Happy Fall!

 Yesterday was the Autumnal Equinox, so HAPPY FALL, everyone!

Autumn turns Western PA into one of the most gorgeous places on the planet, and there are plenty of ways to celebrate the season, from special events related to Pittsburgh’s 250th birthday to statewide annual fesivals.

If you’re a gardener, you’re probably already harvesting tomatoes, other veggies and herbs and figuring out yummy ways to prepare, dry or preserve them.  Or maybe your garden is just getting started on its second wind.  Either way, if you’re lucky enough to have a surplus of sustenance, consider sharing the harvest by donating or getting involved with Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.  September is, after all, Hunger Action Month.

 If your engagement with autumn leans more towards the creative side, there are lots of crafty ways to honor fall.  You could create a seasonal journal, collage or craft with bright fall leaves or other natural materials, or photograph foliage on long walks in the newly cooled weather.  If you want to be both practical and fun, stop by Carnegie Knits and Reads for some rollicking, book-talking company while you knit or crochet yourself a fancy warm hat or scarf.

If none of these ideas ring your bell, you can always resort to the tried and true “curl-up-with-a-good-book-and-hot-cup-of-tea” approach to enjoying pretty much any weather.  We can help with the “good book” part (and, actually, the tea part, too).

However you decide to observe the new tilt of the earthly axis, I hope you enjoy it!

–Renée

Just another manic Monday?

The Monday morning blues – hardly anyone’s immune to them, even if you happen to have the best career on the planet.  Weekends can be so much fun, it’s hard to shake off the recreational vibes and get back to business.  Maybe you went bowling this past weekend, or attended a cultural event. Either way, it’s time to get your head back in the game, and you’re just not feeling it. What’s a conscientious, career-minded person to do?

Taking a career quiz could be fun, but possibly risky. Better play it safe and grab a book for later. There is always, of course, coffee, which you can both read about and drink at the library; we’d appreciate it if you’d keep the beverages on the ground floor, but feel free to read anywhere you’d like.

The novel that’s chasing my blues away this rainy Monday morning is A. S. Byatt’s Possession. Some of you may have already seen the film: two scholars discover that the 19th-century poets on whom their work focuses conducted a passionate, clandestine affair; this discovery then leads to scholarly chicanery and deception, among other things. The novel will really sing to folks who enjoy the satire of David Lodge, but for me, the attraction lies in the letters exchanged by the two poets. Brimming with life and vigor, they depict the gradual, tantalizing courtship of two kindred souls, and it’s enchanting to watch their correspondence evolve from decorous niceties to passionate familiarity.

Say, there’s an idea: why not take a break from the hectic corporate pace and investigate the lost art of letter-writing? And do let us know if you’d like some help.

–Leigh Anne