BooksRule

I had a little tiny 'jump scare' this evening (followed by a laugh). I bought one of those battery-operated motion sensor lights that you can stick up anywhere you need some extra light. I put it in the hallway so that it would light up when I started to walk down the hall. Well, I was sitting on the couch watching TV and saw it light up around the corner. Then, there was a huge (huge!) distorted shadow on the hallway wall that looked like some type of demonic figure lurching my way. I jumped a little and --- then one of my cats (cute, sweet, with her delicate feline figure) comes walking

Did I miss something? The description said that robbers hold up the 'iconic downtown public library'. Wasn't this just a warehouse space with that woman's father's personal belongings, which included those architectural drawings? I was disappointed, because as a librarian, I was looking forward to see what they got right and what they got wrong about libraries and how they operate in real life.

Okay, I had to laugh at the whole alpaca attack (even though I had heard that they could be mean). I know someone who raises alpacas. I wonder if she watches this show? To add to the whole scene, it sounded a lot like a few bars of the 'Jaws' soundtrack was playing when Hen was trying lead the alpaca away (not the well-known 'Jaws' theme, but background music from the movie) and Hen's 'Clever girl' when the other raptor (excuse me, alpaca) came in from the side. Some good quotes, too. 'You're on animal control.' 'What am I supposed to do?' 'Any animal makes a move, you control it.

I'm watching a movie from 1985 on the FXM Channel and saw Jeffrey DeMunn's name in the opening credits. I'm glad I saw his name, because when he appeared on the screen (he has a pretty prominent role) it would have driven me crazy until either I figured out who it was or looked up the movie's cast online. He had the same voice, but looked a lot different (as he would have--1985, after all!) The movie is 'Warning Sign' and it's about a bio lab way out in the desert that has a lab accident involving a deadly virus. Apparently, it was considered to be a fairly good representation of what woul

I just finished reading the 'Crazy Rich Asians' trilogy (by Kevin Kwan). 'Crazy Rich Asians', 'China Rich Girlfriend', and 'Rich People Problems'. I loved all three books and wish there were more in the series, but he seemed to have wrapped up most of the stories, so I guess that will be all of them. It was really interesting to read about a culture that I don't know much about and I found myself googling a lot of phrases and locations to see images. (Kwan has excellent footnotes explaining things, but sometimes I just had to see a photo of what he was talking about. And his footnotes wer

One of my favs as well. I have to get out the DVD once in a while and re-watch. (Mary Clancy: 'I've got a scathingly brilliant idea!)

I haven't watched this show in a long time, so I thought I would let today's marathon (on DLife, or whatever the channel is called) run in the background while I cleaned house. I just saw the episode from 2010 with the woman who has OCD and had problems throwing anything away because she had to examine everything (read all the labels) and also clean anything that she was actually throwing away (such as the empty cat food cans). I had lots of sympathy for her because I know that she wasn't being lazy. When OCD thoughts take hold, it's hard to overcome them (and I'm speaking from a person who

I may have jinxed myself by talking about my past air conditioning problems a few days ago. I noticed yesterday that by afternoon, my A/C wasn't cycling off (theoretically it should cycle about 15-20 minutes 3 or 4 times an hour. Mine went on and off regularly yesterday morning and at night, but in the afternoon and evening it didn't shut off, even when it reached the set temperature. Now, I can see it running non-stop if it's 100 degrees outside and i have it set to 73 degrees inside, but even though it's 91 outside, I have it set for 79 so it should shut off at some point. At least it's

Hurricane Katrina destroyed most of the Mississippi Gulf Coast (about 60 miles east of N.O.) as well. So this storm was even scarier around here. Going through Katrina makes me feel so much for the people in South (and other parts of) Louisiana because it looks like this might be their Katrina (I'm hoping NO will be okay except for maybe some wind damage due to the upgrades in the levees. Let's hope). Right now, I'm hunkered down (I really hate that phrase. It brings back bad memories) in south Mississippi waiting for any effects of Ida to come through. We've had one rain band so far

I'll cross my fingers, too. But, if you are anything like me, don't be surprised if you are super-hyper about thinking there might still be problems (at least for a little while). I have a love/hate relationship with my A/C system. I think it all goes back to many years ago when I lived in an apartment. I came home one time from a short trip and the place was hot. It was determined that there was a leak in the freon line and it was 'gassed up' (yes, I know this isn't the correct thing to do--they are supposed to fix it). It worked fine for a while, but every summer (until I finally bought

I love winter and can't wait for it to arrive. Of course, my situation is a little different because I live in the deep south. When the temperature dips below freezing for more than a few hours it's the lead story on all of the news channels ('Hard freeze expected tonight! Protect your pets, pipes, and plants!') I hate the summer. The A/C still isn't working right at work so the first floor is cool, but the upper two floors of the library are warm. And it was still 85 degrees in my office this afternoon. At least I was able to work downstairs at the front service desk until lunch. It's b

Today was the first day of the fall semester. The library was fairly busy, which is a good thing (it's been so slow all summer). We do have a 'masks required' policy for all campus buildings, which is good, but they've relaxed all other mandates, including the social distancing rules (everyone is just being told to be sensible and stay at a distance from others). It would have been a good day, except that the A/C wasn't working well and although the first floor was pretty cool, the 2nd (and I'm guessing 3rd, but I didn't go up there) was warmer than it should have been. And my office

I just saw on Facebook that American humorist (and public speaker) Jeanne Robertson has passed (that's how you have to say it, according to her. Not died, not passed away, but 'passed' -- while you bow your head). I loved her videos and hate that I was never able to go see her in person. And her husband Jerry (aka 'Left brain') passed just this past June. I'll miss watching new videos, but I'll be re-watching my favorites online, including 'Don't bunjee jump naked' and the very first one I ever saw 'Don't sent a man to the grocery store'.

Bailey: 'No one is taking home a kidney in a jar! Diseased kidneys are not tchotchkes for your coffee tables!' ('There's no I in team', Season 5, Episode 5)

I remember a few years ago when I had placed a metal cookie sheet on the back of the stove and didn't realize that the burner was still on. After a little while I needed to move the sheet so I just picked it up with my bare hand. I guess my brain wasn't working too well, because I remember just standing there holding it while my mind slowly formed a thought--hey, this is really hot. Maybe I'd better drop it. Then, owwww! :) Luckily I just got a few blisters. So weird how our minds work sometimes.