Do Not Invoke the Wrath of the Librarian

Kitty Finn broke his tail last week!

( The tale of a tail )

I swear, these kittens (very large kittens who weigh over 12 pounds each at 10 months old) have a Death Wish. 

Baby animals are the most adorable things, aren't they?  Puppies, bunnies, kittens, skunks, whatever.  My kittens are ornrey, but boy are they cute.

( the pictures )

Dang, the eArc of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is available at the Baen website.

I've been a tremendous slacker with LJ lately and that is gonna change!

First of all, I haven't changed my userpic in months and really miss putting my usual "what I'm reading" icon out there.  The shameful truth is that I now have a mac and have no idea how to create a userpic.  I used to use Irfan View to crop a picture ( I know I can do that in iPhoto.  At least, I think so, right?  Can I go find a book cover and save it into iPhoto?).  Then I would open it in MS Paint and put the text on.

Can anyone just tell me how to do it?  Thanks, dear f-list.

I am thankful for cute Ozzie socks from a distant friend.  <3
( socks! )

My school is one year old.  It cost millions of dollars to build.

My school has been out of toilet paper since Monday. 

Had to bring in my own from home.

I am not making this up.

Last night I watched the movie Julie and Julia.  It made me go and pull out my old copies of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and try a recipe.  Here it is--Thon A La Provencale (sorry about the lack of accents; I am too lazy to try to make them work).  Aka, Tuna Steaks With Wine, Tomatoes, and Herbs.

( Voila! )

I haven't blogged about a book in ages, but this one was so good I feel compelled to mention it.

( Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card )

I haven't written a book post in ages, but Chime by Franny Billingsley is so good that it deserves one.  Here is the review from Booklist:

*Starred Review* Since her stepmother's recent death, 17-year-old Briony Larkin knows that if she can keep two secrets--that she is a witch and that she is responsible for the accident that left Rose, her identical twin, mentally compromised--and remember to hate herself always, no other harm will befall her family in their Swampsea parsonage at the beginning of the twentieth century. The arrival of Mr. Clayborne, a city engineer, and his university-dropout son, Eldric, makes Briony's task difficult. Clayborne's plan to drain the swamp has made the Old Ones unhappy, particularly the Boggy Mun, who has plagued the village's children with swamp cough in retaliation. When Rose's lingering illness turns into a cough, Briony knows that she must do whatever it takes, even revealing her secrets, to save her sister. While thwarting the advances of an arsenic-addicted suitor, Briony must also deny her feelings for Eldric, even as he helps her solve the puzzle that has become her life. Exploring the powers of guilt and redemption, Billingsley (The Folk Keeper, 1999) has crafted a dark, chilling yet stunning world. Briony's many mysteries and occasional sardonic wit make her a force to be reckoned with. Exquisite to the final word. Grades 8-12. --Angela Leeper

Such lovely writing!  So much humor. 

" 'Us mixes wine an' bread, Mister Eldric, an' puts it round by the door an' by the windows so them Old Ones doesn't come creeping in.'
...Wine and bread.  This has always seemed rather ghoulish to me, as though one were smearing the threshold with Puree of Christ."

" 'I'm awfully tired,' I said.  'Can you be quick about it?'  Poor Cecil, consumed by a grande passion, only to be told to compress his love manifesto into a haiku.' "

"My mask was one great rumple.  It would need hours of smoothing."

Gosh.  Nice.

Creepy, suspenseful, satisfying, clever, complex.  I loved it.

A few years ago I posted these two little gems--remarkable letters of apology created by students who were misbehaving in the library.  Every now and then I reread them and smile.

I Hope This Event Does Not Occur Again

Please Heed to This Letter

Today, I received an adorable new apology letter penned by a small boy caught running in the hall.  Sprinting, really.  There were 10 or so of them, and their teacher had them write letters.  Yay!

( Carelessly Jumping on the Bandwagon of My Peers )

Sooo sweet.