I'm actually gushing about a Red Heart yarn!

I definitely have yarn preferences, like any knitter or crocheter does.  I'm not a true-blue yarn snob, but I do prefer nicer ones over total acrylics or big box yarns.  My preferences tend to be texture-related though.  There are expensive boucles that I hate working with because my dry hands will snag on every little thread and curl in that yarn.  And there are big-box acrylics which are perfectly comfortable to work with.  Like I said above, texture comes first for me.  With that being said, typically expensive yarns with the nicer fibers tend to have nicer texture.  Red Heart Super Saver tends to be looked down on by a lot of "yarnies" but it definitely has its place too.  Wears forever, machine washable, no fading, cheap, etc.  It's a good yarn for stuff for charity or for kids or that will get a lot of hard use.  A good staple yarn, and yarn company, and I've definitely used it more than once, but not a brand that I typically get gushy about.

And then they released this one.

The Yarn

Red Heart Reflective.

 

Yes, reflective!  I've been looking for a reflective yarn for YEARS!  It's perfect for knitting gifts for runners, and as you might imagine, I have a few running friends.  But you couldn't find a reflective yarn.  You can buy spools of silver threads to use as a carry-along with your yarn, but they are very hard to find and tend to be a little expensive and still not exactly what you're looking for when you're looking for reflective yarn.  This is an acrylic yarn with a silver reflective thread wrapped in.  It comes in neons, bright purple, peacock, black and grey.  I chose grey for Zach and bright neon green for me (it contrasts nicely with my neon, safety-yellow running shirts). 

And it's really reflective!  Check out the pictures!!

As a yarn, it's pretty nice to work with, actually.  The silver thread is a little stiffer and a touch rougher than the rest of the yarn, but nothing off-putting.  And like with a lot of acrylics, different colors have different softnesses.  In this case, the green was noticeably softer than the grey.  The grey wasn't bad; the green was just softer.  It knits up nice and soft and squishy, even at a tighter gauge, like in hat pattern.  Not bad!

I really liked it.  I made the two hats for me and Zach.  Then I made wristwarmers for me.  And then I made two more hats for Mom and her running buddy (a close family friend since I was about 9) to celebrate them completing their first marathon at the beginning of December. So proud of them!  For those two hats, I made one in the bright green (again) and one in peacock blue-green.  They need something warm to wear as Mom trains for her second marathon in March!

   

The Pattern

Well, patternS this time.  I had several pieces I wanted to make with this.  So I did :)

As I've said, Zach and I each got a hat, and then I made two more.  All were the Man Hat by Haven Leavitt, available on her blog Knit Alone Together.  It's a nice, simple, broken rib ski cap.  Knits up very fast - I think I finished Zach's hat in about 2 days!  Chunky yarn, even at a tighter gauge, knits up very quickly, and doing the pattern more than once... the hats just flew along.

 

Despite being named the Man Hat, only one of my hat recipients is actually a man.  But for a running hat, these are perfect. I like my running hats to be basic ski or skill caps, not girly slouchy hats or berets or cloches.  Simple ski caps for me.  Or hats shaped like penguins :)  

 

I know that mine totally covers all my hair, now that my hair is so short.  Might as well be a knit swim cap, for all the hair showing.  Still, means that my ears will be warm on winter runs!  And they are very comfy hats.  Zach wears his quite a lot during the winter.  Makes me smile.

Here we are modeling them at last year's Turkey Trot 5K. 

Also made with the yarn was a set of handwarmers (fingerless mitts) for me.  My ears and hands, that's what gets cold on runs. I was wearing the mitts at the Turkey Trot as well as the hat.  You just can't see my hands in the pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it.

The pattern is the Ribbed Fingerless Gloves, a free download from Yarn + Co. 

This is a nice, basic ribbed fingerless mitt pattern.  The directions are nice and clear, and they knit up very quickly in bulky/chunky yarn.  A yarn weight which also means they are nice and squishy and warm.  Not much really more to say, I guess.

 

The hats are raveled here, here, here, and here.  The mitts are raveled here.

Notes, Alterations, Etc.

The caps are the same pattern, and most are exactly according to the pattern.  Zach's has only one minor alteration. His head is a little smaller than mine, so I only knit 6 inches before starting the decreases, instead of 7 inches, like the pattern calls for.

For my fingerless mitts,  I added stripes.  There were about 8 yards of grey left over from Zach’s hat.  I cut them into two even pieces, and then used them to evenly make stripes on the two mitts.  I had enough for 3 stripes on each mitt, 2 rounds per stripe (which you can see in the pictures).

I also followed the directions for the mitts as they were written, but knit them on smaller needles (US 8 instead of 10).  I've small hands, so that made the mitts a little smaller, to actually fit.  And it also produced a little bit denser knit, so a little warmer too.  The only thing I'd add to that is that I'd cast on with larger needles next time, if I'm using the same smaller-needles strategy.  It would give the cuff a little more stretch.

And here we are, modeling 3 of the 4 hats, over the unseasonably warm Christmas holidays this year.  I made them put on the hats so I could take the picture :)

Oh So Pinteresting Wednesday - More birdseed feeders

Following up on a post waaaaaaay back in November 2011, here is another style of bird feeder I've found on Pinterest - Bird Seed Ornaments.  Some call them Bird Seed Cakes, but since you can make them in cute shapes using tins and trays and cookie cutters to decorate your outside trees, and it is the holiday season after all, I'll stick with calling them Ornaments.  Of course, we don't have too many outside trees ourselves, but I'm sure I'll find places to hang them!

Bird Seed Ornaments

Variation 1:  The first recipe for these that I found was from Critter Comforts, and is as follows.

What you need:

• 3/4 c flour
• 1/2 c water
• 1 pkg unflavored gelatin
• 3 T corn syrup
• Bird seed

Directions

1.     Mix the first four ingredients.  Then mix in bird seed, about 4 cups.

2.     Stir the mixture together.  For extra-messy fun, use your hands.  Beware, though, the corn syrup and the gelatin make it pretty sticky!  Fun for kids, though :)

3.     Scoop the mixture into the shape of your choice. Silicone molds and cookie cutters work beautifully. 

4.     Press the mixture in firmly and layer a loop of twine or ribbon in the middle for hanging.

 

5.     Let the ornaments air dry in a warm, dry spot in your home for at least full day.

 

Variation Two:  Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming has a variation as well.

Compared to the recipe above, this version doesn't use corn syrup or flour - nothing but the unflavored gelatin (and water to prepare it) and birdseed.  And of course, the molds or cookie cutters, and the ribbon or twine to hang them.

Directions:

1. Begin by mixing two envelopes of Knox Gelatin (approximately 4 tablespoons) to 1 cup of water.  If you're making a bigger mold, you made need to double or triple the recipe.  Obviously you need more seed mix to fill bundt pans or cake tins than you do for cookie cutters or muffin-sized molds.
2. Simmer on low until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
3. Add 2 cups of bird seed to the gelatin mixture, stirring until completely mixed.
4. Spray your mold with a coat of non-stick baking spray and scoop in birdseed mixture pressing lightly to pack down. 
5. Chill for at least 2 hrs in the fridge.
6. To remove, turn the mold upside down and apply a little pressure until the bird seed cake is released. For a larger sized mold, you may need to run a butter knife around the edges to help release.
7. Hang with a ribbon or twine and let the birds enjoy! 

I've only made the first version so far, but I want to experiment (i.e. play!) and see which one is easier, less messy, which one the birds prefer, etc.  Maybe after the new year when I've a little more time on my hands again...

Merely a trifle, merely a trifle

So, back in 2013, I decided to give making trifle a try.  Little did I know the wonderful variations we'd discover down that enticing rabbit hole!  Here we go, a post devoted to what is becoming our house's favorite dessert: 

The Trifle

The first trifle I made, and the one I've made most frequently, is the Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle from Skinnytaste.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 pints strawberries, sliced
• 2 pints blueberries

For the cream filling (what I call the fluffy layer):

• 6 tbsp fat-free sweetened condensed milk (I used Borden Eagle)
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1 package white chocolate instant pudding mix (the small box)
• 12 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Whisk the condensed milk and water in a bowl. 
2. Whisk in the pudding mix for 2 minutes. 
3. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in the whipped topping.
4. Arrange half of the cake in the bottom of a 14-cup trifle dish. 
5. Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. 
6. Spread half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread.
7. Top with a layer of strawberries. 
8. Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries, then add more blueberries and top with the remaining cream mixture. 
9. Finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a pretty pattern. 
10. Cover and refrigerate at least one 1 hour.

Notes, Variations, Etc:

Skinnytaste recommends using a plastic bag with the corner cut off to pipe on the fluffy layer and then spread it.  I just use a spatula.  Whatever works for you :)

I make my angel food cake for this dessert, using a box mix.  If you're short on time, you can just as easily use a purchased cake.  And if you want it a little denser/richer, you can substitute pound cake instead. And they don't really need to be 1-inch cubes.  Chunks of cake are fine too, as it'll all be layered in with fluff and fruit soon enough.

As desserts go, this one isn't doesn't have to be horrible for you.  Use a lighter cake, like angel food, use fat-free and/or sugar-free ingredients when you can, and pack in the fruit.  See?  Relatively healthy, as desserts go :)

What is so much fun with trifle is the variations on it.  It can be rich and heavy, it can be light, it can use whatever fruits you want to put in!  A trifle is simply a layered dessert with a cake-type layer, a pudding-type layer, and quite often a fruit layer.  Whatever you want to layer is then up to you!  I think my Sweet Stuff board on Pinterest is slowly becoming my Trifle Possibilities board, with all the variations out there!

I think I've made the strawberry-blueberry version about 5 times now, but I have made others too.  Some of the variations we've tried:

• Lemon-raspberry - lemon pudding in the fluffy layer, and lemon snaps for the dry layer (can't really call it a cake layer when they're cookies, right?)  Delicious combination of flavors, but I think I needed more lemon snaps, and I wouldn't use frozen raspberries again (it was all I had at the time).  Still, very good flavor combination!

• Pumpkin Spice - gingerbread and pumpkin pie filling feature heavily in these layers - actually have written this one up, too!

 

•  Christmas (strawberry-kiwi) - tried this variation just this week.  Bright red and green, but not the standard "Christmas" flavors, so it's a nice variation to bring to a potluck at this time of year.  I based this on Joy's Prize-Winning Trifle from allrecipes, and then altered it to my tastes.  Her recipe includes layers of banana and pineapple too, making it much more tropical.  I'm not big on bananas in dessert, so I went with just the classic strawberry-kiwi flavor combo.  It was still a hit :)

  

Some of the variations I've pinned and want to try:

• Key Lime Trifle from Betty Crocker - angel food cake, key lime fluffy layer - what more do you need?
• Dreamsicle Trifle from Time Travel Kitchen - angel food cake, orange sherbet, mandarin oranges - yum!
• Lemon Trifle from i2u2gethercooking - basic lemon fluffy layer with angel food cake and optional coconut topping
• Colossal Caramel Apple Trifle from Taste of Home - yellow cake, apple pie filling, vanilla fluffy layer, and caramel sauce
• Basic Chocolate Trifle from Cocinando con Alena - brownies, chocolate pudding, whipped topping layers
• Triple Chocolate Peppermint Trifle from Martha Stewart - brownies, chocolate and white chocolate fluffy layers, lots of candy pieces for crunch and mint
• Nutella Mousse Trifle from Something Swanky - brownies, Nutella mousse - might be dangerous!!
• Strawberries and Cream Trifle from The Alison Show - angel food cake, plain and strawberry fluffy layers, strawberry pieces - nice and classic
• Black Forest Trifle from Recipe.com - chocolate cake, chocolate fluff, cherries
• Italian Tuxedo Trifle from Random Sweetness Baking - amaretto brownies (!!), white chocolate fluff, strawberries

And that's just a start!  Be creative!  Enjoy!

PS - if you are from our house, you get the joke in the title to this post.  That one's for you, Anne!

Another finished test knit: Brayford Cowl/Infinity Scarf

Now that I'm writing again, I'm playing a bit of catch-up on my project chatter.  This is a pretty test knit I finished last fall.  All done and blocked and has been worn more than a couple times, so thought I'd finally share.

The Yarn

Jaeger Matchmaker Merino DK.  I've used this one before, but as I said then, I had a whole bag of it from a lot sale.  The opinion hasn't really changed, working with it again.  It's a little scratchy at first, but softens after the first wash.  Still like the yarn, still think it's a shame it was discontinued :\

 

The Pattern

This is a long cowl, with a large leaf lace pattern.  The pattern begins with the lace edging and ends with garter stitch.  The lace itself is nice and repetitive, one that 'gets into your hands' and is read easily, so the whole cowl goes very quickly.  In fact, the most time-consuming part of mine was having to restart at the beginning because there was a twist in the round.  It's been ages since I've done that!

I used about 330 yds, but it would be very easy to omit a repeat or two if you had less yarn to work with.  I personally like the length though. If it's left long, the lace pattern is very pretty, but it's also long enough to double up if the weather's particularly chilly one day. 

 

Overall, a very nice, well-done pattern.  My project is raveled here.

Cookies!

I made this recipe at Halloween, and a friend at worked liked it so much that she asked for the recipe.  When I made these again for the office Christmas lunch, I actually remembered to post the recipe for her.  Progress!

The Recipe: Soft Frosted Chocolate Sugar Cookies from The Baker Chick.

The Baker Chick, in turn, found her Chocolate Sugar Cookie recipe on Cooking Classy.  I've copied the recipe here, with my few notes.

Yield: 2-4 dozen cookies, depending on the size of the cookies (the size I make, I get about 3 dozen)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light-brown sugar
• 9 Tbsp butter, softened (1 stick + 1 Tbsp)
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• ½ Tbsp vanilla extract

For the Frosting:

• 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
• 4 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
• food coloring(optional)
• toppings - sprinkles, nonpareils, colored sugar, etc.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter and sour cream until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).
4. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until well combined. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until incorporated (dough will be thick!).
5. Scoop 1-2 tablespoon sized portions of dough and form into balls (depending on how big you want your cookies.)
6. Place dough-balls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and evenly flatten to about ½ inch thick. The cookies don't spread much so they can be relatively close.
7. Bake in preheated oven 9 - 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting (very important!).

For the Frosting:

1. Place softened butter in a large bowl and whip until creamy and pale. 
2. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until thick and smooth. If using unsalted butter, you might want to add a pinch of salt to offset the sweetness (adjust to your own taste).
3. Add in vanilla and milk or cream until frosting is dense and creamy. 
4. Add food coloring, if using. Mix until color is well-blended and consistent.
5. Frost cookies.  Top with sprinkles, if desired.

Notes, Variations, Etc.:

The frosting dries and hardens a little after a very short while, which means that the cookies can be stacked in an container without smearing.  Nice!  Still a good idea to have a sheet of waxed paper between the layers, though.

The overall idea is to have a nice, soft, rich chocolate cookie, almost dark chocolate in taste, which can then be frosted without being too sweet.  My friend called them "brownie cookies" because they are very soft and rich.What I like so much about these cookies (aside from being yummy) is that they are fun.  The frosting offers so much possibility!  So many possible color and/or flavor combinations!!  Like the Lofthouse cookies you see in grocery stores all over, with the seasonally-colored frosting and sprinkles.  Except these are homemade and chocolate instead (both important pluses, in my book!).

For the batch in October, I used The Baker Chick's original recipe, making just plain frosting with food coloring to make things orange.  The chocolate cookies were naturally nice and dark, a nice contrast to the orange, and then I topped it all off with Halloween sprinkles.  Festive! 

And no, the frosting isn't as spread as thick on the cookies as you might think.  The uneven surface of the cookies makes them look more thickly frosted.  If you are comparing pictures between websites closely, The Baker Chick rolled her dough to make smoother dough balls, and thus smoother cookies; I just went with the drop-cookie method, and didn't really press mine down to that even ½ inch depth.  Easier, but it does produce lumpier/peakier/less aesthetically pleasing cookies.  Still taste just fine though!  :)

This week, for the Christmas batch, I got experimental!  When I made the frosting, I decided to make peppermint frosting.  1 - it's Christmas.  2 - I'm a sucker for anything peppermint and chocolate.  It's a serious weakness.  After a little online research, there are two main ways to make peppermint frosting.  Either you add lots of crushed candy cane or peppermint pieces to the plain frosting, or you add peppermint extract.  As I didn't have any candy canes in the house, I went with Option 2.  Perhaps at Valentine's Day, I'll do the candy cane version...

To make peppermint frosting, I added 1/8 tsp. peppermint extract to the plain frosting as I was mixing.

I did notice that trying to make the red frosting meant that I had to add a LOT of red food coloring.  If I didn't, the frosting was a lovely seasonal shade of... pink.  Not quite what I was going for.  Between the red food coloring and the peppermint extract, I had more liquid in this batch of frosting than in the Halloween batch.  I ended up having to mix things more, and the frosting was more whipped than the first time I made these.  Not a big deal one way or another, but something to think about if you're making your own alterations.

Looking ahead to the next time I bake these, I might try the peanut butter frosting that Cooking Classy used in her recipe.  Peanut butter and chocolate is another personal weakness, one only slightly less serious than peppermint and chocolate!  And the Baker Chick has a Soft Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookie too, if I want to try a falltime-ish cookie. Like I said earlier, the variations in flavors and decorations make these fun and seasonally appropriate year-round :)

Something to show for all my schoolwork

So after all the posting during the conference this summer, I was hoping I'd have more momentum to keep writing through the fall.  Well, it partially worked.  

I've done a great job writing for my classes!  Unfortunately, little time (or mental energy!) for other writing.  This semester has been a very, very busy one.  I've had two courses, plus my practicum.  Basically, I was full-time grad student who was also working full time.  Like I said, very, very busy!  

But, I have a project to brag on now!  My practicum was spent at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, a university in the next town over, working with their digital resources librarians.  And as a result of my work this semester, I've created a digital collection!  I talked through the template with the librarians, and we created the fields, determined how we wanted to catalog and present the metadata (information on the item and how it's displayed on the page or not), and then I actually did it.  I've cataloged about 50 issues now, all up on the website.  Call me dorky, but I think this is really cool.  I'm honestly quite proud of it :) 

"My" collection is for The Baylorian, a student literary magazine.  The Baylorian is a literary magazine now, but it didn't start out that way entirely.  Back in 1912, it also had campus events and news, jokes and cartoons, odds and ends.  Over time, it evolved to be a more traditional student literary magazine - more poems, essays, and short stories, and less Hints on Headgear (no really - hat fashion tips, May-June 1921).  It's always been student created, though, which makes reading through them fun. Zach says it's not really schoolwork if I'm having this much fun reading them, but what can I say?  They are fun!

Part of the fun was looking at what has changed and what hasn't over the past 100 years.  Most of the issues I was cataloging were from the 1910s, after all.  Every time there was something which was so very, very dated, there would be something that was still very true today.  Jokes about freshman vs seniors, or men vs women, for example.  Take away the slightly dated wording or vocabulary, and you'll have something you might hear on a college campus today.  When the articles were on serious topics, that was even more striking.  The more things change, right?

Some highlights:

• I love the names.  Seeing as we started with the oldest ones first, I was cataloging issues from the 1910s, 20s, and 30s.  Some of the names are very characteristic of their time, so sound very dated now (lots of Frances, for example, and a surprising number of Minnie).  And some are good ol' stereotypical, small-town Texas (Lula Belle worked on the staff for several years, for example, and Ethelyne). And then you take them as a group, with five or six names on a staff... it just makes you smile.  Of course, in 100 years, people will probably be thinking the same thing with all the Mikayla, Bella, and Madison now.
• 1920s debate speeches  There were several collegiate debates in which UMHB participated, and the Baylorian later published all four speeches (two affirmative, two negative) from each debate. The topics: immigration reform (June 1922), and the purpose of the electoral college (should we keep it? May-June 1921).  Take away the specifics on the immigrants and their country of origin, and you could hear the exact same arguments being used by candidates today.
• On Being a Twin (Fall 1931) shows that my niece and nephew would probably be fielding the same sort of questions 80 years ago as they do now.  For example, on trying to distinguish themselves from each other: "Another brilliant idea of ours is to wear different clothes at times. The attempt is futile. The world then wants to know why we do not dress alike if we are twins."
• My favorite issue of all has to be November 1916.  In the campus events news, there were write-ups of two -count them, 2- possum hunts.  The Senior Class hosted one, and so did the Fine Arts department.  Each had a write-up too.  Excuse me: 'possum hunts.  The apostrophe was apparently still standard at this time.  Remember too: at this point, the school was still Baylor Female College, an all-women's institution.
• November 1916 also had an advertisement for a Turkey Trot in Temple, TX.  In 1916, this apparently referred to REAL turkeys!  Mr. Jarrell, owner of Jarrell's Mississippi Store, was planning to "turn loose a drove of fine turkeys from the roof of his building, Catch 'em and they will be yours."  Funnily enough, Temple still hosts one of the Turkey Trots in the area, though nowadays it's a Thanksgiving Day 5K.  We ran it last year :)

So there you have it.  A brief sampling of the fun times (and extremely dry sense of humor) which have been filling my fall.  Read and enjoy.

IFLA WLIC Final Thoughts - Travel & Cape Town & South Africa

There was a lot I learned this trip outside of librarianship, too.  

The history of the country was such a learning experience, first of all.  US schools are focused on Western countries (and US history specifically) that I honestly never had any course on African history or politics.  I think we brushed over a little bit of colonization in one of my European history courses, and a brief intro when we read Heart of Darkness in 10th grade English.  But anything I know now, I've really learned from reading on my own (often to make sense of events in current news).  I read Long Walk to Freedom for one of my courses this summer, and have already recommended it to Zach to read too.  Very eye-opening.  The history in South Africa is so intense, and to my mild little personality, so hard to understand.  The apartheid system is just mind-boggling for me; beyond the human rights issues, even - economically, practically, it's incredibly short-sighted.  How do you bring your country to compete on an international stage if over 80% of your population can't even get a decent education?  How do you think so little of an entire group of people, that this is considered a normal system?  I know all of these issues came to the fore about 20 years ago, but I am just learning these things, so my mind is still trying to wrap around some of the issues apartheid brings up.  Besides, the system was in place for nearly 50 years, and we're only about 20 years past it.  There are still many lingering issues - education and illiteracy to start with (we discussed these in some of my sessions, since libraries do play a bit of a role).  And unemployment, which can top 50% in some areas of South Africa.  Being able to learn about this, and see some of these lingering effects, made this a very educational trip.

Cape Town and South Africa in general have a very unique dichotomy.  The poorer areas are so very poor, while the richer areas are rich even by US standards.  Cape Town has beach front resort properties and skyscraper hotels and wineries and hosts international conferences, but also has township areas which don't appear to even have proper utilities throughout.  Bustling urban life, dramatic natural beauty, and severe poverty all less than twenty minutes apart.  It was just so different from any place else I've ever visited.  Even my trip to Oaxaca, Mexico after college didn't have quite this disparity.  In South Africa, the two ends of the scale are just so far apart!

The Cape is absolutely beautiful, though.  Table Mountain is such a memorable feature for the city skyline, while the drive down to Cape Point reminded me of Highway 1 and the Pacific coast - very rocky coastline, winding roads, very raw and dramatic and breathtaking.

On a general travel note, isn't the Internet incredible.  Ever step back to stop and think that?  The conference center and the hotel both had wi-fi, so I just used that on my phone throughout the whole trip.  Wi-fi doesn't hit my data plan, and I was able to message the family semi-regularly (I was pretty busy, after all!).  Zach and I were even able to talk in the middle of the week, using a free app.  Free calls from Africa to the States!  Amazing the potential in technology today.  Does this make me sound old?  ;)

Thinking international connections, it was very interesting seeing everyone's reactions to where I'm from.  My standard answer to where I am from/am living (as a military spouse, there is a definite difference), was "Currently, in Texas."  Most didn't pick up on the subtlety there.  The only ones who did notice my qualifier were a pair of retirees who had also lived in Texas at one point.  We all laughed that there are two types of people in Texas: Texans, and People Who Live in Texas.  They had also been People Who Live in Texas.  From South Africans and international travelers (mostly other IFLA delegates), it was interesting to see what people connected in their minds with Texas.  I heard several answers: "Everything's bigger in Texas!", "hot!", "George W. Bush", and from one music-loving Finn, "ZZ Top."  

I honestly loved being surrounded by so many languages, both at the conference and on the streets.  For the past almost 10 years, I've heard English or Spanish, and that's pretty much it.  Maybe a little bit of Vietnamese or Chinese or something while at a restaurant, but few and far between.  So much international chatter was an audible reminder of how big the world is (and how much there is left to see!).  I'd never heard Finnish or Swedish or even English in a Portuguese accent, let alone Afrikaans or any of the local dialects chattered on the streets in town - Zulu or Xhosa being the most common in Cape Town.  (Check out the Cape Town Tourism page - translations and slang!)

I also loved listening to the music here.  Like I said earlier this week, it just permeates life here.  It was nice not hearing just the top 40 songs played on loop like back home (we don't have a lot of radio options where we are).

In short, visiting South Africa was an incredible experience - from a cultural perspective, from a human one, from a tourist perspective, from an educational one.  I don't know if this trip will be "life changing" but who knows?  I might find an opportunity for one of the interests sparked at the conference, or I might meet someone through connections made here which open doors professionally.  At any rate, I am truly glad I had the opportunity to attend.

IFLA WLIC Final Thoughts - International Librarianship

Now that I'm back in the States and have had a chance to breathe (and get over jet lag - 7 hr time difference is nothing to sniff at!), I've also had some time to look back on the conference itself, see what I've learned.  

Library jobs are surprisingly transferable internationally.  Yes, universities in South Africa use Dewey and ones in the States use Library of Congress, but that's really a pretty superficial obstacle.  There were several presentations I attended where the presenter is from one country and talking about their work in another.  There was an Australian working in Qatar, an American working in Moldova, an Italian working in Australia... and those are just the ones off the top of my head!  I chatted about that with one of South African librarians, and they'd had the same impression.  Many of the information management basics are the same no matter where you go, so should you want to move internationally, it is quite possible to have your certifications transfer as well.  The world's your oyster, so to speak.

Information management remains pretty consistent internationally, and so do a lot of the challenges we face in the profession.  The idea that kept floating through my mind the whole week, was how similar it sounds working at all these different international libraries.  As I said earlier this week, there's lots of differences, but there's a lot more in common too.  Everyone seemed to have concerns over funding, training, professional development, community connections, determining customer needs, management support...  It was interesting to watch people relate through frustrations in their respective organizations half a world apart, or through excitement and pride over accomplishments.

Language is one hurdle that is a pretty common one, at least outside of the English-speaking world.  There are lots of languages, but a large bulk of manuals, resources, etc. are published in English.  So how do you teach patrons when they speak Romanian or Xhosa or Mandarin, and the resources you're using are all referring to equipment in English?  How do you train your staff when you're facing the same linguistic hurdle?  And to really put a fly in the ointment, what about countries with multiple official languages?  Remember, there are 11 in South Africa, and that's only one country's circumstances!  It was an interesting question that I hadn't really considered (being an English speaker myself).  

The language discussion also made me want to become fluent in another language.  My French is very rusty (though surprisingly not a far gone as I'd thought!) and my Spanish is about enough to ask directions to the bathroom or how much something costs, but little more.  Being surrounded by delegates who had 3 or 4 language stickers on their name tags, or listening to the South Africans shift between 2 or 3 languages so easily... I felt very much the stereotypical isolated American.  Gotta change that!

Librarianship is also a pretty small community, I learned.  Well, for those active in it beyond their own facilities.  I suppose if you never really work with any others outside your own building, then it's a REALLY small community.  But even on an international level, it seems to be a rather contained world.  My professor went to dinner one night this week with a handful of people.  No one really in the same committees or specializations, and definitely not in the same institutions.  Yet, they were quickly finding all sorts of connections - people they'd worked with in common, or if they'd sat in one another's presentations at previous conferences, that sort of thing.  Instead of 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, she said that it felt more like 2 Degrees of Librarianship!  In short?  Don't burn your bridges professionally - you never know who you'll meet and have to work with again!

But the actual work in this field can also be as big or as small as you wish to make it.  There are opportunities which never take you beyond your facility, being "just" a librarian.  Depending on your personality, that might be a very satisfying career.  Or you can be involved at state, national, or international levels, joining committees or international advocacy efforts.  IFLA was presenting a case at the UN this past year, in fact, on how access to information needed to included in the UN post-2015 Development Agenda.  So, the same woman speaking at the Closing Session of the IFLA conference was also speaking at the UN last year, but at one point was a basic law librarian, back at the beginning of her career.  Really, it can be whatever you want to make it, however big or small a picture you want to see. 

On that note, we had an interesting discussion about publishing one night.  Academic librarians and professors at LIS schools publish regularly.  Like with many academic positions, publications are part of the path to reaching tenure.  So there's tons of information on academic libraries and best practices there, and so forth.  But my professor was saying that there's noticeably less published on public libraries, and school libraries even less than that.  There isn't the push from management to publish, so many librarians don't.  It's a shame that their information isn't being shared on a larger scale, but I can see it from the other side too.  There are so many other job duties pressing on you during your 8 or 9 hour workday, that if it's not a requirement, it's more likely to be pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.  It goes back to how big picture or small picture you're thinking.  You might have the best Summer Reading Program ideas ever, but if you're focused entirely on your own facility or library system, you're not thinking of libraries on the other side of the country using these same ideas.  So those ideas or best practices or whatever don't ever make it into the professional literature to be shared.  It's just not your priority.  But at the same time, you should be thinking at least a little about sharing these ideas.  It benefits the profession as a whole if ideas are exchanged.  Which brings us back to the first point - if there isn't the push to write, publish, share ideas, then we tend to focus on our own small worlds first.

Thinking of publishing and tenure and jobs... I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up!  It's been one of the questions I've been asking a lot of people this week, how they reached the position they're in now.  The information or library PhD isn't a common one, and it's not one that you enter school thinking that it's the path you'll be taking.  So hearing how people arrived there is helping me sift through options for myself.  I've talked to LIS professors, senior staff in both public and academic libraries, editors on professional journals, as well as entry and mid-level "basic" librarians.  Everyone seems to have a different path, but many worked for a few years before coming back to the PhD.  The general consensus was that it built connections and helped narrow down the focus for their research and dissertation.  

Besides advice on degrees, the other advice I received was to get involved.  Professional committees and round tables and mailing lists - IFLA, ALA, and state level were all mentioned.  Community organizations too, particularly if you are considering working with multicultural or indigenous services.  Especially being in such a small community as librarianship, these networks will help get a foot in the door professionally.  And like working for a few years, being involved professionally will also help spark interest for a dissertation topic, introduce potential advisers, or even determine if you actually need the advanced degree after all.

So, yeah, still don't know what I want to be, but I have a little bit better idea of how to get there.  :)

IFLA WLIC Day 9 - Edibles

As my week has come to an end, I'm putting all my foodie-type chatter into a single post.  My strategy with food was just to try whatever I encountered in these receptions and at breakfast at the hotel.  My biggest food challenges are heavily fried foods (more common in America than traveling) and my only food allergy is both (a) rare and (b) mild.  So, time to be adventurous!

At the breakfast buffet at the hotel, there was always a nice selection of fresh fruit, including one that it took us a few days to identify.  Turns out it was passion fruit!  I have tried it now, and it turns out it's very tart.  It's good, but I liked it better sprinkled with a little sugar or mixed in with yogurt, rather than plain.

I did try a jaffle (pronounced like baffle, not waffle).  Mom - you know that sandwich press you have, that makes the little pocket pies/stuffed grilled cheese sandwiches?  That's pretty much what a jaffle is - a toasted sandwich with edges crimped shut from the special toasting press used.  They come with a variety of fillings; like subs or deli sandwiches, it's really whatever you want to put in.  I had a cheese and tomato and pesto one.  Quite yummy.

I also went twice to a seafood restaurant here (back to back days in fact).  Not living on the coast at the moment means that our only seafood restaurant in town is Red Lobster.  Call me a snob, but that's NOT seafood.  This place was real seafood.  I had fish and chips too!  Crispy, not heavily breaded, fried but not dripping grease, real fish and chips.  I was a happy camper.

The Magnum Pink is pomegranate ice cream, with a pink-colored white chocolate shell.  Delicious!

And for something very new, I really liked the Cape Malay foods that I tried.  But then, it seems I'm a sucker for curry.  The Cape Malay curries (I tried a chicken kabob, a chicken wrap, and a curried meat on a little bun) are a little sweeter than the Thai or Indian curries I've tried, but that doesn't mean there isn't a kick.  It is just one of the spicy heats that sneaks up on you, instead of taking the roof of your mouth off at first bite.

The Cape Malay foods were really the reason I wanted to get a South African cookbook (which I eventually found, at the airport bookstore - last minute find!).  The book also had a recipe for milk tarts, which a dessert I tried at the reception on Tuesday, but didn't catch the name for at the time.  Flipping through, I saw the picture - "Hey, I've tried that!"  It's rather like a flan or custard in a crust, nice and light and not overpoweringly sweet.  And browsing the book, I found a whole chapter on jams and preserves, including a watermelon preserve I want to try.  Seeing as I can eat my weight in watermelon, I'm very intrigued by that one.  We'll see how it comes out!

So, yes, am very excited to try some new recipes.  Thank goodness Zach is an adventurous diner too!

IFLA WLIC Day 9 - Last bit of sightseeing & Random tourist-y thoughts

My last tourist stop, and several odds and ends in this post, as I wrap up here in South Africa.

This morning we went to the Two Oceans Aquarium (a second time for me, since there was a reception there earlier in the week).  Got to see the penguins this time, though we couldn't stay for feeding time.  Silly planes to catch.  But we did have time to get our pictures taken!

And this time the penguins' area was open (it hadn't been the other night at the reception).  So more penguins before I went home!  :)  They have African penguins and Rockhoppers there at the Aquarium, and part of the display are signs giving their names and how to identify them (spots or bars on their chest, for example) and how they came to the aquarium.  Several of the African penguins were rescues, and the rest were born "on their beach" at the aquarium, while all seven of the Rockhoppers were rescues.  

The other really neat exhibit I saw on Saturday that I hadn't seen Tuesday was one on plastic waste in the ocean.  It was a very sad exhibit, but animal death from human trash can't be handled happily.  There were several pieces of art on display, ocean animal statues constructed from plastic garbage.  The same way that there are giant or life-size models of sea creatures in other parts of the aquarium, these were just made out of trash.  Very striking, really.

One other little fun thing from the aquarium - their clownfish display is actually labeled "Nemos".  Seeing it during the day, with a handful of kids around, it made me smile :)

For the odds'n'ends now (and these are indeed pretty random)...

• Probably an effect from being part of the British Commonwealth, but there are tons of roundabouts here (not really as common in the States, for whatever reason).  They lead to some crazy looking lane arrows! 

 

• Definitely a British commonwealth side-effect, but I loved having an electric tea kettle in the hotel room :)
• For a crazy landmark, there is literally a road to nowhere in downtown Cape Town.  They started building a highway overpass, but construction was halted for whatever reason (the tour guide had heard several theories, including funding issues, land ownership issues, and an incorrect design creating a dangerously tight curve).  At any rate, there are two ends to this overpass but they don't connect.  They just end.  Apparently, the road is still regularly used though - movie crews and film students regularly take advantage!

•  I got to see sunsets over the Atlantic!  (For those of you who live on the Eastern US, you'll understand how backwards that feels, even to say!) 

 

• Penguin toilet paper!!!  I'm not kidding!  In the middle of the week, I'm in our hotel bathroom, and look down and our TP roll has these happy little dancing penguins on it!  (If you can't see in the picture, he's very happy and bunchy and reminds me of the guy from Happy Feet).  Best quilting pattern EVER!!!  Oh, and I wasn't totally oblivious either - talking to someone else, she hadn't noticed it until the middle of the week either.  Apparently the hotel just got a new batch of paper Wednesday-ish, meaning we just lucked into awesome TP for the last half of our trip.  

IFLA WLIC Day 8 - Table Mountain

FINALLY!  One of the two big landmarks in Cape Town that everyone says you have to see (Robben Island being the other) and I've finally made it up here!  On my last full day!  That wasn't really the intention, but between cloudy weather and a busy schedule, this is the first day when my schedule actually matched times when the cable cars were running.  So of course I had to take advantage and get up there!

Because, yes, it really is a cableway that takes you too the peak!  Like James Bond or Where Eagles Dare!  Only, you know, with tourists, not spies.  It is possible to hike to the peak too, but depending on the trail, I heard estimates of anywhere from 2.5 to 4 hours to climb from the lower cableway station to the peak.  Unfortunately, I just didn't have that kind of time, though it would have been quite a hike!  Maybe if Zach and I ever make it back here and have some more time to play, we'll take the day and hike it.

 

This picture is waiting at the base of the cableway, looking up the rails at the two cars running.  It really is that steep.  To make the ride crazier, once you start moving, the staff member tells you to please not hold on the walls or rails, because the floor will start moving.  And it does!  It rotates in one full circle across the five-minute ride to the top.  I understand why - it lets everyone see both the mountain and bay view so no one's crushed into one side of the car or the other, but it is kinda a crazy feeling!

From the top of Table Mountain, over 1000m above sea level at the highest point, you have some phenomenal views.  The City Bowl is the view behind me here, and you can just make out Robben Island sitting off in the bay in the upper left of the photo.  The open greenish area to the right of me, right in the midst of the city, is where District 6 was.  It's still not all redeveloped, as recent as the relocation was and as ongoing as the legal battles have been.  Instead, it has remained just kinda an open area in the midst of the bustling downtown section of Cape Town.  And between my shoulder and Robben Island, you can still make out the Stadium, the white ring over near the waterfront.  You'd be able to see the Castle too, but I think that's behind my other shoulder from this angle.

The mountain is pretty unique, being flat like it is.  It's unique weathering over 6 million years has left it with that unusual shape.  A side effect of this shape is what's called the tablecloth.  It's when clouds sit on top the mountain, a dense, puffy white layer spilling just a little over the sides of the mountain, looking, well, like a tablecloth!  The tablecloth completely covers the plateau at the top of the mountain, so when it's cloudy (as it's been most of this week) they don't run the cablecars.

Another view from the top.  This time I'm looking south along the coast, away from the city.  It was really a perfect day to be up there - so clear!  As pretty as the tablecloth clouds were, draping over the mountain, I'm really glad it cleared up and I could get up here.

 

The mountain was recently voted one of the 7 New Wonders of the Natural World.  Though, the wonders aren't new, of course, but the list is.  Besides being old and beautiful, the mountain is unique in another way too.  I heard on several tours that the Cape area (of which Table Mountain is a large part) is a unique vegetative area, the Cape Floral Region. There are over 2000 species of plants in the Cape Floral Region, and 1500 on Table Mountain itself (basically, this one mountain has as much unique vegetation as a small country).  And nearly 3/4 of these species are unique to this area!  The King Protea is one of the species found here, as well as several related species (the King Protea is the South African national flower).  In short, the Cape Floral Region is one of the smallest, richest floral areas in the world - it's even been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This shape has been one of the most recognizable landmarks in all of South Africa for hundreds of years.  It was a landmark for sailors coming into Table Bay, and now the stylized outline is used in Cape Town city emblems (and in the IFLA logo this year!).

And one last view of the mountain.  This one was actually taken yesterday as we walked to dinner at the Waterfront. Gorgeous view, isn't it?