Last night I woke up from my 'nap' at 11:40 pm

I almost went ahead and went to the store, but I'm glad I waited till this afternoon, when I was awake and could really be frugal and calculate as I went. I managed to get bread flour, honey and butter for bread-making, two jars of spreadable fruit, a bunch of bananas, a gallon of milk, eighteen eggs, some raisin bran, string cheese, and some soda (yes, the latter was not important to get, but I thought it might be good to have some caffeine over the weekend), all for less than $27. That leaves me approximately $15 for things like more gas or groceries. Yay! I had some of YKWIA's bread (he's been making some, too) earlier, and I had some cheese and a banana. One of my co-workers also gave me a care package of oatmeal, trail mix bars, potatoes (to go with the onions I got yesterday), tuna, macaroni and cheese shells, and Indian lentils I can put over some rice I have. Thank you so much! That, along with the things I have in the cabinets (some tomato soup, some canned vegetables, and a few other things), plus my packets of Goldfish crackers, should (hopefully) last until I get paid. I can make bread, and I have some peanut butter in about four small jars that I'm going to consolidate. I also found a big can of pasta sauce I can put with my farfalle, and I think I have some old pasta up in the top cupboard that might still be edible.

Today was our No Limits Sports Clinic at work, where the kids come and play various sports out on the back lawn of the hospital (we have a total of just over 26 acres of land, most of it greenspace). We parked on the lawn east of the hospital to allow for families to have more parking. We had a good turnout, and I did the certificates for them. Because this is the last one at the current hospital building, they ordered each of us a teal shirt, and almost everyone wore those today, so we were all 'of the body', basically. It was fun. Lunch was a free cookout (I didn't eat hot dogs, hamburgers, or baked beans (pork is in that, almost always), but I had a cheese sandwich with trimmings, Doritos, a great coleslaw, and a fountain drink. I didn't schlep back outside to wait for the Amish ice cream, which is always great, but it seemed to be very popular. It's basically soft homemade ice cream in large vats powered (I think) by a gas contraption with a smoke exhaust pipe. One of my former co-workers came back to take care of the music. It looked like great fun. It was sunny and warm, but the humidity didn't seem bad, and the sun would occasionally be behind clouds to give them a break.

After I got finished with the certificates and delivered them, I turned my attention to the data entry, referrals, surgery charge reconciliation, and several issues I was tracking down, error reports, that sort of thing. I was able to leave at 4:30 pm because I had my time in, went over to YKWIA's, then we went to Barnes & Noble and I found a couple of books that I can't afford, but noted on my phone, and they're both at th library and available. I returned a book to the library (the one on the Medicis) on the way back, but couldn't check the others out because they'd already closed for the night. I dropped off YKWIA, picked up the stuff I'd left at his house, and went to the grocery. I also picked up a paper with directions on applying for a job. (Oh, and even though I haven't heard back about that one position, I went ahead and sent off the application today for a technology library assistant at Scott County Public Library). I did it via mail, since I'm not sure she ever got my e-mail. It's not due till the 17th, so it should get there in time).

Wow. While I was at the Chinoe Kroger, a fire truck and ambulance turned into the apartments there, and they had trouble negotiating the entrance. I just had a fire truck and ambulance go by my window as well, so apparently they're having to come out for medical emergencies at apartments today.

My apartment maintenance folks snaked out my tub today, so hopefully the water will run down the drain instead of backing up. I have a little cover I can put over the drain to keep hair out, but things were so bad, it would just float away. It's been doing it for awhile, I'd actually kind of gotten used to it (it happened so gradually), and I'd tried enzymatic drain opener (which worked on the sink, but not on the tub). I'd hate to see the hairball they got out of there, as I've removed it from the top area of the drain as much as possible, and apparently I shed a ton. Hopefully it will work right. Because it wasn't draining, the soap was impossible to get off the bottom of the tub, where the lather settled as it slowly drained, and it was getting slippery. I should have told them some time ago; like I said, it happened gradually and then suddenly I was up to my ankles in water.

Wow, it's almost 9 pm. I think I'll go start some bread, get something to drink, fill up the ice cube trays, and clean up the kitchen/do the dishes, since I didn't do that last night. I think I have four more posts before I hit 11,000 posts. :)

Oh, this is great, must subscribe to the blog and follow her on Twitter

weird things customers say in bookshops #7

My favourite horrendous exchange is the customer who didn't want to shell out the money for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone because series always take awhile to get interesting, but then didn't understand Chamber of Secrets at all, and didn't want to go on into the series as a result.

Via Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) [as there's a quote about Coraline in there as well.

Every book store should come with a Labrador

Black Dog Books has nose for good works

Open the door of Zionsville's Black Dog Books and you're greeted by Chloe, the shop's 10-year-old black Labrador -- and CEO.

Owner Tania Roudebush also greets you, no cash register or computer in sight. With its fireplace and cheery holiday decorations, this shop specializing in used and rare books feels like a library or a quiet reading room.

Via Steven at Library Stuff.

A look at Barnes & Noble in the age of e-books

Quick Change in Strategy for a Bookseller

For readers, e-books have meant a transformation not just of the reading experience, but of the book-buying tradition of strolling aisles, perusing covers and being able to hold books in their hands. Many publishers have been astounded by the pace of the e-book popularity and the threat to print book sales that it represents. If the number of brick-and-mortar stores drops, publishers fear that sales will go along with it. Some worry that large bookstores will go the way of the record stores that shut down when the music business went digital.

“The shift from the physical to the digital book can pick up some of the economic slack, but it can’t pick up the loss that is created when you don’t have the customers browsing the displays,” said Laurence J. Kirshbaum, a literary agent. “We need people going into stores and seeing a book they didn’t know existed and buying it.”

Thanks to Bibliofuture of LISNews.org for the link. And Minh Uong's graphic of a tree of books and of e-books is great.

This bookstore cat needs a home

Rare Bookstore Cat Soon To Be On Streets?

Well, I'm sure that won't be the case, butSkyline Books in New York City is closing, and Linda, their 8-year-old bookstore cat, has always lived in the store and is territorial around other animals, so she may not be able to live at home with her owner. They're especially interested in finding another book shop to take her in (although maybe a small library would work?)

Thanks to birdie from LISNews.

On to other things

It looks like I do have a fracture in my foot. They're going to do an MRI for sure but the X-ray indicated there was something funky going on. (Stress fractures often don't show up on an X-ray until they're actually healing.) In the meantime, they're treating it as if it's broken. Of course that means I have to go into a regular MRI, which didn't work so well the last time I tried (I'm claustrophobic, so we wound up doing an open MRI). But I think I should be okay so long as my head is sticking out of the machine. I have an immobiliser boot that I have to wear except for driving and sleeping. It's kind of neat--lots of Velcro and an air bladder I can pump up or leech the air out of for greater comfort.)I have to take a children's aspirin (but the coated-for-your-stomach-for-adults kind rather than the flavoured chewable kind you give kids). That's to keep down the chance of blood clots from wearing the boot. I can still work normally but obviously resting it and being off it as much as possible is good. If it hurts while I'm still wearing it, they'll put me on crutches, something I'd prefer not to do, as I'm incapable of using them correctly and I always wind up with back pain once I've been on them for a few days.

What else? Oh, the world's worst library design. Via, Jessamyn West....

The Czech Republic is interested in building a new national library in Prague (you know, the place with all the dark, old Europe architecture?) and they set up a contest for architects to design it. The winner looks rather like a mushroom or a slime ball making its way across the scenery. And the inside looks very uncomfortable, even if it is purple.

See it here. There's more about it at Joe Alterio's blog, Good Work.

Well, I'm going to go on to bed. I get to sleep in, as I'm not working and we decided to put off Hairspray for now. I have some things to do around the house, need to go grocery shopping, make out bills, and I'd like to stop by Half Price Books and see what they're like.

Today I got 1) Children's Aspirin for Adults (yes, it says that), 2) Diabetic socks (I'm supposed to have white socks for my boot, and I mostly have black ones...these wick away moisture, cushion, and are non-binding), 3) an academic year day planner that will fit in my smallest purse, and 4) two pens that telescope up and down, again to fit in a small purse--I'm tired of carrying monstrosities--and, finally 5) P
pantyliners--not that any of you really needed to know that, but that made it complete.