Neatening the Shelves

Yesterday was a faculty and staff planning day at school, so we had no students. I didn't have much to plan and I thought it would be a bit of a snooze, but as it turned out I was really busy! I decided to read some shelves and make sure everything was in place. I combed through the entire fiction section, which took the better part of the morning. In the process I found several potentially lost books, which made it feel worthwhile,

Of course, on the Monday of the week after next, when we're all back in school, the fifth graders will promptly mess it all up again. But that's how running a library works. It's a constant battle against an eroding tide of chaos.

On the way home from school I popped back into the florist -- yes, the same one that sold us that lemon of a lemon tree -- and I bought Dave some hyacinths and a tiny blooming cactus for Valentine's Day. I realize a spiny, threatening, non-tactile plant is kind of a strange Valentine's Day gift, but I really only bought the cactus because the store requires a £10 purchase to use a debit card. The hyacinths were mainly what I was after.

We are now on February break, and I am off to Florida in a few hours. Dave will be staying here with Olga, and I'll be visiting my parents. It's my dad's 78th birthday on Monday, so we have that to celebrate, and as I've mentioned before I'm helping my mom to downsize her house. Somewhere in the middle of that activity I'll see my brother and his family as well as a few friends. Should be fun, if a bit bittersweet as we prepare to sell our family home.

Coming to you next from the Sunshine State!

(Photos: A recycling yard in Willesden Junction.)