The Big Chill

I recently read that the Miriam Webster dictionary company word for the year 2010 was austerity. It brings to mind the native Mohawks for whom the word austerity was a fact of life in February of a bad year. When the Palatine Germans arrived, bringing with them their own lifestyle, pre-planning for the austerity of late winter was slightly more attainable. The harsh existence of ages passed was accepted as day to day life. Yet each culture still found the time and the means to express the beauty of the world around them. With the Palatines in mind, the Fort Plain Free Library will present a program on pierced paper Valentines on Wednesday, February 9^th, beginning at 6:00 pm with local artist and instructor Joanne Resch. Participants will create a project reminiscent of German Fraktur work. The program is free and open to the public but seating is limited.
An upcoming program tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, beginning at 6:00 with Sherri Byrne will focus on herbal fragrances. More details will follow next month. Art and herbs, two ingredients of life, expressed and utilized by every culture that has come into this valley. Through our libraries, we can learn about their continuing influences on our everyday life.
If Cornell Cooperative Extension had been around two centuries ago, it probably would have offered a program called Save Energy, Save Your Energy. Today it's called Save Energy, Save Dollars and on Thursday, February 10^th, from 1:00 – 2:30, Craig Clark of Cornell Cooperative Extension will offer local residents practical advice on how to lower their utility bills through no-cost/low-cost means.
Those of you who haven't been chilled enough by the weather might enjoy reading At the Mercy of the Mountains: True Stories of Survival and Tragedy in New York's Adirondacks by Peter Bronski. As for myself, I'm taking an armchair flight to the warmer climate of Ballybucklebo, County Down, Northern Ireland via An Irish Country Courtship, the fifth book in the Irish Country series by Patrick Taylor.
For further information on any of these programs or publications, please call the library at (518) 993-4646.
Submitted by Sally Taylor, member of the Board of Trustees