I haven't been here for a while - life has been hectic. I plan to redo/move/change my blog in the near future; I've found that I do enjoy it...maybe it's vanity, maybe just easy access when I don't have time to take pen to paper, which is my preference for 'journaling'. There's one....the 'verbing' of a noun and then putting quotes around it to demonstrate I know I'm doing it, slightly disapprove, yet rather like it.
My apartment was on the weekend's Mpls/St. Paul/Dayton's Bluff house tour. I'm exhausted and aching with having power-cleaned and crammed 'stuff' into hidden nooks and crannies; there's only so much storage in any apartment, though mine is rather large by urban standards. Over 100 people came through on each day to see the architectural details of the 1888 Victorian. At least, thanks to LibraryThing.com, my books are always in order! There would be six people standing in my bathroom and I would suddenly notice a spot on the tile I had missed...details!
I tend to be a bit of a slob when home alone. My son is visiting with his partner at the end of May and somehow I have to maintain the neatness - for a whole MONTH until they arrive!
Sam manages a restaurant in NYC and is vegetarian (does now eat fish). I had taken him to Vincent's (excellent in every way) and Ethiopian in the past and need some new suggestions on other restaurants in either Saint Paul or Mpls. Yes to University Avenue's great ethnic selections.
Let me know of any favorites, please.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
This post has nothing to do with libraries or technology...just stopped in to say I'm out for a while, organizing Anoka County for AFSCME. It's exhausting, but inspiring; I'll be back at work next Tuesday. That's all I'll say about it right now, except I am driving through areas of Ramsey and Anoka Counties that I never would have had occasion to see. I have been through Forest Lake, Andover, Wyoming, Ham Lake, Lake Elmo, South Saint Paul, Vadnais Heights, Champlin, many more and some towns that I've never heard of...saw a multitude of horses today....I've been in towns with the usual street name categories: trees, presidents, flowers; today an area had streets named for and about horses: Thoroughbred, Appaloosa, Palomino etc.
On Sunday at dusk my union partner and I witnessed a wondrous sight: two massive deer crashed powerfully through the wooded and swampy area just twenty feet in front of us. We were out making house visits and had come to a home in a dead end. Two deer were rutting (is that the right spelling? I know nothing about deer) Three smaller deer were with them, and they suddnly disappeared in the field right in front of us - time to bed down...
On Sunday at dusk my union partner and I witnessed a wondrous sight: two massive deer crashed powerfully through the wooded and swampy area just twenty feet in front of us. We were out making house visits and had come to a home in a dead end. Two deer were rutting (is that the right spelling? I know nothing about deer) Three smaller deer were with them, and they suddnly disappeared in the field right in front of us - time to bed down...
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
more about slide shows..
I really, really like the slideshow piece. Thank you, Julie S. for letting me know I could do a slide show using my Windows; thank you, Cindy H., for showing me how. Now I have a slide show of two blocks of houses in my Dayton's Bluff neighborhood to encourage change. The ongoing slide show will be the centerpiece of our neighborhood meeting tonight. I'll polish it later.
Monday, March 31, 2008
It's snowing, and it's beautiful outside. I stayed after work to play with 23 Things. I attempted Meebo, but didn't know it would latch onto a user name as my main identity, so I'm trying to get rid of it. It's off my blog, but not the Meebo account. Obviously, there aren't always easy 'takebacks' with these many accounts. That's somewhat frustrating if I enter without knowing what to expect in the outcome.
I'll play more with it later. I looked over the calendars and just thinking of another calendar anywhere in my life makes me feel as if I'm being sucked into a mire.I have groupwise and I have my wirebound planner. If I added another, I may not be able to function. Calendars at home are for things like recycling day, etc. My life is in my wirebound. Maybe I'd use an online overlay calendar if I were using my laptop all the time, but I need more memory, but can't afford it right now.
After work on Friday I spent several hours at a coffee shop 'reorganizing' my next week. It calmed me to make that transition. I had sent letters out for the second of several meetings I'm facilitating with absentee landlord/property owners and neighborhood residents. The first meeting went really well, stayed focused, on time, and resulted in do-able action/goals. The second meeting will be even more focused and, I hope, flow just as nicely and be as productive as the first.
Participating in Wilder Foundation's Neighborhood Leadership Program has been even better and more applicable than I had earlier thought. It's a great program and worth the time. Our session started in October and we'll 'graduate' April 28. I'll miss my group.
Back to the calendar. I'm visual, and using highlighters and different colors of ink for a series of meetings works for me. I need my calendar with me at all times and life is fluid enough that I want to make changes right away. A good friend could give me a blackberry, I suppose.....
I've signed up for a class: 'Community Organizing and Social Action'. That should come as no surprise to those who know me! I need a class to energize me right now. So, in my spiral bound, it was somewhat easy to x out my Senate District meetings twice a month and insert my classes, simply because I need that break.
I'll play more with it later. I looked over the calendars and just thinking of another calendar anywhere in my life makes me feel as if I'm being sucked into a mire.I have groupwise and I have my wirebound planner. If I added another, I may not be able to function. Calendars at home are for things like recycling day, etc. My life is in my wirebound. Maybe I'd use an online overlay calendar if I were using my laptop all the time, but I need more memory, but can't afford it right now.
After work on Friday I spent several hours at a coffee shop 'reorganizing' my next week. It calmed me to make that transition. I had sent letters out for the second of several meetings I'm facilitating with absentee landlord/property owners and neighborhood residents. The first meeting went really well, stayed focused, on time, and resulted in do-able action/goals. The second meeting will be even more focused and, I hope, flow just as nicely and be as productive as the first.
Participating in Wilder Foundation's Neighborhood Leadership Program has been even better and more applicable than I had earlier thought. It's a great program and worth the time. Our session started in October and we'll 'graduate' April 28. I'll miss my group.
Back to the calendar. I'm visual, and using highlighters and different colors of ink for a series of meetings works for me. I need my calendar with me at all times and life is fluid enough that I want to make changes right away. A good friend could give me a blackberry, I suppose.....
I've signed up for a class: 'Community Organizing and Social Action'. That should come as no surprise to those who know me! I need a class to energize me right now. So, in my spiral bound, it was somewhat easy to x out my Senate District meetings twice a month and insert my classes, simply because I need that break.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Neighborhoods....the real connections (new photos at end of this post)
Three hook and ladders, two ambulances and two or three smaller fire trucks (I lost count, but was impressed) wailed up to the front of Polly’s coffee house (on Payne Ave.). This seemed an apt welcoming as I made my first visit to grid 34 to listen to another neighborhood group and learn what they are doing to improve their area.
I stood outside and watched the firefighters enter the frame ‘for sale’ house next door, evacuate the young resident, and disperse the smoke. On the sidewalk Polly’s Saturday regulars gathered; some took charge of two dogs from the house and calmed them inside Polly’s. A young woman from the apartment above Polly’s then took charge of the woeful animals and took them upstairs to her apartment.
A man within the sidewalk group acknowledged me as if he knew me. I flipped though my mental facebook and contact list and was pretty sure I hadn’t met him before, but find that with involvement with a number of diverse groups around the cities I can’t always instantly place people. …instead I start what a friend calls my friendly interrogation, asking what kinds of groups is the person in, and reel off some of mine; where does the person live or work; and disclose mine. Usually we find the common ground and more memory.
He thought I was a person who lived a few blocks away. I explained I had been in this neighborhood quite often, but had never stopped at Polly’s. He gave me his name and I exclaimed, ‘You’re the reason I’m here!’ A colleague from the Wilder Neighborhood Leadership Program I’m in thought Larry would be a helpful connection for me with my neighborhood efforts. I spent the rest of the morning listening to their initiatives, grid planning, neighborhood boundaries, and resident activism. Side conversations took on quiet, unobtrusive lives outside of the primary dialogue.
On the periphery a chess tournament with prizes was being pulled together for youth at the Arlington branch library; two persons brought in prizes and chess sets. The subject of serving on a board briefly surfaced; then a swapping of gardening books. An exchange of nformation reached out to several within the group, and was then enhanced when two new arrivals were identified to me as master gardeners. Larry shared their ideas on fundraisers and the influence they’ve found in applying ideas from Jay Walljasper’s The Great Neighborhood Book: a do-it-yourself guide to placemaking. One of Walljasper's points was that a great neighborhood has boundaries and a coffee shop. I've got the book and am moving it to the front to read.
Finished with their call, firefighters came in for coffees and lattes. Several of us expressed our thanks for their quick response and the work they do. One told me he used to live in Dayton’s Bluff; for various reasons, we tend to see more than our share of fire department responses in my area.
I considered my Saturday morning both fruitful and enjoyable. Joining the Saturday Polly’s group was like visiting with my parents and three sisters at the table years ago. My then husband couldn’t understand how we could all talk at once and still hear each other, let alone carry on several conversations and not be enveloped in any sense of chaos. Polly’s group felt like family…and all are welcomed! ###My slide show disappeared and haven't been able to re-apply it yet...go to blog: 'walkonmyearth' to see it.
I stood outside and watched the firefighters enter the frame ‘for sale’ house next door, evacuate the young resident, and disperse the smoke. On the sidewalk Polly’s Saturday regulars gathered; some took charge of two dogs from the house and calmed them inside Polly’s. A young woman from the apartment above Polly’s then took charge of the woeful animals and took them upstairs to her apartment.
A man within the sidewalk group acknowledged me as if he knew me. I flipped though my mental facebook and contact list and was pretty sure I hadn’t met him before, but find that with involvement with a number of diverse groups around the cities I can’t always instantly place people. …instead I start what a friend calls my friendly interrogation, asking what kinds of groups is the person in, and reel off some of mine; where does the person live or work; and disclose mine. Usually we find the common ground and more memory.
He thought I was a person who lived a few blocks away. I explained I had been in this neighborhood quite often, but had never stopped at Polly’s. He gave me his name and I exclaimed, ‘You’re the reason I’m here!’ A colleague from the Wilder Neighborhood Leadership Program I’m in thought Larry would be a helpful connection for me with my neighborhood efforts. I spent the rest of the morning listening to their initiatives, grid planning, neighborhood boundaries, and resident activism. Side conversations took on quiet, unobtrusive lives outside of the primary dialogue.
On the periphery a chess tournament with prizes was being pulled together for youth at the Arlington branch library; two persons brought in prizes and chess sets. The subject of serving on a board briefly surfaced; then a swapping of gardening books. An exchange of nformation reached out to several within the group, and was then enhanced when two new arrivals were identified to me as master gardeners. Larry shared their ideas on fundraisers and the influence they’ve found in applying ideas from Jay Walljasper’s The Great Neighborhood Book: a do-it-yourself guide to placemaking. One of Walljasper's points was that a great neighborhood has boundaries and a coffee shop. I've got the book and am moving it to the front to read.
Finished with their call, firefighters came in for coffees and lattes. Several of us expressed our thanks for their quick response and the work they do. One told me he used to live in Dayton’s Bluff; for various reasons, we tend to see more than our share of fire department responses in my area.
I considered my Saturday morning both fruitful and enjoyable. Joining the Saturday Polly’s group was like visiting with my parents and three sisters at the table years ago. My then husband couldn’t understand how we could all talk at once and still hear each other, let alone carry on several conversations and not be enveloped in any sense of chaos. Polly’s group felt like family…and all are welcomed! ###My slide show disappeared and haven't been able to re-apply it yet...go to blog: 'walkonmyearth' to see it.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Note on LibraryThing
I just read the latest 23 Things News. I can't say enough positive about LibraryThing. I've been a member since February of 2007. The site is constantly being improved for and with the help of its users. Though I don't get to it every day (I am behind in cataloging, but not TOO bad), I am constantly finding new tools on the site, and generally enjoy browsing other libraries, stats and background info.
When I came upon the 'Local' addition the other day, I added one of my favorite independent bookstores, Common Good Books (I keep telling the staff about the site, but I don't know if anyone has connected with it).
I've also suggested LibraryThing, and demonstrated it to our Teaching and Learning Center person as a way to catalog their book collection. LibraryThing has special groups for nonprofits. Many university and college departments use LibraryThing for their curriculum collections.
The other day I discovered I could introduce author information, so I entered information on one of our faculty authors. Much of LibraryThing is a Wikiexperience!
When I came upon the 'Local' addition the other day, I added one of my favorite independent bookstores, Common Good Books (I keep telling the staff about the site, but I don't know if anyone has connected with it).
I've also suggested LibraryThing, and demonstrated it to our Teaching and Learning Center person as a way to catalog their book collection. LibraryThing has special groups for nonprofits. Many university and college departments use LibraryThing for their curriculum collections.
The other day I discovered I could introduce author information, so I entered information on one of our faculty authors. Much of LibraryThing is a Wikiexperience!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Wish I had been there.....
My son sent this video to me, saying he knew that if I had been in NYC when this was initiated, I would have been there participating....he knows me like I know which Girl Scout cookies to send!
I'm having trouble putting this video on my blog. It's a Maniac World video and I can't find a code. So, it's not how I wanted to do it, but here's the link:
http://www.maniacworld.com/frozen-in-grand-central-station.html
03/12/2008PS: I did try the hints on adding a 'non-YouTube' video (cookies, pop-up, etc.) but was told by our helpdesk people that a code was not accessible. If anyone out there has a suggestion to try something else, I'm open to suggestions. I'll go back and try again in a few days - sometimes a bit of space is all that's really needed.
I'm having trouble putting this video on my blog. It's a Maniac World video and I can't find a code. So, it's not how I wanted to do it, but here's the link:
http://www.maniacworld.com/frozen-in-grand-central-station.html
03/12/2008PS: I did try the hints on adding a 'non-YouTube' video (cookies, pop-up, etc.) but was told by our helpdesk people that a code was not accessible. If anyone out there has a suggestion to try something else, I'm open to suggestions. I'll go back and try again in a few days - sometimes a bit of space is all that's really needed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)