Friday, February 26, 2010

February Cafe de Poetry




Aren't these puppies adorable! They actually ended up as centerpieces on the card tables instead of the rose vases seen above . I moved the roses to the larger table and put the puppies on the smaller tables. Participants could enjoy holding these centerpieces instead of just looking at them.

An original poem shared by one of our members pretty much expressed the feelings of most if not all of us Iowans (and probably others throughout our nation). It is entitled Iowa Winter by Edna Huff

"The sun was shining today. It was a welcome sight. Maybe the next day will be warmer and we'll see the stars tonight. It has been a weary winter, no nice long walks for me. I have to watch out for the ice and hazards hard to see. We all are thinking about warm spring and sunny skies and flowers. I'm all for these lovely things and welcome April showers. Open windows and the smell of rain and heavy shirts put away. Lots of long walks along the trail for all of these I pray. Thank you God in advance for miracles to be and in the future of the spring I see a happy me.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

winter sunset

Since I have been so busy working on the library's new website I haven't kept up with this blog as often as in the past. Enjoy this view for now as I continue to make improvements and additions to the website. With the monthly poetry cafe coming up tomorrow and a new month ahead I'll have several new pictures to post soon. Hooray for a new season as well!!

Do check out the library website, lakeview.lib.ia.us as I also put different pictures throughout the site that are not in my blogs.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Love "readings"

See that red book on the right!? It is a 1979 book I discovered when looking for books to display around these red roses. The book is entitled, Sadie Shapiro, Matchmaker, by Robert Kimmel Smith and what a charming book it is. For those of you who remember the song "Love and Marriage" will find the love and marriage theme of this book most appealing. To find out more about it you'll have to go to the new library website- lakeview.lib.ia.us as the book is my "pick of the week" review.

The other books in this display also have a "love" theme: Crazy In Love by Luanne Rice has already been checked out as she is a popular author. Most readers are familiar with the author Danielle Steel whose book No Greater Love is near the back. Mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark book is entitled Let Me Call You Sweetheart- who will undoubtedly NOT be the kind of sweetheart in the other books on display here. And for all of you who absolutely adore the poems of Helen Steiner Rice, here is one of her best collections entitled And the Greatest of These is L O V E!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Lake View Public Library-2010


Welcome to the Lake View Public Library! We now have a new website -www. lakeview.lib.ia.us for you check out. You will see a similar picture on the home page but it will be changed once all this snow disappears!! As with my blogs I will also put in different pictures from time to time, just not as often. It will keep readers informed on new happenings at the library.
One link that I hope gets used more often now is the EBSCO Host link as this provides patrons the opportunity to access information from a database that they can't obtain from googling! It is a service available through this library that can be used from any personal computer.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Axle Annie/Substitute Groundhog

Wondering why an armadillo is in the picture? It's because an armadillo becomes the "substitute groundhog" in this delightful and beautifully illustrated book by Pat Miller and Kathi Ember. Groundhog is too sick to be able to fulfill his February 2nd duties and advertises for a substitute. Various "local" animals audition for the part such as a mole, an eagle, a rabbit and a squirrel but only a visiting Texas armadillo can do the job properly.

I chose the Axle Annie book to read today because as you can see it is about a school bus!! That makes it a very timely story considering how our local school bus drivers have had a very tough time this winter. Our local schools were again closed yesterday because of dangerous driving conditions and had another late start today. Axle Annie, however, is one devoted bus driver much to the chagrin of a fellow bus driver. Snowy weather doesn't keep her from getting the kids on her route to school and as long as she can drive,the school DOESN'T CLOSE! So... how does Shifty Rhodes attempt to keep Annie from driving so that school WILL BE CLOSED!!? The story has a rather unexpected conclusion.

Monday, February 15, 2010

winter decor


Yes, it is still snowy here in Iowa and isn't this a lovely table decoration to fit our snowy weather. Our library meeting room is often used for different club gatherings. This one was for one of our local ladies' bridge clubs of which I am happy to be a member of. Unfortunately, the hostess had to make use of this room BECAUSE there was TOO MUCH SNOW in her driveway for people to be able to park safely. The dessert was also an added treat along with the fellowship of friends. I might add that I was actually a winner at this particular meeting which doesn't happen very often.

NOTE: This same meeting room was unexpectedly used again today, Monday the 15th, to provide a place for some children to watch a movie as our local schools were cancelled AGAIN at the last minute even though it had been announced they would have a two hour late start. Upon getting to school parents/ children learned --no school again!! This created a scheduling conflict for one of the patrons so I offered to let her children watch a movie until noon.
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Friday, February 12, 2010

Arctic animals

We may not live in the Arctic here in Iowa but we do have a lot of golf enthusiasts who don't mind golfing in cold weather. The annual Arctic Golf event was just held this past weekend on our frozen lake and as usual was very well attended. We don't have any of the Arctic animals seen in this picture living in this area but I did see a deer walking across the lake a few days ago. It was too far out for me to get a good picture to post with this writing. The bothersome racoons in my neighborhood are still roaming around and also an ocasional opposum but not any seals or walruses. We do have owls around but not of the white variety unless they are covered with some of the snow we have in abundance.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Valentine specials


Here are a few Valentine "special" readings for kids. The book by Eve Bunting entitled The Valentine Bears is kind of a classic and one I read every year as an elementary teacher.
A newer book for me is the one entitled "Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink" by Diane de Groat. How would you like to receive the following Valentine poem:
" Violets are blue, roses are pink. Your feet are big, and they really stink". Or how would you like to recieve this one: "Roses are red, you wet your bed. I think that you have rocks in your head."
These are two poems Gilbert wrote as part of a class assignment to write "nice" poems to each of his classmates. Gilbert didn't have any problem with this assignment until he came to the two classmates he didn't like- as you can tell by the poems he wrote. Now what makes this story more significant is that he didn't sign his own name to the two nasty poems. You have to read the story to find out whose names he did use and the consequences that followed. Hopefully Valentine's Day for you will have as "loving" a conclusion as does this book.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Snowy Tree


This large evergreen is next to my backyard gate and sits on my brother's property. Now you have to understand when I say "backyard" I am one of those lakeside residents who refer to their lakeside as "front" and their street side as "back". This tree is viewed only when I drive my car up to my "backyard" gate before entering my home. Since we are again experiencing more snow this winter of 2009/2010 I thought this picture very appropriate to share at this time. Spring will not come any too soon for us Iowa residents. In fact, this winter has reminded me why I used to tell all my New Mexico friends, where I lived for over 30 years, that I would never want to move back to my home state of Iowa! "Cabin fever" is beginning to affect a lot of us, especially sun lovers like myself. Well, thanks to my parttime library job, here I am back in an Iowa winter of historical proportions!! Oh well, spring is just around the corner and I will again be able to enjoy those lovely,warm, sunny days on my lakeside deck and this lovely tree will again look more green than white!

Monday, February 8, 2010

author- James Rollins




Are you an Indiana Jones fan? If so the books by James Rollins are just for you.
The book Altar of Eden by James Rollins was just recently published. It was the first book by this author that I had read and I became an instant fan!!! When I discovered we didn't have any other books by him in this library I immediately ordered two of his earlier books. Sandstorm and Map Of Bones are books one and two involving one particular character in both books along with many other exciting characters both "good and evil". Even though Map of Bones was written second, one can read the books out of sequence as the "adventure" is totally different in each book. And what adventures they are!! Sandstorm as the title suggests takes you, among other places, to the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, Map of Bones takes you from a London cathedral to the Vatican itself (kind of a Devinci Code style thriller) and Altar of Eden takes you from the swamps of Louisiana and the discovery of deformed animals to a high tech undercover scientific experiment on human cloning in the Carribean. I am personally looking forward to reading other books by this author whenever we receive them.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

February snowman display


This is our new display for February. It shows a varied collection of snowmen by a local resident and who is also one of my very best friends, Mickie Champion. She said the two crocheted snowmen (the two with the red and green hats) located front and center were given to her by her grandmother and that is how she got started collecting others.
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Monday, February 1, 2010

Cafe de Poetry- Jan.







The
monthly gathering of poet lovers met again for lunch and poetry readings this first month of 2010. As you can see the decor is still in keeping with our snowy weather. Different "birds" graced each table as a centerpiece as seen in the middle picture above. Most of the participants shared at least one poem around the winter theme.
A special reading was written by a 6th grade student from Nebraska who enjoys visiting her grandma who lives here. The poem was for a school assignment. It is a poem about the beautiful lake our small Iowa town is known for- Black Hawk Lake by Paige Champion
"Black Hawk Lake has so many things.
It has boats, jet skis, and campfire rings.
A park with flowers and trees all around,
Is where I spend time when I go to town.
I can see how the city Lake View got its name,
With homes along the banks of the watery fame.
On the bridge of the spillway on a day that is raining,
It looks like a giant's bathtub is draining.
On the other side of the bridge is a babbling brook
Where you can catch a big fish with a worm on a hook.
It flows like a river up over the rocks,
Then into a pond is where the water stops.
Black Hawk Lake is my home away from home.
If you get the chance some day you should roam.
To the beautiful spot that puts a smile on my face.
For a vacation I can't thing of a better place."
Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed it.