Amazing group
We are all together now, the Spaulding Rogers Women. We assembled last night. Liza, Molly, Jenica, Anna and me. It's so cool that we're all together. We had dinner on the boat house porch (Molly is an great cook and makes us dinner, very kind and generous of her--delicious Italian meals) and I looked around at us all in wonder. We are an amazing group of women and I am so fortunate to have this family.

Other members of the Rogers family (we make the distinction between the Spaulding Rogers family and the Rogers family: the extended family is by far a less desirable group) were in camp last night. What was the first thing they asked me? "Did you register the boat yet?" Granted, I was supposed to do that weeks ago, but PEOPLE, COME ON! It drives me crazy that they want everything done and ready for their arrival--who do they expect will do all of this? We have lives too. Just because we live here doesn't mean we have more time in our daily lives than they do at home. I never spend a lot of time on vacation at camp the way they all do--it's rare that I have a whole week off to spend in camp. I'll be on vacation and there from Sat. through Tues. now, maybe Weds. if I decide to stay an extra day (but I'll need to spend hours at home getting that place ready for habitation when I return from RI).

The Masses arrive tonight for the annual gathering of the clan tomorrow. In recent years we've had about 40-50 people (closer to 50) but this year we won't have that many because people were just here in July for the 50th anniversary thing. Still, we'll have 30 or so. It's our Annual Meeting. No, we don't have a reunion, we have a meeting. With officers. Jenica is the Vice President right now, up from Secretary last year. Yesterday she was polishing off the notes from last year's meeting. We all serve a term as secretary, pres. etc., except for the treasurer. That's sort of like the Supreme Court, you can't be excused from that no matter how badly you screw it up. Like this year the treas. didn't pay the phone bill and the phone was cut off, but still no one will want him to stop doing it. Even though he's desperate to stop. Tough on him.

Today is my last day at work for 2 weeks. I've been working hard all week, finishing up projects, cleaning my desk (amazing transformation), doing a big book order (getting ready for the fall publishing blitz), filling in with interlibrary loan stuff (oh those inmates are entertaining--yesterday I spent an hour Googling "African American skin care" and came up with lots of stuff on exfoliating skin. Think that's relevant to someone who's incarcerated?). Today I have to do what I've been putting off: write goals, results and measures for the portions of the 5 year plan that relate to my department. Coordinated collection development. Interlibrary loan (how can we do much with that without any more money?). Reference (they want something about Virtual Reference: again, what to do with no increase in funding?). Time to be creative. I've been trying to think of things all week, or maybe just putting it off.

Yesterday I took some time to look for a book for our book group's next book. That was fun. The next meeting is the Sunday I'm due to get back from vacation and I'm thinking of coming back on Sat. so I can go to the meeting. I missed the last one. This month we read Anderson Cooper's book and I liked it (but when will he get over the death of his father?). Mostly I miss the women, my good friends, and would like to talk to them. I got to see Mary Lou for a minute on Saturday when Fred and I were on our lily pilgrimage. That was really nice. She's always smiling.

And now it's on to the work portion of my day. I'll be blogging while I'm on vacation, but not all the time and probably not until we get to Rhode Island next week. Today the other women in my family are enjoying a perfect dock day while I'm here doing authority work, meeting with the director and other consultants, trying to be creative, then watching the clock until it's time to go home. I have a long, long list of errands to run before I get home. Not the least of which is registering the boat.