Give that Belle a library. Belle's love libraries.

I love libraries. I always have. I was brought up to regard books with the highest respect and to think that there was a place that would trust me enough to borrow their books... well, it's almost too good to be true. I will almost always lend my books to another person. Almost. I never lend out my Harry Potter books. Never. Ever. So don't ask. When I divorced from my first husband, he took the cat and I kept the Harry Potter books. Any other book in my collection is fair game and you are welcome to them. Just make sure you give them back... I don't want to have to hunt you down like a dog to get them back. Because I will.

When I was a child, some of my earliest memories are of crawling up in my mom's bed and letting her read me a little bit out of our book of the moment. We read Black Beauty and The Little Princess. By the time I entered kindergarten, I already knew how to read and in first grade I set the bar so high in reading that we no longer could play Around The World, as I would always win the reading. My appetite for books became insatiable as I've gown up and I always have at least two to three books which I am reading at any given time (right now I am in the middle of clash of kings from game of thrones and Mists of Avalon -- which I read about once a year)

Today's visit to the library yielded five knitting books (honestly, one can never have too many) and three graphic novels based on the sci-fy cult hit, Firefly. My local library is nice. Small but nice. They even have an app for my iPad that allows me to download audiobooks and PDF files of books which I want/need to read. The grandest library I have been to, outside of Europe, was in Sarasota, FL. It was two stories tall with a HUGE aquarium archway the lead into the children's section. I would sit and watch the fish for hours.

But regardless of the size of the library, I always get a sense of anticipation when I walk through the doors. What treasures will I discover with this visit? The smell of old books rolls over me and I feel like the books are welcoming me back. "You've been gone for far too long", they seem to whisper to me in a riffle of pages. "What adventures shall we have today?" In one of my favorite books, Inkheart, one of the characters explains why books are so thick. She says that each time you open a book, you are transported to the time and place where you first read the book. The covers not only hold words and pages, but they hold memories too. And it's true. I can tell you my personal history via a tour of my library. And I openly admit that I celebrate my favorite character's victories and mourn their deaths (JK Rowling, I'm looking at you). And when I finish a novel, I am left bereft, as if I have newly returned from a long voyage and can't quite find my sense of direction again.

But I guess that is what books do. I can be the hero or the damsel or sometime's both at the same time. I can travel to far off lands and to worlds yet undiscovered. I can fight the dragon or BE the dragon. Everything and anything is possible. All I have to do is open up a book and breathe in the words and let them whisk me away.

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is valentine's and I gotta say... I LOVE valentines day. I always have. I don't know quite why but I love the idea of a whole day set aside for the celebration of l'amore. Believe you me, I have had more than my share of shitty shitty valentines day. There was one year when my ex husband bought me a bottle of whiskey, which he promptly drank. All by himself. AssJack. One year, the boy I was head over heels for, asked me to give his valentine to another girl. She was a piece of work, let me tell you (and if the gossip is true, apparently nothing's changed. Ha!). I have watched my friends, both girls and guys, have their heats torn asunder on account of this holiday. Not to mention that I have worked for both a jeweler and a florist and I have seen the underbelly of this holiday. I had a guy call up to the florist and asked for a $75 dozen long stem Colombian red roses to be sent to Sapphire, a stripper at the local strip club. Did he know her real name? Nope. But he was in love. There was another guy who ordered two of the exact same rose bouquets... One for his wife and one for his girlfriend.

But here's the deal... despite the horrible examples I've seen and experienced, I still love this day. The way I see it is that holidays are a time to stop and reflect on becoming the people we've always striven to be. Christmas is called the season of giving and everyone says that you should keep the spirit of Christmas in your heart all year long. Do you realize how exhausting that would be? Besides I don't know about you, but Christmas tends to bring out the worst in people. We've all seen it. That is why it is only once a year. Once a year, we remember to put our best foot forward, to treat others the way we wish to be treated. That's how I feel about valentines.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be showered with jewels and candy and roses, like any red blooded American woman, but I don't need all that mess. I think that valentines is less about the act of showing off your love and more about showing those whom you love how much they genuinely mean to you. Sure, you may say "I love you" to your spouse each day but on valentines you have a chance to take a second and think about why you love them. What of the little everyday niceties does your other half do that makes your life more joyful? What are the things you do for them that you would never do on your own, but gladly take the time to do... just so that you can see the smile in their eyes. Valentines is a that one time of year when you can openly dream of the romantic love which has no reality in life, only in musical theatre. You can embrace the matters of the heart and, with every ounce of your soul, believe that the Hollywood glamour of love can one day belong to you.

That is why I love valentines day. So don't give me that crap about how it is a made up holiday, only meant to sell candy and cards. Every holiday is made up. But thank god that they were. Because without these soul vacations, the trudgery of life will bind us down and break us. So love on. Tell all those who have touched your life, that they are meaningful and worthy. Express love. Give love. Spread love. Measure your life in love.

May the yarn be with you

I just got home from work and slipped into my jammies and put on one of my many go to films to help me unwind. Star Wars. Whenever I plan on a night of marathon knitting, I usually choose the old standbys... Star Wars, Back To the Future, Lord of the Rings... I could go on. But I am struck as to the amount of people who have a deep passionate love affaire with sci-fy/fantasy. And many of those actively choose to express their fanaticism in crafts. Just look on Etsy or Pinterest to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes (plan on spending several hours because, seriously, if you can dream it up, someone has probably already made it and is trying to sell it to other nerdlings).

I, myself, have grand aspirations of knitting a 3' taun taun, which will have a stomach pocket that will pooch out and look like guts. Aside from the taun taun, I have already made several fan crafts based on True Blood, and Himself has asked (begged) me to make him a Jayne hat from Firefly. Currently, I'm working on a sweater that is based on Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold from Once Upon A Time. And don't get me started on Dr Who. I'm going to confide in you... 93% of my knowledge of Dr Who comes from listening to my whovian friends and reading memes online. I have only seen three episodes and I am completely hooked but seeing as my local library only carries the specials and I just can't bring myself to watch The End Of Time 1&2... David Tennant will live on as my first and only Doctor. For those of you who have no idea what I have just said, I beg your indulgence. But those whovians are a damned creative bunch.

I wonder if any of the stars who work on these various films take part in any of the crafts. I mean, isn't it nice to think that Emma Watson decided to follow in Hermione's footsteps and knitted hats for her Harry Potter cast members. Or that Granny on Once Upon A Time really can knit and made Ruby's red beret or that Robert Carlyle can really spin (he can't. I sure as hell love to teach him... Course I can't spin worth a damn so... there's that). I wonder if they are flattered or just creeped out when fans approach them at Comic Con wearing and/or presenting them with handmade homages to their characters. I would love to go to Comic Con as Molly Weasley wearing my handcrafted costume and then go the next day as Dolores Umbridge in her pink houndstooth poncho, knitted by yours truly!

I don't know if this upswing in openly geeky people is because The Big Bang Theory made it cool to be a nerd or if, with the cyber age, everyone realized that we are all just big ol' nerds, regardless if we admit it or not. I'm glad for it though. It's nice to be able to let my geek flag fly and not worry about freaking out the normals too much... Not that I ever let it stop me before.