Julie's Journal : Hobby Farming

Do you remember getting eggs from chickens in your backyard?  Having to feed the animals in the morning before school or work?  Getting home in the evenings and having lots of chores to do?  Maybe you do all those things now?  If you do, my husband and I have joined you!  When I got married 13 years ago to a man from the suburbs of Dallas, I never dreamed we'd have our own little backyard farm one day.  However, he has jumped into country living with a vengeance and there is no going back!

Shortly after we purchased our home, we bought our first batch of chickens. 

 

 

 

Now we have 16 laying hens and 2 roosters and another batch of chickens set to arrive in a couple of weeks.  Our hens give us about a dozen beautiful eggs every single day! 

 
If you have never compared a backyard egg to a store bought one you really should.  The yolks on a backyard egg are much darker yellow and their nutrition is better, too.

So, since the chickens have been a success, my husband wanted to expand our little farm.  This past weekend, we traveled to New Boston and bought these...

That's right - two goats.  Not just two goats - two pregnant goats!  They are a La Mancha goat and a Nubian goat.  Both are supposed to be very good milk goats.  After they have their kids, we will be milking them and trying to figure out what to do with the milk.  We have hopes of cheeses, soaps, and lotions.  I'm sure there's going to be a giant learning curve, so if you see me in the library looking utterly exhausted, you can probably blame the goats!!  If you are experienced with milk goats and with using their milk, I could use your advice as well. 

Now, we just need to figure out gardening..... 

Marvelous Mondays! : Puff Paint

Did you know that you can make your own puff paint?  And there's no need to wait for it to dry?  Three kids made beautiful puff paint pictures yesterday at Marvelous Mondays!

 

Puff Paint

 

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

water

food coloring

 

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and enough water to make a thin paste.  The kids said that it looked like pancake batter at this point!!  Divide the paint into several containers and use food coloring to make different colors.  Use spoons, q-tips, or squeeze bottles to paint on cardboard.  After the picture is done, microwave for 20-30 seconds until paint is dry and puffy.

 

 



Franklin County Tribute to Veterans

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Tribute to Veterans that Franklin County did several years ago.  Veterans came to the courthouse and recorded their stories on DVD.  Sadly, many of those veterans are no longer with us.  Franklin County Library has those DVD's available to check out for viewing by the public.

However, we feel that the time has come to record the stories of more of our veterans.  During the month of March Jim Kober will be conducting interviews here at the library.

If you are a veteran, we would love to get your story.  We want ALL veteran's stories, whether you served in war time or peace time, long ago or recently.  Please call the library at 903-537-4916 to add your name to our list.  We will begin scheduling times next week.

All participants will be given a DVD copy of their interview upon their request.

Texas Weather

I found this graphic on Pinterest today and thought it was particularly relevant considering the past couple of weeks!!

Why are libraries still important?

• 75% of public libraries offer software and other resource to help patrons create resumes and employment materials, and library staff helps patrons complete online job applications.
• Librarians help students learn how to analyze information and apply it to new contexts, reflect on what they know, identify what they still need to learn and sort through contradictory arguments.
• 62% of libraries report that they are the only provider of free computer and internet access in their community.
• 91% of public libraries provide free Wi-Fi, and 74% of libraries report use of Wi-Fi increased in 2011.
• 76% of libraries offer access to e-books, and 39% of libraries provide e-readers for check-out by patrons.
• 90% of libraries offer formal or informal technology assistance to library users, and 35% offer one-on-one technology training by appointment.
• 36% of libraries report increased use of library technology training over the previous year.
• 70% of libraries use social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter
• Public libraries served 297.6 million people throughout the United States, a number that is equivalent to 96.4% of the total U.S. population.
• Libraries are still FREE!

What makes the library important to you?

Source:  www.ala.org

Blind Date with a Book!

If you are a regular reader of this blog or visitor to the library you know all about February's Blind Date with a Book event.  Today, I (Julie) visited Mt. Vernon Intermediate School with Blind Date books for all the 5th grade teachers.  I got to visit all the classrooms and the teachers picked their "blind date."  It was a lot of fun and the kids seemed to really like it too.  They had lots of opinions about which book their teacher should get even though the books are wrapped to hide the covers.
 

fr. row: Ericka Marker, Rita Long, Susan Huizinga  bk. row:  Lisa Taylor, Kathie Thompson, Lynn West

Don't forget, this event continues throughout the month of February.  Come on in and pick out your Blind Date!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

 

 

P.S.  Don't tell anyone, but the library staff MIGHT be dipping assorted goodies in chocolate today!!!

Tom's Two Cents : Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.

Empty Mansions, the Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune, by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.

The sub-title of this work is a bit misleading, for the first part is about the amassing of a great fortune by the American copper baron W. A. Clark, whose name was not familiar to me, though I know now that he was one of the great multi-millionaires of the so-called "Gilded Age," that period in American History between 1890-1910, when so many huge fortunes were made and ostentation became the watchword among the super-rich. 

William Clark personified the American rags-to-riches story; a young miner/entrepreneur from Pennsylvania, he settled in Montana, discovered a rich copper vein near the town of Butte, and the rest is history.  At the height of his success in the early 20s, his income was said to have exceeded ten million a year, of which he and his first wife managed to spend only three million, living in the most lavish of life styles.  After marrying his childhood sweetheart and siring five children, his domestic world took a tumble when his beloved wife died at the age of fifty and he re-married a young woman half his age, who gave him two more children, both born and reared in Paris, Andree and Huguette.  Huguette, the principal subject of this work, became the last survivor of her generation of Clark children, living to the age of 105, in an unbelievable world of riches and ultimate seclusion.

Unlike the first Mrs. Clark, Anna, Huguette's mother, became a sophisticated, cosmopolitan woman, though somewhat reclusive by nature.  She could well afford to be.  After the death of William Clark and the sale of their one hundred room mansion on 5th Ave., Anna gave private musical soirées at her vast apartment, founding what became known as the "Paganini Quartet," and providing individual Stradivari instruments for each of the players.  At her death she bequeathed the rest of her personal fortune to Huguette, her one surviving daughter, who had already inherited one-fifth of her father's estate as one of his five surviving children.

Although briefly married to a member of the French aristocracy, Huguette lived most of her life in solitude, giving away vast amounts of her fortune to friends and even deserving strangers, but as she aged, she outlived most of her own support system and became more and more reclusive.  Even her own business staff became accustomed to dealing with her only by memo and telephone.  She was always remembered as intelligent and gracious but generally unavailable in person. 

Ultimately she wound up very ill and virtually unattended in her own sumptuous 5th Ave apartment, where she was discovered and rushed to Doctors Hospital, a swank Manhattan institution, a place she willingly and preferably remained for the next twenty years! 

This book is well documented, both from primary and secondary sources, but it is a collaboration and ultimately lacks the style of a single author.  Yet it is such a compelling story that one reads on, hoping to untangle the mystery of Huguette Clark's complex personality.

One never does, but it's still worth the read!

Notice: - FCL Gardening Program Cancelled for Tuesday Night

We are cancelling the gardening program tomorrow night.  We hope to see you next week on the 18th for Mr. Kridler's presentation.

Don't Forget : Marvelous Mondays!

We are still conducting Marvelous Monday every Monday afternoon that school is in session.  At about 4:15 I (Julie) conduct a science experiment or craft activity for kids of all ages.

Today, we are going to create a solution and try and grow crystals.  The crystals will set overnight in the solution and the kids can come back and pick up their creations. 

I have started a couple early.  Maybe some crystals will have formed by this afternoon! 

It's Snowing!!

I (Julie) have to admit to being a kid at heart.  I love the snow and am wishing that the few flurries we are having would turn into something more.  In fact a few years ago during a snow event, a coworker and I went out and made snowmen in the parking lot and put them by our front door.  For a little while we had our very own library snow mascots!!

However, so far the snow does not seem to be accumulating, so come on in to the library and get something hot to drink and something fun to read.  Today in addition to coffee we are serving hot chocolate. 

We also still have our "Blind Date With a Book" selections.  If you aren't sure what you want to read today, come in and get a surprise! We've had a lot of fun seeing what people end up with. 

Have a great day and stay warm!!!

Julie's Journal : What is a Classic?

A few weeks ago, I put up a post with the New Year's Resolutions of all the library staff.  Chance has already posted about the completion of one of his goals, so I thought I'd give an update on my resolution to read more classics. 

After he saw the post, Tom Wilkinson asked me to answer three questions : What is a classic?  What classics had I already read? and What types of classics was I interested in reading? 

I found that answering the questions was a great exercise for me.  In listing what I had read, I realized that most of the classics I had read were children's classics.  I've read and loved all of the Anne of Green Gables series, Little Women, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, The Chronicles of Narnia series, The Swiss Family Robinson and many others.  The few "adult" classics I have read were read mainly as a reading assignment in school many years ago, and, for the most part, I did not enjoy them. 

Answering the first question though, was a little more difficult.  I told Mr. Wilkinson that my personal definition of a classic is "is a book or story that has been enjoyed by several generations.  It is a story that stays relevant throughout the ages, regardless of changes in society."  It was only after I had sent him my response that I came across pages and pages of articles discussing the definition of a classic.  This article and the further reading it recommended were interesting and the Goodreads discussion referenced shows that there are as many definitions of classics as there are readers of classics.  After reading all of the above, I decided that I would leave my definition alone.  It seems that what makes a classic a classic is very much up to the individual reader!

Mr. Wilkinson worked up a list of recommended classics for me to read and I decided to start with Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope. 

After a couple of chapters, I decided that I needed to go back and read the prequel The Warden in order to get the characters straight in my head.  I finished The Warden over the weekend and now plan to start again on Barchester Towers. 

What are some of your favorite classics?  What is your definition of a classic?  What classics do you want to read?

Don't Forget : Bee Program Tomorrow Night

Dick Counts will be presenting "Bees and Their Importance to Our Gardens" tomorrow evening at 5:30 in the upstairs room of the library.  This is the third of five in our gardening series.  Please come on by!!  Everyone is welcome!