Going On A Treasure Hunt!

Like a challenge? Like the great outdoors? Love puzzles? Like to collect things?

Well.....Letterboxing (or possibly it's much younger cousin Geocaching) might be for you!

"Zo, vhat ees zis Leterrbooxing ov wheech yo spek????" (Sorry, I went all Inspector Clouseau there for a second.)

So glad you asked!  Letterboxing is a game of hide and seek with clues. To play you need a compass, a trail name, a personal rubber stamp, & a logbook.

The letterbox (usually a waterproof plastic container that holds at least a rubber stamp & logbook,) is hidden by its owner at some location. Your job is to find it armed with the clues provided. Once you have found it, you stamp your logbook with the letterbox stamp & stamp your stamp in the letterbox logbook thus providing proof all around that you really did find the box. Cool, huh?

Evidently handmade stamp images are highly prized in the world of Letterboxing. So you get to be creative & physically active as well!

Here is a site that will give you all the info you need to get started (along with clues to find letterboxes) & then some:

Letterboxing North America

Don't worry if you are not from North America. Letterboxing (& geocaching) is global! Check out the Net for info on boxes in your neck of the woods.

Wondering about  letterboxing versus geocaching? Here is well written article by Trailhead Tessie from the SheltonTrails.org site comparing them: Letterboxing and Geocaching which also includes links.

What a great way for the whole family to enjoy the great outdoors this summer! 

Library Cats Map!

Gary Roma of Iron Frog Productions (an independent film and comedy production company)  has put together a most interesting map of library cats around the world.

As of the last update there are an estimated 808 bibliofelines to be found in residence on the planet.

Miss Bun is not sure why books and cats go so well together but they do!

Library Cats Map

If you click on the map and then click on a cat's name in the following table you can see a photo of that particular literary kitty.


 

 Enjoy!
                                     

How Libraries Stack Up 2010....A Report

Have you been wondering how Public Libraries stack up in this day and age?


Wonder no longer...OCLC ,(short for "Online Computer Library Center"), has just put out their colorful How Libraries Stack Up 2010   (pdf ) report.

Miss Bun is happy (and not at all surprised) to see that public libraries are thriving, integral parts of the communities they serve. (Go Team Pub Lib!!!)

As you can see from the report excerpt above, Public Libraries have it all over Starbucks, Borders, & Barnes & Noble when it comes to Wi-Fi hot spots. And that's just the beginning!

Check out the full report & prepare to be amazed!

P.S. For the curious, here is a link to an explanation of  what OCLC is in plain English from Wikipedia.

Robotics? Amazing!

Hi Peeps! Miss Bun was perusing the TED Talks this morning and just had to share this one with you. This is a fact meets fiction kind of thing. We had no idea about the advances in this field but we love it! Enjoy!

One of Harrisburg's Best Kept Secrets!

If you are a bibliophile living in Central Pennsylvania and have not heard of the Midtown Scholar Bookstore & their Famous Reading Cafe  you are going to want to sit down for this.

The Midtown Scholar Bookstore is part warehouse (stocking over one million academic & general interest books) which you can browse & order from online. (Note: if you are local you can request to pick up your purchases at the retail store thus avoiding shipping fees.)

The retail store (all six floors of it!) houses over 100,000 used & rare books, a great coffee shop & art gallery, plus is host to regular contemporary folk concerts & other interesting programs.Check out the website for info on book groups, readings & signings, writing groups & more!

Be sure to sign up for their mailing list or keep track of Midtown Scholar on Facebook & Twitter.

The store is located at 1302 N. Third Street across from the Broad Street Market in what was once a 1920's theater.

In fact, Miss Bun spent a lovely Saturday afternoon lunching at the market and then browsing at the book store where she found all kinds of delightful surprises on the very well organized shelves!

Midtown Scholar has been voted the region's "Best Independent Bookstore" for seven years. When  you visit you will know why!

Enjoy!

This Librarian Wannabe Really Does Rock.......Really!!!

Who knew that Keith Richards (yes, the one from the Rolling Stones!) has a thing for libraries and books.

Librarians the world over are rejoicing about this choice quote he has given us:

“When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you. The public library is a great equaliser.”

You can read all about it in this Sunday TimesOnline article: It's Only Books 'n' Shelves But I Like It by John Harlow.

Plus you can get the hype on Mr. Richard's autobiography due out in October. (Needless to say, Miss Bun has a bit of a crush simmering at the moment!)

Plant A Rain Garden!

So, what is a Rain Garden, you ask?


Why, it is a low maintenance way to keep rain water from sloshing (a very technical term!) off of concrete, macadam, shingles,etc. and going straight to storm drains (along with all kinds of pollutants) and then dumping in rivers.

Put simply: A rain garden is a planted shallow depression
designed to catch and filter rainfall runoff.

Check out this video for more info:

Do something nice for Mother Nature!






Here are some links to get you started:

Rain Garden Network
Pennsylvania Rain Garden Guide (pdf)
Rain Gardens and Rain Barrels
Rainscaping With Rain Gardens (pdf)

Enjoy!

Easter Sushi???

Miss Bun had never heard of this somewhat peculiar springtime treat until she stumbled onto Serious Eats . It was love at first sight!

It's still not too late to make this an Easter tradition at your house too!
(The ingredients needed are pretty minimal.....as you can see!)

How to Make Peepshi = Peep Sushi

It's National Poetry Month!

A great way to celebrate is to go to POETS.org (from the Academy of American Poets) and sign up for their Poem-A-Day emails. Be sure to check out the rest of their site where you can catch up on new books, listen to daily historic recordings (how cool is that?), get ready for Poem In Your Pocket Day and more!

If you register (it's free) you can create your own poetry notebook, participate in discussions, and subscribe to newsletters.

They also have a thing called Poetcasts which is the official podcast (like an online radio show) of the Academy of American Poets. Once you have subscribed they will download and you can listen at your leisure.

So Peeps, go forth and make some poetry on this 1st of April 2010!