I can’t wait for Thanksgiving to express my gratitude, and I’m not organized to keep up with the Facebook post-of-thankfulness every day in November, though I do enjoy reading them – so keep it up, people! So I thought I might share a little of my thankfulness here. Without further ado, and in absolutely no particular order…
1. Missy Elliot – If it weren’t for Missy Elliot, my work days would have considerably less glee. I sit down at my desk, get my ear buds ready, and load up The Cookbook, Supa Dupa Fly, or a Missy-produced track like Let it Go and I breeze my way through emails, projects, and reports. If you are walking by my office and see me grooving in my chair, don’t judge. It’s science.
2. Library Staff. The coolest people work at the library. They make mustache displays, plant chalkboards with interesting questions, recommend books online and in the library, answer ridiculously difficult questions in the Reference Department, visit you where you work, play and belong. This is an inspiring place to work everyday, and I’ll never tire of blubbering over the myriad ways my colleagues engage the community in literacy and learning.
3. After Hours – Speaking of engaging the community, I am thankful to work at a library that throws such cool events. After Hours is a chance for you to party at the library after we close! The next one is this Friday, 6-9, at our Squirrel Hill location. It is with much regret that I admit that I will be out of town for this weekend, because I’ve had a blast volunteering at previous After Hours. I’ve dressed up as Grandma Nut from Candyland, and was one of many Waldos, all for your enjoyment. The night always includes libations, tasty food, fun games and mildly educational activities!
4. Bury Me Standing – This is the book I read before bed each night, recommended by a colleague with excellent taste. I am learning so much about Eastern Europe and the Roma people. It’s quite topical if you’ve been keeping up with the political issues in Europe this fall, specifically of the Roma in France, or the recent scandals with children in gypsy encampments in Ireland and Greece.
5. The Medieval Kitchen,by Hannele Klemettilä, is the book I have just finished. I’ve been on a nerdy nonfiction kick lately. There is a longstanding obsession with medieval times, spurred on in part by my literary crush on Chaucer and my affinity for anything written by the Gies, a husband and wife duo who wrote extensively about the period. I recommend Life in a Medieval City and Women in the Middle Ages : both will enlighten you! The Medieval Kitchen also discounts some myths around how medieval folks lived and ate. Their diets were rich in herbs, vegetables, and seasonal fruits. The poor unintentionally lucked out by missing gout, as that disease was preserved for the meat-gorging rich. This book is filled with fascinating little tidbits, such as: almond milk helped everyone get through fasting periods, when dairy and meat were prohibited by the church.
6. Dogs – It’s been well-documented that I’m a sucker for a big slobbery dog – so much so that we now have not one but two big slobbery shelter dogs (see above, MCA joined Frida in January). And I am in good company, as other librarians have written of the joys of dog companionship. No, we are not all cat people! And yes, I do talk about my dogs all the time. Maybe I am a little obsessed.
Where is your gratitude going these days, Pittsburgh? Please do share in the comments!
Holly
Eleventh Stack 