I realized that I left you hanging with the status of my Second Life library activities. First of all, in Teen SL I've had 2 book discussions so far, and no one has yet to read the book up for discussion. But at least I got some teens in world to attend, and we had a good talk about books, J.D. Salinger, and why I didn't go to Harvard. Unfortunately, none of my local teens have signed up for Teen SL yet, so I need to figure out how to reach them. I have a third discussion set up for Wednesday, November 14th, and the book we'll be talking about is "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl," by Barry Lyga. I'm looking forward to reading this one. I saw the author this past summer at a panel discussion that was hosted by Random House, and he was very entertaining--he professes a great love of librarians, which always gets me excited!
The other SL library activity I mentioned previously was my being asked to manage the cafe on Book Island. The cafe is named The Writers' Block Cafe and Bar, and we had a grand opening extravaganza on Saturday, September 8th. Planning this event turned out to be way more stressful than I had thought it would be. I had preliminary meetings with library volunteers and Book Island residents, with the help and guidance of a new friend named Wendell Holmer. I don't know what Wendell does in RL, but in SL he's quite the go-getter. He was brainstorming like a fiend, stopping strangers on Book Island and asking them to join our discussion. The downside (but ultimately the upside) of this enthusiasm was that what had started out as a little grand opening party, turned into a Goth Fashion Show, dancing, a scavenger hunt, a costume contest, and fireworks! It turned out to be an amazing event (I was told that there were approximately 130 people who attended). The fashions were provided by Raven Pennyfeather of Rfyre, and Kaia Ennui of Nocturnal Threads; Qabalah Quintus provided a Gothic castle as the prize for best Goth costume; we got a photographer (Justine Babii) to shoot the event; Yohan Althouse did machinima; and we had custom made scavenger hunt prizes created and donated by River Ely (leather arm bands, with a buckle and a Gothic cross--beautiful!). The music was provided by DJ Massacre Soon, the dance floor by ssmariner Flossberg, and the stage and seating was created by Daisyblue Hefferman (Daisy, you're totally awesome!). It was a nightmare pulling this all together, but I managed to get it done, with loads of help from the above mentioned people, plus the following, whom I can't thank enough: Eve Ayres, Gi Tammas, Harper Beresford, and Wendell Holmer.
For coverage of the event, check out the following links:
http://sl-newspaper-fnd.blogspot.com/2007/09/letters-from-beyond.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10593555@N03/sets/72157601925947241/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0K5N_eghTM
http://adnpvideo.blip.tv/file/393872/
Currently reading : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) By J. K. Rowling Release date: 21 July, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Apple Time
Current mood: Strangely calm.... Category: Life
This past weekend started like any other. It was a beautiful day, but I remained glued to the laptop while my husband was at work. However, during the course of the afternoon a friend suggested that I take my son apple picking. I like a good road trip, so I looked up Apple Picking online and found a place in Racine, Wisconsin called Apple Holler. I told the boy that I had a surprise for him, and he told me that he had a headache and didn’t want to go out. Being my mother’s daughter, I responded with “Too bad. Take some Tylenol, because we’re going out.” And so we did….
We got in the car about 4pm and hit the expressway to Racine. On the way we stopped at McDonald's for the boy, and Starbucks for me, and by shortly after 5pm we were at Apple Holler. The first thing we did was pay for a half bushel of apples. I so wish it had been an actual basket, but, alas, it was a plastic bag that would hold 20 lbs. or so. The young girl who rang us up reeled off the instructions about which apples were being picked, and told us we could eat anything in the orchard we wanted. We then rented a wagon and made our way to the orchard.
The place was pretty crowded, even this late in the day. The apples that were being picked were Jonathan and Golden Delicious. I'm sorry, but "Delicious" is a misnomer. I can't stand those apples. But I hate Red Delicious even more. So, Jonathan, which I love, was our apple of the day. We pulled the wagon past row after picked-over row of trees until the boy decided on one he wanted to try. We walked far into the line of trees, tripping over the discarded apples underfoot, and smelling the freshly fermenting apples in the air. Finally we came upon trees that still had apples in them.
The boy picked his first apple and I took a picture of him holding it. We walked down the row, picking apples, eating apples, and enjoying spending the time together. After we filled up the bag, we headed toward the pumpkin patch. I saw a great one right away and showed it to him. He said, "I want to check out the competition, mom," as he walked amongst the pumpkins. After he was sure he hadn't missed any he came back and said he'd picked the one I suggested. So, we put that into the wagon and went to pay for it.
Besides the apple picking, Apple Holler also has goats and ducks you can feed; a corn maze; tractor ride; homemade cider; cheese curds; corn on the cob; and more. The boy was up for the corn maze, so we put the apples and pumpkin in the car and came back, only to find out that the corn maze was closing. Ever the positive kid, the boy said, "We can do that next time we come here." So, instead of the corn maze, we went into the store to buy food. We got some clover honey, a package of cheese curds, a caramel apple, an apple pastry, and some pop. We ate the "apple blossom" (sort of an apple pie hot pocket, only square) there at Apple Holler, looking at the sunset. When we finished, we got back into the car and headed home.
We had planned on making apple crisp when we got home, but it was after 8pm, so we had to wait till husband walked to the grocery store the next day to get the ingredients. Today, the boy and I worked together to make the apple crisp, and I brought it to work with me tonight. By the time I got here it was more like apple mush, but it was still tasty, and my boy and my coworkers liked it. I'd like to thank my friend for suggesting the outing, because it was one of the nicest times I've spent with my son in a while. He just turned ten, so I know that these times are going to be fewer as time goes on and I need to enjoy them while I can.
Currently reading : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) By J. K. Rowling Release date: 21 July, 2007
This past weekend started like any other. It was a beautiful day, but I remained glued to the laptop while my husband was at work. However, during the course of the afternoon a friend suggested that I take my son apple picking. I like a good road trip, so I looked up Apple Picking online and found a place in Racine, Wisconsin called Apple Holler. I told the boy that I had a surprise for him, and he told me that he had a headache and didn’t want to go out. Being my mother’s daughter, I responded with “Too bad. Take some Tylenol, because we’re going out.” And so we did….
We got in the car about 4pm and hit the expressway to Racine. On the way we stopped at McDonald's for the boy, and Starbucks for me, and by shortly after 5pm we were at Apple Holler. The first thing we did was pay for a half bushel of apples. I so wish it had been an actual basket, but, alas, it was a plastic bag that would hold 20 lbs. or so. The young girl who rang us up reeled off the instructions about which apples were being picked, and told us we could eat anything in the orchard we wanted. We then rented a wagon and made our way to the orchard.
The place was pretty crowded, even this late in the day. The apples that were being picked were Jonathan and Golden Delicious. I'm sorry, but "Delicious" is a misnomer. I can't stand those apples. But I hate Red Delicious even more. So, Jonathan, which I love, was our apple of the day. We pulled the wagon past row after picked-over row of trees until the boy decided on one he wanted to try. We walked far into the line of trees, tripping over the discarded apples underfoot, and smelling the freshly fermenting apples in the air. Finally we came upon trees that still had apples in them.
The boy picked his first apple and I took a picture of him holding it. We walked down the row, picking apples, eating apples, and enjoying spending the time together. After we filled up the bag, we headed toward the pumpkin patch. I saw a great one right away and showed it to him. He said, "I want to check out the competition, mom," as he walked amongst the pumpkins. After he was sure he hadn't missed any he came back and said he'd picked the one I suggested. So, we put that into the wagon and went to pay for it.
Besides the apple picking, Apple Holler also has goats and ducks you can feed; a corn maze; tractor ride; homemade cider; cheese curds; corn on the cob; and more. The boy was up for the corn maze, so we put the apples and pumpkin in the car and came back, only to find out that the corn maze was closing. Ever the positive kid, the boy said, "We can do that next time we come here." So, instead of the corn maze, we went into the store to buy food. We got some clover honey, a package of cheese curds, a caramel apple, an apple pastry, and some pop. We ate the "apple blossom" (sort of an apple pie hot pocket, only square) there at Apple Holler, looking at the sunset. When we finished, we got back into the car and headed home.
We had planned on making apple crisp when we got home, but it was after 8pm, so we had to wait till husband walked to the grocery store the next day to get the ingredients. Today, the boy and I worked together to make the apple crisp, and I brought it to work with me tonight. By the time I got here it was more like apple mush, but it was still tasty, and my boy and my coworkers liked it. I'd like to thank my friend for suggesting the outing, because it was one of the nicest times I've spent with my son in a while. He just turned ten, so I know that these times are going to be fewer as time goes on and I need to enjoy them while I can.
Currently reading : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) By J. K. Rowling Release date: 21 July, 2007
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