I am not a fan of celebrating the New Year. Time is a man-made convention designed to make humans feel as though they have control over something completely uncontrollable and age should not be measured in years but in experience.
imho
The year 2011, however, has been something else and I feel as though I have no choice but to acknowledge the passage of this thing they call time.
Here's what I've learned
Do not adopt a cat after drinking a martini and a Founder's IPA.
Being the most qualified for a job doesn't mean you're going to get the job and sometimes the job you think you want is the wrong job for you anyway.
It is impossible to plan a small wedding unless one is willing to alienate a lot of people.
Hendrick's gin is the best gin especially in the summer with cilantro, cucumber, lime and peaches.
Biking in a major metropolitan city is not only possible, it's preferable.
8 hour brunches are the best
Friendships take tending. Do not take them for granted.
Marriage is more than a piece of paper.
Experience gifts are just as good as home made gifts.
Babies are not alien creatures.
Oxtail stew is delicious.
Faulkner is amazing.
Family-in whatever form you are fortunate enough to have it-is the single most important thing in the world.
I have friends who are facing incredible challenges right now-cancer, loss of a parent either physically or mentally, joblessness, unstable partner relationships...The stroke of midnight isn't going to cure Gideon's cancer or bring Kari's Mom back from Alzheimer's, or help Christina and Rebecca find the jobs they deserve. What it does do is remind us that change is the one constant and the single best thing we can do is embrace this truth and live every moment of our lives to the fullest.
I think I might start thinking about getting into charcuterie. I love salumi-proscuitto, capicola, mortadella, soppressata, lebanon bologna. (Why, yes! Yes that would be a recipe for lebanon bologna I found on the internets! Okay, okay, maybe not my own lebanon bologna.) I recently purchased some green peppercorn dried salami which lasted me a good long while as I only ate in in very small portions on very special occasions. Being able to decide what goes into it makes me kinda swoony.
Winter break 2011 is coming to a close at HDL and we're calling it a success. We had about 115 teens show up over the 2 weeks. Quite honestly, given the space, I don't know if we could have had more in the room for Cardboard Knights and Angry Birds. The most important thing I learned over the two weeks: how to shoot a rubber band. Properly. So it hits people. Or shoots things. I am eternally grateful to William for teaching me.
I am about to head home where I will quickly change clothes and head upstairs for hopefully the last time. I stayed true to my goal of not going upstairs until after Christmas. The downfall has been that it's really really hard to go up there now that time has passed, but I've vacuumed, wiped baseboards, cleaned the fridge, wiped out cupboards and am thiiiis close to being done with the oven (must purchase drip pans tomorrow). I have help tonight which is nice as cleaning out an old apartment alone is just no fun. The most important thing I learned whilst moving? I'm a terrible housekeeper.
Up next: Rebecca and Sandy are in the Holland area for the weekend (!!!), there be a party goin' on at the Boyli Saturday night (!!!) and soon I get to spend some quality time in the new room o'crafty goodness.
I am exhausted. Completely, utterly exhausted. My brain is complete mush. My eyes are burning. I feel like, if I had the time, I could sleep for two days.
I should feel elated. We are downstairs! The cat can be trapped in the basement! I have my own room with a door I can close! Peter has an office space! Our bedroom is ginormous!
For some reason? I feel defeated. Maybe it's because a program we planned for tonight had zero attendance while a bunch of mostly way-too-old-for-teen-programs-at-the-library showed up for a group we had cancelled this month and managed to muscle their way into doing what they wanted. Again. Maybe it's because the reality that I am not going to be in Vermont for Christmas is hitting me harder than I would like to admit. Maybe it's because all of the changes we've been facing since we decided to get married are now coming to an end which means what's left standing after the dust settles is...what's left standing.
Yeesh.
I'm going to go home and listen to my new awesome turntable and drink a glass of wine and go to bed.
When I was a kid, my mom used to buy this deli meat called Lebanon bologna. It was a combination sweet and spicy salami-type deli meat dotted with fatty bits which sounds vile, but seriously, I've been thinking about this childhood favorite for years. I would slather gushy white bread with mayo or mustard and eat the beejeezus out of those sammidges. (Childhood weight problem? Never!) When I moved to Michigan, I would occasionally check grocery stores for it but without success. I started questioning whether or not I had made up this deliciousness as none of my Michigan friends had ever even heard of it.
Imagine my glee upon opening up the latest issue of Lucky Peach and discovering a two page spread on this Pennsylvania Dutch regional favorite! There were pictures! Of a deli! With multiple varieties of Lebanon bologna! Interestingly enough, the author of the article had scorned this delicacy for years as the description is...well...disgusting. He is now obsessed. And made me wish I was going home for Christmas just so I could make a Lebanon bologna sandwich.
This weekend was not nearly as productive as I had hoped. Friday night we had a lovely supper at Butch's. No, really. Peter had a beautifully cooked piece of sea bass and I had the vegan cashew cream pasta which was so stinkin' good I'm still thinking about it. Much to our surprise, our bill ended up being covered by Chef as a wedding present! Saturday I wandered over to Jack and Nancy's where I proceeded to spend about 5 hours lollygagging about (read: enjoying the company of Melissa, Jack and Nancy and getting to snuggle the nephews while having the added bonus of procrastinating going to Meijer) and Saturday night we stayed up way too late finishing off Top Chef All Stars. Sunday I woke up in a stormy mood over having to make these $#@&!! cinnamon rolls for the #@$%! staff holiday party Thursday and make another batch of $^&#@! maple syrup roasted sweet potato soup for the $%^&#@ staff holiday party Thursday and finish these stupid #$@!! centerpieces for the #@$%@ staff holidy party Thursday and I have at least one knitted project I need to finish by December 22nd and one embroidery project I need TO START in order to have finished by December 24th.
4 pans of Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls? Check-SIX STICKS OF BUTTER, PEOPLE. I used 6 sticks of butter. Depending upon how they turn out, I may end up turning into even more of my mother and giving away pans for Christmas presents this year. So, local readers of this blog, get ready to get fat :)
One batch of maple roasted sweet potato soup? Check-the overly cayenne-d roasted squash soup is in the freezer as is this new patch of sweet potato soup. Wednesday night I need to defrost and combine the two and decide if it is bland enough for the palates of my co-workers.
I didn't even touch my knitting or my embroidery as I decided since my kitchen was already a complete disaster, why not make oxtail soup too! Unfortunately, it wasn't finished in time to eat for supper so the stock was strained and the meat was cut off the bone and today it is supposedly being turned into a stew of sorts. I'm considering this my test run as I have promised oxtail soup to one friend (and by "promised" I mean, she was the only friend who would even remotely consider eating said oxtail so all other friends got un-invited) and as long as I'm happy with the results I'm going to Montello's to buy some more oxtail.
We hear we might be able to move downstairs in January. If we don't move downstairs in January, I will have no choice but to murder Charles with my bare hands. His new favorite place to be seems to be in the kitchen sink. Or on the kitchen counters. Or anywhere I don't want him to be. I know it's not really his fault. He's under a year old and a cat. And he's now been kicked out of the bathroom (it is alarming to me how quickly that cat can unravel and tear apart a full roll of toilet paper) and the bedroom (it's the only place my knitting projects are safe) so he's restricted to the rest of the apartment. Needless to say, we do not have a Christmas tree up.
I have spent my day scouring the interwebs for top feature films, documentaries, and tv shows for what will hopefully be a small yet popular DVD collection for the teen department. A fun project, but also frustrating as there is no guarantee I'll actually get to order the majority of items I have picked out due to a library policy that prevents anyone without a drivers license from checking out PG13 and R rated films. Now, I'm not unreasonable. I'm not wanting to pack the shelves with The Hangover II and Bridesmaids and Paranormal Activity 2. This collection is for 6-12th Grades. Fine. But you know what I do need to have on the shelves? Harry Potter. Transformers. The Twilight Series. All of which are rated PG-13. Adding to my frustration is the way we handle documentaries. Documentaries are able to be checked out by anyone. Sweet. Bowling for Columbine seems like a no-brainer for a teen DVD collection. Except it's rated R. As is Exit Through The Gift Shop-the documentary about Banksy which is, again, a no-brainer for a teen DVD collection. How the #$%@! does that make any sense? Right now, anyone can go downstairs to our AV department and check these documentaries out, but I'm not supposed to order them UPSTAIRS because they're rated R and we shouldn't have rated R materials on our shelves up here?!?
Messed.up.
This is what the ALA has to say on the subject which one would think we would follow given...well...it's the American LIBRARY Association:
"Parents-and only parents-have the right and responsibility to restrict access of their children-and only their children-to library resources. Parents who do not want their children to have access to certain library services, materials, or facilities should so advise their children. Librarians and library governing bodies cannot assume the role of parents or the functions of parental authority in the private relationship between parent and child."
To the parents of the world:
1. What is appropriate for one 13 year old may not be appropriate for another 13 year old. It is YOUR responsibility as a PARENT to decide what is appropriate for YOUR 13 year old.
2. Welcome to the 21st Century. Your children have access to so much more information than you ever did. More likely than not, your 13 year old is not watching Justin Bieber's rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." She's probably looking up Pink's "Fuckin' Perfect." (She also probably has no idea that the word "fuckin" is not really a word.) Regardless, her having access to a copy of the latest Harry Potter DVD? Nothing compared to what she's already accessing on the internet.
3. What is appropriate for one 13 year old may not be appropriate for another 13 year old. It is YOUR responsibility as a PARENT to decide what is appropriate for YOUR 13 year old.
I know I repeated that one twice, but that's because THAT'S THE WHOLE EFFING POINT. I have parents who come up to my desk asking for the latest Gossip Girl novel for their 7th graders and I have parents who come up to my desk asking for Mossflower for their 16 year old sons. When unaccompanied by a parent, I attempt to steer the child to what I think they would enjoy based off a brief reference interview. If they liked Harry Potter? They might want to try Skellig or the Artemis Fowl books or The Rangers Apprentice series. Would I suggest Gossip Girl to a 7th grader? No. But if YOU think it's appropriate for YOUR 7th grader, go crazy.
YOU ARE THE PARENT.
Know what your child is reading, watching, and listening to. Know that the library is here to provide unbiased access to a variety of materials. At the end of the day, only YOU and YOUR CHILD can decide what is appropriate for THEM.
And please let me order "Restrepo" and "Flight of the Conchords" for the teen department. Because even if YOU don't want YOUR kid to watch them? I'm fairly certain there are parents who do.
