CaptainOrange

Note to Nobody in Particular Normally, my travel blogging is formatted with each day or two being a post. It has been a great way to help others follow along from home as if you were on the trip, but it can make for pretty punishing late nights. To make a long excuse short, I found myself watching The Witcher on Netflix at Brad's recommendation. So, this vacation is being collated as a single entry during my 6 1/2 hour layover in Minneapolis.  Episode IV: Cold Departure I think I managed to get the timing for this trip nearly perfect. Temperatures in the days before I left had lows of -36C and windchill values hit -52C. Prospects of my trip kept me relatively upbeat for the worst temperatures of the winter... probably, anyway. When the plane rises above the clouds, the added height makes the sunrise come much earlier. A symbol of hope for me. When I landed in San Antonio, TX, it was +18C (woo-hoo!). I Waited for Brad's plane to arrive from Virginia (via Atlanta),...

I turned 48 in early January. Usually, I am not capable of being reflective during the winter, but perhaps owing to the SSRI's and my  subsequent ability to think more clearly, or maybe because Wendy suggested it and then initiated conversations on our daily walks three days in a row, I have for your perusal... 6 octals of Mikeness. 8 (10) — 1980 In my "Etch A Sketch" phase 1980 was a big year. I turned 8, after all. Also, I was in grades 2 and  3 (come September) at Prince Charles Community School in Prince Albert, SK. My teacher in Grade 2 was Mrs. White. I recall her as having grey hair and so, had the legitimate possibility of being old—as opposed to just seeming old (which everyone did). Mrs. White came off as quite stern to me. I can remember little other than that she was not a fan of me driving Matchbox cars under the tables during class time. I lived in fear of seeing her shiny, black high heels turn on the tile floor and click towards where...

One of my “update” style posts. We are going to get into a hodge-podge of activities. Puppets Hmmm... I think that bear may be putting on a layer of winter fat :(   A few months back, I was contacted to do some shadow puppetry for the Remai Modern  art gallery. I try and choose to involve the library whenever possible, so I arranged to do it via SPL . I get paid less for the gig this way, but I also get paid for the development and preparation time, so it more than balances. Also, it raises the profile of the library, which I love.   I decided to do a show that we had previously developed which we call “The Hat Trilogy.” It is a mixed puppetry version of three of Jon Klassen’s books : I Want My Hat Back, This is Not My Hat, and We Found a Hat. They are excellent and entertaining children’s picture books. It was originally Claire’s idea and she directed the original showing of it at the library. So, it’s general form is pretty much thanks to her (and, of...

Okay, so you know about my New Zealand trip and my ongoing coffee obsession, but now that I am off G+ and Facebook, has my daily life stopped? Nope. Work The most straight forward part of my life is work. At least I feel that it has the fewest subheadings ;) I continue to work part-time at the library . Mostly, I am based out of the JS Wood Branch, but I find myself doing story times or special projects all around Saskatoon’s nine public branches. Much of my time is spent doing preparation and training for some of our newer programming staff and the rest is working with the public as a facilitator for paint nights, story times, robotics interactions, etc... I am currently working on a couple of special shows. One for the Remai Modern. I am doing a puppet show for them in September and the following week I am doing a workshop on shadow puppetry for teens. Another is for the Festival of Trees . The library will provide feature storytelling and puppetry at the end of the ...