Foiled again

Weather tomorrow getting in the way of my plans.  5 of us had planned to go up to Grounds for sculpture.  Do you know how hard it is to get 5 people to agree on a date and a plan? 

I am so close to finishing so many books.  Reading is my favorite activity (probably because it involves SITTING).  Still slogging through several books about Paris, and the book I found in the Newark airport and the book written by Jill McCorkle, who attended my college (Hollins), and the new David Sedaris book, and L'etranger in French, and a children's book about Monet in French.  And there are MORE...

Made a vow to get better about gifts.  Changed one of my money envelopes to be earmarked for such, since I never have extra spending money and thus am never prepared for birthdays, weddings, etc.
Everyone else is so generous and I am just BEHIND and lacking in inspiration.  I hate to shop and I hate to spend money, but I love cool gifts.  Had an urge to go back to Paris and SHOP which is dumb because it was so overpriced over there. 

Friday it rained all day and Monday it rained all day.  One weather guy said tomorrow was the most worrisome day of the weather year so far.  The nice thing about Paris is that even though it rained frequently, it didn't rain a lot and it didn't rain for long.

Blogging humor

    
I should give credit to the New Yorker.  I have been carrying this page around since February 6, 2006.  I come from a family of New Yorker readers.  My father used to get all of us a subscription each Christmas, my mom, himself, and his four daughters.  Now that he is gone, we keep up the tradition, on a rotating basis.

Lovely morning listening to NPR and trying to get the humidity out of my house.  I even left the air conditioner on while I'm out.  Can't really justify that now that I don't have pets.  I love the sunshine but hate the humidity.

Yesterday I had a delightful birthday.  Breakfast at my sister's, gifts, flowers, dinner with my "girlfriends of the '70's" (aren't those the best kind?), phone calls, email messages, Facebook remembrances, singing.  Couldn't have asked for a better day except that the weather could have been better.  Torrential rain and drizzles with occasional brightening.

It's MY day

I am getting lots of attention today.  Facebook notices, breakfast, gifts, yoga class singing Happy birthday to me.  And here I sit doing my favorite activity...getting online.  Lousy weather forecast today but it is a bit brighter out than one would have expected.  Oh well, you can't have EVERYTHING on your birthday.

Book review: Hardly knew her : stories, by Laura Lippman, audio book performed by Linda Emond and Francois Battiste.  I wanted to listen to this because I noticed that Laura Lippman was speaking at the recent New Jersey Library Association conference in Atlantiic City.  She writes about Baltimore a lot and I was going there last Saturday.  I did not enjoy this audio book much until the end.  Then my CD player in the car broke and I couldn't listen to the last disc.  I liked the part featuring stories about her detective from Baltimore, Tess Monaghen, which provided me with details I may have forgotten about this character.  My lack of appreciation stems from the fact that most of the stories are about using and abusing people and a lot of sex and murder.  The audio on this CD seemed a bit dim and did not jibe with my radio volume.

Having a lot of trouble pasting pics today.  Here again I try to feature one of three great stores right across from my hotel in Paris....La petite chaloupe.  Artisinal sardines in gorgeous containers.  Then the wine store, La p'tite cave.  Then a wonderful bread and pastry store.  One day I bought a bagette and some butter and ate the whole thing by myself.

The mysterious Poe toaster

Now I remember the story.  Someone came for many years on the anniversary of Poe's death and left red roses and some cognac.  This is the third year the person has failed to show.  Actually this gravestone marks the ORIGINAL grave.  Poe's remains were moved to another part of the cemetery in 1875.

Slightly erroneous information

Came to Baltimore on the bus trip.  Am standing up at the Enoch Pratt Free Library for a one half hour computer usage.  Nice guy at the entrance gave me a ticket even though I left my ID in New Jersey.  I told him I was a librarian.

Our bus driver tries to give us info on where we are, but it is not always right.  He said we were passing a museum full of "abstract art".  That is not exactly how I would describe the American visionary museum.

Have been walking around and taking the free buses, which are not full of tourists.  Mostly full of chiefly African American residents and every neighborhood I walk through seems to be that too.
Went to the grave of Edgar Allan Poe in the Westminster cemetery.  People had left the following things on his original grave...a pencil, a pen, several pennies, flowers, candy wrappers, and a fan from St Louis Community College.  Well, can't tarry....

I forgot to post a picture today

Here is the mayor of my town.  We like him.

Me and all the other losers (weirdos?)

Being amongst the people-who-don't-have-computers-at-home is an ignoble accomplishment.  As I look around me, there are some real strange dudes and,not necessarilly people around whom I enjoy being.  In fact, PEOPLE are getting on my nerves more and more.  Last night attended a free demo on Windows 8 and a woman behind me was sniffling and chewing gum noisily.  The other attendees were old and strange, except for one sort of youngish couple.  The instructors down at the Cape May County Library technology center, however, are young men, just brimming over with information and willingness to share and help.  Too bad it involves an hour drive from Bridgeton to Cape May Court House.

Book review: Stranger here : how weight-loss surgery transformed my body and messed with my head, by Jen Larsen.  I must return this book today as it is OVERDUE.  I borrowed it from the Vineland Public Library (613.24 Lar)  I wanted to read this because she was a librarian, lived in San Francisco and had weight loss surgery, to which I am sort of opposed.  I figure, if you are going to have to eat less and exercise, why bother getting surgery, why not just DO IT?  She details her transformation and her breakup with her long time boyfriend and her poor eating habits, even after surgery.  I was amazed to learn from the dust jacket and flap that she now lives in Utah and is a lesbian.  I didn't see THAT coming.  I learned the jargon of these many patients, including the desire for Onederland (once you get below 200 pounds)  People who have undergone these surgeries seem to be obsessed with it (even five years out) as they used to be obsessed with dieting.  One of her large friends is worried about the changes in their friendship..."I wanted to tell her how I had no controls, no checks, no balances, no boundaries.  There's being fat, and there's being on a runaway train.  I had to get the surgery.  And I was so sorry."  I know that feeling.

Still working on my taxes.  As I get closer to sending it in, I have totally forgotten WHY I did WHAT and fearing that it is WRONG.  It sure is complicated!  I really should do it online next year, because I think that is what THEY do and then they find all of my mistakes.  My philosophy on taxes is....DONE is better than RIGHT.  Also, a little known cheap way to do your taxes is to just send it in and then they redo it and send you the amount of money THEY think you should get back.  This is CHEAPER than paying H & R Block $250 to help me.  I know I should get some help about every five years, but by the time I get around to looking for someone to help, it is April already.