the little girl is happy

I mean, come on, any day where she has all her men there to lavish love on her, she's a happy girl.

And she was ridiculously excited - as always - to get out on a walk this morning!

I love Olive.

Friday night, company at dinner

The nice thing about Peter (and now Matt as well) living upstate is that it's not terribly hard to get together outside of conferences.  The two of them are in town this weekend for a concert, and we managed to tack on a dinner together.  I had just seen Peter, of course, but it was the first time for Conrad and Van to see them, and for me to see Matt.  Hooray for the opportunity.

Van's doing a particular cleanse right now, so dinner took a little more thought.  No dairy, so no butter to fortify the parsnip puree I served with the lamb shanks. 

And also no ice cream for him (or shortbread crumble) in the dessert bowl - cashew yogurt and some no-grain, no-sugar granola instead. 

But it all worked out nicely, and a good time was had.

I hope to see the boys in March when I am likely up their way for meetings.  Fingers crossed!

I just realized...

...I've been doing this blogging again fairly regularly and prolifically for a year now.  January 15, 2023 was when I resumed the blogging.  Good job, me.  I suppose.

It's always interesting to see the stats on the readership.  They're not especially detailed, but I can see when I go through waves of popularity.  Frankly, I suspect that when the numbers jump up (all the way into the 100s!!!  Insert eye roll here at the thought of that being popular), something is crawling through my blog, triggering the counts.  Or maybe there really is someone or someones in Singapore reading my ramblings.  Germany recently as well, I think.  Really, I think there's only two or three people who look at the blog at all, and that is very fine with me.

So thanks for sticking around this past year, if you actually have.  If you stumble upon this in the future, a hello to you as well.

And now back to the food, travel, and self-deprecation...

Saturday morning restored

A sunny, mild Saturday morning.  A late-ish start (for me).  A walk.  A breakfast. 

Time spent at Amara with a decaf latte. 

And with Conrad. 

Saturday morning the way I like it.  Ahhhhhhh....

conference folks

Time to wrap up the Baltimore trip with a tip of the metaphoric hat to some of the friends and colleagues (in this case, they are one and the same).

Andy and Sara.  I have a funny story I love to share about Andy, our text message group, and someone who thought I was straight.  And I adore Andy, who is straight.  A planned lunch with him turned into breakfast one day, lunch the next, and pizza with the board in my suite the next.  Great guy.  As for Sara, well, this board experience has let us get to know each other so much better, and I treasure her hugely as a result.  I am such a fan of her on so many levels.

Ernie.  Technically not a folk.  Sara's dog.  What a cutie.  He agrees with Olive that my ear tastes great.

Sam.  Sam stayed with us last fall, and we had such a good visit.  No scurvy for us!  Sam is such a terrific leader, and I respect them so much.

Christina.  The youngster on the board, but do not underestimate her.  She is sharp, she is funny, she is awesome.  I need to get her some sauvignon blanc.

Andrew.  A friend for years now, and one of the smartest people I know.  His wit is deservedly renowned, and we want to get tshirts or buttons made with his sayings.

Ana Elisa.  Thank goodness for her and her love of tennis because the means we can talk about that much to the confusion of others on the board.  Plus, she appreciates a good cocktail!

Peter.  The other Peter.  I love this little bear of a man.  One of my closest friends.  I am so glad he overcame delays and weather and made it to Baltimore.

John.  My straight crush.  Yes, he knows I call him that.  It's no less true.  He is always so busy with his work, so I appreciate so greatly he makes time for me.

Emily.  Our president.  I had great faith in her when she was standing for election, and she has come through so well.  Her interview with Michele Norris was a pleasure to watch, but beyond that, it's a privilege to support her leadership of our association.

There were so many more whom I didn't take photos of, alas.  Never a moment without good company and conversation.  Next conference, I'll grab photos of whomever I can.  And appreciate them for the time spent together!

two meals in Baltimore

So here's the truth:  for the first few days in Baltimore, my dining was decidedly meh or worse.  Sorry.  Conferences don't always afford opportunities to dine well.  Often it's finger foods or what is convenient or group dinners where you have to dine according to the lowest common denominator.  I am a snob, I know.

But I did have a couple of noteworthy meals to blog about.  So let's enjoy them together.

Sunday night found me, with Ed and Andrew,

heading away from the librarians to Woodberry Kitchen. 

My gosh, it's been ages.  A place I've liked every time I've gone.  James Beard Award for the chef as well.  It boded well for a nice dinner.  The place has changed, for sure.  The pandemic saw it downsizing, turning its larger dining room into an event space and turning the bar into the tavern, a smaller dining space.  But it was cozy on a cold night.  And the menu, while perhaps simpler (I can't recall, but it seemed that way), had a lot of great choices.  I ordered a negroni (and then a glass of wine with dinner), and we shared the chef's board. 

Loved the lightly pickled carrots, and the smoked trout rillettes was a delight with the seed crackers.  A good choice to share.  For my meal, the oyster pie (and a side of turnips that were delicious). 

And that was it.  That's what came out on the plate.  It was all that was needed.  Really perfect - a beautiful crust, a terrific filling.  Ed had the mushroom version and liked it.  After all that, Andrew and I shared dessert, and quick negotiations led to a baked Alaska that was flambeed at the table. 

Honestly?  Visually the star of the evening, and it gave the oyster pie a run for the money.  Woodberry may have a menu of simply items, but according to what we had, they were executing those flawlessly.  So happy I made it back there.

And speaking of happy to make it back:  Charleston.  What started out as a dinner for me, Sara, and her husband Peter eventually grew to encompass most of the board, and from three we grew to eleven.  But that's the thing about Charleston.  I love the food, but from the first time I went there to now, the service has always impressed.  I arrived before everyone else, and I talked with the maitre d' (also named Peter) about the arrangements for the evening.  They had things in hand, and I left it to them, and they delivered.  Before the others arrived, I wandered into the bar,

chatted with the bartender, and ordered a Last Word.  Eventually all of us were there, and we had a fine meal.  Artichoke soup for me to start with,

then octopus (ah, that bean puree underneath),

then the duck (give me more of those onions!),

then a passion fruit creme brulee. 

I sat in the middle of the big group and had conversation all about the table.  I hope everyone else enjoyed it, but no matter.  I knew how the restaurant accommodated us on short notice, and they did a marvelous job of it.

I will give an honorable mention to lunch on the Sunday with a couple of colleagues.  The restaurant felt like a bit of a tourist place in the Baltimore inner harbour, but I loved that they had a version of loco moco on the menu. 

Spam!  It's good.  The sauce eventually overwhelmed the dish, but it was tasty enough, and for that I was grateful.

yeah yeah

Back at it.  Ish.  This week's swim.  And a piss-poor effort it was.  Sorry, but true.

But at least this guy came with me!  CUTE!

Ah, may I be back in the pool even more this spring....

a bit of Baltimore

So far as I can recall, when last I was in Baltimore, it was for a conference in 2017.  I'd been at least a handful of times before (and clicking on the tag should bring up those entries), but it's been a while.  My recollections of the city are dim now, alas.  Worse still, the weather wasn't really conducive to exploring on foot.

But I did see a tiny glimpse of the city.  So let me present a few views here from around the area of the hotel, convention center, and inner harbor.  Friends, here is Baltimore as I got to see it this past week or so:

In truth, there is so much more to this historic city.  I don't know when I'll go back - another conference, perhaps.  One day.

fabulosity

In days ahead I will finish reporting on my time in Baltimore.  Yesterday was travel, unpacking, and then a relaxing evening with Van and Olive and Joey, the new Bachelor.  Much needed.

So, until those posts are posted, let me leave you with Evon Dior Michelle and the dose of fabulosity she provided opening the final session at the conference. 

Enjoy!

scene from a pizza party

I have a big suite here at conference.  I'm grateful for it.  The association books a large block of rooms, and typically there are suites that the hotels include for the association officers.  I am fortunate that I am one.  And so I have a suite.  And it deserves use.

I call it a pizza party, but it was an opportunity to bring some EB colleagues together along with a few other members attending the conference to have an informal space to talk.  And wow, was there a lot to talk about.  No, not just association stuff or the conference, but our profession in general.  I recall a particularly robust conversation on one side of the room about AI in libraries, for example.  I'm glad that I got to use the space to harbour such discussion.

But we did have pizza.  Eventually.  Ordering mix up, I take much of the blame.

But most importantly, we had Ernie.  Sara and Peter's dog.  A cutie, and a mini-celebrity.  We certainly didn't mind folks giving him some affection while they talked.

Saturday at conference begins

Isn't that lovely?  If only I hadn't been lying awake for at least a couple of hours before that.  Oh, and a Starbucks run, which was welcome.

Ah well.  A new day at conference.  Bring it on!

it snowed here

Here being Baltimore.  I knew it was coming, and it did.  Not lots of it, but enough to cause difficulties for travelers into the area as well as forcing the conference to shut down an offsite activity that I was supposed to do this morning.  Ah well.  That gave me ample opportunity to catch up with friends, which was very welcome.

I was awake just before 7, which was unkind given my late night from being on Pacific Time.  Ah well.  I could tell that there had been snow, and snow was still falling. 

This continued on late into the morning and early afternoon. 

By now, though, it's stopped, and I can see the city south of me a little more clearly.  I don't think we're due for more snow on this trip, which is good since I want to avoid clomping around in boots if I can.

Wait, hold on, is that a glimpse of blue sky?