Wednesday Random

• Feeling a little nostalgic for the Bush Administration already? Here is a lovely retrospective of the Bush years compiled by the Harper's Weekly that will put it all into perspective. It gives an alarming picture of how much the incoming administration has to work to undo the damage. I wish Obama the best of good fortune and my full and heartfelt support.

• I live in Ch-ch-chi-Chicago and it is c-c-c-old. Windchills of 40 degrees below zero tonight. How cold is it? My 13 year old actually wore a hat and scarf and gloves today and zipped up his coat!
  

• I have been taking a stage movement class the past couple of weeks, focusing on movement for plays in the Restoration and Georgian periods. It's fascinating, because I have always just guessed my way through period pieces, imitating what I saw in movies and on stage. It's been fun to find out the whys and wherefores of what was appropriate behavior for the aristocracy at that time--and plays written in that time period are almost exclusively about the aristocracy since they were the only ones that "mattered." The most interesting fun fact that I learned--because of the styles in that time period, when women sat down they splayed their legs wide open! This was to show off the skirts underneath the over skirts. It's disconcerting to be so slow moving, upright, showy and refined, and then sit down like a dainty trucker.

• And finally, may I put in a good word for the Public Library? Aside from when I lived in California, I have always been blessed with excellent public libraries in the cities where I have lived. Our entire family has been endlessly informed and entertained, for free and not just with books, but with movies, a toy borrowing program and even art. For our family, isn't summer without the local Summer Reading program, which provides incentives from area businesses and a cool t-shirt at completion. This winter, we've been there at least twice a week for fresh books. Towns and cities who take care of their libraries and fund them properly overall are the best places to live. When hunting for the best place to raise a family, look first to the local public library. Ours rocks!