Ringing in the New Year

If you're like me, you're holidayed-out at this point.  After knitting and crocheting Christmas gifts, cleaning the house, decorating, cooking, hosting, and making merry, my fa-la-la-la-la just fa-la-la-la-left.  And there's another holiday coming up just a couple of days away?  I don't think I have it in me for the next one.  I told my husband that Christmas was all about family and friends, but I want New Year's to be all about us--staying at home, relaxing, and having some peace and quiet.

Are you on the same page with me?  Are you in desperate need of some New Year's downtime in the comfort of your own home?  Here, then, are some ideas for things you can do at little or no charge (some with the help of your library and neighborhood perch librarian) to make ringing in the New Year a special one:

• Do a puzzle.  I'm not a whiz at puzzles, but a 300-500 piece puzzle is possible even for an anti-talent like me to complete before midnight.
• Watch a DVD.  Make some popcorn, cuddle up on the sofa, and watch that movie you've been wanting to see.
• Read a book.  I know I'm biased with this one, but you knew I had to say it.
• Play a board game.  Unplug from the electronic devices and play Monopoly, Checkers, Dominoes, etc.
• Take a bubble bath.  Spend some relaxing quality time with a very important person--you!
• Get some takeout.  Take a break from cooking and treat yourself to pizza, Chinese, burritos, or something else that tickles your taste buds.
• Eat chocolate.  Need I say more?

Of course, you can also sit down and write out your resolutions for the following year, but we'll save that discussion for another post.  Whatever you decide to do, have a safe and wonderful Happy New Year full of good reading!

With best wishes from the perch.

Keeping Holly During the Holidays

There's commercialism, controversy over classic holiday songs, and plenty of bah humbug during that most wonderful time of the year.  Some of us are stressed over buying presents, preparing the house, baking cookies, seeing the family, not seeing the family, or just stressed over being stressed.

Perhaps it's good for all of us to take a moment, breathe, and remember some of the lessons we learned way back in kindergarten (courtesy of Robert Fulghum) to help us appreciate and enjoy the holiday season better.

• Wash your hands before you eat.   'Tis the season to be spreading colds and viruses, so make sure you wash your hands to keep yourself and everyone healthy.
  
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.  They're not just for Santa!  Just be sure to have them in moderation, okay?
  
• Clean up your own mess.  Whether the party is in your own house or someone else's, keep things neat.
  
• Don't take things that aren't yours.  It's a time of giving, so don't be a grinch.
  
• Don't hit people.  There's never a reason to do this.  Just don't.
  
• Say you're sorry when you hurt someone.  We all say the wrong thing sometimes; apologies mean a lot.  And don't talk about politics.
  
• Be aware of wonder.  Look at how those beautiful, colorful lights dance in the tinsel.  Catch some falling snowflakes on your tongue.  Read a good holiday book or watch a holiday movie from your library.

Enjoy the parties, the people, the food, and yourself during the holidays this year.  Keep them happy, clean, and stress-free.

Happy Holidays and Season's Readings from the perch.

Don't Buy It, Make It

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be over, but the holiday shopping season continues.  Maybe you found those perfect gifts for the people in your life, and if you did, that's great.  You can stop reading this post (but please humor me and read on).  If you're like me, though, you avoided the crowds and the mayhem to stay home and wonder what to get the people who have everything and say they want nothing for Christmas.

Of course, I can't give some people nothing for Christmas (especially when I know they already got me something), so I went to almighty Google to ask what to get people who say they want nothing.  Well, I was impressed to see that you could actually buy the "Jar of Nothing" from various places ranging in price from $3.50 to $19.95.  That's something for nothing!  Actually, the Jar of Nothing comes with a lot of humor, but somehow I think the recipients would fail to see it.

I racked my brain to think of what to gift the people who want nothing and came up with something that can't come from any store--the handmade gift (ta-da!).  My husband photographs landscapes and I knit and crochet, so the people who want nothing will get some artwork for the walls and woolly hats to wear.

I'm sure everyone has a hobby, interest, or particular talent.  Maybe it's baking, crafting, woodworking, sewing, leatherworking, or something else.  Think about what you can do and turn it into a gift that comes from the heart.  If you need some help, come to the library and check out our DIY books.  You'll save some frustration.  And if people don't appreciate the handmade gifts this year, then I'll present the Jar of Nothing to them next year.

Wishing you a stress-free, happy season of giving from the perch.

Practice Thankfulness

I've talked about having an Attitude of Gratitude in the past, but with Thanksgiving coming up, I thought it might be good to revisit the subject.  It seems like a lot of people feel down about the state of the world these days and tend to focus more on the negative than on the positive.  I'd like to think of the glass being half full, so here's a list of things for which we all can be thankful:

• Weekends--Those 2 days a week to rest, recharge, have fun, do something, do nothing are just magical, aren't they?
• Fresh Air--It smells good, fills up our lungs, and we wouldn't be around without it.
• Learning from Mistakes--Nobody's perfect, so isn't it great our mistakes can be our best teachers?
• Laughter--Sometimes you just can't take life too seriously and need to laugh it up.
• Sunshine--Those warm rays sure make the day bright and cheery.
• Time--It's a gift to be used well.
• Rainbows--Those pretty colors in the sky don't happen often, but they sure are pretty!
• Waking Up--If you woke up this morning, be happy--it's another day you're here!
• Your Mind--It's a rather remarkable instrument; just look at all the different things you can do!
• Music--Doesn't listening to your favorite tunes put a spring in your step?
• Libraries and Books--Come on, you know I had to include them! The gateways to so many things!

Personally, I'm also thankful for my family (even though they drive me crazy sometimes), my good health (so far), and working in a library (5 days a week).  What are some of the things you feel thankful about?

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving from the perch.

 

Stop Book Abuse!

What I love about library books is that they're everybody's books.  You can check them out, I can check them out, he can check them out, she can check them out, etc.  Damaging a library book is like damaging your own personal property, so why do people do it?

Recently, a test prep book was returned to the library with all the answers marked in it.  In addition to seeing the answers the patron selected, I also saw which answers the patron got wrong because there were lines through the numbers with mistakes.  Allow me to say that your neighborhood perch librarian was none too thrilled erasing page after page of pencil marks in that book.

You'd be surprised by the condition in which a number of books and other library items get returned to us.  They've had marks made by various writing utensils, Post-its stuck to pages, water damage, coffee stains, and brown sticky stuff I don't even want to know about.  The library has become ick and germ central, but there's something we can all do to help.

When you check any item out of the library, treat it with respect.  Don't write anywhere in or on it.  Don't rest your drink on it.  Don't take it with you into the bathtub, the pool, the lake, the ocean, or anywhere else that's wet.  For the time it's checked out to you, that library item is yours--take good care of it.

Sending you good karma from the perch.

Not So Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" may be just a story to many people, but to those from New York's Hudson Valley, such as myself, it's more than just a ghost tale.  It's based on local facts and is part of the area's folklore.  It's also a part of the area's growing tourist industry.

Full disclosure: I was born in Sleepy Hollow, although at that time it was called North Tarrytown.  After the largest employer, the General Motors plant, closed down in the mid-1990s, the village reverted to its original name of Sleepy Hollow to capitalize on it's folklore and history.

Revisiting Sleepy Hollow recently, it was interesting to see how the village has turned into a bustling tourist destination revolving around Irving's famous tale.  There was always the Old Dutch Church, which figures into the story, and the adjacent cemetery containing the remains of the "Headless Horseman," a Hessian soldier decapitated during the American Revolution.  Nowadays, among other things, there's a master storyteller recounting Irving's "Legend," nighttime tours of the cemetery by lantern light, and the Horseman's Hollow, where actors portray "the undead, the evil, and the insane."

The village of Sleepy Hollow does a great job in keeping Irving's story alive and well.  Older and younger generations can learn and be entertained by the American literary classic, walking the paths and seeing the sights that Irving wrote about.  If you ever have the chance to visit New York City, it's worth taking the Metro North train from Grand Central Station to visit Sleepy Hollow.  Just don't lose your head while there.

Wishing you haunted readings from the perch.

Celebrate Banned Books!

In honor of Banned Books Week, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the books which have been banned in different countries or challenged by schools, churches, and individuals.  The reasons why they have been banned or challenged may surprise you.  Have you read and liked any of these titles?

• The American Heritage Dictionary--Objectionable entries, in particular slang terms. 
• As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner--Questions the existence of God.
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley--Anti-religion, against the traditional family, strong language, and pornographic.
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London--Too radical.
• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White--Depiction of talking animals is sacrilegious. 
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker--Rape, racism, violence against women, and sex.
• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank--Sexually explicit passages.
• The Giver by Lois Lowry--Violence, sexually explicit, and euthanasia.
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck--Promotes Communist values.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald--Language and sexual references.
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling--Witchcraft.
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov--Obscene content.
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss--Political commentary and propaganda.
• Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare--Same-sex romance.
• Ulysses by James Joyce--Obscene language and sexual content.
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak--Supernatural themes.

In the United States, public libraries are open to all people.  Any person is free to check out any book, no questions asked. 

Defending truth, justice, and the freedom to read from the perch.