Grr! Arg!

That's 'Merry Christmas' in crazy Christmas monster language.

The funniest thing is, she wasn't even going for monster. To get her to smile for pictures, we say "show us your teeth," which gets varied results.

When librarians sing carols...

...we sing 'em Old School. At Saturday's LNO Ho Ho Ho (Librarian's Night Out, a semi-regular social gathering of Twin Cities area librarians, this one a Christmas party), our awesome hostess not only had the good sense to own a baby grand piano, she had also checked out assorted Christmas music from the library's collection. One book included a variety of modern (read: '80's) Christmas favorites, including this one:


That's right, not only has George Lucas been unable to erase the Star Wars Christmas Special from our collective memory, there actually exists sheet music for "R2D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas," released two years after the infamous Special. Truly a Christmas miracle! I've included someone's YouTube puppet music video at the bottom here in case you need to hear this thing- which you do. I think my favorite lyrics are from the second verse: "And if the snow's too deep / Just give a little peep / We'll gather 'round the fire / And warm your little wires." Read the interesting trivia near the bottom of the Wikipedia article linked above to learn who made their recording debut on this song. Considering the source, I double-checked the facts like a good little librarian, and it's true. Just goes to show, everyone has to start somewhere.

It's an Olive!

We have baby!

Olive Allyne Fischer was born Saturday, December 15, at 11:10 a.m. She was born underwater- a little Fisch from the start. Being there for the home birth was truly an amazing and humbling experience.

In the movies when a woman goes into labor, the joke is always, "Somebody boil some water! Get warm towels!", even though none of the characters knows why. We had a birthing tub to keep warm, and some of the midwife's instruments needed to be sterilized, so I didn't blink an eye at all the water we were boiling. Then after Olive was born, they wanted to warm her up some more. Maureen, the midwife, asked me to put some clean towels in the dryer for a little while. I couldn't believe it- I was running for boiling water *and* warm towels! So now you know. It's not just a standing joke; it's home birth in action.

Mama, papa, baby, and big sister are all doing well. Various grandparents, aunts and uncles are happy and proud.

Babywatch 07

The Ander-Fischer clan is currently on babywatch. It's now officially Olive's due date, and we're at T+1 hour in the countdown. Bags are packed and at the door, and aunts and grammies are ready to back up the mama for home birthing action. Stay tuned!

new ways to ROCK!

Knowing my Guitar Hero addiction like he does (actually, he started it), my cousin invited me over last night to play with his newest toy, Rock Band. Boy, does it ever- rock, I mean. Fun fun fun! It was 7:30 p.m., then it was instantly 9:00, and next thing I knew it was 2:30 a.m. Dangerous to have around, actually, if anything else needs to get done. I was trying out the drums for most of the time, and I can see how a person could actually get better at drum set playing this game. I've always had trouble with the whole foot pedal coordination element when I've messed around on other people's drum sets, but by the end of the night, I actually felt marginally improved. Sorry there are no visuals, but I was having too much fun and didn't think to capture the moment.

We covered guitar and drums, but there's also room on stage for a bass player and a singer. How fun would that be? Here's a screen shot:


When you create your character, you choose everything from their physical build to their clothing look to their hair and tattoos- you can even design the tats and face paint yourself if you want. After all, what's an up-and-coming rock band without a Look? Can you see how 8 hours of my life just sort of disappeared?

when you're an adult, you have to make your own recess

After two respectable snowfalls, it was time to walk the dog, nordic-style.

No leash, no tennis ball to obsessively fetch. Just me, my snowshoes, Brynn, and a big open playfield to frolic in. We both had fun, although the actual frolicking was mostly credited to her. As you can see by the trail, mine was a much straighter and less frolicsome path. I also buried my nose in the snow a lot less.

duckie checkmate

A few months back, a friend and I played a running, unspoken game. Every time he used my bathroom, he moved at least one of my 3 rubber "duckies" to a new location (they're not all ducks). Then at some point, I would move another one, so that they were gradually migrating all over the bathroom. It was like one of those ongoing chess games people (other than me) sometimes play, except with only three pieces. And without the strategy. He checked me when all three duckies appeared in a line on the back of the toilet, dressed up in elaborate little costumes. I couldn't top that, so I just left them. Well, he hadn't been by in a while, but he recently topped himself by setting the following scene:



I have only one response to that:

Well played.

Trigger the imaginary cat

As I mentioned earlier, I have a co-worker with an imaginary cat. I don't think this counts as an RPLM, because his randomness is not tied to our work as librarians. At least, not directly. Although I won't deny that there is a higher-than-average correlation between librarians and crazy cat people. My co-worker, whom I will refer to as "George" to half-heartedly protect his anonymity, is evidence that not only are there crazy cat ladies, and crazy cat men, there are also crazy imaginary cat men. George is a very mild-mannered guy, but he has a friend who drives him crazy. George's friend is a retired crazy cat man. I mean, he's retired from working. The cat thing is in full swing. George can't talk to him on the phone w/o Crazy Cat Friend referring to, talking to, or talking about the cats, and often trying to convince the cats to "say hi" to George.

George was sick of their conversations being dominated by creatures with no capacity for language, so in an attempt to level the playing field, he invented his own cat. Now when his friend talks to and about his cats while on the phone, George talks to and about "Trigger." He asked me if I knew where he could find a recording of a cat meowing so he could have a more convincing imaginary phone cat. I suggested that he plunk randomly on his piano and say it was Trigger. George was excited about this idea. A little too excited for a mild-mannered, sane, reality-based person, if you ask me. Not that I don't think it's hilarious, but I never would've guessed George had it in him. But his Crazy Cat Friend brings out the crazy in him, too. If I ever get that way about my dog, I hope one of you out there cares enough to do a save-the-single-person-with-pet-from-herself intervention. Deal?

Now that I've waxed on about the dangers of pet obsession, here are some gratuitous shots of Brynn breaking Rule #1: Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball.

...and what kind of doting aunt would I be...

...if I didn't use my new camera to post pictures of Lucy? Her hair is getting long enough for a little ponytail, kind of 2/3's of the way to a Bam Bam 'do.


Only a few more weeks until she's a big sister!

back at it

I broke down and bought a new camera today. Pretty snow and Christmas fun to be captured, after all.

Ah yes, the snow continues to fall. How quickly the seasons change! There are still wind-blown leaves in my garage, and now this:


My balcony railing doesn't know what season it's helping me celebrate anymore.