By Diane Lockspeiser
It was a sweltering eighty degrees outside as I sat at the library desk one Saturday morning in early June. A little girl walked in wearing a warm Winter hat! I noticed the rabbit fur pompom on its top and complimented her on it, earning me a big shy smile. Her mother commented that she had struggled all Winter to get her daughter to wear a hat, and NOW she insisted on wearing it all the time. Being somewhat of a kid at heart myself, I guessed that it was because the last time she had come to the library we were having a party celebrating hats. Another shy smile told me I had guessed correctly.
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, Bake Sale, and Crazy Hat Contest at the end of May did not go quite as I had hoped, but we had fun nonetheless. Unseasonably cold wet weather canceled the croquet. Snags in setting up the new crafts area upstairs canceled the idea of a hat-making activity during the party. Yet the baked goods were plentiful and delicious, and that cold wet weather enticed many people to come inside for some tea and cake.
The CROP kids had made hats earlier in the month with Miss Carol. They were all so creative that I thought it might be impossible to choose just one for the prize of an ice cream cone (or equivalent) from the Andes Diner. Then Xavier’s hat had such panache, it made choosing surprisingly easy.
I didn’t think it would be proper to award an adult, since the only adults who wore hats (though very creative) were board members… and my husband. He donned his cowboy hat when he came to help clean up. It’s my opinion that he got enough of a prize by helping “clean up” some cookies!
I wasn’t sure what to do with the second gift certificate until Cece came in, surprising and delighting us with a hat that blew bubbles!
Jaylee had an absolutely lovely hat full of flowers and butterflies. SHE really got the biggest prize of all as her mom bought her the entire tea set! What a lucky girl!
Now that the seasons are moving on to REAL flowers and butterflies, be sure to enjoy the chance to stroll through local private gardens with friends and neighbors on Saturday, July 25, the annual Andes Public Library Garden Tour. Hopefully we will have better weather for this event. Again I am encouraging you to wear a hat, but this time a sunhat!~