Office changes are a coming

PG, our branch manager, put in the official work order that will start the process of our office refit. Although we don't use them, each one of us has a locker assigned for storage. I think this might be the time to use my locker to store some of the things I have in my cube.
On another note, DB and I have switched our new cube assignments. My original new cube is slightly larger in area but DB deals with book donations all the time while I don't. We both thought that it would be appropriate that DB have the larger space to deal with her donations as well as the McNaughtons that are sent her way.

Shifting stuff

I have been helping in the shifting of the large print fiction and the respective genres to its new location in the library. We have determined that hardly no one has been using back issues of our magazine collection, so we honed down the archives from five years to about two years. We did this with the knowledge that the Main branch has a very extensive archive. It took us about an hour and a half to move several carts of books.

More focus on Colorado trip

C has been working hard on the Memorial plans for dad. She went to the extent of reserving six hotel rooms in Golden, CO (Denver suburb) for family and friends. She also might have a bit of librarian in her because she also produced a list of four other hotels that may be cheaper or more economical to stay at. Also, C made reservations at White Fence Farm restaurant in Denver as the place for us to gather for dinner. Dad enjoyed the White Fence up in Chicago and I think C's choice is appropriate.

Vacation route through DC?

I sent an email to a KU friend informing him of my travel plans to Vermont. He has suggested I swing down into the Washington D.C. area to visit his family. He says he has a spare bedroom I could stay in. If I do take him up on his offer, my round trip driving mileage will total close to 3000 miles. I know I should fly, but I love driving.

New Neighbors coming

My next door neighbors to the east are moving out of their house. This is because the mother has alzheimer's and has been moved to a retirement facility and the son has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and doesn't have the energy to maintain the house. He has moved into an apartment. At present, there is a large refuge bin on the front driveway. Aparently, they are discarding a lot of things that were once part of the house. The lawn has not been mowed yet this spring. There's a pronounced difference between my mowed grass and what's growing next door. I only had a couple of conversations with this neighbor. He's a retired navy vet who one enjoyed motorcycling.

Mazda no more

The Protege was picked up Tuesday by the American Cancer Society. The tow truck driver spoke with an Australian accent. He asked me if the car was still drivable, I said yes, and away the Protege went.
The car served me well with the many trips I made between Emporia and Kansas City, Kansas City and Pontiac, Illinois, and the real long trip I took in 2002 to the Virginia Beach-DC area.

Too cold for planting

We had a thunderstorm late yesterday afternoon which also included a tornado warning for Platte County. It's considerably cooler today and my lawn is still wet so I don't think I'll be able to do any yard work. The weather forecast calls for a potential freeze on Sunday morning. I hope the items I have planted so far survive.

Substitute teacher

JS has offered to teach my computer classes in the event I can't. Thanks JS, I will consider your offer.

Dad's Memorial Service

In accordance with dad's wishes, we are planning to release dad's ashes at Berthoud Pass, Colorado around memorial day. C has been doing a lot of the research into this simple ceremony, ie: contacting the National Park service to see it's permissible to do this ceremony on Federal land, contacting the funeral home in Pontiac, IL for delivery arrangements, checking prices on hotels....
Dad wanted a simple ceremony. C and I will probably read a couple of Bible passages and make a couple of basic statements and then we will release the ashes. Only a small circle of Dad's acquaintances will make the trip: Dad's brother and sister-in-law B and P, Dad's best friend J, and JK, a friend from Chicago.
I am planning my journey to Colorado on the Friday before Memorial Day. I will use 5 vacation days so after the ceremony I plan to see a couple of Denver landmarks and then drive to Wyoming to see the Devil's Tower made famous in the Spielberg movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, to Rapid City, South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore, and then drive I-90 on the way home with stops at any appealing antique shops. C & A will drive immediately home as A has to work on Tuesday.

My aunt's visit

My aunt is coming to KC Tuesday evening to attend a Presbyterian Pensions board meeting. She's staying at Crown Center. I think I will take her to dinner at Fritz's.......

Spring is here

I spent most of the weekend in the yard getting ready for spring. I mowed and fertilized the lawn. Then I went to Lowe's and bought some potting soil and two flats of impatiens....and that's just a start.
Last night, I went to C's place in Lawrence to see how her gardens grow. I spent the night there and went shopping with her this morning at various garden shops. C offered some suggestions on how I could grow flowers, shrubs, and whatnot. I would like to spend some considerable time trying my hand at gardening. So far, I off to a decent start: I planted the impatients today and am thinking about planting marigolds or petunias tomorrow night.
Last night by the way, I became Dave the pyromaniac as C&A fired up their outside fireplace. I decided to take the responsibility of making sure the fire kept burning until everyone went to bed. I put the last log on the fire at about midnight last night. I think burning outdoors is considered illegal in Platte county and thus I am unable to get my own chimnea.

Spending state aid

Our state aid monies are here. As such, I'll have five times the normal monthly amount to spend in April. I have been going through my collection areas to determine if anything needs to be replaced or updated. The librarians responsible for the fiction area have the most money to spend this month: $15,000.

Unexpected visitor at the library

I was getting ready to spend my Thursday afternoon browsing through some library catalogs in my preparation to order the 000s and 400s for the month when I was paged to the phone station. I was greeted by BL, my second cousin who I had not seen since a barbecue last September. He updated me on his family news. Specifically, his mom and dad have decided to live their retirement years in the Columbus, Ohio region. They thought about living in both Missouri and Kansas but cost of living considerations pretty much whacked that idea. It will not be a big problem for them, though. They have oodles of frequent flyer miles to use.

New sunglasses

I forgot to add in yesterday's day trip account that I ordered prescription sunglasses. I did this knowing that I will be taking at least two driving trips this summer: Colorado and Vermont. I will need to wear the sunglasses as I drive.

Vacation is almost over

I spent most of the day mowing the lawn (and mulching left over leaves at the same time), fertilizing the lawn, watching an episode of the Sopranos, changing the oil on the lawnmower, and going to Sears to purchase a weed trimmer and tree pruning shears. Because of wind, snow, and the squirrels, some of the branches on my three big oak trees have either snapped off or have bent and need to be cut down. During the spring's first couple of mows, I am constantly encountering small branches and twigs. A big project this spring is to prune the dead branches, cut them up, and deliver them to my sister's house so that her family can use the wood for their outdoor fireplace.
Although I spent most of my vacationing week preparing the Mazda for donation and working on house projects, I did manage to do an antiquing day trip yesterday. My journey started in Liberty, MO where I spent an hour in the antique mall. There, I bought ceramic locomotive which also doubled as a whiskey decanter for McCormick's whiskey. When I pulled the cork out of the smoke stack of the locomotive, I could smell remnants of whiskey.
Next, I went to St. Joe, MO where there were two antique malls. I spent an hour and a half at the first mall. I dawdled there because I had my eye on a hundred-year-old German beer stein that I thought would make a nice birthday gift for MS. Also, I scrutinized the display cases to see if there were any Royal Doulton Toby mugs. There were none to be seen. I went through the second St. Joe mall in about twenty minutes. It was a combination Quik-mart and antique store.
After St. Joe's, I went south to Weston, MO, a thirty minute drive from KC. Weston has a nice Main street atmosphere for antiques. At one store, there's a nice stained glass piece called "Clark Kent's Secret." I am surprised that no one has purchased this item. It has been in the store during my last three visits.
After Weston, I went to Picker's Antique Mall in Platte City, MO. I was able to purchase a new Toby Mug here which is now added to the collection of Tobies I inherited from my dad. This particular Toby is called "The Bootmaker."
I arrived home late yesterday afternoon and made and execute plans for pizza with friends in Shawnee.
With the weather cooperating tomorrow, I plan to do some yard work. Monday, I return to work.

Office refit

Our library director has some extra operating monies to spend and one of his pet projects is to refit our office area with brand new cubicles. The general consensus is that we don't really need new cubes. However, we don't really have a choice in the matter.

Roy's Win

Congratulations, Roy Williams. I do believe you're the best college basketball coach of my generation including Larry Brown.

And the charity of choice is...

I have decided to donate my car to the American Cancer Society. I examined the other possibilities and I came to the conclusion that the ACS was more organized in their donation program. I should be getting the donation paperwork in the mail in a couple of days.

Basketball championship

I think tonight's championship will be a classic. Part of me wants North Carolina to win just so that Roy Williams can get the proverbial monkey of his back. But, part of me wants Illinois to win because I admire the way they play team basketball.

Caravan to Vermont?

I received an email last week from my aunt in regards to the upcoming trip to Vermont for the family reunion. She suggested that I rendevouz with her family and carpool with them up to Vermont via the highways of Canada. This would include a sightseeing stop at Niagara Falls. Normally, I would agree to this. But I am also wanting to visit the baseball, football, and rock-n-roll Hall of Fame on this trip. So what I'm thinking of doing is caravaning with them through Canada all the way through to Vermont. Then I would split off and do my Hall of Fame tour. I have some thinking to do on this.

Moving to Reno

My uncle (my dad's older brother) and wife recently pulled up roots in Portland, OR and moved to Reno, NV to be closer to the grandkids. C and I will probably see Uncle B when we have our memorial service for dad in late May.

Final preparations to donate Mazda

I'm on vacation this week and I've decided to stay around town and get some things done that perhaps can no longer be ignored. For example, I will be taking the Mazda into the dealership tomorrow to have the brakes worked on as well as the door locks. I am preparing to donate the Mazda (as soon as I figure out my charity of choice) and I want it to be in good shape.