State of Mind

Just twenty minutes away is Evergreen Farms where we found gorgeous blue-green pine trees and tons of pine cones.  We all lost ourselves gathering up pine cones off the ground. Every now and then someone would take a photo or announce a creative plan for their arm load of pine cones and then silence. It was so relaxing and satisfying to be out in the country with each other while at the same time achieving some sort of Zen.

If pine cones were some huge fortune, I'd be set.  My plans are to make an army of pine cone elves.

Halls are decked!

After Thanksgiving dinner, Auntie Mame and the game, we emerged outdoors to find that it had cooled down considerably and Christmas lights were up.  Sinatra could be faintly heard crooning The Christmas Waltz (my favorite holiday song). It's the holidays! We got home at 11pm and  I managed  to find the energy to open the shed in the dark and fumble around for our vintage Noel candle lights.

I had a friend in elementary school who would invite me to her house the day after Thanksgiving to spend the night. We'd be super hyper on Barbies, Atari and lots of leftover pie  but what would have us soaring was the putting up of her artificial tree. Her mother would set the whole thing up and every year said,"Christmas goes up after Thanksgiving and comes down after Christmas Day".  I couldn't believe her tree had to come down after Christmas Day, at my house it didn't come down until After January 6th, the 12th day of Christmas and official end of the holiday season. It went up the weekend after Thanksgiving. Had  to be up before December 5th.

A friend of mine put her tree up last weekend and wanted to have Thanksgiving dinner by Christmas lights. If we didn't do a real tree, I'd probably do that. I saw trees in windows this year as early as October 31st. I am not kidding! I counted three in my neighborhood alone. That's a bit too early for me but I do begin Christmas music the day after Halloween. Used to be cds in the car and work computer but now with the I-Pod it's what I am listening too as I stand in line at the grocery store buying last minute Halloween candy.

On this Black Friday I am hitting all the Christmas Tree stands I can to smell the arrival of the Christmas season. On the itinerary is a Christmas tree farm on  Monkey Road in Elgin,TX! I love to see people driving around with Christmas trees in tow on their way home.  Gotta go, it's time to drag out the decor, busy day!

How is it that in April it feels as though Christmas was just yesterday but in June, it's right around the corner? The slipped through my fingers in June. I feel as though I just put up the decorations.

Queen Librarian of the World

I did not go to library school to earn a Masters in Library or Information Science, but today I think I can crown myself Queen Librarian of the World. I have arrived at this title after months and months of dealing with librarians and answering questions I should be asking them or questions they shouldn't be asking anyone. I find it appalling that recent library school graduates cannot read database records, their own catalogs or a simple check-in card. I cannot believe more experienced librarians are perfectly happy not knowing how to navigate their own email and cannot make sense of anything online. While these people might have a nice piece of paper stating that they are librarians, they are, in fact, nothing more than clerks.

Being a librarian is all about problem solving, following through, putting the pieces together, getting the information and delivering it to the public and showing them how they can do it for themselves. A real librarian can explain to you every aspect of their library because libraries function as a whole. If a librarian fails at problem solving then they are useless to any library patron, other librarians and their fellow co-workers. The librarian's job is above all to know. It is their job to know where to find the information, how to go about procuring the answers and being able to access everything in the library from the monographs and serials in their holdings to the research databases online to all those little journal records with dates and volumes and issue numbers that technical services keep, to those archaic and handsome card catalogs that were placed in closets and top floors ages ago and beyond. Yes, BEYOND. Because librarians should know.

I am sincerely disappointed in these people and quite frustrated with their ignorance. I find more and more librarians lost (or perhaps lazy?) and actually uttering that phrase I really hate more than any group of words strung together, that detestable and foul: "I don't know". That sentence is for bad retail associates. There is no place for that sort of talk in an academic library. When I hear those words from librarians regarding journal titles and serial records that they sit in front of day after day, year after year....I want to vomit. What a waste of education, what a waste of money. What the hell is going on in library school these days?

I don't want a Masters in Library or Information Science. I love libraries but I realize once I take a class in anything I lose all intrinsic motivation. Maybe that's what happened to them? That's why my whole artistic roller skating thing is tres loose and casual. Don't want it to go the way of piano, sociology, economics, history and linguistics...oh yeah, Italian and even ceramics (that quickly became uninspiring). I just want librarians to know again. If you are a librarian and you can't comprehend a simple serial record, I have to tell you, your money would have been much better spent on a fully loaded Prius. You make me feel like a total geniussuperhero librarian.

To all those librarians who take pride in their career and job duties (I have met awesome librarians), those who strive to be a know-it-all for their patrons, those librarians that continue to learn and grow as libraries change...I love you, I thank you and I gladly bequeath the title of Queen (or King) Librarian of the World to you.

Falling stars, ice crystals and aluminum trees

Last night I went ahead and put down extra hay for my hens and draft proofed their nesting area. Last year I had a heating lamp on them but the chicken people have told me not to do that. They said poultry does very well in the cold. I am not completely convinced. They would gather under the light to preen themselves and seemed to really appreciate the warmth. Instead of a heating lamp I covered the entry to their boxes with a heavy fabric.  As I walked back into the house I looked up in time to see a star tumble brightly out of the sky and then dim right over my neighbor's house, made a wish then went to bed.

This morning the girls were still cozy in their nests and didn't look like they were interested in coming out for hours. We had a nice, thick sheet of ice on our windshield. Martha Stewart is real big on writing about "the magic of the first snow" of the season. That sort of thing just doesn't happen in Austin or Del Rio. Temperatures of 40 degrees or lower and a quarter inch of ice on the windshield ...the enchantment of the first icy windshield of the season brings me loads of excitement. The crystals were visible and it took awhile to get them off. It was so cold, I got to wear a heavy coat to work. It will be cool enough after work to actually wear it back home too. It's not going to hit 65 today, no sireeeeee, that's what the weatherman said.

In the car, Wm had an idea for the aluminum Christmas tree this year. I thought of the green and blue seven foot, vintage aluminum that would be on display at the vintage store I used to work at. It went from being tagged NFS to $400. I would have loved to have had that one. I then remembered how Martha Stewart supposedly had hundreds of Christmas trees, most of them vintage and quite the collection of rosette tipped aluminum trees. Ten years ago or so I had a subscription to her magazine. What my brain decides to retain amazes me, especially so early in the morning heading east towards the bright and shiny sun.

Not Kerouac's Big Sur

I corresponded with Carolyn Cassady today regarding the recent documentary on Big Sur.  I liked the film mostly for the passages they read from the book and what I thought was footage of the real location. Turns out, nothing filmed was all that authentic. That was Big Sur but that was not the area Kerouac frequented. I was also diappointed to hear that there was soooooooooooooooooo much more to Carolyn's interview and not much of it was included. In fact her entire family was interviewed and that would have been awesome to see because no one knows Kerouac better than Carolyn and the Cassady children.  Instead the actors got most of the time with their feelings and impressions of the book and the man. That is all fine if the filmmakers needed filler but with Carolyn Cassady what were they thinking?

When I watch a documentary like this, and key people get very little camera time, I always assume it's because they didn't want to talk. It's Carolyn Cassady! If she spoke for 90 minutes on camera I would have a hard time trying to even attempt to edit that. What is sad is what will become of that footage? Will it be released as a special feature on the DVD? It is unfortunate that so much time was spent with the impressions of Kerouac and not truth. This only adds to the Kerouac myth, there is so much of it. I want more of the truth, less of the myth. Carolyn Cassady's , "Off the Road", is on my Christmas wishlist. If I can wait that long.

The Top Ten Christmas Albums of All Time-in my world

Christmas music, because of its evocation of that time in childhood most closely connected with wonder and magic, tends to conjure memories like no other genre. These ten albums represent the greatest Christmas music of all time and encompass collectively the many moods of the season; moods that can range from warm, festive and cheerful to sad, lonesome and reflective.


Merry Christmas by Bing Crosby (1955):This is the definitive Christmas album from the 20th century singer most closely connected with the holiday season, so much so that it is part of America's collective conscience.


A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi Trio (1965): The non-traditional tracks and cool jazz arrangements make this, for many, a year round favorite. Vince Guaraldi reflects holiday melancholy through the prism of Charlie Brown's search for the true meaning of Christmas in the Peanuts television special still widely watched today.


A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector (1963): The wall of sound gets decked in holly as sleigh bells are added to the wrecking crew's backing of The Crystals, Ronettes, Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans and Darlene Love. This is the most voluptuous Christmas album of all time.


Elvis' Christmas Album (1957): Even the Christmas music curmudgeons seem to be able to tolerate this album. Although it features bubbly versions of "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me", much of the album sets a mood that begs for dark rooms lit only by the embers of a fire.



Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Christmas Album (1968): This Christmas album, though not as well known as most, features terrific upbeat lounge arrangements of old standards making it ripe for repeated listening.


Season's Greetings by Perry Como (1959): Despite the kitschy arrangements in tracks like "There's No Place like Home for the Holidays", its Como's warm, full voice that commands the relaxed mood of this nostalgic album.



A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957): Gordon Jenkins, the arranger and conductor of this album, gives these renditions of Christmas songs and carols a pleasantly somber tone, providing mood music for holiday introspection. We all need this album to balance out the season's highs.



The Ventures Christmas Album (1965): The Ventures mixed their own hits with traditional Christmas songs to create these candy cane striped tracks that still taste fresh today. Play this album at your next Christmas soiree.



Merry from Lena by Lena Horne (1966): Ms. Horne's powerful and sexy voice brings a sultry mood to the season reminding us that Christmas is for lovers too.



In the Christmas Spirit by Booker T and the MGs (1966): Rich, razor sharp R&B instrumental versions of traditional Christmas standards make this an unexpected classic. Enjoy it while preparing Christmas dinner.

bits and pieces

Tonight we saw One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur  at the Alamo Ritz. We loved it, maybe I did more than Wm. Perhaps it was because I watched it while enjoying some perfectly yummy creme brulee. I thought no one made it better than Chez Nous. I was wrong. We thought the Alamo would have some cool Beat footage before the show, Pull My Daisy would have been nice... they usually do that sort of thing. I came away thinking all the writing has already been done. All those ear tingling pairings of nouns with adjectives and verbs and phrases and all the imagery...Big Sur has it all.

Sometimes, I miss sitting in school desks like this, maybe I just miss seeing them around. My Grandmother gave one to me when I was a kid. I stored my coloring books and art supplies in it. It was were I'd sit to paint and color. Wouldn't mind having an adult sized one in a corner with a lap top. Office corner. You know you don't have a very complicated life if your entire "home office" can fit into one of these. I remember they were really comfortable too. A bit of contour to the seat was all the ergonomics this eight year old needed.                                                                                                                        

Giving the whole technical writing freelancing a rest. The only piece I enjoyed writing and researching was the one I did on Texas-Ware. I dug up Dallas Morning News articles from the 50's-70's. The other assigned articles have been dullsville, I don't care how much they pay.

Wow, it's November, though it feels like we should only be embarking upon September. But, it's November, holiday time in my world.  I've been doing holiday stuff, listening to holiday tunes and feeling rather excited.  Only seven more weeks left to 2009. EEK! Did I freak you out? Sorry. 

Twinkie

Twinkie, originally uploaded by Tera in the Isles.

She comes when called, follows me around like a puppy and loves to eat bananas.

Shahdaroba

Pigeon Party

Just swinging in the hammock taking pictures of pigeons. There was a lot to do today. There were all sorts of fun and interesting events going on around town.  We stepped out for Indian food for lunch and that was it. I got into the hammock and wasn't inspired enough to leave. Lazy days are necessary. I crashed the pigeon party with a camera.

Sunday evenings without the Whitmans?

I can't wait for the season finale but then what? 

The minutiae is showing it's fall colors

Yay! Daylight saving time is over! I operate so much better on this time. It's completely psychological, I feel like I get an extra hour of sleep every day.

Yesterday I volunteered at the Texas Book Festival and met authors Francisco Jiménez and Benjamin Alire Saenz. I found myself rather star struck in their presence. They were both very nice and interesting and approachable but all I could do was listen to their stories and impressions of Austin, the festival, talk of California and restaurants in town. Eventually I entered into the conversation and found that rewarding.

Later my friend and I walked the grounds of the festival  thumbing through all the books. I picked up a few titles. We spoke of how lovely a book is and how sad that they are in danger. All the talk of digital books and Kindles is sickening to hear.  Kindles are a nice little novelty with it's place but to trade in my shelves for one little Kindle is something I cannot bring myself to do. Gone would be the shelves and I'd have a space that would be twelve feet long and fourteen inches deep. Shelf space. What else could ever fill that spot?  Nothing as interesting or worthwhile as a shelf of books.

Mole, it's what's for dinner tomorrow, along with Pan de Muerto. I would have a huge mental block when it came to making bread but it's really very easy. This bread is basically semita de anise and can be found already made at HEB.

Pan de Muerto from: "Look What We Brought You From Mexico!"
Ingredients
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup (half a stick) margarine or butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup very warm water
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 teaspoon anise seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar

Instructions:
Bring milk to boil and remove from heat. Stir in margarine or butter, 1/4 cup sugar and salt.


In large bowl, mix yeast with warm water until dissolved and let stand 5 minutes. Add the milk mixture.

Separate the yolk and white of one egg. Add the yolk to the yeast mixture, but save the white for later. Now add flour to the yeast and egg. Blend well until dough ball is formed.

Flour a pastry board or work surface very well and place the dough in center. Knead until smooth. Return to large bowl and cover with dish towel. Let rise in warm place for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Knead dough again on floured surface. Now divide the dough into fourths and set one fourth aside. Roll the remaining 3 pieces into "ropes."

On greased baking sheet, pinch 3 rope ends together and braid. Finish by pinching ends together on opposite side. Divide the remaining dough in half and form 2 "bones." Cross and lay them atop braided loaf.

Cover bread with dish towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix anise seed, cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar together. In another bowl, beat egg white lightly.

When 30 minutes are up, brush top of bread with egg white and sprinkle with sugar mixture, except on cross bones. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.