Category: Musings

My Brain Upgrade Project

Back in the mid 90s, I resigned myself to not finishing my undergraduate degree in mathematics/computer science.  Life happened (I’ll spare you the stressful, depressing details).  Fast forward to the present, nearly two decades into the second millennium, where my life seemed to be stable and my faculties ready to take on a return to college.  I jumped through the various academic and bureaucratic hoops  last year to get my college credits transferred to a local university.  I pre-enrolled at two different institutions, one where I planned to complete my undergraduate, but also at a local community college that offered many online courses that could better accommodate my schedule as a full-time employee.

Then Fate, Chance, the Devil or all three, decided my life wasn’t complicated or challenging enough.  Over Thanksgiving, a co-worker resigned, one who was responsible for the enterprise-wide document management system for the large law firm where I’ve worked for the last twenty years.  Fortunately for the firm, but not so much for me, from 1997 until 2009, I performed those same duties.  Can you see the writing on the wall?

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First Book Club Gathering of 2017 Results in Book Recommendations

Between the Lines Noon on First Fridays at Westport Library

Every First Friday of the month I venture a few blocks north over lunch to the Westport Branch of the Kansas City Public Library to discuss books and other tangential topics with the women (and an occasional man) of the Between the Lines book discussion group.  When last we left off in December, we did not have a designated book to read for January, so we were supposed to come ready to give recommendations.

That got sidetracked by the good intentions of our library liaison, Seth, who provided our facilitator, Rose, a last-minute selection for us to read.  I received the email a few days ago and happened to run into Seth at the Plaza Branch (which just happens to be on the first floor of the building I spend every week day at) and asked him for a copy of Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal.  We both went searching for a copy, Seth to the New & Notable display section and me to the Fiction section.  Neither one of us found it at first but I returned to the New & Notable display and found it on the top shelf (neither Seth or I are what you’d call tall).  I checked it out and planned to read it over the weekend since it appeared to be a short book (short to me is anything less than 500 pages).  I did finish it quickly, over a couple of days.

Due to the late notice, only one other member of Between the Lines actually read Kitchens of the Great Midwest and she and I agreed that it was an interesting read for the relationships portrayed but not that interesting as a ‘foodie’ type book.  I found the book oddly compelling to read up until the last couple of chapters and then it just fell flat for me.

My Top 5 Books from 2016

In conjunction with my previous blog post about my reading statistics from 2016, I referenced my ‘loved-it’ shelf at GoodReads but didn’t give specifics.  Faced with a blank page provided by Rose to be passed around the table asking for Recommended Books, I quickly reviewed Continue reading “First Book Club Gathering of 2017 Results in Book Recommendations”

Double Infinity Sideways

I said farewell and good riddance to 2016 three days ago.  I set a reading challenge goal of seventy-five (75) books at the start of last year.

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I participated in three real-world book discussion groups in order to diversify my reading horizons.  I nominated, voted and attended the Hugo Awards during 2016.  I joined two reading programs at my local library (summer and winter).  I also set other personal goals that I didn’t statistically track but achieved despite real-world hurdles.

I began the year by reading my first ever graphic novel – Persopolis by Satrapi – one of three graphic novels I would read in 2016, two of which were for different book clubs.  I wrapped up the year with my second ever Hemingway book in paperback edition – his memoir A Moveable Feast – for a total of eighty-eight (88) books read.  Click here for a complete list of books I read in 2016.

88 looks like double infinity sideways to me (hence the odd title to this blog post).

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Late Fall Cord Cutting Viewer Update

I’m ever so close to cutting that cord to my satellite provider.  I watched only two shows this fall via my DVR rather than through an app or service.

Television Series:

  • Arrow (first season via Netflix) — 3.5 stars
  • The Crown (first season via Netflix) — 4.5 stars
  • The Fall (first season via Netflix) — 4 stars
  • Limitless (first and only season via Netflix) — 3.5-4 stars
  • Missing (first and only season via Netflix DVD) — 4 stars
  • Star Wars Rebels (via Disney channel) — popcorn for my mind
  • Timeless (first half of first season via NBC) — 3.5-4 stars
  • WestWorld (first season via HBO) — 4.5 stars

Continuing to watch:

  • Arrow (second season via Netflix)
  • Flash (first season via Netflix)
  • The Fall (second season via Netflix)
  • Mars (Nat Geo channel)
  • Timeless (via NBC)
  • Black Sails (final season via Starz streaming app)

Movies:

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Recipe Review: Cranberry Spinach Salad ~ 5 Stars

Cranberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
  • 1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons minced onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.

My Thoughts

My husband and I have made this salad several times for ourselves and family members.  I discovered spinach later in life and now it’s my favorite leafy indulgence.  The dressing perfectly compliments spinach and the cranberries and almonds add tartness and texture.

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Day 18,995

I did not get a good night’s sleep overnight.  According to my fitness tracker, I slept about four hours (between 10 pm and 2 am), a quarter of that being light sleep.  Then I woke up and stayed awake for an hour, eventually falling back asleep shortly before 3 am and hitting snooze on my 5:30 a.m. alarm once.Preview post

First thing I did after stumbling downstairs was login to download two new releases I’d pre-ordered as ebooks:  Crosstalk by Connie Willis and The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu.  By then it was already five minutes to six o’clock.  It takes ten minutes to make tea and about the same time to dress so I started boiling the water in the microwave (four minutes) and went to gather my work clothes.  I put two teaspoons of Irish Blend loose leaf  tea in my reusable steeper, dunked it in the almost boiling water and set a timer for five minutes.  I dressed and packed my lunch and my electronics.

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On the Eve of Day Eighteen Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-Three

Today is my last day of my 51st year on this planet.  It’s been a quiet day.  I woke at my usual time of five o’clock in the morning, before sunrise.  I didn’t walk either dog this morning.  I did take several closeups of Porthos, despite his not wanting to hold still or look at the camera.  Afterwards, I started reading my next book club read and wrote a review on a television series I finished watching on day 18,991.

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Portrait of Porthos (10/1/16)

I did walk up the hill to the Lansing Community Library to volunteer for a couple of hours at the circulation desk.  I do this almost every Saturday and have for most of this past year.  On the return trip, I picked up my mail and found two birthday cards, one from my aunt and uncle and one from a long time friend who now lives back east in Virginia.

Later, I’ll make a run to the grocery store and maybe finish mowing the side yard.  I’ll leave the back yard mowing for tomorrow or Monday.  I’m on call for work this weekend and have had only one call from the help desk, which I took care of earlier this afternoon.  I might be on call, but I decided to take Monday off to make my birthday weekend a three day event.  And besides, I don’t do Mondays this time of year.  Whatever vacation I have left by this time of the year goes to taking off every available Monday until New Year’s Eve.  Use it or lose it.

Tomorrow, for my birthday ‘treat’ I’m dragging my husband and my dad to the Nelson-Atkins Art Gallery for the last day of their exhibit of ancient Roman luxury items.  The return trip home will involve a stop at Olive Garden.

Halfway through day 18, 992.

Probably a good time to take a nap.

Banned Book Bonanza

Libraries around the country celebrate “Banned Book” week during the final week of September (or the first full week of Fall). My local library, the Lansing Community Library (LCL), decided to extend this celebration of reading freedom through the end of October, to give patrons a longer window of opportunity to explore this year’s top challenged books.

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Interview with a Librarian

I asked Emily Stratton, one of LCL’s Youth Services Librarians, a few questions that I had about banned or challenged books and with her permission I’m sharing her answers here:

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a librarian?

I’ve always been a reader. Growing up as a military brat, reading was always something fun to do when we hadn’t made new friends yet or had our house items delivered to our new home. Though I received my bachelor’s degree in photography, I never stopped enjoying reading. I applied for an opening at Lansing Community Library after graduating college and began working there as a Circulation Technician in January of 2015 and fell in love with the job. A year and a half later, I’m now the Youth Services Librarian and plan on starting my Masters in Library Science next year.

What are your hopes for the program?

With our display and Banned Books Week, we’re hoping to get others excited celebrate their freedom to read and access to information. So many are surprised to find that their favorite book or a classic novel they read in high school has been challenged to be removed from an educational environment. Hopefully the displays we’ll keep up will spark conversations about why these are challenged and whether or not they agree. Maybe it will even introduce some new books to someone!

How long will the display remain up at the library?

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Best Home Alarm System: Man’s Best Friend

In my search for different and interesting ‘small screen’ series to sample, I stumbled upon a couple of good ones recently:  Human Target (from 2010 but cancelled after second season) and The Fall (from 2013 with three seasons to date).  I’m still watching Limitless, pausing briefly after watching the pilot to watch the movie that spawned the series, but otherwise continuing with 2-3 episodes per week.

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Terry and I have finished two of three DVDs for the first season of Human Target.  I was hooked after the first episode, and not just because Christopher Chance’s pet was a Rottweiler named Carmine.  This show packs a lot of punches into a scant hour of programming and each episode is something completely different.  It’s fun to watch and even has me looking for the original graphic novels to read, but libraries are totally not up to speed in that area.  Continue reading “Best Home Alarm System: Man’s Best Friend”