Dr. Zhivago revisited

The other morning I listened to a recorded version of Boris Pasternak's DR ZHIVAGO on my laptop while I worked on the laundry. It is a CD that I checked out from the library. There is also a Large Type copy in transit from another branch that will be available for checkout soon.  I plan to have it on my nightstand for bedtime reading for the next few weeks.  That way I can go back and double check passages that I have heard online, or pick up where I left off before sleep overtakes me.  Actually, the recorded version is helping keep that cast of thousands with the complex Russian names from getting so scrambled.  I like this!  I wonder what Pasternak would think.

My Aunt Shirley

Last week I spent a couple of days in Washinton, DC with cousins.  We were there for the funeral of my Aunt Shirley who was buried with her husband Bruno at Arlington National Cemetary. Her epitaph will appear on the back of his headstone.  She always did have his back....and was there behind a lot of people, encouraging, loving, challenging us to be our best.  Shirley was also a great role model. She started college when her youngest child started kindergarten and then went on to teach at a "tough" high school in the Calumet Region of Greater Chicagoland. Chatting with the Army Chaplain before the service, I told him about Shirley's family and career as a high school English teacher. My cousins mentioned the ten years that college degree took with awe, especially when they remember all the rest of the things that made up their full family life at the time. She was a mentor to her students and family...and a friend to us all.  Her kids fondly recall Shirley's humor, called her a great cook, an expert at counted cross-stitch, and even her obituary mentioned her enthusiastic card-playing. More than one midwestern family has bonded over the card table! Pinoncle and games with crazy names like euchre and over-the river and even stranger "house" rules that take hours to play; these are some of my fondest memories of family in Indiana.  That and family get-togethers involving sitting for hours around the kitchen table, playing cards, eating, reminiscing and drinking bottomless pots of coffee, and then eating again. And laughing....there was always lots of laughter.

When I asked her for a suggestion for a good book report for my World Literature class, she gave me her tattered paperback copy of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. When my eyes got big, she just smiled and said "Don't let the length of it spook you!  It's a love story.  You'll like Anna.  She's a strong woman, just like you. I wouldn't give it to you if I didn't think you could handle it."  She was right--of course.  I did get through it and I loved it.  Maybe it is time to re-read it...and maybe Boris Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago, while I'm at it (another of Aunt Shirley's recommendations).

Rest in Peace, Aunt Shirley, rest in peace.  Thank you for everything. We will miss you.

Goodreads

Just let me say how much I LOVE Goodreads!!!  After a hiatus of many months, I gave this readers advisory website another try as part of the DPL Learning program for self-paced tech training. This time, my experience has been totally different......maybe because I am reading and tracking my reading in a new way...and as part of a community of readers.

A few days ago I finished a book of "new" Sherlock Holmes stories by Donald Thomas entitled Sherlock Holmes and the ghosts of Bly: and other new adventures of the great detective.  It has been my lunchtime reading book.  You know--the one you keep at your desk and read in bits and pieces....So by the time I finally finished it, I was hungry for more Holmes.  So I posted a question on Goodreads asking for other books of Holmes stories by contemporary writers.  Lo and behold, I received an email alert of suggestions from other mystery buffs on Goodread, including excellent suggestions form Harvey.  Thanks to him, I have three new want-to-read titles on my list:  The HOUSE OF SILK by Anthony Horowitz, The BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE by Laurie R. King (featuring a female protege for Holmes named Mary Russell, and The SHERLOCKIAN by Graham Moore.  Even found a juvenile fiction series of tales starring Holmes' younger sister Enola.  Who'd have imagined such a thing......!  And here I was about to dust off my old copies of the Holmes canon as I prepared for my winter hibernation and reading binge that begins every year once snow flies.  While I will still dabble in the old faves, I am even more excited to be able to explore Holmes' London and environs from these new perspectives.  The game's afoot!!!!

DPL Learning

For the past few weeks I have been working my way through a set of Activities on the DPL Self-Paced Tech Learning program on wikidot.  It has been quite a ride!  But after a few false starts, I began to made steady progress. Now I have Google + Circles, get Alerts, use Doodle to schedule events, have an online calendar that I hope to use to coordinate our hectic household schedule(s), have Pandora stations that I can listen to online, have a Queue on Hulu, share and find good books with colleagues on Goodreads, and more.  It is a brave new world and this old dog earned earned herself an MP3 player!  Not bad, if I do say so myself.

Dewey the Library Cat

Over the years I have heard about Dewey the Library Cat and seen pictures of him.  So I was intrigued when the book group at my church decided to read Vicki Myron's book about him this summer.  I quickly discovered that Dewey: the small town library cat who touched the world was available in multiple formats at my local library (DPL of course).  The CD book turned out to be a good one for me.

When I finished listening to my book, I was still curious and when looking for more info.  Here is the link I found :  http://www.iowabeautiful.com/northwest-iowa-tourism/dewey-the-rescued-library-cat-spencer-iowa.html

Looks like old Dewey really DID touch a lot of lives!

Wonder if there are any library dogs out there?  If so, I have an awfully cute sheltie to nominate.

 

Old Librarian's Dog

This is Sadie.   

She came to us last winter from Colorado Sheltie Rescue.  They are good people doing good work for one of the nicest breeds of dogs around.  Ok, so I am biased!

Her picture is shown on the HAPPY ENDINGS section of the CSR website @ www.sheltierescue-co.org, along with all of the other dogs who found new homes.  They called her "Katie V", but we had to change her name.  My mom's name is Kate and her closest friends called her Katie...so it just didn't feel right.  SO we went with Sadie, which sounded enough alike to her that the transition was easy.  Now our Sadie-Sadie-Furry-Lady is a fully integrated part of our family.  In fact, it is hard to imagine our household without her cheerful hopefulness.

 If you have a soft place in your heart for shelties, you might take a look at their website.  There are some great dogs there.  And the volunteer opportunities are definitely something that I will take a second look at.

Pumpkin Dip

Looks like it is time for this Old Library Dog to become a Blogging Dog!

Learned this autumn recipe from my daughter Rachel.  It is sooooo easy!

PUMPKING DIP

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• 8 ounces Cool Whip

Directions:

1. Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy; add canned pumpkin and spices.
2. Fold in Cool Whip; mix until creamy.
3. Serve with apple slices/ginger snaps/graham crackers (try cinnamon ones)