Thunder Fun Day, complete with real thunder!

Not only is it Friday, it's the day before Thunder Fun Day. Tomorrow is the Fourth Annual Thunder Fun Day on the Uihlein Campus at Lakewood Ranch, a day filled with games, music, food, and, well, fun. This year, some actual thunder too - the weatherpeople are predicting some potentially exciting meteorology out there. Never fear! Activities and events (including the cakewalk) are scheduled to take place under tents and inside the Petrik Thunderdome, so Fun can happen no matter what's going on in the sky. I plan to be there with my #1 Son and his grandmother, so Fun is a virtual guarantee. Thunder too, apparently.

So come on out and join us - it's going to be a rainy Saturday, so you can't go to the beach, cut the grass or wash the car. Instead, hear some live music, play some games, eat a little popcorn and be with your friends. And . . . if you're curious about the weather you might be seeing, we just got a five-volume set of the Encyclopedia of Weather and Natural Disasters, so there's no need to stay underinformed. See you there.

Second semester, third trimester

Welcome back and Happy New Year! I haven't really discussed it on the blog because a) it's not really library-related; b) I don't want to be one of those irritating women who talks about nothing else and c) people under the age of about 25 generally find it uninteresting or potentially even icky, but . . . that's not just post-holiday weight gain I'm toting around.

I suppose it does become library-related when the librarian goes on maternity leave, though. So, exactly as we began the second semester here at school, I started my first trimester - I've got just three months to go before I take home Bundle of Joy #2 on March 24. Let me get this list of FAQ's out of the way first, and then we'll get back to the books:

1) It's a boy. We're planning to call him Rory.
2) I'm doing just fine, thanks for asking.
3) It is actually OK if you rub the bump as long as we've met at least once.
4) If you'd like more specifics, feel free to ask. Otherwise . . . see above.

Perhaps more significantly, I spent part of last semester re-labeling all the literary criticism to make it easier for you to find books for your research papers and I'm exploring wonderful new databases for electronic materials. Also, the library received a lovely gift that will allow me to purchase some terrific new resources for the study of Shakespeare and Elizabethan England. I'm looking forward to what the future holds - here and at home, too.