In which I sing the praises of the Toronto Public Library, and I am a little surprised

I went to the library this evening, in anticipation of going sailing and having time to read for the next couple of weeks.  That would also mean that my currently extremely sporadic blog posts will not be happening at all for the next little while!

The Toronto Public Library is simply fantastic.  Best I have ever been to.  A delight and a treasure that I do wish I could use and visit more.

While I was there looking for books to read (I got 14, here's hoping)  a girl went by shelving books.  Now, she was fairly young, but hard to say exactly how young, so I asked her if she had any recommendations as I am a little out of date as to what the latest books are.  Comes from living away so long!

Turns out she doesn't read much, and I should ask one of the librarians.  This leads me to believe that she may be doing some of her community hours that are required for high school graduation, though she looked a little old for that, and I do have high school aged kids, or something similar.

I do wonder how she ended up there though.  I mean, for me, it would be a kind of dream summer job, better even than a book store as I would be able to take some money home at the end of the month.  How do you end up working in a library if you 'don't read much'?  How does that make you feel when surrounded by passionate readers?  Superior?  Inferior?  Nothing at all?  I felt a tremendous urge to grill her and try to find the perfect book that would draw her into a lifetime of reading.  Really, I do think that is possible.  But, I didn't.  She gave this kind of half shrug and slipped away hurriedly.

Weird and odd.

Still a fantastic library though.

Truly.

We were in Philadelphia with friends!

We went down to Philadelphia for the weekend, to see friends and one of the things we did, in that frankly incredible city.  Honestly, the part they live in_  Parks parks long beautiful parks.....and then downtown, it´s lovely, but this stuff was amazing.  Down on South St, there are amazing murals, mosaic murals, made by Isaiah Zagar ...see?

Amazing, no?

Olympic fever!

We're back in TO house sitting for a friend, and dog sitting too.  Chuck and Jazz are basically doing OK, though Chuck is afraid of Jazz, a Jack Russel with LOTS of character!

I am getting to finally see a bit of the Olympics which is great.  I do love the games.  We were at dinner with some folks last week and they were pointing out a lot of the financial controversies that are swirling around these games (and probably most of them), but I have to say that I love the games, I really do adore them.  So nice to get to watch them a bit.

OMG!  I didn't know this before this minute, but there are NO women in canoe racing in the Olympics!  HOW can that have happened????  There are women in boxing, and no women in canoe?  What are they thinking?????

On another note, while I am enjoying all the running, I am really looking forward to some walking again.....REALLY.  We're going to be getting on the boat in a while (oh, how I am looking forward to THAT) and I am hoping to get some hiking, and running and swimming in!

Here's the question we keep looking at, to bring the bike to BCN or no?  Buy one there????

Hmmmmm.

GO EVERYONE!!!!

Good lord! Time and access! Deu n'hi do! Temps i internet!

It has been so long I don´t know where to start.  Work is work and going fine, I've been to a funeral, for the dad of a friend of mine, but I spent a lot of time with him too and it was sad.  We've shuffled around a bit, and suddenly it seems like summer is about to end, starting to count down the weekends!
Ha passat tant temps que tinc ni idea a on començo.  El meu treball va bé.  Vaig anar al enterament del pare d'un amiga.  Vaig passat molt de temps amb el i era trist.  Estem vivint en unes quantes llocs i de seguida sembla com el final d'estiu!  Estem comptant els caps de setmana!!!


Right now we've done a road trip...to Philadelphia to visit friends from our sailing days....they have the most spectacular place, right on a giant park with trails and next to a swimming hole!!!!!  Good dinner last night (and the night before when we were invited over to someone's place....the Spanish teacher where we are mostly staying!)
Ara mateix estem a Philadelphia amb amics dels temps a la barca.....tenen un lloc fantàstic literalment a costat d'un parc enorme amb camirols i tot i un lloc per nadar en un riu!!!!  Vam sopar molt bé ahir (i aband d'ahir també ens van convidar a sopar, el mestre d'espanyol a on quedem)

We went for a VERY long drive to get here...two kids and a dog.....then a walk and a swim and dinner in Chapel Hill, very swish neighbourhood.  All to bed early after the 3:30am alarm went off.....
Aquí a Philadelphia vam conduir per MOLTES hores, dos nenes i un gos.....llavors vam anar a passejar i sopavem a Chapel Hill, un barri molt maca.  Tots vam anar a dormir molt aviat, amb el despertador sonant a les tres i mig de la matinada!!!

Today?  A run, some touristing.....we'll have to see....  Avui, anim a còrrer, fem guirres...hem de mirar.

Hope you're having a great long weekend!!!!  Espero que tingueu un molt bon pont!

Cheers,

O

Mosquitos!

I actually have both a signal and access at the same time, and am now hit by such stage fright, I don't know what to write...not stage fright really, as blog posting idea death.  I do miss it though.  OMG the mosquitos are ridiculous....I have to go!!!!!

fang i faldes

The advantage of running in a running skirt:  after landing on your butt in a gooey patch of mud, one can simply reverse the skirt when it comes time to get in the car and drive off!  VOILA!  No mud on the seats.

Another good day started with a mucky run.....shoes soaked again, this time with dew as I successfully forded the stream dry-shod.  

One does wonder, mid-stream, how things like that car door clicker thingy would survive a dunking.

Quan vaig a fer futing, porto una falda  - evidentment una falda fet expressament per correr (ho sento molt, pero l'ordinador que estic utilitzant no te accents!).  Hi ha alguns avantatges de portant una falda i un va sortir ahir.  Despres de caure sobre el cul en un quantitat ben ple de fang, fang molt enganxosa, a l'hora de pujar la cotxa per tornar, simplement girar la falda fins que tot el fang esta a davant i VOILA!!!! ni un toca de fang en la cotxa.

Vaig tenir un altre dia molt bon que comencava amb una excursio de futing ben fangos...les meves bambes estan xopats - aquesta vegada de rosada i vaig travessar la riu sense mullant les sabates.

Haig de rumiar, en aquest moments, com sortiria aquesta cosa amb els botons per obri i tanqui la porta de la cotxe si caic.....

New route! Una via nova

Close to where I work I was SURE, absolutely certain, there had to be a way to get into a small remnant forest with a creek running through it, and I have been looking on and off for a couple of weeks.

Today I found the way in and it is GLORIOUS!!!  I had a bland run in parks and on roads till I found the route, then slid down a long super steep muddly slope, forded the river (wet squichy runners) and trotted here and there.  Bliss.

I was even delighted when I wiped out, even hit my face on the ground.  No damage, even the sunglasses I was carrying were fine!

Glorious way to start a working day.  Walk the dog - off leash - while chatting with friends, a quick drive to work, then a good wet muddy run on trails to make you feel like you have a great life all before you switch on the d*mned computer!

A prop d'on treballo, estigui segur que hi és una manera d'entrar un bosquet amb una riera.  Ho he estat buscant - de tan en tant - per setmanes.


Avui, ho he trobat i està gloriós.  He anat corrent per unes rutes avorrides en parcs i pels carrers fins que hagi trobat la ruta....he baixat - riscant - un pass super fangós i super pendant fins que arribava a la riera que he cresgut (amb les bambes ben xopats) i he anat corrent per aquí i per allà.  Tant contenta!


Estava molt contenta fins i tot quan he caigut...molt ràpidament, he donat un cop a la meva cara a més i no em molestava gens ni mica.  No m'he fet mal - ni he fet mal les ulleres del sol que tenia al mà. 


Una manera de comenár la dia.....vaig a caminar el gos - deslligat - i xerrant amb amics.  Anar conduint cap a on treballo sense transit, fer una ruta ben fangós en el bosc sobre camirols.  Tens un bon sentit de viure bé abans de encendre l'ordinador pel dia, no?


Softcat no funciona ara. Ho sento.

hmmmmm

I think a toenail is coming off.  Just sayin'

Em sembla que una ungla del peu se m'està caient.  Només vull dir-ho.

Ran a race. Vaig fer una cursa

I had two goals, going in.

1.  Don't break anything

2.  Don't come last.

the results?

1.  Done, nothing broken

2.  Anti-anti penultimate, and very happy about it.

Tenia dues objectius per la cursa:

1.  Que no trenqui res

2.  Que no sigui l'ultima

Les resultats?

1.  Fet, no vaig trencar res

2.  Era l'anti-anti-penultimage, i molt contenta de ser-ho.

Very fun day.  Un dia molt divertit.

the problem with work. El problema quan treballes

There is little else to blog about. Your drive in?  Your work - no.  The drive home?  Your chat with your husband about it?  Seeing the kids for an hour before bed?

Not.

No tinc rés a dir.  Quan he conduit a treballar?  El meu treball - clar que no.  Quan he tornat amb cotxe?  Quan he xarrat amb l'Home sobre el meu dia?  Passant un horeta amb les nenes abans d'anar a dormir?


No.