In which I cross my fingers and head east for a library thing

 When I applied to be a presenter at the annual conference of the Washington Library Association, I thought, "Springtime in Spokane--great idea!"

     

It's a very pretty place in Spring (internet photo)

However, I obviously wasn't paying close attention to the travel dates:  February 29, and March 2.  Either (or both) of those dates are bound to have sn*w somewhere between here and there.

And sure enough, this was the WSDOT road report for Snoqualmie Pass on the morning of the 29th.

WSDOT's website looked ominous to me

I was scheduled to work until noon.  My beloved colleagues took pity on me, and hustled me out of the office a bit early, and I hit the road.

To my surprise, there was nothing ominous on the drive at all!

Keechelus Lake -- we rode around the other side of this on the X-State Fall Ride

Although Spokane didn't have the same clear skies as Snoqualmie Pass, the river view from my hotel window was lovely--and blessedly free of sn*w.

We stayed near the convention center, right on the river.  Very pretty!

The library conference was relatively typical of library conferences:  the "meet-and-greet" nibblies at the first event (inside the Spokane Library after closing time) were the best, and the food choices declined sharply after that.  

It delights me to eat finger food and drink wine inside libraries

I was responsible for two sessions.  On Friday afternoon, "Sex in the Library" drew the usual good crowd, and we had some excellent discussions--more fodder for a new edition of the book, if I ever completely lose my sanity and decide to write it.  (I probably will.  The world needs that book to be updated).

I also attended some interesting sessions on Friday, including a presentation by a lawyer who works for the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom.  You better believe she's been busy the last couple of years, and had lots of good stuff for us.

There were also authors to hang with, including Travis Bauldree and Christine Day.  I <3 them both.  

If you haven't read--or listened to--Travis' books about a retired Orc warrior who
runs a coffeeshop, do not delay: Legends and Lattes is delightful!

Then, Saturday morning (a few hours before I was supposed to drive home), I looked out the window and saw this:

Bahhhh.

But there was no time to fret, because I still had to present my 2nd session!

"WASHYARG: teen book reviewers who probably aren't pirates"

I've been a member of Washyarg for about 25 years, and co-chair of the group since just before lockdown in 2020.  It's a bunch of teen services librarians who meet four times a year to review new books for each other--not the tactful, sanitized reviews that you might read in "Booklist" or "School Library Journal" but the actual, need-to-know kinds of details that librarians (like me) who purchase teen books for libraries want.  We are, if you can't tell from the photo, a fun bunch.

By the time our session was done, the sn*w was melting

melting!

and I beat feet back towards my beloved Wet Side. 

Five and a half hours of driving later

I like sn*w when I don't have to shovel it...or drive on it!

I arrived safely home.

Sinbad met me at the gate

The weather at home is less-than-lovely, but it's March now...so it must be getting closer to Spring, right?

I planted more seeds today, moved some seedlings from the house grow station to the outdoor greenhouse, and rode my horse.  

And I took a nap.

Onwards!  Into the week!