Author Topic: The Library (Read 2330873 times)

Steph · « **Reply #12680 on:** January 03, 2014, 08:21:20 AM »

The Library

Our library cafe is open 24/7, the welcome mat is always out.
Do come in from daily chores and spend some time with us.

We look forward to hearing from you, about you and the books you are enjoying (or not).

Let the book talk begin here!

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Oh Barb, I am so glad you are ok.. I dont store things in the oven either, except for my cast iron skillets. Then after I have cleaned them, I stick them in the oven because that way they get resealed when I turn the oven on..
Firemen are really nice. Here in central Florida , if you are a widow or just old( as far as I know), you can call a non emergency number. Tell them your smoke alarms are beeping and you cannot reach them.
They will tell you to get new batteries for every single smoke alarm and then call them back. When you do that, they send two firemen out to install the new batteries and every time they have come for me, they also check out the house to make sure nothing is causing problems. I keep thinking I should make them cookies or something..

MaryPage · « **Reply #12681 on:** January 03, 2014, 09:33:45 AM »

I have a large storage drawer under my lower (of two) oven, and that plus my cabinet space is more than adequate to store all my stuff. Never have had to store anything in my ovens. Wow, what a nightmare, Barbara!

I dislike Bill O'Reilly rather intensely, so will not read his books. I have read reviews of them, however.

Great granddaughter Bella, age 11, departs this week for her Semester at Sea, which is sponsored by the University of Virginia. While on the ship for 4 months, they take classes 7 days a week all morning and have crafts and P.E. in the afternoons. The tours of the countries will be classes in themselves. They go around the world. When they wind up in London at the end in May, Bella will take an additional flight to Iceland before coming back to us in Maryland.
Here is a virtual tour of the ship she will be on:

http://vimeo.com/33061823

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #12682 on:** January 03, 2014, 10:42:08 AM »

Barb, really glad you survived that "fire"!

Back when I was newly-married, I had a job very close to our house. Was in the habit of going home for lunch, and maybe doing a couple of chores. One day, I decided to have a sandwich on toast and commenced to toast the bread. Then I got busy doing small chores, and smelled bread burning. Ran to the toaster, pulled out the black toast, quickly opened the door into the back yard and threw the toast out. Obviously (but not to me) it was actually burning inside, and set the grass on fire. It was during cold weather, and grass was brown. Looked out the kitchen window and there were flames galloping toward the back part of the fence. I rushed out,turned on the garden hose, not making any headway. My neighbor was trying to get his hose hooked up. He had already called the FD and they arrived quickly (from only a few blocks away) and extinguished the yard! I felt like a fool telling them how it started. I was such a nervous wreck, nearly didn't make it back to work after lunch. This was a "grand tale" that hubby loved to tell all his relatives, implying a lack of cooking skills, when it was really just a lack of judgment in an emergency. I later realized I could/should have put the toast in the sink and turned the faucet on it! Oh, what panic will do to sensible thinking!

maryz · « **Reply #12683 on:** January 03, 2014, 11:11:42 AM »

MaryPage, what a great opportunity for Bella!

Frybabe · « **Reply #12684 on:** January 03, 2014, 04:55:24 PM »

Tome, I also had a toaster episode with the Fire Department. Those blasted things behave as long as you stare at them, but as soon as you turn your back on them they stick. While the guys were nice to my face, I found out later that I was the butt of jokes at the firehouse afterward. I was terribly embarrassed as it was.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #12685 on:** January 03, 2014, 06:17:04 PM »

I think when women have a malfunction with a measly old kitchen appliance it is the joke of the century where as if a guy has a malfunction with his tools or motor repair it is ho ho ho and look at what I hero I am because I worked on something that took a major guy effort to put to rights again.

OH Tome I am imagining your horror seeing the whole backyards creeping into flames - talk about getting the adrenalin pumping - at least we can have the satisfaction no one was hurt in our exploits with modern gadgetry. It is not just toaster - how many eggs the water boiled away and the eggs exploded or baby formula hanging like stalactite from the ceiling. Since guys were never in the kitchen doing these tasks all they could do was make us the butt of their jokes - All of a sudden these guys were reduced in my mind's eye and without my saying a word I knew I had more going for me then they ever hoped.

The trick I found is to be sure to send a profuse thank you note followed a few months later by a bunch of pizzas delivered. Then they have no come back or follow up. My experience is manners alwasy wins.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #12686 on:** January 04, 2014, 02:32:36 AM »

I used to work with an incredibly glamorous girl who's father had bought her a flat in Chelsea (v smart & expensive part of London). Her flatmate accidentally left the toaster on - maybe it was jammed - one morning, and I clearly remember Gillian rushing out of the office to go home to sort it out. Luckily there was no major damage - but it just shows us that it's not only we ladies of a certain age that have these incidents.

Barb - very good point about happening to us in the kitchen because we're the ones that are always IN the kitchen. However, when I was a student, a guy I knew decided to cook dinner for my birthday. It was for four of us. I don't think he'd ever cooked before, and when he had taken the pans off the stove, he put the food on the plates and put the plates on the stove to keep it all warm. The burners were still very hot and within seconds each plate cracked into bits. RIP our dinner. It happens to us all.

MaryPage - I hope your granddaughter has a lovely time - what an amazing thing to be doing, and how brave to do it at that age.

Rosemary

MaryPage · « **Reply #12687 on:** January 04, 2014, 08:21:13 AM »

Rosemary, Bella gets to go because her paternal grandparents are on the faculty. They will be there and available to her at all times, and the college kids will make a little sister of her and keep an eye (a whole bunch of eyes) on her. There will be about half a dozen children along, relatives of faculty or crew, and one is Bella's cousin Ricky. So with 3 family members she is very familiar with and all those enthusiastic college kids and the fast paced calendar, she will thrive and be just fine. She has a blog set up and will write her family back here daily. She is an intensely curious child and not shy in the least, and she is used to going off on visits to family for as much as a week or longer and has done two weeks of summer camp all on her own twice now. We think she will be happy as a lark and the time will fly by for her. She will miss her five year old brother, Will, and her parents; but they will do Face Time on their computers frequently. Ours is a family of deep love and loyalty that emphasizes independence as a way to grow and learn and cope with this world, so she has much going for her.

Steph · « **Reply #12688 on:** January 04, 2014, 09:12:37 AM »

Is that the Universe Explorer/. We went to Alaska on it about 1999 or so. It is the At sea ship and does Alaska two week tours in the summer for adults only.. Loved it.The ship is old but ship shape.. not like the big touristy boats. Good food, but not gourmet ,.. No all the time places to eat. just regular meal times.. All of the entertainment was college age and wonderful.. The Semester at Sea sounds like such a neat program. They offered us a job during the winter, but have always had dogs and simply would not leave them for that length of time.

ginny · « **Reply #12689 on:** January 04, 2014, 09:14:00 AM »

Oh good, Rosemary is here, and with connections to Cambridge, too. I have a question about the sort of upset about Prince William's wanting to take one (as I understand it) course in agricultural management?

He's got a degree from St. Andrews, right? And he'd like to take one undergraduate course in another field. He's not enrolled full time, and so far as I can see he's not taking the place of a more worthy ag student, by merely taking one course. I am not sure I see the problem.

Here in the US we have "audits," and also in the case of a person older than 65, the senior can often sit in on university courses, sometimes for a fee, sometimes free. He's not called upon to do any work but should he desire to, the professor will usually read it. I have a student here who started that way at Berkeley in CA in Latin and made the best grades in the class.

I am surprised that anyone would protest this seemingly harmless request. I take it that no others may audit, either, then, 65 or no?

MaryPage · « **Reply #12690 on:** January 04, 2014, 09:37:09 AM »

No, Steph, this ship is only for regular college: set up with classrooms and dorms and dining hall, etc. It is the University of Virginia sponsored SEMESTER AT SEA, and they go all around the world twice a year. Bella is going on the 2014 Spring Semester. You can read ALL about it here:

http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/spring-2014/

And here is a virtual tour of the ship itself. This was done by, I think, the Fall 2011 Semester:

http://vimeo.com/33061823

MaryPage · « **Reply #12691 on:** January 04, 2014, 09:43:34 AM »

It says it is called the MV Explorer, although I thought I saw a different name on Bella's blog. Anyway, it says here:

http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/

That they do an additional summer tour, so maybe it IS related to the ship you went on.

Steph · « **Reply #12692 on:** January 05, 2014, 09:30:46 AM »

The one we went on was called the Universe Explorer and it was the semester at sea owned by U. of Pittsburgh. No idea if it is still functioning or not, but we adored it. They took 3-4 professors and we had classes in all sorts of relevant things for Alaska. Their back stern had stationery bikes and the geology professor and mdh met each morning and pedaled away..The meals were plain and good, the entertainment low key and t he rooms were not luxurious.

MaryPage · « **Reply #12693 on:** January 07, 2014, 08:29:18 AM »

Well, Bella left Sunday for Charlottesville, Virginia to join her grandmother and her cousin Ricky on a flight to California to get on the ship. Her grandfather is already on board seeing to things. At least half of our large extended family have been frightfully concerned about 11 year old Bella being homesick. I have never been one of these. Well, here is the word on that:

As their SUV left Easton, Maryland, where Bella lives and goes to school, she called out: "Goodbye Easton! Hello World!"

I think she will be just fine. Not to worry!

Steph · « **Reply #12694 on:** January 07, 2014, 08:48:09 AM »

Sounds like Bella knows what is what.. I know she will enjoy this so much. Some people were born to explore.. I know I never held back from new things. and I am quite sure that you dont, so possibly Bella simply has the gene.

MaryPage · « **Reply #12695 on:** January 07, 2014, 10:07:18 AM »

I think you are exactly right, Steph. I know I was born with the gene and have had it all of my life: the explorer gene. I am no daredevil, and I like my creature comforts; but I loved seeing the world from birth onwards. Good thing, too, as I was an army brat and moved frequently. Plus my kin have always been world travelers, and I had my first 8 day trip across the Atlantic to Europe in a ship back in 1934, when I spent the summer in Belgium visiting one of my great aunts. My great grandmother took me with her. In those days, if you went there for a visit, you stayed a while! They tell me I was prattling French like a native by summer's end! My aunt assigned one of her maids to be my nanny, and the girl took me to the park every day to play with the other children. I can remember playing and talking with them, but have absolutely no memory of it being in French! I had my 5th birthday on the ship going over. It was the old Red Star Line. I can remember my aunt had a lot of friends in to lunch, and at these parties I sat on a chair on a cushion and spoke when spoken to. I was allowed, indeed encouraged, to be present for lunch, but never dinner. I can remember them talking about, among other things, Hitler and "the Huns." They always called them Huns. I grew a rather terrible imagination about what these horrible Huns must be like!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #12696 on:** January 07, 2014, 04:08:35 PM »

what an amazing adventure for an 11 year old - wow - you must be busting with pride. Good on you and on her as the saying goes.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #12697 on:** January 07, 2014, 04:10:23 PM »

OK change of pace - bless his heart my grandson sent this to me today - interesting...

Quote

I downloaded a BBC show that Derren Brown did that's about preconceptions people have about elderly people and breaking those down. Essentially he trains four people between 65-80 to steal a highly guarded painting successfully. It's really cool to watch I've uploaded it so you can see it:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8sCBvrax-bkX1JJTUYtMWRmd3M/edit?usp=sharing

Another link in case the above link does not work
derren.brown.the.great.art.robbery.hdtv.x264-c4tv.mp4

Steph · « **Reply #12698 on:** January 08, 2014, 09:03:56 AM »

No time today, but will watch it somewhat later. Busy week and I still am not caught up.

Frybabe · « **Reply #12699 on:** January 08, 2014, 11:43:32 AM »

Well, I think I managed to talk myself out of going out in the frigid weather today. I was out yesterday, and although it was colder then, it didn't feel as cold as this morning. Go figure.

Picked up at the library sale yesterday a book called Codex by Lev Grossman. It appears to be a mystery involving a personal rare books library and a medieval codex. Of course I had to get another book about books/libraries.

Almost through Ender's Shadow and another Dana Stabenow, Kate Shugak mystery, is waiting next. My next non-fiction is likely to be Charles Krauthammer's Things that Matter.

maryz · « **Reply #12700 on:** January 08, 2014, 11:55:31 AM »

Our relatively new librarian has been named Librarian of the Year. Aren't we the lucky ones?! She's done wonders here, bringing our library into the 21st Century.

marjifay · « **Reply #12701 on:** January 08, 2014, 02:33:12 PM »

Sounds like you're lucky to have that librarian, MaryZ.

Speaking of libraries, someone in another group yesterday said "On the Today Show, they said that a library is opening which simply checks out iPads and ebooks, no physical books. I was a bit horrified."

I'm afraid that's a library I wouldn't be visiting. Don't have an IPad or any other electronic book machine.

Marj

MaryPage · « **Reply #12702 on:** January 08, 2014, 03:18:29 PM »

That's wonderful, MaryZ!

The following is the list of reading Bella was sent prior to even getting on the ship for her Semester At Sea. She posted this on the blog she set up to keep in touch with the family about her adventures. She did not post the authors; sorry about that!:

What I'm Reading
•Hawaii: Past and Present (United States: Past & Present?)
•Kaiulani: The People's Princess, Hawaii, 1889
•All About Japan: Stories, Songs, Crafts and More
•Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan 1858 (The Royal Diaries)
•Heart of a Samurai
•One Thousand Paper Cranes: The Story of Sadako and the Children's Peace Statue
•Hiroshima
•Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China, A.D. 531 (The Royal Diaries)
•Spring Pearl: The Last Flower (Girls of Many Lands-China)
•Mao's Last Dancer
•Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution
•Goodbye, Vietnam
•Inside Out and Back Again
•Singapore Children's Favorite Stories
•Bamboo People
•Letters From Burma
•India (Destination Detectives)
•Indian Children's Favorite Stories
•Prince Siddhartha: The Story of Buddha
•Shiva's Fire
•Gandhi: A March to the Sea
•Boys Without Names
•Climbing the Stairs
•Mauritius - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Cult?ure
•Nelson Mandela-The Boy Called Troublemaker
•Out of Bounds: Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope
•The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa
•The Cow-Tail Switch: And Other West African Stories
•Kofi and His Magic
•The Conquest of Morocco
•Jewel of Marrakesh

jane · « **Reply #12703 on:** January 08, 2014, 05:33:28 PM »

Marjifay....it may have been in San Antonio...first all digital public library

http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-nations-first-bookless-public-library-system-opens-20140107,0,7098801.story#axzz2pqhFlyhn

ANNIE · « **Reply #12704 on:** January 08, 2014, 11:31:47 PM »

I just had a California friend tell me that reading on nothing but a pad or whatever was unhealthy as it can blind you. Huuuuuuh! Who said that??I will look it up tomorrow and report back here to let you know. I am off to bed with my iPadMini which is as easy to hold in bed as a paperback book! Am reading a good mystery.

Tomorrow, I might tell you about my mix-up with the fire dept. last year!

Good night good friends. So glad you are here!

marjifay · « **Reply #12705 on:** January 09, 2014, 01:24:38 AM »

Wow, Jane, that San Antonio digital library is a dreary looking place -- to me anyway.

AdoAnnie, if anything were to make one go blind, we would all probably be so by now from all the reading of physical books most of us have done -- as well as reading at night under the bedcovers with a flashlight as a kid! Don't think I'd worry too much about the danger from electronic books.

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #12706 on:** January 09, 2014, 08:54:34 AM »

Yes, we would all be blind already. I know that each and every one of us read in bed under the covers.. It is part of the bookworms philosophy.

jane · « **Reply #12707 on:** January 09, 2014, 09:08:26 AM »

Annie....i think your CA friend has gotten taken in by myths and urban legends. Lots to refute that statement....one of my favorites:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1570257

you have a higher chance of developing obesity and diabetes than you do going blind from an iPad screen. in fact, as of right now, if you are an adult you have a 60% chance of already being obese.

...

so all in all, no...you are fine. most eye conditions are due to 1) genetics and 2) injuries

marjifay · « **Reply #12708 on:** January 09, 2014, 09:16:01 AM »

Someone in another group remarked that the picture on John Williams' book, Stoner, looks just like Stephen Colbert. Just goes to show how much I'm not "with it," I'd never heard of Colbert. Do you all know of him?

Marj

MaryPage · « **Reply #12709 on:** January 09, 2014, 09:28:29 AM »

I have never watched his show, but have seen him in clips on both national and cable news over and over again. He is a comedian, highly educated and droll. Lots of very timely and/or political remarks that really hit it out of the ball park. I think he is great!

His last name is pronounced Coal Bear.

marjifay · « **Reply #12710 on:** January 09, 2014, 10:41:23 AM »

Colbert sounds interesting. I'll try to watch him. Don't watch much TV except for movies, CNN, and MSNBC. Thanks, MaryPage.

Marj

MaryPage · « **Reply #12711 on:** January 09, 2014, 10:48:04 AM »

Well MSNBC has shown clips from his shows FREQUENTLY. If you watch that channel often, I'll bet money you have seen & heard him and not known who he was.

pedln · « **Reply #12712 on:** January 09, 2014, 05:09:13 PM »

Mornin' Joe manages to show a Colbert clip a few times a week. That's the only place I've seen him, otherwise I wouldn't know who he was either.

My f2f group met over lunch today just to plan and discuss the coming year. We're reading The Husband's Secret for February. Has anyone hear read it?

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #12713 on:** January 10, 2014, 03:53:30 AM »

No, never heard of The Husband's Secret - what's it about? Do you each choose a book in turn?

salan · « **Reply #12714 on:** January 10, 2014, 09:55:49 AM »

How funny. I just checked out The Husband's Secret from the library yesterday. I thought it sounded interesting. I haven't started it yet; but will let you know when I do.
Sally

ANNIE · « **Reply #12715 on:** January 10, 2014, 10:43:35 AM »

Thanks, Jane for giving us a link and a quote concerning blinding ourselves reading our ebooks. I found much the same things you did even went so far to read several eye doctors' opinions. Well, at my age, I am not giving up my mini reading. Hahahaha!
And as all of you say, if we remember all the reading we have done over the years we should already be carrying a white cane by. Oh yes, reading under the covers was a favorite of mine too. I even listened to my radio under the covers as a kid. Now how cool was that? Remember the size of our bedside radios? My brother and I were given portable radios for Christmas. THEY WERE HUUUUUUUGE! And forget portable! But they could be hidden under the covers!

Yes, Stephen Colbert appears on many of the news channels, even Fox!

Pedl'n, haven't heard that title either. Let us know how you like it. Our f2f group were frozen out last Monday Jan 6, so I don't know what our February book will be. When the local schools are closed, the Senior Center closes also.
I believe the temp was 8 below zero.

Steph · « **Reply #12716 on:** January 10, 2014, 10:59:26 AM »

Never heard of the book.. Let us know. My f2f meets later this month and I am finished with Cuckoos Calling.. Will try to be nice at the meeting, but I really did not like the book that much.

JoanK · « **Reply #12717 on:** January 10, 2014, 04:11:15 PM »

I worried about the effect when I first got my kindle, and my distance vision has gotten worse since I got it. My older kindle is easy on the eyes, having been carefully designed with readers in mind. My grandkids now have new ones: they are much brighter, more like TV screens: better for playing games (which is how they're mainly used) but I would guess not for reading.

One difference I notice: with the kindle your eyes don't get that moments rest when you are turning a page, and tend to shift focus for a second.

pedln · « **Reply #12718 on:** January 10, 2014, 05:57:05 PM »

One thing I try to do, after reading the suggestion in Prevention (or some such) Magazine, when reading online or anytime, is to get up, walk around, look out the window -- refocus the eyes on something distant for a while. It seems like a good idea, but I don't always remember to do it.

ginny · « **Reply #12719 on:** January 11, 2014, 04:02:14 PM »

I bought the Husband's Secret when it first came out to rave reviews, and I have to admit I loved the cover. I haven't started it yet so will be excited to hear what you all think when you read it.

I also picked up a copy of The Monuments Men and found to my shock it's very interesting. I do want to see the new movie with George Clooney, and am undecided whether or not to read it first or see the movie first.

I've also got Philomena, the book, and cheated and read the end because there were a lot of questions for me after seeing the movie and the book did answer them, every one. I see the screen play is up for an award and it should be, that Steve Coogan made a super story out of one extremely sad one.

They also say the new Gone Girl is excellent and if you liked the book (which I know a lot of you did not) you'll love the Ben Afleck version. I think he'd be a great one for that movie.

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Author Topic: The Library (Read 2330873 times)