Hank vs. Bedsheet

Hank does not seem to like the television. The other night I didn't watch tv; I was studying and listening to records, and Hank just sat on top of his cage quiet as a mouse. He climbed around a little bit, but when he did make a noise, it was at a pretty reasonable level. The possible exception to Hank's dislike for the tube would be the show Royal Pains. He LOVES it, but I think that's only because the main character is also named Hank.

Last night, however, I interrupted my studying for 30 minutes of tv, and Hank sang and whistled at the top of his (tiny) lungs for at least 15 of those 30 minutes. I know you're looking at him thinking, "That little guy? He can't possibly make any loud noises." Oh but he can. When he really starts screeching, he stands up straight and belts out the most ear-splitting noises. It's cute for half a second. Because he is a baby, he can't really control his volume.

I'm trying to teach him that the louder noise is bad. First, I just scolded him, then I yelled at him, next I made a louder noise to get his attention (but that backfired because he just got louder to drown out my noise). Finally I moved on to covering up his cage with a sheet when he gets loud, and uncovering it when he tones it down a bit. I think that's starting to get the point across to him, but it's really making him hate the sheet on his cage.

I mean straight up hate.

Whenever I pull the sheet over the cage or take it off, he looks at it murderously and hisses. If I take it outside to shake it out, he stares at it and hisses angrily until it's gone. Sometimes he attacks it by biting and screeching at the sheet. The other day I saw him contemplating how to possibly get his tiny talons involved. The thing is that the sheet is just so much bigger than Hank.And I don't think he really knows what to make of it. But he is definitely planning something...he does have a good deal of time on his hands (wings?).

If this is war, then the sheet is winning.

Leaves and Cats

All the leaves are falling, and it makes me sad. Fall is nice, but then winter always has to follow. I am not a fan of winter. Or of cleaning out my closet and putting away the summer clothes....

Because there have been so many cool nights/mornings, I've been leaving my windows open. Late last night, I was working on a paper, and I kept hearing the leaves crunch by the kitchen. Every time I hear these footsteps, it startles me. I think, "Someone is in the yard at 11pm...are they trying to see into my (tiny) kitchen window?" This morning I heard the stalking while I was washing dishes. I looked up, expecting to see a person (possibly Upstairs Neighbour), but instead there sat three cats just staring at me. Upstairs Neighbour has quite a few cats, and when he lets them out into the yard, they run and jump over the dried up twigs and leaves...the culprits of the crunchy footsteps.

So I'm being stalked by cats. I wonder if they realize that I have a bird?

Yorkie Bars, etc.

Working for a company based in the UK sometimes has its perks. Recently, one of these perks was a UK visitor who brought real Cadbury's chocolate for everyone. They never do this, you understand, but it should be a requirement. I know I'm going to sound like a snob, but after living in and visiting the UK, I can tell you that the only place I've found better chocolate is in Germany. American chocolate is boring. British chocolate is delicious even though it feels like it's going to make your teeth fall out at any moment. But you don't care because it's THAT GOOD.

My first Yorkie Bar

Whenever I'm lucky enough to go back, I always bring an extra large suitcase so I can fill most of it with Yorkie, Aero (mint especially), Galaxy, and Cadbury bars. (And tea. I always buy tons of tea, but today we're focusing on the chocolates.) And chocolate buttons...how did I live before discovering chocolate buttons?

Shopper's Dilemma

When online shopping first showed up, I was skeptical. "What is the fun in this?" I thought. But after years of living in remote areas coupled with my dislike of driving, online shopping has become kind of fun. Am I lazy? Maybe not; I think I just don't have time (can I blame grad school for this too?). And many online shops have a better selection.

Example: My little sister LOVES Stephen Colbert. For Christmas I wanted to get her something fun and cool. When I found a Stephen Colbert tote, I knew it was perfect. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it in any of the Barnes and Noble shops nearby. Solution: B&N online. You can see the result below:

Lately, I'm becoming more aware of Etsy...I think it might be perfect for the Christmas shopping that always sneaks up on me. A few friends bought me some Etsy gifts Christmas past, and they were really cute. Plus, it would help me avoid the crowds that clog up every mall and department store from Thanksgiving to mid-January.

Here are some Etsy shops that I recently discovered; they've gotten me excited about gift giving. I'm sure the more I look around, the more I'll find....

Art: AshleyG
Miscellaneous: MadisonCraft
Really fab guitar pics here (I might be a bit partial to the Beatles lyrics, tho.)
Lovely Notebooks from London.

Where's My Book?

As I may have mentioned, I am in the midst of grad school; I'm currently working on my master's degree in Library and Information Science.Today is the first day of the fall term, and we've all been asked to do the obligatory "introduce yourself" posts on the discussion boards (have I also mentioned that my grad school program is completely online? Well, it is.) One instructor asked us to talk about something we collect and how it's organized, and a lot of people chose to talk about their book collection.

For someone who wants to be a librarian, my books are not organized at all. Well, maybe not at all; I do group them together by author. But the Steinbeck is sitting next to Bridget Jones's Diary; Gertrude Stein sits next to Jonathan Safran Foer, and David Sedaris stretches out on top of everything because I have no room on the bookshelf, yet I can't get enough of him.

So I wonder if maybe I should re-organize them.... Fiction together over here, memoir on the shelf in my bedroom, super heavy books like The Complete Works of William Shakespeare on the bottom shelf of the super sturdy bookcase...but if I did all that, would I know where things were? Or would I just be shooting myself in the foot when a friend asks to borrow Jane Eyre (because so many friends do ask for that particular book).

I think there are just way too many options; which might be why I've never really had a problem with my current system. And it may be nice for someone working in an ordered library to come home to a bit of comfortable dysfunction. Otherwise I could be like John Cusack's character from High Fidelity and arrange my books-wait for it- autobiographically.

First Birthday

Yes, it's a bit belated, but happy birthday to my goddaughter Adrienne. She turned one Sunday past, and even if these birthday wishes are belated, it's okay. Because her actual presents got to her right on time. This was one of them (which I made and framed):

The others were books I thought she would like; one of them was cloth, and definitely teething-baby friendly. I am super excited to one day share my favourite Dr. Seuss book with her: Hop on Pop. My mom and I read that book so much that I still have most of it memorized ("My father can say big words too, like Constantinople and Timbuktu." I could go on....)

I know I'm a bit partial, but how many godchildren change their hair from dark brown to orange so they can match their godmother? This one did!

There's a baby in my jacket

Book Recommendation

When I was doing some work-related travel in May, my co-worker Kate and I stumbled upon a lovely little bookstore in Denver, Colorado: The Tattered Cover. The shop was three floors of books connected by a green carpeted, wooden staircase. I loved the carpeting because it reminded me of both the carpet I grew up with and the floors at my Nana's best friend's house (sometimes she would babysit me when my mom and Nana went shopping). At the foot of the staircase and a little to the left was the staff recommendation section; something that always gives me some ideas when I don't know what to read next.

One of the staff members had raved on about a little paperback with an apple green cover called The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. The short synopsis of an eleven-year-old detective in 1950's England appealed to my obsession over all things English, and the staff review made the book sound like fun. So I bought it, hoping to get to it during my trip.

Four months later, the book sat on my bedside table unread. It's not like I hadn't tried to read it; things just kept popping up. Books I ordered from the library would come in, and I wanted to give those top priority since I didn't actually own them. The little green book became fairly well-traveled, bumping along in my suitcase during other trips to Las Vegas, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, and Maine. Every time I'd open my bag, it would look patiently up at me and then dart a dirty look at the other book I was holding in my hand.

Finally a few weeks ago, I picked it up during a lull in the constant march of library books and started reading. I loved it immediately! I'm not sure if it was originally meant for children, but it's quite wonderful for adults too. I found myself wishing I had this book when I was 12 or 13; in that awkward period between kid/teen books and adult books. Thankfully, this book is now part of a series entitled Flavia de Luce Mysteries. I am excited to get the second book (grad school schedule permitting) called The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag and put it on the very top of the pile of books at my bedside...or just forgo the pile and read it immediately.

The Return

I haven't looked at this blog for ages. I blame this on grad school, but it's probably also a bit of laziness. I do think it's interesting that my last post was based on the feeling that I needed to move...because just a few months later, I did move. After that car accident last August, I came to hate driving more than  used to, and I finally found a place that was close to a (different) train line. I only drive when I want to now (or when I need to buy food). I have my own bit of a house back in olde Pennsylvania, and I quite like it.

This is my new roommate, Hank. He's more like a wee baby who screeches a lot and occasionally poops on the floor. But at least I can put him in a cage...I'm pretty sure such a thing is frowned upon when it comes to an actual child.

I'm trying to teach him how to talk....we'll see how that goes, and if I regret it at a later date. For now he just whistles and toddles around at times.