Pam
By Pamela West-Finkle
As I write this on Martin Luther King Day in mid-January, I have to say the weather has been kind to us so far. (Unless you like to ski, ice skate, and do snow sports). We’ve had a few chilly nights, however, and my pond is glazing over into a near optimal black ice, the kind I would have died for as a teenager. With any luck, it will stay dry and cold at night so that next weekend it may be safe to put my children and grandchildren upon it while I watch wistfully from the shore.
Age and bone density (or lack thereof) have forced me to relinquish the one thing that made me love winter as a child…the chance to skate free and fast on a frozen pond, pretending to be the next small town figure skater. Now I need a walker on ice…like those PVC pipe contraptions the local roller rink has for beginner skaters….or maybe a Sumo wrestling suit, encasing myself in a cushion of air so that I will just bounce and roll instead of breaking a hip.
Nonetheless, I have, instead, replaced my desire to skate with the sport of bird watching my new bird feeder—a much safer sport, unless one should crane a neck while spotting a rare songbird.
Introducing….temporary Librarian, Jesslyn Cleary
When I go out for surgery at the end of February, the library is pleased to welcome Ms. Jesslyn Cleary to the circulation desk to take over for me for the three months I will be recuperating from shoulder replacement. I will be training her in the weeks prior so that she can provide all of the services our patrons are used to receiving.
Jesslyn has lived in the village of Andes for twenty years, and had been a frequent visitor to the area since 1979. She retired in 2015 after working the previous sixteen years as the personal assistant to an international opera singer. She’s a cat owner and lover, and has been active for several years in humanely reducing the feral cat population in Andes. One of her current interests is pre-code/classic film and one of her favorite books from our library was Isabel Wilderson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Jesslyn describes it as one of the most important books she has ever read.
Excitement in Front of the Library!
You may have been inconvenienced by construction equipment and gravel in our parking lot and in front of the library, making it difficult or impossible to park. It seems there were some water leaks in town and one was in the pipe leading from the street to the library. They had to dig it all up, find the leak, dig some more (broke our sign in the process), and then drilled under the street to replace the lead pipe with a copper one. Hopefully our sign will be fixed sooner rather than later.
New Additions to the Mural and the Library
When you stop into the library, be sure to check out the progress on the mural that our board member, Diane Lockspeiser, is working on in the bathroom. We have a new skunk, robin, fox, porcupine, some chickens, and new things are being added regularly. Thank you Diane, for all of your generosity and hard work! It’s beautiful!
We have also acquired many new movies and more are on order. I apologize for not having acquired new movies sooner than this, but we made up for it by ordering thirty new titles, including Outlander, Season 6, House of Dragons (Game of Thrones), and for the teens, the Marvel Tom Holland Spiderman movies Homecoming, Far from Home, and No Way Home. These are movies and series that are not available unless you have a paid subscription to the platforms that offer them, so know that you can get them for free at your local library! I am also going to be purchasing two DVD players to check out as well in case yours or your internet is on the fritz.
As with our books, we take suggestions for movies or series video we can add to our collection if it is not available via inter library loan from another library in the system. If there is something interesting or obscure that you can’t find, but don’t want to purchase yourself, please let us know. For instance, we now have a book on tanning skins in case anyone is interested! We also have some amazing self-help and healing books that have been suggested by other patrons.
Monday 3 pm Music and Stories for Tiny Tots with Miss Pam and Miss Becca
Until my surgery, I have been asked by a local group of parents to do an early childhood music and movement and storytime time. The group had wanted 3:30, but we close the library at 4 pm, so anyone is welcome to join us. Once I am out for surgery, we have a visiting music therapist from the UK in town, Miss Becca Wintle. Becca plans to use a variety of folk songs and the Little Roots program. If you are interested in participating with this group, please call 845-676-3333 or email an.ill@4cls.org. Of course the library opens at 11 am, so feel free to come by before 3 pm to look at books and read to your child.
Summer Reading Theme –
ALL TOGETHER NOW!
The 2023 National Summer Reading Program theme is “All Together Now!” I’m still deciding on exactly what we are going to do, but I think we are going to focus on creating a garden space as a community, enlisting the help of the Andes Central School CROP Students and the Andes Garden Club.
In addition, we may have a musical component as well, exploring songs of unity as well as having workshops on improvisation and cooperative music making. Stay tuned!~