Alison

@alisonburnis

Occasional writer, intermittent artist. Red lipstick enthusiast. Likes cake. Current academic librarian, former hospital librarian. Atlantic Canada. She/her/elle.

896 Following2,339 Followers4,882 Posts

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Alison@alisonburnis· 3d

A little snooze from Mallow for you!

A dilute calico tabby is laying on a patchwork quilt. Her paw is draped partially over her face and her belly is partially exposed.

Alison@alisonburnis· 11d

In hyper-local news, Halifax Seed is building a new accessible entrance to their front door. Bye stairs!

A picture of a large warehouse-like building. The sign says The Halifax Seed Company, established 1866. The front door is well above the ground. There are no stairs to it, and a small excavator is parked next to the door. There is temporary fencing in front.

Alison@alisonburnis· Jun 30

Hello from the newish half-bath (previous owner converted it to a closet, left the plumbing lines in). I didn’t do anything other than get sandwiches and stocked red ales for my dad, who directed the work with @brett-o-d.bsky.social.

A very small half-bath. There is a toilet close to a pedestal sink. In the mirror, you can see a sliver of a person taking a picture on a phone. The floor is checkered.

Alison@alisonburnis· Jun 3

“I know, I think it’s silly too,” I tell the cat who thinks because @brett-o-d.bsky.social left early for work that we’re going to have a girl day (I stay home and we go outside to sit in bushes and stare at birds).

Though a screen window, a small muted calico tabby cat can be seen sitting on a bench staring at the person holding the camera.

Alison@alisonburnis· May 16

Garden update. A lot of people in our lives who haven’t seen pictures of our new yard asked us if we were doing any landscaping this year. Obviously, we are not and don’t need to.

Picture is a backyard garden. There’s a brick path to the back fence, and you can see lots of green new growth. The garden is English-style.

Alison@alisonburnis· Mar 3

I bought a new toy (RIP old laptop, 2016-2026). Anyway, I haven’t purchased a new load-bearing device since 2019 (the iPhone 11 I took this picture with). I bet I won’t be at all mad when Copilot is immediately installed against my will.

Picture of a black 16” laptop, open and starting up. The screen reads Acer Nitro.

Alison@alisonburnis· Jan 2

I found the goods at the Dartmouth Crossing Dollarama, @awesomebiota.bsky.social. #HaliSky

Picture of a display of Aura moisturizer bottles. The shelf is stocked with dozens of bottles.

Alison@alisonburnis· Dec 15

A tale of the cat moving: arriving, and fifteen minutes later. She loves it.

A small tabby cat wearing a blue harness and hiding under a dresser. She is seen through the support rods.

A tabby cat sitting on the back of a couch in front of a window.

Alison@alisonburnis· Dec 15

Considering living like this from now on.

Picture of a living room flowing into a dining room. The living room is full of boxes and pieces of furniture. The dining room has a table set up and crowded by boxes.

Alison@alisonburnis· Dec 3

She loves a weather.

A small dilute calico tabby sits on the back of a futon, looking out the window. Her upper body is resting on the bar of the futon.

Alison@alisonburnis· Oct 4

It’s @brett-o-d.bsky.social’s birthday today. He’s my favourite person and has been for almost seventeen years, which is half of his (our) lives. If you see him today, tell him happy birthday!

A picture of a man at a dinner table. The man is white, with curly brown hair and a brown beard. He’s wearing a black button up shirt. In front of him are three plates: one with fried haddock, one with spaghetti, and one with ham and green beans. A cocktail is to the right, partially drank and garnished with a lime.

Alison@alisonburnis· Oct 4

Endcaps full of eggnog are back! I didn’t get any, mostly because I need the vegan stuff and also because every time I drink eggnog I’m just trying to have my grandmother’s eggnog. She died in 2020, and I don’t have the recipe. You’re welcome for making this sad.

Picture of a fridge in a grocery store full of cartons of eggnog.

Alison@alisonburnis· Oct 1

Here’s the precious baby doing crimes (being on the counter).

A muted calico tabby sits on a kitchen counter.

Alison@alisonburnis· Sep 10

Hello! It’s time to update my introduction post (at least, in my mind). I’m Alison. I’m a writer, artist, reader, and now a knitter. I’m also the cataloguing and metadata librarian at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This is my cat, Mallow. She’s the best cat.

Picture of a small muted calico tabby standing on the arm of a patio chair. She is wearing a teal harness and leash while looking up at something.

Alison@alisonburnis· Jul 27

They said someone had left it at their house ages ago, but that still doesn’t explain why this exists. Anyway, as a person on sertraline, I’ve finally taken it for my own.

Alison@alisonburnis· Jun 26

@halifaxexaminer.ca On the 10B to Micmac Terminal. #ExaminerBus

Photo of a Halifax Examiner ad on the inside of a Halifax Transit bus, over the seats.

Alison@alisonburnis· May 29

I took the bus to Chocolate Lake to go for a swim. It was like being skinned with icy knives. I loved it.

Picture of a blue lake, bordered by very brown sandy sea h. Across the lake are lots of trees, a few houses, and one tall hotel building.

Alison@alisonburnis· Apr 28

Wow voting is so cool!

Selfie of a woman with a directional sign for an Elections Canada polling station. The woman has curly brown hair and is grinning at the camera, while wearing red lipstick.

Alison@alisonburnis· Apr 26

You still have a bit of time (if you’re reading this right now) to get yourself over to @kingsbookstore.bsky.social for Independent Bookstore Day! I did and now I have new books, a new tote bag, and stickers to remind everyone that Amazon sucks!

Alison@alisonburnis· Apr 17

“What did you do on your impromptu week off, Alison?” “Mostly took my little tyrant outside.”

Picture of a muted calico tabby wearing a turquoise harness and sitting on patio stones outdoors.

Alison@alisonburnis· Apr 5

Hello #ICAM2025! You should come see our very good poster (we worked hard on the colours. Also the research).

Two white women standing in front of a research poster titled Librarians’ Instruction to Practicing Physicians: Results from a Canadian Survey.

Alison@alisonburnis· Mar 20

For a lark, I searched my name and then found myself in LibGen. Just so we're real clear here: we published open access so people could find our work, not use it to train AI bots for private companies.

A screenshot of the LibGen author search created by The Atlantic. The name in the search box is "Alison Manley", and the following article appears: Visintini, S., Boutet, M., Manley, A., & Helwig, M. (2018). Research Support in Health Sciences Libraries: A Scoping Review. Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association Journal De l’Association Des bibliothèques De La Santé Du Canada, 39(2), 56–78. https://doi.org/10.29173/jchla29366

Alison@alisonburnis· Mar 11

She’s still little and bendy but she used to be littler and bendy.

Picture of a muted calico tabby kitten sleeping on her back, cuddles into a person’s side.

Alison@alisonburnis· Feb 25

The stink eye she gave her cat sitter the day before we came home.

Picture of a small muted calico tabby cat sitting in a round loaf and glaring at the camera.

Alison@alisonburnis· Jan 29

New and unseen picture of Mallow, a cute AND literate cat.

A small muted calico tabby is sitting on an open book. One paw is out to grab the green frog bookmark on the right edge of the book.

Alison@alisonburnis· Jan 2

Today is my paternal grandmother’s birthday. If she was still alive, she would be 99 today. She died in 1997, at 71. I don’t remember much about her but I’m listening to the Barra MacNeils because she enjoyed a good jig and reel.

A picture of an older woman holding a toddler girl on her lap. They are sitting between the stove and the counter on a chair. The woman is looking down at the girl, and the girl is beaming at the camera. She is holding a ball.

Alison@alisonburnis· Dec 31

December 2024: Starting to make this life a home. My 7 year old nephew comes for his second sleepover. I unearth my decorations and get ready for the festive season.

A picture of a small holiday arrangement. A fake book with The Night Before Christmas on it is in the back. There is a set of trees: a beeswax candle one, a marble tree, and a glass tree, and in front, a very small Nativity set.

Alison@alisonburnis· Dec 31

November 2024: my birthday month! I have a lovely time.

Selfie of a woman wearing a red sweater and matching red lipstick. There is a muted calico tabby cat to her left, and the cat is looking up at a strand of her hair.

Alison@alisonburnis· Dec 31

October 2024: I volunteer to help run an after-hours event at the library, Murder at the Archives. It’s a rousing success, and we (the library staff) have an amazing time too.

Picture of a plastic smelt at a table, with colouring pages in front of it. The skeleton is posed to act like its colouring.

Alison@alisonburnis· Dec 31

September 2024: First September back in academia, and I find it wonderfully rejuvenating. And also I start to think things make sense again, and no longer feel quite so strange in my life.