Spring madness

Well, just back from two days at home due to a sinus infection. The rites of spring. In addition, our internet at home was very sporadic, so posting was not easy. I had put a bunch of comments on people's blogs only to return and find out they did not post, so back I had to go. I really like the wireless at home, but it has been a pain. I need to figure out a way to get a hardwire connection before working on the final project. Technology, love it and hate it.

More info for website

Well, with the granddaughter's birthday tomorrow, April 23, I expect I will have a spate of first birthday pictures to post. I hope to be able to use some of the photoshop skills we will be learning to edit/embellish the photos. My (newly pregnant) daughter-in-law, however, is a professional photographer, so there will be some tough standards to live up to in the photo department. Below is one she took of Olivia when she was about 4 months old.

HTML

Well, after this week's exercise of writing a very simple page out by hand, I will be glad to begin to use Dreamweaver. It was an interesting exercise, to be sure, but too many ways to mess up with a missing angle bracket, slash, etc. Makes my eyes hurt trying to figure out where the mistake was. It is good, however, to know the basics of how things work, so I am not sorry we did it. (kind of like searching in Dialog in 511!)

I am looking forward to the Cascading Style Sheets. That will also make the pages uniform. Is there any reason NOT to use CSS? Why would you not?

Sick Kitty

Our younger kitty has been diagnosed with kidney disease. I was thinking about including some pictures of the kitty with the grandchild, but his recent diagnosis has got me thinking about another approach,death, which may be interesting for the site. However, as I think about it, it may be too deep for the site, which I would like to keep the tone lighter. Also, I am thankfully, not an expert on death, as our family has been particularly lucky in that regard. So, although that might offer some interesting issues to discuss, I think I shall stay on more upbeat topics. And, the vet said since he is a realitvely young kitty, the treatments should be particularly effective, and we may not even be dealing with that issue for a while. Hurray for medicine!

Authoritative sources?

What would constitute an authoritative source on being a grandparent? Another grandparent? Maybe. A psychologist? Maybe, but that would be boring, and not the kind of site I woule like to build. Perhaps just authoritative sources on the subjects covered, such as cooking with children, or good books for children will do the trick. I think some tips about favorite books may be a good thing to include, especially as I am taking Resources for Children this term. Perhaps I can work this into one of the assigments for that course!

Colors for Website

After doing the readings on color theory, I have been contemplating the colors to be used on my website. I do not want to use "baby" colors, as grandchildren grow so quickly. Iam nor really fond of the basic primary color scheme (red, blue, yellow) often found in children's toys and sites. I would like to use something more sophisticated. I like the colors we use for the library logo, and may adapt them for use. I need to get the correct color numbers first.

Challenges

Well, of course at some level I realized that I was not the first person to think of a website on being a grandmother, a Google search turned a number of sites, but more interesting is this site: Grandmother Connections. In the narrative, the author describes much of what I was thinking and what I might have included as content in my website, and perhaps more eloquently than I would have expressed it. She defines several types of grandmothers as well. So, to create a site that is similar without copying will be a challenge. One difference is that the author and her partner run a consulting firm for grandmothers (!). That certainly is not my intention (at least not till I get my MLS!)

Well, I shall probably make it a link on my page of links to other sites, so it is useful in that regard. I still might use the concept of different types of grandmothers, albeit with other characteristics than she described.

Final Project Topic

Almost one year ago (April 23 to be exact) I became a grandmother for the first time, by way of my daughter, and we just found out that my son's wife is newly pregnant. So, the topic of grandmother-hood seems natural.

What they say about time flying is so true! When my children were infants, the time both seemed to fly and stop still in its tracks at the same time, with the worrying, sleepless nights, delight in new skills and "firsts". It seems the same this time, but being once removed I am spared some of the worry and almost all the sleepless nights. The different perspective from being this many years older makes for new worries, however. What kind of world will they grow up in?

My first thoughts for the website include maybe some tips on how to be a grandmother. I try to not offer unwanted advice to my daughter, who makes that easy because she took to motherhood so wonderfully. As a child, she was not interested in dolls or babysitting, so at times I wondered if she would want children. See is a wonderful mother, just one more proof that your children never stop surprising and delighting you.

I'd also like to include some type of light-hearted quiz on what type of grandmother will you be. Oh, and of course, the obligatory page with pictures! This should be fun.

Speaking of pictures, here is our little princess on Easter. (the dress lasted about 15 minutes till she needed to crawl around. But at least we got pictures!)


And, here is what happens if she is asked to pose too long:

Welcome to my blog!

I am enrolled in Drexel's iSchool and am currently in my last term, which is a relief!
During the day I work at Hagerty Library at Drexel University, as Director of Administrative Services. There are thrills and excitement everyday in this job! I also work with many fun librarians.

After I graduate I will work in some sort of academic library, though I am not in a hurry to leave Hagerty.

Here are some great websites that I visit almost daily:

• The Comics Curmudgeon
• J-Walk Blog
• The Washington Post