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Sunday, April 24, 2016

Dutch books

The week at work contained some events worth mentioning. We were visited by a Dutch researcher who asked for all the books we have printed in the Netherlands pre-1800. It turned out to be about 130 books (and I didn't have to retrieve any of them, thankfully). These books will be described in the Dutch national catalog. The researcher gave a speech where he described the project. He had been in several other countries to ask for Dutch books and he was going to spend three months here to go to other libraries also.

Wednesday we had the annual social club meeting. We managed to finish the actual meeting in 15 minutes. A new record. We exchanged four of the board members but I'm still the chairwoman. We invited one of the old (93!) university headmasters to give a speech. He talked about what it was like to be a student at this university during the 1940s. His studies were interrupted by the war a few times. It was very interesting to hear. He brought his wife along, as she had worked at our library in the 1950s and 1960s. She talked about the old times when you addressed the professors by full title. Also very interesting. Both of them continued to talk at the dinner table afterwards. It was one of the most successful annual meetings ever, and many people (including the two elderly visitors) expressed gratitude.

This past week I have visited two malls and accumulated some flowers. The flowers are now decorating both my apartment and the box on the balcony. It's rather cold here, about 6-8 centigrades and sometimes rain/snowstorms. It might be a little early to put flowers outside but we'll see if they survive.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Sickness

There is very little to report from here. I have been sick with a fairly bad cold and have taken it very slowly. I worked exactly half of the week and went home Wednesday at lunchtime. I felt already Monday that my throat was sore. It wasn't so bad then so I could work a few days. Normally, I am very busy the first three days of the week when I have to drive the storage rounds. After that it's easier to take leave. It seems like my colleagues have done well without me.

There have been some activities here, but nothing interesting. I was able to get to the grocery store and I cooked for ten lunch boxes. The rest of the time I have watched TV and tried to solve crossword puzzles. I ran out of those, so I had to buy a magazine with new crosswords. That's how bored I have been. Things are almost back to normal now so I will work tomorrow.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Birthday dinner

Last Saturday I went to Ystad on the south coast. It's a very old town with nice shops. There is a shop that sells plus size clothes. I got two tops there. I also walked out to the industrial area, where there are two second hand stores. It was interesting to see but I only got an egg cup for my collection.

Sunday I spent mostly cleaning my apartment. This was because my father and his (new) girlfriend was coming to visit later. They arrived Tuesday evening to celebrate my birthday. I was treated to dinner at a local restaurant and then I did some extensive grocery shopping since my father had a car. I got some yellow tulips for myself. Apart from that, there were no presents but a few people sent greetings.

One of my father's sisters has written her autobiography. It's over 150 pages long (folio format) and one of the most impressive books in that genre I have read. She has included her entire life story, her parents, grandparents, siblings, children and grandchildren - everything. I'ts great to have, not only for us, but also for future generations.

At work there has been three meetings and two storage rounds. This past week I sent out a question to all the libraries in the network to ask if they had some specific block book ends they didn't use anymore. We need to make our shelf marking system at the storage better and when I checked what it would cost to buy new markers of this type I was shocked. There is only one supplier and of course they can charge anything. It turned out that asking my colleagues instead was the right thing to do. I have already picked up two boxes and more will come next week.