blog slacker

Sorry about the lack of newness here at MSR lately. I've been partly busy, partly taking a little break, and partly lacking the visuals I'd like since my camera insists it has a Card Error and won't take any more pictures. Poo. I suppose I might post some backpacking pictures tomorrow, if I get around to it. How's that for decisive? I hope all of you out there have a wonderful Labor Day with as little actual labor as possible.

turning over & heading north

On my way home from work tonight, my dear Subaru reached a milestone:

Many happy, reliable returns, loyal friend!

I'll be packing on even more miles tomorrow, when I head for the North Shore for a much-needed backpacking excursion along the Superior Hiking Trail. Nothing too intense or long, maybe 20 miles total, but in the woods and just the thing to unwind from a busy busy summer.

The meteorological community at large seems to agree that it will be beautiful, near perfect weather this weekend. Hooray! But even if it rains for 72 hours straight, I still intend to enjoy myself. Photos to come...

more fall fashions

Sort of a "Nanook of the North has a day at the beach" look.

gazing fondly at my sweaters

Don't get me wrong: I like summer. I even like my crazy summers at the library. But I'm ready to be done now. Done with the much-too-frequent 90-degree days, and trying to exercise my furry dog without giving her heat exhaustion (seriously- she falls down), and with said craziness at work. I'm sort of counting down to Friday, the last official day of our Summer Reading Program and the beginning of a little breather.

Then maybe the weather will get cooler, and I can pull out the warm clothes. Or buy some of the new fall stuff that's started coming in at work. REI, that is. The library currently doesn't have a women's casual wear section.

For the sake of visuals, here's a random comic I found online:

fun ways to call the kids in for dinner

Have I mentioned that my sister is having a baby? Yes, Lucy will be a big sister in December. Little Fisch #2 is a girl, and the plan is to name her Olive. Which means that together, their nicknames will be Ollie-Lu. In the event of a third child, does anyone have ideas for a name that would shorten to something resembling "ya"? Then they could have a complete set: Ollie-Lu-Ya. We haven't come up with anything yet. And no, Yahweh is not a viable option.

Speaking of Lucy, I haven't featured her on here in a while. Here' s a fun arms-back flying pose that morphed into some kind of grand ballet bow:

unexpected connection

When the list of the eight people still missing after the bridge collapse was released a few days ago, I was shocked to recognize one of the names. Scott Sathers was in my high school graduating class. We were never more than passing acquaintances at most, and I had no idea what had become of him after high school. Still, of 10,000+ people who crossed that bridge every day and the 13 who probably lost their lives, actually knowing one of them is a little surreal. Scott was a nice guy from what I remember, a bit of a class clown in a preppy kind of way. Good-natured, not cruel or mean. Played hockey, which I never would have remembered without looking at our senior yearbook. I haven't had a chance to visit the site yet, but when I do it'll seem that much more real- or maybe unreal, I'm not sure yet. Because now I have a face to go with my respects and prayers, even if it is 12 years out of date.

Scott is on the left

Objects of My Affection II: The Complete Harry Potter Collection, UK editions

And now they are complete:


I bought the first three Harry Potter books when I was living in England in 2001, back when they were thinner and more packable, because I liked the alternate covers and the shorter, friendlier size, and because that was their country of origin and it seemed appropriate. Of course, once I started down that path, I felt compelled to make the set match. Fortunately for me, international mail and the online mega-power of Amazon.com made that not only possible, but easy and affordable. Sure, I got them each about a week after they were released, but that small show of delayed gratification has paid off with a complete set that makes the concrete-sequential and anglophilic chunks of my soul smile.

Here are the covers:

I like how the cover styles, like the contents, get older as the books progress. There are 5 different artists altogether. I do like the American GrandPre covers, but I like these better. And when I take the dust jacket off to keep it safe, the illustration is printed on the actual cover as well, so it's still pretty. Plus even the doorstop-sized middle books rest nicely in one hand while you're reading, and you can turn pages with the other hand. It's the little things, you know?