Saturday, May 17, 2014

I am the proud holder of a library card!

I love libraries. Of course I love bookstores too, but in libraries everything is free. You can browse all day if you want. You can relax and revel in being in the company of kindred souls.

I was introduced to the library at an early age. One memorable fall morning, my second grade class was escorted across the street to the imposing Carnegie Library. Around on the right side was a half-flight of stairs leading down into the children's section. We were all seated in a half circle around a tiny woman named Miss Mole (or so it sounded to me) who read us a story book. The book was about a little boy who ate so much, he turned into a balloon and floated away. This concept was confusing and a little frightening but I was enthralled--there were lots and lots of other books in the library with other stories. We were each issued our very own library card so we could come back and check out books again.

The prestige of being the holder of a library card was pretty heady stuff.  I was hooked!

The adult section was up the outside flight of stairs and we were not allowed to check books out of the adult section until we turned thirteen. It therefore became a "rite of passage" to ascend the steps and be issued an adult library card.

Oh the wonderful things that were to be found in the upstairs library! There were books on archaeology and foreign countries, murder mysteries and science fiction, biographies and even humor! I loved reading so much, I would smuggle books to my upstairs bedroom and read far into the night. 

Of course, that old library no longer exists. It was built in an era when nobody gave a thought to providing access to the elderly or handicapped. It also became far too small for a growing population and too expensive to maintain. I'm sure that was the fate of many Carnegie libraries around the country.

But how wonderful that we had those treasures while we did!

Friday, May 9, 2014

Happy Mother's Day to all species!

                           I hope these give you a smile

  You have to look closely to see the baby snuggled between the parents.




Thursday, May 1, 2014

It's a muddy May Day

After a three-month hiatus, I'm slinking back. It's been a lousy winter and so far, it's a lousy, cold and rainy spring. There is still part of an unmelted snowbank over in the corner of the parking area.

On Tuesday, we went over to Mort's Deli in Golden Valley, a suburb of Minneapolis. It's on the other side of the Cities so I don't get there often. They have a unique menu so it's one of my favorite places to eat. We met my granddaughter, Samantha and her sister's boyfriend, Mark for lunch.

Mark works on the far western side of North Dakota at a "boomtown" oil drilling site. There are lots of guys who go out there for the high-paying jobs. He works twelve hours a day for two weeks and stays in a bunkhouse with some other guys. Then he has two weeks off and comes back to the Cities (on the eastern side of Minnesota) for the next two weeks. Since Samantha's sister is at work during the day and Samantha had the day off, they were hanging out together.

Anyway, back to the food. Mort's has lots of New York deli menu items like blintz's, knishes and matzo ball soup. I ordered the beef brisket sandwich with chopped chicken liver "schmear" on rye. Samantha ordered the Elvis Burger, apparently based on a favored sandwich of his. It was topped by a fried egg and peanut butter! She loved it.
                                       Samantha selfie
It's one of my pet peeves that you can drive from one end of the U.S. to the other and find the same restaurants every, single place you go! Most of those places are waaay down on my list of desirable places to dine. MacDonalds, Arbys, Subway, Perkins, Taco Bell, Burger King, KFC...

So here's to all the independent restaurants that provide a sense of adventure to eating out!