By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette
Here’s a newsflash that isn’t news to anyone who has stepped out of their front door recently —it’s cold. Not just chilly but rather cut-to-the bone, freeze-your-nostrils-shut kind of cold. When it gets this cold, my husband begins to share his dream of moving to New Zealand where the temperature averages around 70 degrees (and there are no snakes). No thanks. While I love the prospect of snake-free living, I would miss winter.
As I get older, I have really begun to reflect on what it is about the winter that I enjoy so much. Pristine, new-fallen snow has a magic that makes the world look fresh and new. Walking in the evening as snow falls gently has always made me feel like I was living inside a paperweight. So many of my favorite memories center around snow: Christmas morning when I was 5 and my brother was 4 and Santa’s sleigh tracks and reindeer hoof prints were in our front yard, riding in Grandpa Tallman’s horse drawn bobsled, my boys and I collecting falling snow to make snow ice cream.
Years of teaching made me appreciate an unexpected snow day. Snow days felt like stolen vacations; I knew I had to make up the day later in the spring, but in that moment, there is no more glorious feeling to me than being given permission to just enjoy a day off.
I think that might be the crux of why I love winter so. The weather is giving me permission to slow down and enjoy life. Summer demands action — mowing, gardening, doing all those outside projects. Days are longer, so there’s more time to work. Winter expects nothing more than survival. I can enjoy the things that summer doesn’t allow — a roaring fire, hot chocolate, flannel sheets, lingering in bed to read a book, snuggling up on the couch to watch a movie.
Scandinavian people get my love of winter. They embrace the season and even have a word for it. Hygge is the word that they use which roughly translates to coziness in English. Books have been written about this topic. Meik Wiking shares 10 principles of Hygge in his book “The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well.” The principles are Atmosphere, Presence, Pleasure, Equity, Gratitude, Harmony, Comfort, Truce, Togetherness, and Shelter.
We at the MJB Library encourage you to embrace the Scandinavian way of enjoying the winter months. We have so many things that can help you on your way to practice hygge. Stop in and check out some jigsaw puzzles or board games. Magazines are also available for check out.
Maybe you want to enjoy the time inside by watching a movie. Check out our selection of new DVDs which include “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” “Deadpool and Wolverine,” “It Ends with Us,” “Beetlejuice/Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Reagan,” “House of Dragons” and “Liones.”
If cooking or baking comfort dishes is a way for you to deal with the cold, take a look at our extensive collection of cookbooks. Some of our popular new books include “Good Looking Cookin’ ” by Dolly Parton; “Nourish: Simple Recipes to Empower your Body & Feed your Soul” by Gisele Bundchen; “Big Bites: Wholesome, Comforting Recipes that Are Big on Flavor, Nourishment, and Fun” by Kat Ashmore; and “Yellowstone: the Official Dutton Ranch Family Cookbook” by Garial Gator Guilbeau.
Light a candle, grab a blanket, pour a warm cup of tea and open a book that you checked out from the library. Ina Garten’s new book “Be Ready When Luck Happens – a Memoir” is on my to-be-read list. A few of our other new books include “More or Less Maddy: A Novel” by Lisa Genora; “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride; “Where the Creek Bends” by Linda Lael Miller; “The Invisible Life of Addie Larue” by Victoria Schwab; and “The Wedding People” by Alison Espach.
If you’re feeling brave enough to venture out in the cold, the library has cozy events planned. Our preschool StoryHour is embracing the cold weather at 10 a.m. on Friday mornings. The theme for Jan. 24 is Winter Animals.
An evening book club will begin with its first meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 28. The first meeting is an organizational meeting to discuss how everyone would like the group to work and what they would like to read. We will also be passing out the first book that the group will discuss in February which is “Part of Your World” by Abby Jimenez. The group will meet the fourth Tuesday of the month at 5 p.m. Please contact the library if you are planning to come so that we will have enough materials.
Friends of the Library’s fundraising Trivia Night will be Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Guthrie Center Activity Center. Get your team organized and be sure to sign up online or by calling the library. Tickets may be purchased at the library. The cost will be $35 per person. Teams may be up to eight persons. Dinner, which is catered by The Cabbage Rose, will begin at 6 p.m. with a trivia competition commencing at 7 p.m. Adult beverages will be available at a free will donation price. Sign up deadline is Feb. 3.
February’s Cookbook Club will feature “Does This Taste Funny? Recipes We Love” by Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert. Stop in and choose a recipe to share with the club when it meets on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.
Guthrie County/ISU Extension will present an after school STEM workshop on Thursday, Feb. 13 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Taylor Meeting Room. The program will be entitled “Color Creation.”