FORCING BULBS AND BRANCHES
The Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners are back! The first of (4) programs at the Library will begin on March 28th at 11:30 am.
The Gardeners will demonstrate how to force the
inside blooming process of bulbs and branches by imitating what nature does outside.
THE ORIGINS OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS
JOSEPH BRITTO, adjunct lecturer SUNY/Orange & Professor Emeritus SUNY/New Paltz provides a fascinating six (6) week overview of the origins of pre-history to present day religions, formal and informal, in global perspective.
Location: Pine Bush Area Public Library Community Center
Dates: Tuesdays, March 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30th
Time 6:30 to 8:00 PM
Please register for this program by calling (845) 744-4265 ext. 2
Exhibiting Artist: GINI ROSE SIVILLI
Being a native of the Hudson Valley has always been a blessing. Painting is a way for me to express this beauty. I started painting when my kids left the nest. Learning through classes, art groups and workshops given by artists worldwide has helped me develop my skills and style. I love impressionistic watercolors. The spontaneity of unexpected beauty that can happen as the paint “does its thing” is very exciting.
I have found my passion and my Zen.
(Please stop in the Main Library to view this artist’s paintings!)
The Pine Bush Area Arts Council is calling all artists:
If you would like to exhibit your artwork in the Pine Bush Library,
please contact Dick Reich
(845) 744-3781
RAVE REVIEWS
by Jean E. Eustance
March 2019
IN honor of St. Patrick’s Day, March 1t I will be looking at two picture books about leprechauns. Clever tom and the Leprechaun is retold and illustrated by Linda Shute. It is found in the Pine Bush Library in the folklore and fairytale section, on a free-standing set of shelves in the Children’s Department. The other book, Shannon and the World’s Tallest Leprechaun is written by Sean Callahan, and illustrated charmingly by Kathleen Kemly. It is found in the Juvenile Picture book section, the long set of shelves on the wall.
Clever tom and the Leprechaun is a retelling of “The Field of Boliauns” from Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, published in 1825 by folklorist T. Croftion Croker. In it, Tom catches a leprechaun and demands his pot of gold. As long as Tom does not look away or blink, the leprechaun cannot escape. The leprechaun directs him to a big field of boliauns, which are also called ragwort. He tells him which ragwort bush the gold is buried under. Tim cleverly ties the red garter, which was holding up one of his socks, to the ragwort bush. The leprechaun vanishes.
Tom runs home to get his shovel, and make his fortune. But when he gets back to the field, he finds that every single ragwort bush has a red garter tied around it. He spends the rest of the day digging up bushes and never finds the pot of gold. This is a traditional leprechaun tale. The leprechaun is never tricked out of his gold. Tom spends the rest of his life waiting for the second chance of finding the leprechaun and the treasure. Clever Tom is a classic, and a lot of fun.
Shannon and the World’s Tallest Leprechaun is not a traditional tale. Shannon is practicing hard to dance well in the ST. Patrick’s Day step dance contest, to be held at the Irish-American Heritage Center. She is worried that the other girls will dance better than she does, and they all have either fancy shoes, fancy wigs, or dressed imported from Ireland. When the heel breaks off one of her shoes, she knows that Mom and Dad can’t afford to buy her new shoes. What now?
She decided to give up and throw away the shoes, but at the last moment tries something her father had said. “If you close your eyes and counted backward in Gaelic, the ancient language, a leprechaun might appear to grant a wish.” She does, and HE does—Liam, the world’s tallest leprechaun (five –foot-eleven) appears and says he will grant three wishes to her, one a day. She asks for a fancy dress and a wig and shoes with heels that don’t break off.
“A wig? A dress?” the leprechaun scoffed. “”What do those have to do with dancing?” But a shoe—you do need that. “Give me the broken one. I’ll show you how to take care of the perfectly fine stuff you already have.”
He helps her repair the shoe (a leprechaun is the fairy shoemaker after all) and then says that’s wish number one, and he vanishes.
The next day he is back to help her dance—by asking her to teach him how to dance. By teaching him she improves her dancing. That’s wish number two. The third day, they dance again. Then Shannon asks, “Do you have a pot of gold buried at the end of the rainbow?”
“Aye, that’s true,” Liam said. “Did you Google me or something?”
“Is it within the rules for me to wish for some of your gold?’
“Tis, and if you practice some more, tomorrow, on St. Patrick’s Day you will have some,” he said, grinning.
The next day, Shannon dances in the competition, and wins, despite her homemade dress and repaired shoes. She sees Liam standing at the back of the crows. “When Shannon won first prize, she caught sight of a rainbow arcing across the sky.” It seemed to point right to the shinning medal hanging around her neck. So this was the leprechaun’s gold!”
Shannon and the World’s Tallest Leprechaun is a great book and everyone should read it.
AARP SMART DRIVER CLASS
GET A DISCOUNT ON YOUR AUTO INSURANCE AND/OR LOWER POINTS ON YOUR LICENSE
SIGN UP NOW!!!
WEDNESDAY MARCH 27TH – 9 AM – 4 PM
PINE BUSH AREA LIBRARY COMMUNITY CENTER
$20 FOR AARP MEMBERS
$25 FOR NON-AARP MEMBERS
(MUST REGISTER. CALL 744-4265, EXT. 2)
JOIN US FOR “ONCE-A-MONTH” SATURDAY
MAH JONGG AT THE
PINE BUSH AREA LIBRARY COMMUNTY CENTER SATURDAY, MARCH 23rd – 10 AM TO 12 PM
*BRING YOUR OWN MAH JONGG SET OR USE ONE OF OURS.
INSTRUCTION AVAILABLE FOR BEGINNERS*
Please Register. Call 744-4265, Ext. 2.
Do you know what you can do with your Pine Bush Library card?
You can access:
Join us to learn how else you can benefit by using your Pine Bush Area Public Library card!
Please call 845 744-4265 ext. 2 to reserve your spot!
RAVE REVIEWS by Jean E. Eustance
David Dosa. M.D., has written a book about Alzheimer’s disease which has a light touch. The framework of the book is about the cat Oscar who lives in the Alzheimer’s ward of a nursing home in Rhode Island. Somehow he knows when patients are dying and this cat goes to their rooms, and lies on the beds, and stays with them through their last hours. Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat is in the non-fiction section of the Pine Bush Public Library.
The body of the book is about (a.) life in a nursing home in the Alzheimer’s section where there are several cats, not only Oscar. (b.) Dr. Dosa going outside the nursing home to talk to the family members of people who used to be patients there. And (c.) a look at Alzheimer’s disease. This is a reasonably-thin book, and it does not get down in the trenches with the caregivers and family members who must live with someone who is losing his or her mind and memory to dementia. The book talks about Alzheimer’s, and the people talk about watching their loved ones go downhill, but the text is not gut-wrenching.
Furthermore, Dr. Dosa writes about himself lightly, and makes himself say silly things, and then realize that they are silly. One example follows.
One woman was trying to explain to him how it was to care for her mother at home, when her mother had dementia.
She said, “I had to have a strategy just to be able to work, care for my son, and be there for my mother.” (And Dr. Dosa said) “That must have been hard on you.” Donna looked at me as if I’d just said something like “It must snow a lot in New England in the winter.” (And she said) “David, unless you go through it, you truly have no idea. I had no life for myself.”
One of the pages which got to me was when someone named Joan talked about her father forgetting how to fasten his seat belt.
She said, “Every time we’d go for a drive, my father would ask me to show him how to buckle his seat belt and I would go over it in painstaking detail, like I was teaching a young child to do it for the first time. But he never got it. I’d get so angry with him that he couldn’t do it rather than just accepting the fact that you can’t teach something to someone who is “unlearning” everything. Ultimately I had to figure this out for myself. Perhaps every caregiver does.”
After that, it is a relief to get back to the cat. The theory is that Oscar can smell something that tells him the end is near for a certain patient.
“When cells stop working, you get a state of starvation and you can smell ketones,” (Dr. Dosa said,) referring to the sweet-smelling chemical by-product that can also be sensed in out-of-control diabetes.
Patients, family members and staff of the nursing home all seem to appreciate Oscar and the company he provides. He visits with the person, lying by the person’s side until that patient has passed away, and no longer needs him. Oscar the cat provides company and comfort for both the patient and the patient’s family.
This is a nice little book about a horrible, big subject. Please find it in our non-fiction section upstairs.
Have you met Libby?
Libby will allow you to get your E-books & periodicals on your cell phone or tablet. Here are the steps to download Libby:
Apple (iPhone or iPad)
Android Phones and Tablets
We are looking for Middle School and High School students to join a new Library group,
“The Pals of the Library”.
The “Pals” would meet monthly and discuss various ways to aide and provide support to the Pine Bush Area Library. They would conduct their own fundraisers, plan parties and themed meetings for themselves. They would be a self-governing group under the advice and counsel of Library staff. “Pal” members would benefit by performing community service, learning teamwork skills and socializing and making new friends.
If your Middle Schooler or High Schooler is interested in joining, or for more information about “The Pals of the Library”, please contact Miss Vicki at 744-3375 ext. 3.
ALL POETS ARE INVITED TO READ ORIGINAL OR OTHER WORKS.
WINTER-INSPIRED POEMS ARE ENCOURAGED!
NON-POETS ARE INVITED TO COME, LISTEN, ENJOY
AND BE ENTERTAINED!
HOSTED BY GLORIA WINTER
Pine Bush Area Library Community Center
Thursday, February 28th – 7:00 to 9:00 PM
(Refreshments Served. No Cover)
NANCY REED JONES
Nancy Reed Jones is an award winning artist living and working in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Nancy was trained at the Huntington Art League on Long Island where she lived most of her life.
Nancy owned her own mural business for many years on Long Island and painted murals for the cancer patients in the hospitals there. Her murals were painted directly on the walls in the patient’s rooms where they could be viewed from their beds. These murals were used for “Guided Imagery” which is a technique where the patients get so engrossed in the scene that it alleviates their pain.
Nancy has developed “Art For Relaxation” classes to help people in recovery from addictions and serious illnesses. Relaxation techniques such as soft music, flowing fountains and aroma therapy are used to help people relax and enjoy the process of learning to paint. Nancy now teaches at the Wallkill River School of Art where she was a member of the Board of Directors for several years. Nancy also works for the New York Cancer Foundation teaching relaxation classes for the cancer patients.
In 2013, Nancy was chosen to receive the “Champion Of The Arts” award from the Orange County Arts Council. She was also voted #1 acrylic artist in the region in 2010.
Nancy can be contacted at the following:
Cell #516 695-0758 Website: Nancyreedjones.com Nartist57@aol.com
