Yikes, is it chilly in my house this morning! My back is hurting because I was stuck sleeping in a certain position because both of my cats were curled up on me, because they were cold. I hate having to turn the heat on before Halloween, but we may have to break down and do it!
Let's get down to business! Here's what I found intriguing on the internet this week.
*Meat-Free Shepherd's Pie*
Meg Hopeful's lovely blog reminded me of this delicious meal. I've made something similar in the past, and it's a wonderful, warm, hearty meal. I even made this for a holiday Christmas gathering one year. Assembling it isn't difficult at all; the biggest pain is peeling and mashing the potatoes. I'm really wishing I had some of this right now (especially since it's 57 degrees in the house!). I've still been dragging a bit this week- I think it's the cooler weather; it's making me want to hibernate, and I'll just have to wait it out while my body adjusts- but I'm going to make this sometime very soon, as soon as I can stay awake long enough to make it!
*The Fine Line: Ethical and Intellectual-Freedom Implications of Charging Our Patrons*
This is a neat article.
If you've read any of this blog before, you know I LOVE libraries. Like really freakin' love libraries. I love the calm, the peace, the row upon row of things I could read if I wanted. If I'm being honest, it would be my dream to be a librarian, but there's no way we could afford to send me to school (and with my back, the worry of taking out loans and then not being able to physically work to pay them off is unfortunately very real, and there's just no way around this). But all things library intrigue me and this is something I've kept an eye on for years.
Overdue fees are no fun for anyone. It's understandable that libraries charge them, but I completely understand the unease that many librarians feel about them, especially librarians who live in high poverty areas. Most libraries I've belonged to have had at least some sort of yearly amnesty period, where you could bring in canned goods for the food pantry and that would wipe out your fines, which I always thought was a neat way around the situation, and the article talks about a library where kids can pay off their overdue fees just by reading in the library (LOVE THIS!!!). One of the libraries we belong to is switching over to no overdue fines, which is really nice; anything that encourages people to use the library more is a good idea in my book. (HA. Library pun right there.)
*15 Hilarious Romance Novels That Don't Exist But Absolutely Should*
Oh man. :D
I stumbled upon this the other day and several of the covers made me laugh out loud. I love articles like these. I enjoy a good romance novel, but sometimes those covers, man... If you're familiar with the site Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (they discuss all things romance and they're fantastic), they often do a 'cover snark' post- their latest is amazing, as always. But I figured I'd pass these fake-but-funny books along so you could laugh along with me. I'd read a few of these! ;)
*This author also works as a janitor. She just won a prestigious literary prize from the university she cleans*
I love this article for so many reasons.
I love the idea that the person mopping the floor in the corner has an entire fantasy world blossoming in his/her head. I don't think we tend to think of others like that; the janitor is a janitor, thinking of cleaning things; the harried professor is probably worried about getting all those papers graded; the cafeteria worker is concerned with food and the lawyer is mentally picking apart his/her next case. But we're all so much more than whatever label we stick (or have stuck) on ourselves, and this is such a lovely and fun example of how each of us is so much more, maybe in surprising ways.
It's a hopeful article for me, too. I've been trying to cram some writing around the edges this week, determined to keep going even when it's rough (in the past, it's been difficult for me to write in small chunks of time, but I've realized that's all I'm going to get until next year, so if I want to get anything done, anything at all, I'm going to have to learn to work with fifteen or twenty minutes here and there. Slow going is better than no going at all, right?), so it's nice to see stories of other people doing the same and achieving their goals. I should make a folder in my favorites of things like these, to pull out and re-read when I'm feeling discouraged...
*Humans Have Worn Stripey Socks For Much Longer Than You'd Think*
So, when I think of people in Ancient Egypt, I think of cloth wrapped around the waist, gold staffs, those tall hat-like things worn on the head by what I'm assuming was royalty, and lots of fancy jewelry. Not stripey socks.
But apparently stripey socks were a thing in Ancient Egypt.
Is that not the coolest thing ever? These knit socks from Ancient Egypt have been in a museum since 1914, but I'd never heard of them before, and to be honest, my mental picture of Egypt in that time period included pyramids and mummies, not yarn-based crafts- I'm thinking that's because everything I've read about Ancient Egypt focused on pyramids, mummies, and royalty, and not what regular everyday people's lives were like. Not something I've ever considered before, but now I'm curious, and I'm glad this article pointed out that gap in my knowledge (of which there are many!).
Add in the fact that this sock looks like something I've made in the past, and I'm kind of fascinated. Who knew I'd have something in common with someone from so long ago? :)
And that's that for this week! I broke down and turned the heat on, so it's 61 degrees in the house right now. My mom is coming up in a few hours so I can go to physical therapy, and I don't want her to be uncomfortable in our chilly house. I'm crossing my fingers for a relaxing, calm weekend; the last few weekends have been a bit crazy, so it would be nice to laze around for a bit.
What have you found online this week that made you laugh or think? :)
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