Two weeks mostly NOT at the library

Waterlilies at the Rotary gardens

Programs

• July 31 - August 5: Builders' week in the Storyroom
• August 7 - 12: Art week in the Storyroom
• Day camp field trip
• Teen after hours: The amazing race
• Outreach storytime and Library on the Go

Notes

  I was off August 1 - 8 and my awesome staff handled our first year of trying themed drop-in weeks in the Storyroom. They also covered the transition in summer reading; I put up the raffle (mostly quilts) before I left and they handed out free books and passes. I had multiple meetings this week and was busy catching up on work (as well as working a Saturday on the desk) with a focus on getting ahead on the marketing for the fall. There were supposed to be two field trips, but the school's bus broke down. Fortunately, they fixed it in time for one trip!

Vacation

  On my vacation, I got to see my sister, who I haven't seen in several years. We had to do a little negotiating - she is acclimated to the Caribbean and Texas and found my apartment very cold, also we did a lot of walking and I am seriously out of shape, definitely not in good enough shape to keep up with a dancer who walks all day and then goes out for runs at night because she still has energy lol. But we had a lot of fun and she wandered back and forth between my and my mom's apartments for food and conversation. We went walking at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, White River County Park, visited the local farmer's market, and Burlington Garden Center. We also ate at Tres Hermanos, Kira Asian Bistro, Sabai Sabai, and managed to find enough supplies for my sister to cook Trini food (with most of the spices left out b/c I have very bland taste). We went to the Art Institute in Chicago, specifically to attend Van Gogh and the Avant-Garde: The Modern Landscape although we both visited some favorites (mine is Pissarro's Woman bathing her feet in a brook) and I spent some time looking at Remedios Varo: Science Fictions which was new to me. I'm not usually a surrealist fan, but the art was interesting. There were a lot of people since I had forgotten it was also Lollapalooza in Chicago and we had tasty crepes, milk tea, and Thai food at the Chicago French Market. We took my mom with us to the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville.

  We also went to the Milwaukee Zoo and shopping in that area, and, the one thing that was brand-new for me, was going to the Firefly Art Fair in Wauwatosa. It turned out to be more like what I would expect to see at a farmer's market, but we both found artists we were interested in and the neighborhood was pretty. We took a short walk as well as looking at the various vendors and a quick peek inside the house at the exhibit of old photos and cameras. I think we pretty much packed in everything possible in our short time!