world; every suppressed or expunged word reverberates through the earth from side to side." ("Compensation.") Happy Birthday Professor Snape: keep up the good work!

I'm not complaining... I'm just saying...

Outside temperature: -6o C
Office temperature: 10 o C
Portable heater: full blast
Extra sweater: on
Large scarf: on
Dickensian ambiance: priceless

Sites of the Week: Food related things

After a few weeks of Christmas eating, this site is a useful reminder of exactly what 200 calories look like. And, having reacquainted myself with the cardio room at my gym, I also know what it takes to burn 200 calories. And, then, there's this odd site: the celery straw. I particularly like the described values of this straw: "deliciousness, enjoyment, indulgence, novelty and innovation." These really aren't qualities I seek in my celery. But, on the other hand, imagine how many celery straws you could eat for 200 calories? 19 gummy bears or 787 celery straws: take your pick.