Saturday, April 05, 2008

It is Saturday night and I am sitting in a hotel room in Greenville, wishing I were home, but I did get a lot of work done in my ECU office today. Good heavens it is cold in there though! You walk around the corner toward my office and the temperature drops dramatically. When I wasn't busy moving books around, I was freezing my bippy and sitting on a heated blanket. I do love it in that office in the winter though - the heat is as high as the air conditioning is! Before I left, there were 12 boxes of books and a pile of other books (ran out of boxes!) to go to the Teacher Resource Center so that my students can request them! The cool thing about the LS Program at ECU is that, although it is online, our students can request any print materials they want from the library and the library pays for the postage there and back. This way they can see a copy of the book and can then order it for their own library or personal collection. :-)

I have a new laptop so maybe I can catch up on my Yahoo email. Mine died a couple of weeks ago and Steve has been tolerating me using his. I have over 700o messages to deal with. The problem is I am "addicted" to Adbook and YALSA-BK so I can't just delete them. I have to browse each message and sometimes I can't resist answering. So, that slows me down big time.

I noticed we are going to be talking about Alex Flinn's Beastly on Adbook. I love this modern retelling of the Beauty and the Beast tale. It has always been one of my favorite fairy tales as I love cats. :-) And, I was a big Beauty and the Beast TV show series fan in the 1980s. Who would have thought the feminine looking female in that series, Linda Hamilton, would be the buff woman in The Terminator movie? Once I catch up on some email I hope I can get involved in the discussion!

I am currently reading Holly Bennett's The Warrior's Daughter. I am a major fan of Bennett's The Bonemender andThe Bonemender's Oath so I was delighted to see a copy of her new book in my mail at ECU. So, I am immersed in the wonderful Celtic story of Luaine, the daughter of the legendary warrior, Cuchulainn, and his strong willed wife Emer, who stood proudly before him when he returned from war, still savaged by the war rage within. The tale begins when Luaine is but seven so I am in the midst of her tale - she is about to reach the puberty. I am loving the idea of a feared Druid priest befriending the young girl and his raven, Fintan deciding she is his new mistress. I cannot tell you what happens as I am still in the middle of the tale, but I am loving it. I noticed The Grey Veil is her next book. Can't wait!! Not all U.S. librarians are aware of the wonderful authors who are published by Orca, such as Bennett.

I am exhausted, but in reality, I am happy. I have a great life with a wonderful husband and great daughters and grandkids. I had someone ask me if I succumbed to the depression that happens to many people who have fibromyalgia. Well, I think it has to do with realizing that I am so fortunate in my life. I am listening to The Starter Wife, which has been made into a TV movie with the actress from Will & Grace, and I thought about how much better my life is than the millionaires who are miserable in Hollywood! Not that I wouldn't like to try having that kind of money for a few months, but money does not bring happiness. I have to admit I am laughing aloud as I listen to this ridiculous novel of a woman who was married to a Hollywood up and comer for close to 10 years - anything before 10 means - a starter wife. So, here she is, 41 years old, growing hair in places she didn't know she could, and living alone in a her friend's Malibu beachfront home, getting upset because the rude neighbors are letting their dogs poop anywhere, including right where she steps. I have reached the point where she almost drowns in a kayaking attempt and is saved by a man who she is now infatuated with. She has no idea he is homeless! So, tomorrow's trip home should prove to be interesting.

All for today. Time for a shower and Tylenol PM. Yes, I have caught Steve's virus! Hopefully I will wake up tomorrow morning feeling a whole lot better. Just talked to Steve and he and Ron stayed up until 4 a.m. playing cards last night! Sophie must be wondering why Daddy is staying up so late and why a strange man is staying in the extra room while Mommy is gone. Can't wait to cuddle with my cat, shedding or not!