Fangirly Eek!

A couple of months ago, I reviewed the book Summer of Fire by Linda Jacobs for the Wyoming Library Roundup Spring 2008 issue. It's a little cheesy but I really did enjoy the book. Generally, the book is categorized under "Fiction" but it has definite leanings toward both adventure and chick-lit. Her subsequent novels Rain of Fire and Lake of Fire have also been pretty good.
I had completely forgotten about it until today when Linda Jacobs came in to the library to do some research. Of course, I knew who she was. It made me all fan-girly and "Ooo! Ooo! An author is coming! An author is coming!" But then, she started flipping through the magazine and pointed to the review. "This is you!" I seriously started blushing. I could't even remember what I wrote. For library reviews, you're not supposed to praise or criticize authors. It's supposed to be more of a "this book about this and is suitable for these ages." I kind of cringe when I read my review. It just doesn't flow as well as the others on the page. And the author actually read it! Oh, crap. Oh, well. At least I didn't have to review the book written by my co-worker...
P.S. If I bought books based on niceness of the author, I'd buy 2 and 3/4 of her [three] books.

A day in the life...

Today, I got to go out with the Archaeology folks and look at a couple of sites. It was pretty darn cold out in Hayden Valley. Somebody said that it was 27 degrees. It was higher than that when we got there, but still not much past 50. When we arrived at the site we were verifying, there was a long line of cars signaling a bison-jam. However, it stopped right at the pull-out we needed to park at so it all worked out for the best.
The site was supposed to be on a hill above the river, about half a kilometer from the road. Now, half a kilometer is usually not that far. Really, it's only about .3105 miles or some such number. However, this is Yellowstone and the distance from A to B is never "as the crow flies." No, this was more like straight up, little dip then up and back down again. The written description we had said that it was supposed to be somewhere near an old telephone line so we were pretty excited to find pole remnants.
Once we determined the approximate location of the site ("we" being everyone but me), John asked if I knew what we were looking for. Nope. We were looking for flakes and points. Ooookaaaay. he asked if I knew what those were. Nope. Apparently, flakes are thin slivers of obsidian (shiny black rock) or chert (red, white or some other color (brown? Kendra, your husband does this for a job, what's the other color, or even better, what's a better definition?) rock that is fairly dense, aka, wouldn't break easily if chipped down to be a weapon or point (example of some flakes to the left. Bonus points if you can actually see the darn things.))
John, by the way, is completely awesome. Just in general. He has the patience of a saint and the greatest funny-bone ever. Just one flaw... he roots for Kentucky. Really, John, really? I've included a picture of John in a bison wallow (or as I would say, "waller"). When bison get itchy or bored or just feel too clean, they tend to flop around in these things and kick up a lot of dust. Apparently these are great places to look for artifacts 'cause the bison have pretty much killed the vegetation.
After Hayden Valley we went out to another site in Swan Lake Flats. That's when the wind kicked up and we didn't know exactly where the site was and Ally was not wearing a very thick jacket so it got a little less fun. But what do I know? I was pretty much just there as bear bait.
All in all, a pretty fun excursion. It was damn cold for most of the trip but I got to get out of the office. And I got to use the facilities in the new Canyon Visitor Center. They are very clean and very nice and there are lots of stalls in the ladies restroom. The last, of course, being the most important thing in a ladies restroom. No line.

Updates

So, the ninth party went off without a hitch. It was chilly, very chilly but the crowd stayed warm by yelling comments at the screen as the Wolverines crept around their small Colorado town during WWIII.
I also heard that the VIP tour that I did for the Representative from Indiana was well-received so that sounds nice. Quote, "Outstanding." I... am... outstanding. Thank you.

Oops

Cici Guiles just pointed out that our group of friends has thrown eight parties this summer making the one tonight number nine not number eight.

Checking in with the Summer 2008 to-do list

1. Plan at least 10 parties (seven completed, two more planned)
   
2. Attend the Roosevelt cookout (all booked, not going to happen)
   
3. Snorkel in the Yellowstone
4. Snorkel in the Firehole
5. Have a House marathon, complete with martinis
6. Wii tournament
7. Get drunk on the Fourth of July
8. 3rd annual Chocolate party
1. make sure to put it in the newsletter
9. Make a plan to BBQ with the boys in Tower
10. Go see "Sex in the City"
11. Float the Yellowstone in innertubes
12. Plan a weekend to float the Madison River and go to Virginia City and maybe go to Lewis and Clark Caverns
13. Attend an art walk in Livingston
14. Find a new summer drink It's pink lemonade and blueberry vodka (heard about on the "How Much Do We Love" podcast). I have no idea if it really has a name but we're calling it a Pink Lady.

Snorkeling the Firehole

We crossed another item off the to-do list for the summer yesterday. Snorkeling in the park is great fun, especially this time of the year when you just have to ride the current a look around. We saw a bunch of rainbow trout. Heidi, Carrie (pictured left), Trudy and the bundles of people they've told all think it's hilarious that I scream every time I see a fish. This is somewhat difficult to do with a snorkel in your mouth. Usually I end up sucking in water and then having to spew it everywhere. We also agreed on a new summer drink last night. Pink Ladies (we don't know they're real name, but it's blueberry vodka mixed with pink lemonade) are the official Gardiner drink of 2008. Woo team! Today, we attempt to float down the Yellowstone as well as getting some snorkeling done at the same time. That should cross off two more items. Some of the things just aren't going to happen (cookout at Roosevelt, they were all booked up) but I think we're going to get well over half of them done. It's so exciting!.

Aack

So I finally joined facebook. I have mixed feelings about this. It seemed like a good idea at the time... but now people can find me. I don't know about this...

Forwards

Okay, normally I totally eschew forwards but I really liked this one from my friend Leslee. Plus, I'm a total egomaniac and this blog is all about me. Learn all about me in one easy paragraph.
This is for your entire life!

So, for this portion, you put x's next to the ones that you've done.

( ) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada -
( ) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
(x) Been on a plane
( ) Jumped out of a plane
( ) Been on a Helicopter
(x) Been lost

(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
(x) Gone to Washington DC-Didn't I just answer that?

(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose (In front of a crush, no less)
(x ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue--it's like they know me
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x)Gone Skiing (Water)
(x) Been skinny dipping outdoors
(x) Gone to the movies
(x) Been to a drive-in movie

Open-ended question time now, I edited out the dumb ones
1.Any nickname? Yes
3. Favorite drink? Right now, Lemonade

4. Tattoo? Yes

5. Body Piercings? ears
6. How much do you love your job? Quite a bit
8. Favorite Vacation spot? anywhere but where I am
9. Ever been to Africa ? no
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? YES, usually with ice cream
11. Ever been on TV? yes
12. Ever steal any traffic sign? no
13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes, but I wasn't driving
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4 door
15. Favorite salad dressing? Whatever isn't expired
16. Favorite pie? PIE
17. Favorite number? Q
18. Favorite movie? Too many to count
19. Favorite holiday? The day of my birth
20. Favorite dessert? Anything sweet
21. Favorite food? You mean I have to pick one?
22. Favorite day of the week? Really? This is a question?
23. What do you do to relax? read for pleasure
24. Favorite toothpaste? Crest
25. Favorite smell? Nope
26. Favorite color? Pink
27. Favorite song? Right now? Moondance by Van Morrison
28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? 38

Book challenging

In libraries, especially public libraries, there are patrons who will object to different books being on the shelves. The reasons are generally varied. Sometimes the book shows a religion that a parent might object to or perhaps they don't like the story. Most libraries are well-prepared for this eventuality and there is generally a lengthy process before (if) a book is ever removed.
The first step is generally that a person will fill out a complaint form. At that time, they are usually given a bunch of literature, mostly from the American Libraries Association (ALA) about the freedom of speech etc. Then, the head of the department where the book was challenged (almost always occurring in the Children's Area) will respond to the person.
One such response has been making the rounds lately. It is maybe not the most poetic letter ever composed, but it is well-written and well-thought out and really makes the point that we may not always agree with other people's opinions, but that does not mean that everyone else in their community should be deprived of the book because of them.
I like that this gentleman points out that the woman should be proud that she has passed on her ideals to her daughter. He may not agree with her view point on the subject, but he is certainly not trying to preach his own ideals. Nor is he trying to restrict her point of view just because he disagrees with it.
It will be interesting to see what this woman's response is. If she pushes it further, the library may offer to put other books on the shelves that say that gay marriage is wrong (do such children's books exist?) but I sincerely doubt that the book will be removed without a fight.

http://jaslarue.blogspot.com/2008/07/uncle-bobbys-wedding.html

Garage Sale--Party Seven

There are those who would argue that a Garage Sale does not constitute a party. To them I say "Bah!" It's totally a party when one has... mimosas, a keg and a Wii... which we did, thank you very much. It was awesome. Unfortunately, Carrie's party was a bit...overstimulating, so it was a little harder to get up the next morning. But we still had fun. The ad in the newsletter specified from 9-1. We had people there at 8:45. All of the big stuff was gone by 11:30. We decided to close up at noon since it would not be worth it to stick around. Yay Garage Sale!

New Rumors

So, I think I've kvetched about this before. I have lived here for over three years now (not counting the first two summers) and I've never heard a rumor about me before. Finally, while making the pinata for Carrie's cancer-free/birthday party, I heard the second one (the first was that I am trying to throw a hundred parties this summer, that one, I've heard it twice). Apparently, Heidi and I (pictured in this pinata making picture) are dating. This is a surprise for a couple of reasons. First, if there were a lesbian dating rumor about me, I would have thought that it would be me and Guiles. Good lord, we throw enough parties together. Second, I'm surprised that someone thinks I could land a Heidi. If I could find a guy like her, I'd be trying to date him.
Anyway, I finally have a rumor about me!!!

Parties Five and Six

Thursday night was party five, hosted by our very own lovely Heidi. She, MacNeil and Lucy had missed their annual Fourth of July party so they just moved it to the end of July instead.
Party six, celebrated yesterday e'en was to celebrate the birth of one C. Guiles. Will write more about that later. We also had to throw in a "Yay! Carrie's cancer-free" moment as well. I will be posting a video of the pinata later...
And here it is..