Fall on the Gulf Coast

I love fall here in the Houston area. It is perfect weather to be outside most of the time. We may not have the beautiful leaves that can be found in the Hill Country but this is the perfect time to hike, bike, and do all those outdoor things you love that you can't do in June, July, August, and September.

IHCPL #66 Crafts and Hobbies

In the past I crocheted many place mats and three or four small Easter baskets. I currently have an unfinished crocheted baby afghan in my crochet bag. I completed one before my first grandchild, started the second one but never finished it. My second grandchild is now 3 years old, so I'm somewhat behind schedule.

Given the choice of making a prayer shawl, chemo hat or lap blanket I would probably opt for the chemo hat and hope it does not take as long or as the afghan.

Our branch does not currently have an adult knitting group. The children’s department is currently teaching a class and many mothers attended to learn with their children. We hope to start a knitting class in the fall which we hope will evolve into an ongoing program. We are also discussing having quarterly joint sessions with the children’s department inviting special speakers and other events.

#59 Money and Finance

Having heard speakers from banks and the better business bureau I have been aware of Equifax, Trans Union and Experian for some time. It is vitally important for people to be very aware of what their credit rating is. That way there are no surprises if you decide to take a loan to make a major purchase.

We have always had a budget plan even when money was very tight. When you don’t have much money it is easy to see where it is all spent. When you have more money a budget allows you to prioritize your spending so you can do what is most important and plan for later purchases including important decisions such as buying a home or car as well as for vacations and fun.

What I like about the TCDRS site is that it allows us to see how much we have in our account and helps make projections that allow us to better plan toward retirement even if it years away. I found comfort in the following statements on their web page. 1. The system is designed to keep benefits secure even in trying times. 2. Members receive 7% interest on their accounts every year. TCDRS' investment return in any single year does not affect your account balance or benefit payment. 3. Your account retains its value no matter what happens in investment markets

IHCPL #58 Money and Finance: Banking, Budgeting and Spending

1. My Bank offers online banking and we use some of it. We use it to track our credit and debit cards. To me this is the most important feature at this time. Although I use direct deposit we still do some of our banking in person.
According to the bank website they will cover “100% of any unauthorized online use of my consumer deposit account if I tell them within two days of my discovery of the usage.”
Banking with my bank is safe, secure and guaranteed. The guarantee applies to transfers to or from my personal checking and savings account initiated through the Online Bill Payment and Transfer Service - everything that's within their control.
To protect myself online I would use a secure network, not a public pc or a wireless connection and make sure I was logged off and the window was completely closed when I completed my business.

2. Budgeting Tools: The tools offered would be good for someone who needed assistance with their budget. We have a spreadsheet budget created for our specific needs and we know exactly what we need to save in order to be ready to pay the bills when they come in. It includes saving for trips, upcoming purchases and grandchildren.

3. We are all looking at ways to save money. The websites listed are something to keep in mind. I do check prices online and compare with local prices. When doing this I take into consideration shipping and handling and will the item truly be cheaper to order online, pay shipping and handling or spend the time and purchase it locally for the same price while picking up several different items at a local store or mall. The time required for shipping also must be considered. If prescriptions are filled online you must be willing to keep track of how much is left so you can order it and leave the week to ten days for it to arrive. You can order overnight but then you pay extra for the shipping. I have found that sometimes I shop online because I do not want the hassle of shopping or I cannot find what I want locally.

We switched to internet telephone about 2 years ago. It is very cost effective, provides all the services for a much lower price. There are some minor problems with specific landline telephones, such as echoing but. Overall it is worth the money we are saving.

#56 TXT U L8R – Texting

Realizing that texting is extremely popular right now and will probably continue to be important in communicating in the future I am ready learn to use it and put it to use it at least part of the time. How much I use the texting mode depends on how much it will cost me to send and receive.

I sent my first text message last weekend since I was not driving the car and we needed to let someone know we were on the way. I’ve checked my cell phone and watched the video as well as read the article. I’m sure I could send a message if needed.

When sending the text message I did not use text lingo since I’m not real familiar with it but know LOL and IMHO. I will keep Lingo 2 Word in mind to help me with the many abbreviations that I do not know.

IMHO texting while driving is like driving with your eyes closed. It is scary to be in traffic and see the driver in the next lane driving while looking down instead of at the vehicle in front of them. It is sad to know that people are so involved in their conversation they are not aware of their surroundings. If they are walking into traffic or other stationary objects they are not only endangering their lives but other peoples as well.

IHCPL #55 – Facebook

I have been on Facebook for 6-8 months. It could take up a large amount of my time if I allowed it to. The term “screen-sucking” comes to mind when I think of Facebook. I first saw this term in a time management book I read and it can be found in the www.urbandictionary.com The definition being “ wasting time online long after you have finished what you signed on to do.” That is not to say it isn’t amusing and a way to find people you have lost contact with.

Just last week I found a friend I hadn’t heard from in about 25-30 years so that was nice. I also use it to send short notes to friends and family in other states and keep up with what is current in their lives. If I don’t feel like typing I can watch the posts and keep up with friends and family members at a glance.

There are many applications out there. My friends have involved me in ‘Lil Green Patch’, ‘Hugs’, ‘Pokes ‘ and ‘Super pokes’, ‘Kidnap’, ‘Sweet Willies’, ‘snow globes’, and ‘Easter Eggs’. My favorite is 'Kidnap', there are many more but this is the area I find time consuming.

Overall it has been an interesting experience and I will probably keep it since I have family members who are not good at answering e-mails but will respond to short posts on Facebook. The link to 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know by Nick O'Neill was very helpful to me and will recommend it to my friends.

IHCPL #54- Social Networking Through Books

1.I have led book discussions of several different books with a group of ladies and enjoyed the discussion as well as the fellowship time together. A couple of years ago I tried to put together a Google discussion group but the people I wanted to include couldn’t seem to figure out how to do it online. Someday I will try to put together another online book discussion. However, I really like the instant interaction and being able to see and feel the emotions of the others involved in the discussion.

2.An online book club would work best for our staff members. Due to time and scheduling concerns we could post our thoughts when time allowed rather than try to set a time when we can all get together. We have a great monthly Friday Staff Book Club that meets but not all staff can be here and some have other duties that take priority and they cannot attend.

3.Using the title Island of Ghosts by Ellis Dillon I found that ‘Good reads’ gave it a rating of 5 while ‘Library Thing’ gave it a rating of 3. As we all know 'good' or 'not so good' books are in the eye and mind of the reader.

IHCPL #53 Finding Books Online

Exercise One – 3 Stores near Freeman Branch Library
Half Price Books: Clearlake: 961 NASA Parkway. They have an online presence that is user friendly but no title, author searching is available which is important to me.

Barnes & Noble: 1029 W Bay Area Blvd Webster, TX 77598. They have an online presence that is user friendly and searchable by author, title, format and ISBN number.

Borders: 19419 Gulf Fwy. Webster, TX 77598. They also have an online presence that is user friendly and searchable by author, title, format and ISBN number.

Exercise Two
I searched for “At Bertram’s Hotel” by Agatha Christie. It is available online from Borders for $6.99 paperback and $12.00 hardcover. From Barnes & Noble for $9.60 or $6.99 paperback. If I want to use Half Price Books I could call them or go to the store and search for myself.

Exercise Three
I chose to download “The Woman in White” by Willkie Collins. It is an adobe file digitized by Google. I had to continually scroll down to read the book and found it similar to reading from a microfilm. It might be easier on laptop where I could adjust my posture a little more than sitting at the desk in front of the monitor. I still prefer to use traditional print material, it is easier to move around and relax while reading.

The electronic books are good because of the access allowed by everyone with internet access. The traditional print is easier to carry with you when traveling or waiting in for appointments etc. The down side of the electronic access is that unless you have it downloaded on a handheld machine you can’t take it with you unless you take your pc and then not every place allows you to plug in so the battery will die. The downside of the traditional material is that it might be difficult to carry in a bag or get lost if you get distracted during your appointment or while traveling.

#52 - Book Readers and Beyond -What to Read

One of the reasons I became a librarian was my lifelong love of books. I love the way new books smell, I love being able to carry them with me whether I’m on the beach, in the mountains or my back yard. If I have a book I am immediately transported to wherever the character in my book is. On top of all of that is the pleasure I get when I help someone find a new book, series or help them with material for their research paper when they had given up hope of finding anything.

After looking at the eight websites I have to admit that I prefer Novelist Plus and Fiction_L Booklists over the others.

#1 For Read Alikes -Using Novelist and the author Agatha Christie I found John Dickson Carr’s Gideon Fell Stories, Margery Allinghams’ Albert Campion Series, M.C. Beatons’s “Agatha Raisin Series, Carolyn Hart’s Henrie O. Series, and Michael Piearce’s Mamur Zapt Series. In my opinion this one provided the best resources.

When I used Fiction-L I went to Genre listings-Cosy mysteries and found Agatha Christie along with many other authors of the same genre but without links to titles or series. I did not see a way to search by specific author or title you had to go with what they offered. It seemed very limited in what I could do in my searching.


Using “What Should I Read Next” I found that it requires a title before you can search and lists read alike titles without an author listing. The link to Amazon is nice since you can read the reviews before deciding whether or not to look for the title.

#2a Find two books suitable for a fourth grade girl interested in animals:
Using Novelist Plus and Advanced Search I found “Newbery Zoo: A Dozen Stories By Award Winning Authors” with a reading level of ‘older kids’ and “Tough Beginnings How Baby Animals Survive” by Marilyn Singer with a reading level of older kids.

#2b Find two ghost stories for a 14 year old boy: Using Novelist Plus I found “Ghost Hunt” volume 1 by Fuyumi Ono reading level – teen and “Island of Ghosts” by Ellis Dillon for grades 5-8.

3. Find Dean Koonz Read a-likes:

Using Novelist Plus
Greg Bear- ‘Darwin’s Bear’
Dan Simmons – ‘Summer of Night’
John Saul – ‘Manhattan Hunt Club’

Using What Should I Read Next?
Stuart Woods - Heat
Carol Saunders - The Grim Shadow: A Modern-Day Fable
Madeleine Brent- The Long Masquerade

#4. Series For title Alanna - Using NoveList Plus
#1 Alanna: The First Adventure
#2 Hand of the Goddess
#3 Woman Who Rides Like A Man
#4 Lioness Rampant