It has been a while

It has been a while since my last post. Terry and I took a trip to Georgia to visit family, then my allergies kicked in and than I pulled a muscle in my shoulder which makes typing not a fun thing to do.
The shoulder is not completely healed, but a heating pad is doing wonders. The good thing is it is not my left hand, which is my dominate hand - which means I am writing letters the old fashion way - by hand.

On the Road Again

Memo to self -- never leave for a trip without a map and charging the cell phone. Recently, I traveled to Roanoke to attend a meeting of the Virginia State Reading Association. On the way I visited Glasglow Public Library, passed by a Natural Bridge and got lost on my way to Lynchburg Public Library. I called Terry and he pointed me in the correct direction, but I missed a turn off and called Terry again to help me out. I missed another turn off, but by then I knew where the library was and called Terry from the library parking lot. I had a wonderful visit with Lorry Risinger and learn about I-Van, their mobile library that puts books into home, no library card needed. The child simply borrows two books and when they are returned borrows two more. We talked until 5:30 p.m. and Lorry had me follow her to the highway. I was off again, but this time pointed in the direction of Roanoke. When I stopped for gas I discovered the cellphone needed recharging. I arrived at Roanoke, via Highway 460 where I followed the signs to I-81 through the back roads to US 11, then to I-81 and then to the Doubletree Hotel where the Virginia State Reading Assoication meeting was being held. I charged the cellphone and checked in with Terry. I found the exercise room and had a very long workout session while watching "What Not to Wear." The next day I met up with Sasha Matthews, Virgina Library Assoication Youth Services Chair. We shared some of the thing libraries are doing in Virginia. They were impressed. The trip home was thankfully uneventful.

My next adventure was back to Roanoke for the Fun and Facts of an Early Literacy workshop by Saroj Ghoting on May 23. In an attempt to be more efficient I combined the workshop with visits to a few libraries. This time Terry went with me. On Tuesday we left at 7:00 a.m. and drove to Grundy with the expectation that we would arrive around 2:00 p.m. We were told not to go by VA 16! After looking at the hairpin turns on Google Maps we found an alternate route. We got lost. This is because Goggle Maps was misinformed about the location of the library in Grundy. We found the correct location of the Buchanan County Public Library in Grundy. Although parts of the town are moving due to frequent flooding, the Buchanan County Public Library has stayed in the same location for the past 47 years. They did add a new children's wing, which is quite delightful.

One of the feature is paw prints on the ceiling. The story is the Clifford the Big Red Dog helped with the construction of the new wing and "left his mark" on the building.

The night was spent in Abingdon and then we traveled to Marion, birth place of the drink "Mountain Dew" and then to Saltville with a stop at the Chilhowie Branch Library. The mural below was created for the Marion Branch of the Smyth-Bland Regional Library.

Saltville is nested between two mountain ranges and has producing salt since 1780s. Union and Confederate troops fought for civil wars battles here for the salt. A woolly mammoth was found in Saltville for it somehow got trapped in a salt pit. Yet following directions from Google Maps I was able to get lost in Saltville by heading the wrong way on VA 91 and then once I was turned around I missed the library not once, but twice. But once I did find it, I met some very nice people. And as you can see, the small town is also nice to look at.

Technically, It's not my fault

Technically, It's not my fault: Concrete Poems by John Grandits is a title of a book I purchased for the Hibbing Public Library a while ago. I had a reference question about concrete poems and this title caught my eye, and so it was added to the collection. The title of this poem has become my mantra when I travel. I recently went to Front Royal via Interstate 95 and then U.S. Highway 17 and then Interstate 66. The trip took about three hours and I arrived in time to attend a preschool program, lunch with some very nice people, and a tour of the library. I learned about the new library being built with a plan of opening the summer of 2009. It was so nice talking children's books and programs with the staff that I left later than planned. "The traffic will be bad, here is a better way to go" I was told. With less then a half a tank of gas I took the backroads back to Richmond. I saw delightful towns, some gift shops I have to find again and a place that offers glassblowing and another that offers homemade jams and baked goods. It was wonderful to be off the highway and travel up and down the hills of Virginia. Then I met some construction and got turned around. Technically it's not my fault. I challenge anyone to read a map while nagivating the turns and twists in the Shenandaoh Mountains. Besides, the back roads in Virgina require commitment. There are very few places to stop or turn around. A few hours later I was once again headed towards Richmond with the gas tank quite a bit lower. I did find Culpeper, but not Highway 615. Lucky for me, I saw a sign for the Culpeper Public Library. I quickly turned around and with map in hand I went to the reference desk and got directions to a gas station and Highway 3. With a full tank of gas I then set off again. This time to Fredricksburg with a phone call to Terry when I got off the wrong exit, then back to Interstate 95. The three hour tour was completed four and half hours later when Terry picked me up at the Enterprise car rental office at 8:00 p.m.

Gardening

One of the traditions of gardening clubs in Virginia is to host tours. This is part fundraiser and part social event. As this is Historic Gardening Week, communities in Virginia are hosting several walking tours and single house tours. For anywhere between $5.00 to $45.00 groups and individuals may tour the homes and lawns of historical homes that are now museums and/or family homes. The project began in 1928 with a group of determined people who wanted to restore some of the area's historical landmarks. The project was successful and over the years funds from this project have been used to restore the properties once owned by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Woodrow Wilson, Patrick Henry, Robert E. Lee and George Mason.
There are of course rules to attending gardening clubs, which the local newspaper was kind enough to print.

• Rule one - wear nice clothes. Ladies are to wear flats as high heel shoes are murder on historical wood floors. Women should carry small purses unless they want to risk breaking (insert brand of pottery worth more than college tuition).
• Rule two - no taking pictures, making notes or doing drawings.
• Rule three - no peeking into cupboards or opening doors to rooms.
• Rule four - this is a high pollen program, bring your own tissues and take an antihistamine.
  

On our own front, Terry and I are taking part in Historic Garden Week by trying to identify the plants we have in our yard and the plants and trees we see in the neighborhood. Thanks to tutoring by Donna and the Hibbing-Chisholm Gardening Club and a gardening book, I have identified some of the plants in the area. In the front of our house are hostas, azaleas, a holly plant (the Hibbing Public Library has one of these, too), and two types of plants I have not been able to identify. The neighbor down the road has a bridal wreath, and another has salvia (these are both part of the Hibbing Public Library garden). The library's children's garden area had sunflowers last year. They were so big that Donna and other members of the gardening club had to use a saw to cut it down. Birds like the sunflower seeds, as we have cardinals, blue birds, robins, chickadees and a woodpecker. I plan to plant some sunflowers to provide a treat for the birds.

Terry found this photograph by Fedrus at http://pixdaus.com/ I thought I would add it to the blog for I am flying to Little Rock this week to attend a conference of the multi-state summer library committee. My trip will begin at Richmond, then I bounce to Houston and then bounce again to Little Rock.

Another site Terry found is http://dir.salon.com/topics/garrison_keillor/ .
This site has columns by Garrison Keillor. I think it is fitting as the posting of this week is about Northwest Airlines, which according to the newspapers is being taken over by Delta.

Back in Virginia

Terry and I left Minnesota last Sunday. We missed the snow in Minnesota and the tornado in Illinois to arrive safe but slumberous in Richmond late Monday evening.
We will be sending thank you notes soon, but in the meantime thank you for the wonderful smiles, hugs and the talks (both the fun ones and serious ones). We both wish we could have stayed longer, saw more people and visited more. Which makes us grateful to the people who took the time to visit with us.

Heading North

We will be heading to Minnesota and plan to be in Hibbing on March 23 and 24. I have a conference to attend on Tuesday, March 25. Is anyone interested in getting together? Please join us at Zimmy's at 5:00 p.m.

Hitting the road

One of my projects is to create a winter reading program. This is not a new idea. The Indianapolis Public Library hosted a "Read Around the House Reading Program" when I was in graduate school. The idea was tweaked by Linda Fox at the Cloquet Public Library and myself several years ago. The idea was further tweaked by Rita at the Arrowhead Library System in Minnesota. I am now working with a graphic artist and several librarians to tweaking it again for the libraries in Virginia. With all this tweaking, sometimes the process becomes paramount and the project loses focus.

When this happens, and it has, it is time to hit the road and visit the people I work for. Sometimes Terry comes along with me. This is a good thing, for I can get lost in a closet. Terry gets me to the library on time and then will find a place to sit and read. With Terry driving this allows me to relax and focus on the visit rather then worry about directions or the lack of them.

I have been impressed by the libraries I have visited and the librarians who serve their community. They care about their community, proactive in meeting the needs of the community and proud of the things they have accomplished. This is not a false pride, either. The librarians have done some fantastic programs. In the comming months I would like to find a way to recognize and celebrate these accomplishments.

The consuction paper artwork is from the Fauquier County Libraries.