Friends of the Library

Friends of the Library are providing a tea each day this week for groups that frequent the library. Yesterday was book club. We were discussing the Novel "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. The Friends waited patiently until we finally paused to bring out the tea, juice, platter of fruit slices, and platter of cookies/brownies. Unfortunately a sip of the tea created a second wind and we launched into a flood of book, movie and tv show recommendations. So the lovely friends sat at the table behind us and waited for almost another hour before they could gather up their leftover offerings and go home. Although I'm sure it was annoying, everyone is friends with everyone else so no doubt all will be forgiven.

Some of us from book club will be back today as the library has asked the calligraphy club to come in to create a display and do some calligraphy. This time the Friends of the Library who agreed to serve tea and goodies happen to be members of the Calligraphy Guild. So if we should get a second wind of enthusiasm from a sip of tea, it will be without that tiny bit of social awkwardness attached.

Life Coach: Philip E. Humbert

Click on the title and you'll connect to Philip Humbert's newsletter archive. He has newsletters going back to 2002. As he was a minister before becoming a coach, I feel that I have a sense of where he's coming from. I've never actually used a coach myself but I've been aware of the coaching movement back to its earliest days on the web. Coaches specialize in different fields - some are business coaches, some specialize in interpersonal relationships, etc.

Need Space to Think

I'm off tomorrow to Antrim, N.S. Think it has a couple of other names but Antrim is what the post office uses. Let's just say that even with directions and a GPS, it's hard to find. Don't have a return ticket because I don't know how long I'll be there.

Waka Waka This Time for Africa

Waka Waka This Time for Africa is my favourite motivational video. Odd as I've never played a contact sport in my life. My dad wouldn't even let my brothers' play sports. He needed their work on the farm too much to risk unnecessary injuries. We took the bus to high school. It waited long enough for us to participate in afternoon clubs but definitely not athletics.

Adult Children

I used to write about my children on this blog. Now the majority of them are married and parents, I'm not comfortable doing that. I've made the transition from considering them my family to recognizing them as their own families. If they choose to tell their stories, they'll have to write to their own blog. I'm now the observer rather than the creator of a child's universe.

New Granddaughter

I'm going from no grandchildren to lots of grandchildren. The first grandbaby was born in May 2010. The second grandbaby arrived in the spring of 2011. The third grandbaby is coming in the summer of 2011. The first 3 are all girls which thrills me as I had mainly boys. The 4th grandbaby is due at the end of 2011. We have to wait until that baby arrives to discover the sex. Grandparenting still feels very new to us. Haven't figured out what we consider the role of grandparents. I'm thinking along the terms of "My Grandfather's Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Blessings" by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

Household Organization

I'm busy editing posts. I started a series on organizing one's house but changed my mind. I read once that if you delete a post, it affects the ability of people to find your blog in a search. Since then, I've hit deleted and changed the title and content of the blog post. Thought everyone else would get as bored reading as I was getting saying what I was tossing each day

MOOCS

I'm a big fan of MOOCs - Massive Open Online Courses. I started taking them in 2008 and haven't stopped. What makes them so amazing is that they never end. By the end of a MOOC, you've created a personal learning network of people contributing knowledge and having a particular interest in whatever the course might be. Whenever a new MOOC is going to start, word spreads quickly. In every MOOC, I've been introduced to new apps and course delivery methods. Anyone can enroll in a MOOC. There's a charge if you need University Credit but otherwise it's free. The trend is to have many guest speakers who are prominent in a newly emerging field. Easiest way I've discovered to stay current. Most of the MOOCs so far have been designed for those interested in e-teaching and social networking in education.

Reconnecting with Old Friends

The original purpose of this blog was for reconnecting with old friends. UWO produced a new alumni directory that included both my maiden name and my married name, my faculty and the year I graduated.

In 2010, I had both a high school reunion and a nursing school reunion.
All those people had access to the url for this blog so I'm pretty sure anyone who wanted an update found me.

For people who I met after I married Stephen, facebook works quite well. I'm extremely lucky to have a very rare name. Didn't think so on my wedding day but it sure helps on facebook if no one else has the same name as you.

So should I change the name of my blog or not? Think I'm keeping Reconnecting but will shift from the idea of the outside world being able to reconnect to me to looking outward into the community and the larger world.