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Editor’s Note: Peninsula Community Library Director Vicki Shurly updates us on library happenings below. Also, in keeping with the theme of her note, I wanted to mention the book “Wintering, the Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times,” by Katherine May. A friend gave me a copy after Tim passed, and it has helped me so much over the years. The author reminds us that it’s ok to pull back from our busy lives, to accept sadness as a part of being human, to nourish ourselves during both the difficult times and the happy times. Winter is a good time to do that, especially here on the Old Mission Peninsula, when the outdoor world grows hushed and quiet under the falling snow. Life is not always about pushing forward. Sometimes it’s about finding solitude in our rushed and anxious lives. -jb
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Do you know that January was not always the first month of the year? Along with February, it was added to the Roman calendar by King Numa Pompilius and later formalized under the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It was named for Janus, the Roman god of doorways, beginnings and endings, who was depicted with two heads, one looking forward and the other looking back.
January is considered the coldest month of the year in the northern hemisphere, with average temperatures here at home about 23 degrees. Of course, we don’t even begin to compare with Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk in Russia, known as the Poles of the North, which hold the record for the lowest recorded temperatures in a permanently inhabited place: -89.9 F. Brrrrr….!
If you are looking for a warm place to hang out, PCL’s fire is glowing and we have much going on!
Keeping the Dream Alive. Families stop in after school to make a peace dove in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Take home a free book for kids, one per family. 1/19, 3-6:45 p.m.
Peninsula Insights. Michele Howard, Director of the Traverse Area District Library, joins us at 7 p.m. on 1/21 to talk about what’s happening at the big library in town! Join us for her talk, accompanied by dessert courtesy of Chef Brit Eaton.
Michigan Movie Mania. Join us for a series of movies set and/or filmed in the Great Lake State!
- Somewhere in Time (PG) – an iconic film and love story set on Mackinac Island, 1/22 @ 6:30 p.m.
- Frozen Stupid (NR) – a comedy set and filmed in Michigan about a cantankerous father and his bumbling son who share a love of the art of ice fishing, 2/26 @ 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker Rich Brauer joins us! Snacks? Of course, we have them!
Work of Art. Teens and adults are invited to think summer with a paint-by-number canvas. All materials provided. RSVP! 1/24 from 10:30-12:30. Did you know that paint-by-number, popular in years gone by, is once again a craze?
Our wonderful Friends of Peninsula Community Library hold their first general meeting of the year, 1/21 @ 1:30 pm. Come and help plan for events and fundraisers that support the library! Learn more about the Friends here.
The Regulars
- Story Stew for Preschoolers – the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays @ 11.
- Reading Dogs Lani & Rosie – Tuesdays from 3:30-5 pm.
- Threads – Mondays 10-noon – bring a project, work among friends!
- Gentle Yoga with Tina Livingston – Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. for a small fee.
- Pageturners – 3rd Thursdays @ 6:30 p.m. Books available on a first come basis. (Note: January’s Book Club will take place on Thursday, Jan. 22, 6:30 p.m. The book is The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. The February book for Thursday, Feb. 19, 6:30 p.m., is The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry.
- Takeout Craft Bags for kids the 1st full week of the month. Adult craft bags seasonally. While supplies last!
- For Little Ones – on the 2nd Monday of the month at 10:30 for a small fee, we offer Fox’s Fiesta, music & movement for little ones with Stirling Saur, a pediatric speech-language pathologist/certified yoga instructor!
- Kids ages 7-10 – meet up to talk about and trade cards at our Pokémon Club on the 2nd Saturday of the month from 12:30-1:30 with Audra Tompkins!
At Your Service. PCL offers a Library of Things, Seed Library, books, movies, puzzles, games, adult LEGO kits, Explorer Bags, STEM kits, large print books, Children’s Garden with a play village and more.
Little Free Libraries have books for the taking. Stay Sharp Kits available for adult patrons in memory care. Printing, faxing, copying and laptops available onsite. Wireless service accessible in the parking lot 24/7. Limited notary service available by appointment. Launchpads and WhaZoodles are self-contained digital units for kids with entertaining educational software.
In his book, The Beautiful and Damned, author F. Scott Fitzgerald called January the “Monday of Months.” While the month as a new year starts out with optimism, resolutions and intentions, for many, January ends as a month of doldrums and cold that has set into our very being.
I love the ancient concept of “wintering” and the idea that we as humans need fallow periods of rest and quiet. Today, the concept suggests that we grow by accepting the stillness at these times in our lives. For me, that means settling in with a hot cup of tea, a cozy throw and a book by the fire! Come on in! We are waiting for you!
– Vicki Shurly, Director, Peninsula Community Library
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Spot on, Jane!!! Katherine May’s book, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, is a wonderful book on embracing those cold, hard times of our lives. Like you, I was given a copy by a friend. Having reread it several times, I find it comforting in a gentle, wise and beautiful way!