National Puzzle Day: January 29th

This Sunday, January 29th, is National Puzzle Day and we are ready to help you celebrate at the Vienna Public Library! 

We have the perfect area to sit, relax, and work a puzzle just behind the Fiction Section. The area is stocked with quite a selection of jigsaw puzzles, games and coloring sheets to enjoy. 

The library is closed on Sunday, however you are welcome to stop in ahead of time and check out a puzzle to put together in the comfort of your own home. We have a number of kits available on a display stand near the computers.

Be sure to take a look at the other types of kits that are available as well: Games, Knitting, Bird Watching, and Baking Kits are just a few of the many treasures you will find.

If you would rather spend your time working puzzles like Crossword, Sudoku, etc., we will have complementary sheets at the circulation desk for you to pick up on Saturday, January 28th.

If your idea of the perfect wintery Sunday afternoon is a comfortable blanket, a hot drink, and a good book, we've got you covered. We even have mysteries that are puzzle themed.

Don't let the upcoming weekend pass you by without doing a little celebrating.

We look forward to seeing you at the library!

National Organize Your Home Day

Organize Your Home Day is on January 14th this year and, as the name implies, now is the time to decide what needs to stay (things that are beautiful and/or useful) and what needs to go.

January is a natural "clean slate" that inspires us to put things in order.

There is no shortage of information concerning how to make your home a sanctuary.

Publications such as Good Housekeeping (1885) and Better Homes and Gardens (1922) have been advising their readers for more than a century with tips concerning how to keep their living space clean and tidy. Martha Stewart, Country Living, HGTV, and Marie Kondo, as well as many others, have become resources in more recent years to those who desire a more comfortable living space.

Here are three suggestions for celebrating National Organize Your Home Day this year:

1. Check out one of the magazines mentioned above from our Libby app.

(You can find Libby here.)

2. Stop by the Vienna Public Library and check out one (or more) of the many books in our collection that can help you put your home in order.

(Image below is but a small percentage of what is available in our stacks.)

 and

3. Apply the information that you gather toward organizing your home.

Organization is a habit that you can develop and fine tune. It will, without question, require your time and attention for more than just one day a year.

Happily, we are here all year to help you find the resources that you are looking for.

Stop by soon and visit with us. We look forward to seeing you! 

                      

Happy National Cranberry Relish Day!

 

Thanksgiving is just days away, which is why it seems only natural to focus on the fact that today is National Cranberry Relish Day.

We found a wonderful Cranberry Relish recipe from Tastes Better from Scratch and just had to share it with you. You can check out that recipe here!

We have a large number of cookbooks here at the library. If you haven't decided at this point exactly what you will be taking to the family gathering this year, you may want to stop in and check out this gem:

The One with All the Recipes

This happens to be a personal favorite and is perfect for discovering just the right Thanksgiving dish.

You can delight your loved ones with Thanksgiving Yams, Sweet Potato and Marshmallow Casserole, or Onion Tartlets.

If it is a smaller crowd, you can try the Thanksgiving Turkey for One and then save the leftovers for an amazing Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich.

If you prefer to bypass the traditional Thanksgiving spread, there is always

Grilled Cheese and All That.

This book is perfect any time of the year. If you haven't flipped through the covers of this one, do yourself a favor and check it out from the library soon.

We'll be here for you!

A Plant-tastic Event

Do you have extra Black-Eyed Susans in your flower bed? Are you getting ready to divide your coneflowers or peonies or hosta for Autumn? Have you propagated your houseplants over the summer and now you have more than you know what to do with?


The Vienna Public Library is going to host a Perennial & Houseplant Exchange!
Our first plant swap is going to be a casual event. Items will only be bartered. (No cash, check or debit.) Anyone who brings one or more items to barter with will receive one ticket to go into our drawing for plant related prizes to be given away! Plant care information will be available.


We were already enthusiastic about the event, but now we could not be more excited. Here's why: we went to the garden center at Scots Marketplace and Greenhouse to get a few ideas. As always, they were knowledgeable and friendly and offered a lot of suggestions. If you love houseplants...if you enjoy an assortment of perennials in your flowerbeds... you do not want to miss this! Our sincere thanks to the people at Scots for their information.
The swap/exchange will be held just outside the River Road Entrance on Saturday, October 8th from 10 AM until 2 PM. (The event will begin and end promptly at those times. If it is raining, it will be moved inside the library to the meeting room.)


Be sure to share this information with your plant-loving friends. More participants = more plants and gardening items to choose from. We can't wait to see you!

Recharge Your Resolutions

 

Did you make a resolution for 2022? Forbes.com reports that he most popular New Year’s resolutions are “about self-improvement (living healthier 23% of people, getting happy 21%, losing weight 20%, exercising 7%, stopping smoking 5%, reducing drinking 2%). In addition, people resolve to meet career or job goals (16%) and improve their relationships (11%).”

 

According to an article in The New York Post, “a poll of 2,000 Americans found that it takes just 32 days for the average person to finally break their resolution(s) — but 68% report giving up their resolutions even sooner than that.”

 

The article goes on to say that one in seven Americans never actually believe they’ll see their resolution through in the first place.

 

February 1st is typically the day we call it quits on our New Year’s resolutions, according to research. The study, conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Crispy Green, also discovered the “why” behind our failure to keep our resolutions.

 

First on the list of reasons our resolutions don’t stick is a “self-aware lack of discipline (52%), followed by busy schedules and lacking the proper time to see them through (43%).”

 

Studies also show that only about 8% of those who set goals for the New Year will actually go on to achieve them. Even so, Forbes.com lists these reasons why it is a good idea to make them anyway:

 

#1 – Intention

Being honest with yourself about your current condition and the distance to your preferred situation is key to improvement. And being intentional about how you want to grow and develop will help you achieve results.

 

#2 – Hope and Engagement

Making New Year’s resolutions is inherently hopeful and optimistic. You expect things can get better for you, for your work experience or for your community. This positive view of the future, in turn, tends to motivate action.

 

#3 – Responsibility

Most New Year’s resolutions have some impact on others; even if they are about individual self-improvement, they affect families, friends, colleagues and communities.

New Year’s resolutions are terrific ways to focus on yourself, but also to consider your broader responsibility—and to expand and multiply your positive effects on others.

 

#4 – Inspiration

When you seek to be better, do better or contribute more fully, you tend to inspire others as well. The primary way people learn is through experiencing the behavior of others. When you focus on the future and focus on improvement, you inspire those around you.

At the Vienna Public Library, we have a great number of books in our collection that are available to help recharge and re-inspire your goals. You will find a display near the circulation desk and we would also be happy to offer suggestions and assistance finding selections that are in line with the aspirations that you hope to achieve this year. 

Stop in soon to say hello and check out a book that will inspire you to stay the course and help you live your best life. We look forward to seeing you!

A Book Review from the Director's Desk

 

Near the Bone by Christina Henry


Part domestic thriller; part horror novel; all suspenseful fun. If you are a true crime nut like so many of us are, you could really be into this fun, quick, scary read from an author that is quickly becoming one of my favorites.


There is definitely a "true crime" kind of element to this fictional story. I love the dystopian feel (even though it's technically not a dystopian novel), and the cryptid monster antagonist seems really novel to me. (The mothman is even mentioned at one point, and considering that I am from 20 minutes north of where the mothman sightings occurred, I found that pretty neat.) So there are a lot of themes in this book sure to appeal to a large variation of readers.


Isolation, Self-Sustainable Off-the-Grid Living, Cryptids/Monsters in the Woods, True Crime Mysteries, Domestic Abuse, Religious Zealotry and quick, suspenseful pacing. It's got something for everyone!


Click here to see Near the Bone in the Vienna Public Library collection.

Make time for tea... and other sensible advice.

 

In the rush of the everyday- the to-do lists, the people to see, the hills to climb- some things get accomplished and other things fall to the back burner... simmering slowly... or rapidly boiling over so that they may finally grab our attention.


I recently had a conversation with a fellow over-achiever about the art of actually slowing things down a bit in order to accomplish more. If I am being brutally honest, she is the over-achiever. I am merely an over-scheduler. I tend to get excited about one project, and then another, add a third, and so on until my task list looks like Santa's delivery schedule.


This time of year, beginning in October and through to January 2nd, will really throw my kind for a loop. In a hurry to accomplish everything. Actually accomplishing very little. This leaves a body feeling a little stressed, a little depressed, and not in a celebratory spirit at all.


I began thinking about our TLC Tuesday segments and how it is necessary to care for yourself if you are going to properly serve and care for others.


(Our TLC Tuesdays have been on the back burner for a bit...slowly simmering.)


Then I started thinking that it would be wise to write about this very thing in a blog post... to remind you lovely folks that, despite all that needs to get done in the next few weeks before the debut of 2022, you do not have to take on everything.


(This blog... boiling over on the back burner...spilling to the floor.)


So I come to you now with three bits of advice to carry you through the next few weeks:


1. Do what you can and forget the rest of the list.


Some things matter. Some things do not.
Put your 3 most important goals at the top of your list.
Set the priority based on family, work, or service.
Remember that you do not have to be all things to all people.


2. Spend at least an hour each day doing something that soothes your soul.


Again, it is necessary to care for yourself if you are going to properly serve and care for others.
Make time for tea.
Pray or meditate.
Read, watch a comedy, paint, cuddle a pet, or do literally anything that is legal that brings joy.
My over-achieving colleague suggested a book.
Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton





It is available to borrow here at the Vienna Public Library.
I will be reading it soon.


3. Don't be afraid to say, "No, thank you."


One meaningful, relaxing gathering with people you care about will be far more memorable than 4 hurried conversations at 4 different events with 4 half-eaten plates of food and an exhaustion that will be hard to recover from.
Again, you do not have to be all things to all people.
Spend time with and love the special people in your life who will love you back.
Make memories.
Life is short.
Slow down.


Enjoy.