"We never the know the worth of water till the well is dry" - Thomas Fuller, 1654-1734

Funny what you take for granted.  Such as water.  For those of us Northwesterners on the west side of the mountains, water is pretty much a constant.  There's the rain (of course), lakes, rivers, and creeks abound, and if the Columbia River isn't enough of a reminder that water makes us who we are, just travel a couple of hours to the west, and booyah, there's the good ol' Pacific Ocean.  Yet, this weekend I found myself feeling a bit like the mythological figure, Tantalus.  Why?  The pump on our well decided to quit on Friday (I do give thanks that it waited until the day after Thanksgiving), and suddenly water became the most important thing EVER.  It was everywhere but where we needed it the most.  No way to fix it until Monday, so "water on the brain" took on a whole new meaning this past weekend.  All of this leads me to point out that the library has several books on wells, and yes, septic systems too, and the Water Wells and Septic Systems Handbook might come in handy for those of us not on city water.  And if you need to be reminded about the woes of Tantalus, consider checking out A Brief Guide to the Greek Myths by Stephen Kershaw.  May water and food always be within reach.   

Hedy Lamarr

There are many biographies popping up this season, and, of course, big names are everywhere.  If you want to read about a movie star but would like something a bit more, well, meaty, try Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr by Stephen Shearer.  She may not be a household name these days, but her life story is probably one of the most fascinating celebrity reads out there.  For instance, how many female movie icons do you know who can also put "inventor" on their resumes?  Ms. Lamarr was a key figure in the creation of an early technique for spread spectrum communications.  If you're like me, whose first thought was "what??," you'll be amazed to learn that she helped to co-invent technology we use in Wi-Fi and cell phones.  And she was a damn good actress, too.  Wow!

What's buggin' ya?

I can tell you what's bugging me - bugs.  I don't mind bugs so much when they're outside; after all, that's where they're supposed to be.  But when they start coming inside, and somehow seem to think that the inside of my house is where it's at, baby, I become seriously annoyed.  Especially spiders...because they're from Planet X.  But I'm not talking about spiders this time.  This year appears to be the year of the beetle.  At least, I think that's what they are.  To be sure, though, I need to check out a book on insects, such as Insects of the Pacific Northwest.  I don't know if it will tell me why these "beetles" sometimes congregate as trios (as shown in the photo).  Perhaps it symbolizes some sort of communication with a great, beetle god?  I suppose I'll never know.  And last year I had a mini-invasion of ladybugs which, I have to say, was pretty cute.  Until I realized I couldn't possibly hand-carry each one back outside, and then, some time later, I had to deal with a lot of ladybug carcasses.  I don't need that kind of angst.