New Sign

This is the beautiful painting on our new library sign. (You can see the sign at the top right of our blog.)

This kind of painting is called rosemaling and literally means "decorative painting," in Norwegian. Since Colfax is located in an historically Norwegian community, we thought it fitting that our library sign displayed a beautiful symbol of the Norwegian culture.

The sign is also mostly red,the color of our school sports team. The Colfax community is a big supporter of our local school sports. Go Vikings!!!

We are still waiting for our sign to go up yet, hopefully it will be soon. Maybe the warmer weather will inspire our work crew.

Author Talk & Book Signing

Celebrating National Library Week

Author Talk & Book Signing – April 14, 2011 @ 6:30 pm.

The Colfax Public Library is happy to announce a new young adult novel “Shooting Two” written by former Colfax resident, Jeanne Foley (PhD). Foley is currently an associate professor in the math department at University of Wisconsin-Stout.

A graduate of Le Sueur High School in 1971, Foley recalls there was no girls basketball program, however, girls could play with the Girls Athletic Association. Foley continued her love of basketball and pursued her basketball interest at St. Olaf College, where she received a degree in both math and physics. Throughout Foley’s academic career, she coached women’s basketball at Michigan Tech, Michigan State, the University of Michigan and Princeton University.



Foley followed her dream and wrote her first fictional novel about a small-town girls basketball team, set back in the 1980’s. The book centers on high school girls, their friendships and a team’s passion of winning the state championship.



The Colfax Public Library has invited Jeanne Foley to come and speak about her new book and what challenged her to begin writing. The Colfax Public Library will hold a books signing that night and books will be available for purchase.



For more information about the author talk and signing, please call 715-962-4334, or email: cocirc@colfaxpubliclibrary.org The program is free and open to anyone.

 

Book Review - The Red Garden

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman caught my eye in the Bookpage news, that our library subscribes to, to circulate to our patrons.  I have never read any other books by Alice Hoffman, so I have nothing to base my inclinations on other than feeling. 

The story follows a linear gathering of characters from the mid 1760's till the present day in an area around the small town of Blackwell, MA.  A rich tapestry of players enter the stage, from Hallie, a simple colonial girl searching for something more, to a contemporary girl that has her life planned out, only to be interrupted by the tenderness of a secluded poet. 

Each chapter represents differing stories that are faintly connected through geographical location, sentiment or family heritage.  I found this format to be on one hand, a fresh idea in a book, but on the other, it left me with a bit of a disjointed feeling.  One thing that does tie the character's stories together is a liberal dose of mystery, that includes a ghost of a drowned girl, an apple tree that blossomed and provided fruit to the town of Blackwell in the year without a summer, a supposed mermaid, and of course a garden where everything that is grown is red.

Some chapter stories were painted more rich and bold by the author and some held more of an impressionist style that had me trying to read between the lines for thoughts on how all the pieces fit together and left me wondering what the characters lives were like in the future.

Over all, I found the book to be interesting, drawing me in with the layered time periods and characters that form around an area that comes to be known as the Red Garden. 

They Are Blooming

This is the time of the year when our Amaryllis plants start to bloom.  Four weeks ago we had a beautiful peach colored flower bloom from the larger plant, and now the baby plant sprouted two more beautiful light colored flowers.  The Amaryllis plants belong to my hubby and we started bringing the plants into the library years ago, mainly because our library has these really large and high windows, so that makes for perfect light and growing conditions.  Also, as the Amaryllis plant ages, it grows higher and higher and has now outgrown our bay windows at home  

Every year some of my faithful library patrons wait and watch for the Amaryllis to bloom.  I believe it has actually become a ritual at the Colfax Public Library.  In the early summer, I will transfer the plants back home for a nice summer break outdoors, and then the plants return to the library in the fall before the weather turns bitterly cold.  Who would ever think plants get such royal treatment?  Maybe that's the key to keeping your plants happy, health and blooming!

Lisa

Library Is Closed...Monday February 21, 2011

Since "old man winter" has returned with a vengeance.....and over 12 inches of snow, the Colfax Public Library will be closed today, February 21, 2011.  We will re-open Tuesday February 22 @ 10 am.

It's Growing in Popularity

I finally decided I needed to figure out this Kindle thing.  Is it a book?  Or, is it a gadget?  People swear by this little machine.....they say they love it!

I checked out this Kindle from Menomonie Public Library.  With 17 Kindles to loan out, you have a good chance of checking one out for two weeks.  I'm not totally convinced I like the Kindle, but I'm giving it a try.

I will be talking to the Library Board about Kindles and their popularity and what it means for our library.  Should we jump on the bus and join the Kindle phenomenon?  What do you think?

Lisa

Double Delicious

This is the time of the year when I can experiment with new recipes, so I was very excited when I discovered this new cookbook called "Double Delicious."  I requested the book off  our library catalog (MORE).  The claim to fame on this cookbook is that the author, Jessica Seinfeld uses pureed vegetables to sneak in more fiber and more nutrients.  Seinfeld also makes her recipes low-fat! 

I only had a two week span of time to get busy cooking and baking, since this cookbook has multiple holds and other customers are waiting to receive the book as well.  My first recipe I made were these delicious whoopie pies.  These wonderfully chocolate, moist treats call for spinach puree in the batter!  How cool is that?  I also made a pot of creamy chicken & rice soup that used both carrot and cauliflower purees. 

I then found time to make the three-berry cobbler recipes that called for carrot puree in the cobbler batter....turned out so yummy.   I continued on to make the chocolate yogurt cheesecake, which called for using greek yogurt, sour cream, brown sugar, carrot puree and whipped egg whites.  The recipe also called for making a graham cracker/nut crust.  I gave that dessert an A+

Lastly, I chose to cook up a broccoli & orange soy sauce dish and served it with rice.  Another very tasty recipe that also used carrot puree.  I had so much fun with this new cookbook.  And where did all the food go you ask?  Of course I shared with my co-workers....and my hubby was a food taster as well.  Oh, did I  mention I'm on a diet, hee, hee!