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    We have a number of talented folks amongst our library staff and we have the pictures to prove it!

    An incredible quilt with hand-stitched embroidery & up-cycled material.
    Made with love by our Library Facebook Manager & Public Services Assistant, Elisabet Ingibergsson.

    As we adjust to our new routines at home, during this period of physical distancing, we are finding new and old ways to help pass the time and connect with our families. We did a call-out to our library staff for folks to send in their hobby photos. And we received an impressive gallery back! So impressive, in fact, that we need to do a second part to this blog in the future in order to catch our breath. These are totally #StayatHome hobby goals!

    This photo just screams ‘cool’. And that pretty much sums up Public Service Assistant, Bojan Kumovic. This super-talented media and films guy is using his #StayatHome time to reconnect with an old hobby… and with the large number of musically-inclined folks that work in our UAlberta Library. Perhaps we need to organize some sort of virtual jam session?

    Anyone who has spent time with Public Services Assistant Carmen Loconte knows about her panache for 1000+ piece puzzles and her culinary masterpieces that range from scrumptious scones to homemade pasta. Paired with her home-grown tomatoes simmered into a savoury sauce, her pasta will likely have many of us sending her requests for ‘Ristorante Loconte’ take-out via Google Hangouts in the coming weeks. Oh, and bring new puzzles to swap. She’s probably completed her stash by now!

    Celine Gareau-Brennan, a librarian at Bibliotheque St. Jean, is totally winning the #StayatHome hobby game because we would need to devote an ENTIRE BLOG POST to include all of the wonderful things she has accomplished over the last five weeks! We received multiple mouth-watering images of freshly baked bread, bagels and pretzels, as well as roasted chicken and sweet desserts. She is learning how to play the ukulele, and is also proudly delving into her Francophone heritage by learning a traditional Franco-canadienne form of dance called, la gigue!

    Librarian Doris Wagner normally sings the praises of law databases in the Weir Library, but lately she’s been dabbling in something different. From her dining room table, Doris is mastering a free, open-source digital audio editor & recording application software called Audacity (on the recommendation of our Music Librarian Lucinda Johnston). When this photo was taken she was listening to a recording she made of herself singing ‘I Can’t Give You Anything But Love’!

    Natalya poses in a headstand on her yoga mat at home.

    It’s no surprise that our staff will stand on their heads to provide folks with great service and our Circulation Specialist, Natalya Brettle, takes this feat to new levels. Natalya is just TWO CLASSES away from completing her yoga teacher’s training, and our staff are eager to rock some downward dogs with her over lunch when campus re-opens. Until then, she gets to perfect her poses with her unbelievably tiny and adorable Yorkshire Terrier, Bobbi – aka, Skinchy Maroo (who has mastered the art of posing for Instagram pics and hamming it up during video staff meetings).

    Thanks for the view! We invite you to subscribe to our newsletter (scroll down to the bottom right side of this page) and stay tuned to our blog for Part II of our ‘Stay at Home’ Hobbyists! Spoiler Alert: there’s a musical feature with the name Feisst…yes, that’s two s’s in Feisst.

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