Some stories......

We had about four days straight of clouds and rain from Tropical Storm Debby earlier this week. About mid day Wednesday the clouds began to move out...but at times you would see the sky half full of blue and half full of dark rain clouds. We actually were very lucky...because other parts of the state had flooding  issues...luckily we just had a lot of (much needed) rain. HOWEVER....it's really makes me drag around after a few days with no sunshine....so I can't tell you how happy I was when I took Kiena out for her walk around the block Thursday morning and the sky was BLUE! and the SUN was up!...Yeah! It stayed nice all day long and it was wonderful!!

Once the weather got nice I figured all the kids would be heading to the beach or the park...instead of to the library...but I did have a nice group on Thursday morning. We were doing 4TH of July stories (and by the way this picture shows exactly the kind of party I want to go to!) and then we made a "Patriotic" wand. Three stars of varying sizes on a stick with red, silver and blue tinsel streamers...which we then topped off with some red,silver and blue glitter. simple but nice and the kids loved them! They were all waving them around...so we just had to get together and do "The Beanbag Rock" song...with star wands instead of beanbags...it was fun.

The books were all about parades and baton twirlers, flags  and cookouts and fireworks.

Above  is a cute story about a little girl whose family owns a Chinese restaurant...She is wondering why they are even open on the 4th of July...because who wants Chinese food on the 4th...they should be eating hotdogs and hamburgers, etc...and of course apple pie. Business is slow all day...but once thecrowd from the  parade starts to  clears away...people begin to come in to the shop and then more and more people come in...and it turns out to be a good night after all. Once they close...the family goes upstairs to watch the fireworks and have their own apple pie. Cute. I kind of laughed remembering the one summer I was working at an ice cream store (in Melbourne Beach...right across the street from where the library is now) on the 4TH. I was not a happy employee...hahah...I was missing all the picnics, etc...and the place was dead as could be. The big burst of activity came when the fireworks ended...(naturally right around when we should have been cleaning up and getting ready to close...oh well...we got busy and everyone went home happy with their ice cream cones. And I survived...hahaha

Last week we had an owl theme going on.

We read some cute stories about owls staying up all night and trying hard to sleep during the day, little owls trying to fly...

silly owls,

and a little white owl who loved to tell stories...and how he managed to win over the more colorful owls who thought he was strange at first...but came to enjoy his beautiful stories (this story reminded me of Leo Lionni's "Frederick")

Then we made owl pictures with small cupcake liners for the eyes.After our super hero program I read "Max". I love this story about a family of  super heroes  and the little baby who learns to walk and talk early...but he just doesn't seem to learn to fly...how can he be a super hero if he can't fly, swoop and hover.....times goes by and then one day when Max is looking out of his window (in his lightning bolt shaped house...by the way) he sees a little bird falling out of it's nest.....and then...the rest is history....

The kids loved the story..

And now...it's time to go out and enjoy the nice  weather...even if it is kind of HOT!....

It's a winner!

 It's a rainy Sunday morning...not much happening here....but out in Des Moines, Iowa.... David and Paul are at the Des Moines Arts Festival having a good time. David told me the people are all super friendly, polite and just NICE. They are staying with some locals and really enjoying meeting everyone. And on top of that he won a Merit Award (one of only 10 total awards). I guess when he got the award...the presenter told him "This is called a Merit Award, but it's really the second best prize in this show. It would be equivalent to a First Place.....which is very cool.
David's art work
Last year at the Cherry Creek Art show (where they are heading next weekend), David had someone who was really interested in this piece....the debate was on...should he sell it...keep it. Selling it would force him to create a new piece and bring in a lot of money...but this piece always draws a crowd to his booth, wherever he goes...so he would lose that advantage. He has won awards on this piece in Chicago, Maitland, and now in Des Moines. That's good...but I guess this means he won't be selling it any time soon...hahah

Super Heroes in training

Today we  had fun at the library when we hosted a Super Hero Training Camp. I got the idea for some super hero fun from a party my nephew had  (about 9 years ago...which is hard to believe). I remember not only how much fun Jenifer had planning it...but hearing her tell me how much fun the boys and girls who attended the party had. My favorite was her friend who called to RSVP..... she identified herself and said, "Batman will be there!" Hahaha I love that. When we were talking about possible programs...I suggested a Super Hero Saturday...which evolved into the program we had today. We found some party ideas online and made our program.
Some of the kids wore their superhero costumes...and I love one boy's shirt that said : My cape is in the wash.
First order of business was to sign in...tell us what super hero they were and what their super power was.  Next everyone got to make a mask....blue with two stars and a lightning bolt. Glitter paint for extra pizzazz...that was a big hit. (I am" modeling" (haha) the one my friend Ellie made.) I also had my very own cape (ordered from ETSY) with a big A...super librarian Anne!
Next each child was given a checklist of tasks to perform in order to become a super hero. For example : the tunnel crawl, go through the maze, lift the giant rock, knock down the brick wall, lift the barbells over your head 10 times and save the baby by walking through the flaming lava pit (my favorite!). We had coloring sheets available and children could stop and pose behind the Superman picture.As you can see from the photos we had a  BLAST!!  When the tasks were completed we went into the next room for some super treats...red and yellow (mostly) fruit snacks and some Life Savers candies. We plan to make up a certificate for each of  the participants...listing their name, super power, etc...they should enjoy them.
We're doing this again in July...can't wait!

It's been an interesting week. Stormy weather...sunny mornings, rainy afternoons...not too bad really. Enough sun to make me happy...get a walk or a bike ride in...then rain to keep the grass green. Of course...lately the grass is REALLY growing...have to mow it twice a week..(.makes me think the drought wasn't so bad....hahaha) Then there was one day lost to a headache. Woke up at 4:00am...with a terrible headache...and nothing I took made it go away. Aggggh...haven't had one of those in a while. I have no idea what I did/ate/whatever to get that. You lose a whole day...I did have Kiena and Haze keeping me company...woke up at one point and Haze was on the bed, Kiena next to it. Kiena stayed with me all day long.... I think it's nice how pets do that! I started moving around at about 4pm...managed to take the dog around the block...and do my exercises for the day...that's about it. John got me some soup, a salad and some tasty bread from Panera...ate that slowly...and then the day was over. This morning I was almost 100%...had a good Storytime program with cute kids and moms. Three of the moms had new babies...one- 2 week old, 1 -3 week old and one- 1 month old. Everyone participated when we moved along to the story "We're Going on a Bear Hunt". That was fun. We had stories about "scary" things...but not too scary...I didn't want to traumatize anybody...hahah. I had a late lunch...so when Brenna got back in town from a meeting in Miami...we decided to go get something to eat. We headed out...trying to decide where to go...meanwhile we were driving into a major/lightning and thunder storm...I felt like we were on Storm Chasers or something. There was so much lightning that we did turn around and head back towards home. We opted for a new Thai Fusion place that recently opened...those kind of places usually have a pretty extensive menu...we'd be able to find something...at least that's what we figured...haha. We rain through the rain to enter...and found ourselves in the place that could easily seat 75/100 people...I'm guessing...but it's pretty big. Well...we were the only ones in the whole place.( hummmmmmm we were wondering if that was a bad sign...hahaha)There was some guy playing a keyboard over in the back corner (for the staff?) and I was seriously wondering if we were making a big mistake. The guy was playing a BeeGees song..."Staying Alive" (trying to stay afloat...haha)...it all was a little strange...but I felt like we HAD to stay at this point. So "Eddie" (I think) serenaded us while we ate....I had some good Chicken Fried Rice and Brenna had a Udon(sp?) Noodle soup with tempura vegetables and shrimp. It was good...a few other people wandered in...so we didn't feel so strange in this huge room with the guy singing in the corner ...haha..he moved on from the BeeGees to Lionel Richie...he actually sounded pretty good...but somehow it just didn't all add up...haha I told Brenna he was probably a big draw with the retirees on Friday and Saturday nights...it was kind of like being in some sort of time warp....but at least the food was tasty and reasonably priced. All in all...not a bad experiance...just a strange one. Luckily the headache is gone...the rain has stopped...and I have some leftovers for lunch. Now I'll have to rustle up some Bee Gees music to play while I eat...hahaha

Last Friday we went up to Grills in Port Canaveral to have lunch with some distant relatives. John's cousin Joe recently called to say these cousins(from Wyoming) would be in Cocoa Beach and that we should meet up for lunch or dinner or whatever. As Joe said..."They're family and families should stick together" I put that in quotation marks...but honestly I don't remember if that is exactly what he said...but it was something like that haha We decided to make it easy on them...hahah and meet them at the port. Brenna joined us. The three of us were laughing on the way wondering exactly how we are related IF...other than the fact that we know John and Grace went out to Wyoming art one point to visit them...we weren't sure. The funny thing is when we got there Ruth Ann(e?) asked us "How are we related?" We all laughed. We never did quite figure it all out...but we had a nice lunch with them. John and Wes talked about fishing , Ruth Anne and I talked about places we've visited...places we like. We did enjoy ourselves. After dinner we walked around and saw what people were catching , cleaning. The pelicans were trying to get some scraps...it was funny. After our late lunch we chatted a bit and exchanged addresses and info...and promised to get in touch again sometime. Maybe we'll talk to Joe or someone who can fill us all in on how we are related...hahah

Here's to Mondays!

It's been cloudy and rainy everyday this week.....and while we need the rain....I'm starting to get tired of it! It's making me very tired. Most of the days I've managed to get a bike ride or walk in at some point...but today...once I got off from work...it was too wet. Looks like it's going to get better this weekend....I hope so.

Monday we got a call from some friends inviting us to a cookout. They had caught a lot of fish the day before and they were cleaning it and cooking some up. Fresh fish...why yes...we would be happy to go...hahah

And I am so glad we did. They had smoked fish, smoked king fish dip and crackers, homemade clam chowder, baked fish, baked fish with a broiled cheese and sun dried tomato topping...(my favorite), seared whaoo and more. Then for dessert they had a homemade blueberry pie and other desserts that guests (including me) had brought. We ate, and ate and everything was sooooo good it was hard to stop. When we were all sampling the desserts...one guy looked around and said..."Here's to Monday! This is great!" and everyone there agreed. It was a treat! Now onto random subjects....there are a bunch of these trees in the neighborhood and they are all in full bloom. I don't even know what kind of tree it is...but they grow pretty fast...and they sure are pretty. Even with this not so perfect picture...you can see all the flowers....nice to look at when I'm walking or riding by each day. As I mentioned...our summer programs have started...and today was my first Storytime program. Dream Big is the theme...so we have lots of bedtime related themes planned. Today the theme was pajamas.....I had a variety of titles ready...because I never really know who/what to expect in the summer...some school aged children...so I don't want to make it the stories too simple...but..then again I might get a bunch of little kids. Today I had more of an "older" group...but they were great. I read Animals Don't Wear Pajamas, a cute book with interesting facts about various animals and how they go to sleep. Next up was The Baby BeeBee Bird that I think I've mentioned before on the blog...a cute story about a little bird in the zoo...who sings all day long, keeping all of the other animals awake. It's a great book to read out loud...lots of growling, groaning,beebeebeebeee bobbi bobbing etc...and it was a perfect pick....all ages seemed to like it.we did a couple of songs and made a cute craft. A mobile of the Man in the Moon with some hanging stars and lots of glitter! I think it's going to be a fun summer. We have lots of cute crafts planned and I had a nice group of kids, in addition to some of my "regulars", so I think we are going to have a good time.

A slow week

Last week was kind of slow...not much going on. We had a couple of rainy days and thunderstorms...so it limited outdoor activities...although the sunsets were kind of nice. Monday was a holiday and Tuesday I was off so you would think it would be a nice short week...well...it ended up being a strange week. Wednesday I had a dreaded 6 hour day...hoildays are equal to 4 hrs...so we have to make up the extra hr somewhere. I always suggest just letting me use an hour of leave...but so far they haven't taken me up on the offer...hahaha Anyway...I reminded myself that I had had a nice extra long weekend...and it wasn't as bad as it could've been...but by the time you get to hour #6...with no breaks...I don't think I'm at my best. I'm hungry, my feet are tired...and I'm just ready to get out of there. It was a strange day too...strange people, strange issues...and (luckily) things that you don't have to deal with all the time. (I'm not alone in the way I feel about the 6 hr days...we all hate them...but what are you going to do )Wednesday the therapy dogs were visiting. There weren't as many kids as usual (first week of summer break) but it was hectic...and by the end of the last hour I just wanted everyone to go home! hahaha Dogs, owners, kids, moms and babies...aggggghhhh. When I got home it took me about 1/2 hour to relax! Brenna had made us a delicious dinner...and I was kind of grouchy at first...so I felt bad. Here she was doing us a favor....and I was worried about cleaning up the sink...I did apologize to her...and after a short bike ride and that good dinner I was ok. Friday we had a couple of patrons who just would NOT leave. We announced at 10 till, then 5 till...then finally said "We are closed" Only then did they shut off their computers and start packing up. The woman packed up, then of course had to use the restroom...the guy finally finished up at 10 after...then stopped in the lobby to text someone/something...while I waited at the door...to lock up. What a JERK!!!!!! But there wasn't really anything I could say/do...except try to keep myself from saying what I felt like saying...hahah. He's lucky HE didn't decide to proceed to the restroom...hahah He never even said thank you, good night...nothing. Saturday and Sunday were nice...and relaxing. I got some cleaning up done and watched some shows I've been saving...so I recovered..haha Hope this week is better. Our summer programs start today...so we will have happy kids around for the next two months...I look forward to that! ***If anyone looked at this earlier...you saw my goof on the strike out mode...I was in a hurry...didn't see it...haha After I wrote this I was eating lunch, getting ready for work...when Haze decided to lick the tuna can I had just opened. I left the room for a minute and heard a clanking sound...came in and he had the can...he also had a cut on his tongue....I saw blood...but couldn't figure out where exactly he was bleeding. This is as I am getting ready to go out the door.....greeeeeaaat. Finally decided it didn't look terrible...gave him a frozen bottle of water to lick if it hurt and left for work...hoping for the best. Fortunately...he was fine...and I was only about 2 minutes late for work. I thought I was organized and all together....I guess maybe I wasn't after all...hahah in more ways than one!