Sock Gnome Fun

Facebook told me the monthly Monday craft at Little Chute library is making gnomes. The pictures looked adorable. I need to go. Luckily the hubby had a game so it was perfect. I even managed to drag Danielle along.

We get to the library about 15 minutes after it starts. Little Chute Library craft night is drop in so no registration is usually required and you can get in and out rather quickly. I shocked to see that all the tables were pretty full. Usually there is a handful of people.

Danielle and picked up our supplies.. a grey sock, a colorful sock, some yarn pieces, a cup of rice with wooden nose, and some glue dots. Then we found some open seats and one of the librarians came over to give us directions.

The directions are pretty simple.

1. Pour rice into grey sock after taking out the nose for later use and tie it off.

2. Fold sock over the knot.

3. Glue yard to folded sock to make a beard using glue dots. Warning -- Glue Dots are as sticky as all get out. 

4. Add colored sock for a hat and glue on the nose.

5. Untwist the yarn to fill out beard.

6. Add accessories. I waited to get home to add my accessory. Danielle opted for no accessories. We could have made them Irish gnomes with shamrocks, rainbows, and pots of gold. I wanted a Brewer gnome.

I now have a cute gnome sitting on my computer at work.

I am so glad that Kimberly-Little Chute Library offers the drop in art activities on the fourth Monday. I don't have to sign up and if my schedule allow it I can drop in and create a cute project. If I don't feel like going, I don't have to. I will keep dropping in as long as they have this program and time allows. 

6664. Try Tai Chi

Last 2 years the Kimberly-Little Chute Library offered free yoga on Saturday mornings in January and February. This year they were offering Tai Chi. It sounded interesting. It was something I always wanted to try. Try Tai Chi was on my 20 in 20 list. This was perfect.

The first 3 weeks Saturdays it snowed and the roads were awful. I decided to stay home. Yeah, I know.. real dedication. I knew I couldn't go to the last Saturday because I was meeting Andrea for coffee so I HAD to go this week. 

I had little expectations of Tai Chi. I knew it was similar to yoga but other than that I was clueless. Tai Chi is a meditative, healthy martial art from China.

Our instruction said we were doing Tai Chi Easy. And easy it was. It was very flowing. We practiced each movement by itself and then put it all together. We ended the class with the walking movement that incorporated some of the hand movements as well. It was a very relaxed and fun class. Even though it didn't seem like we were doing a lot, I was told our muscles would be sore the next day.

I really need to find some tai chi videos or free tai chi app that I can continue to practice tai chi. It is nice and relaxing. I like yoga for the stretching but tai chi is relaxing.   

348. Make a gingerbread house

Mom and I attempted to use one of those gingerbread house kits once and we wanted to throw it out the window. I don't think we ever were able to finish it. It was bad but that didn't stop me from putting make a gingerbread house on the bucket list. 

When I put make a gingerbread house on the bucket list, I really wanted to make homemade gingerbread and assemble the pieces into a house and decorate. Then I realized there were many flaws with this plan. 1. I would have to make gingerbread 2. I would have to cut out uniform pieces that resembled a house 3. I would have to put it together with some sort of frosting concoction and have it not collapse. I realized this might just be a pipe dream.  

Then Kimberly-Little Chute Library came to my rescue. They were having a program where you could make holiday houses out of graham crackers... gingerbread.. graham crackers... close enough. And these weren't the kind you stuck graham crackers to milk cartons with frosting. You actually had to build them. They supplied all the necessary materials and it was free. Sign me up.

Honestly gingerbread might have been easier. Graham crackers are fragile. They are rectangular or square. If you want a decent size house, you have to stack graham crackers. To make angles, you had to score graham crackers. At least with gingerbread all the building is done before it's baked. Graham Crackers you are the mercy of the graham cracker. 

Scoring graham crackers in theory sounded easy. Take a scissor and run it across the cracker. It should break off nice and neat. I might have done it wrong since mine broke. I did manage to get corners on four crackers scored at angle. Some just required a bit of "glue" to hold it together. 

Somehow I didn't build my frame correctly or something because instead of peaking like a roof should, mine had a gap. Instead of being a nice house, it ended up looking like a gingerbread barn. Okay. Barn it is. I can work with that. 

Once I got my house together, it was time to decorate. As I was putting on the sprinkles for the red roof, it collapsed. A little more frosting and it was back together. I also added the sprinkles to the roof before I put it together. Smart thinking on my part.

I used licorice to make the barn door and window. Let me tell you Red Vines don't cut very well but the scraps were tasty. I thought Skittles would make cute windows... Yeah not so much... too tiny. Lifesavers worked better. Add a path of sour patch kids and a few trees and the barn was done.

I happy with the way it turned out and I hope the library does it again next year. I will definitely take part and maybe try just a one story house. Hopefully they have gumdrops year. And maybe one year I will attempt a gingerbread house out of gingerbread. 

I am no Bob Ross

Kimberly-Little Chute Library was having a paint like Bob Ross night.I hemmed and hawed about if I wanted to spend the $10 to paint. At the end I decided that it was something to do and I had nothing better to do while the hubby was at basketball.

To help us to paint like Bob Ross, we were provided Bob Ross wigs if we wanted one.

We had step by step instructions from You Tube how to paint with shades of grey. The librarian would play a step of the painting a couple of times and we were supposed to paint what Bob told us to paint with the right color/brush. He took us from a white canvas to a beautiful mountain scene... or should have.

We had to mix blue and brown to make grey... apparently Bob used special paint to get his grey because initially mine was a lovely blue-green. However with enough paint, I managed to get a grey color. Why couldn't we just use black and white. Plus we had to have a dark and light grey.

We had to make clouds to start off.. well my clouds went light and fluffy but more stormy and angry. I couldn't get my clouds to look like clouds. I think I had too much paint on my brush.

The mountains were slightly easier... until we had to start shadowing. I can't shadow to save my life. Everything is very one-dimensional with me. It went from mountains to waves crashing on rocks.

We had to add trees then. I couldn't figure out how Bob was making his trees so I made my own.. itty bitty trees that blended into the background mainly because I was over this whole painting thing by then (we were there for over an hour already) and my painting looked nothing like Bob's. I pretty much gave up.

I tried to make it a little more like Bob's mountain scene but every time I tried to "fix" I just made it worse and I was completely done. While everyone was adding more trees and shadows, I was done.

The wig definitely did not help. It was fun to wear but I don't think even Bob Ross standing next to me guiding my hand could help my lack of art skills. Needless to say, painting scenery is not my thing. Maybe they could do some sort of pop art. I might be able to handle that. Or maybe a Picasso.

So next time the library offers painting night, someone remind me I am no Bob Ross and it might be better to stick with basket weaving and print making.

6352. Twirl pizza dough

I'm not going to lie. I was not a big fan of pizza before I met the hubby. Pizza to me meant Jacks or Tombstone.. maybe Pizza Hut or Dominos. Then I met the hubby and I became a pizza snob. I still will eat Pizza Hut or Dominos if I have to but I prefer the local pizza joints like Cranky Pat's or Sammy's. 

Picture courtesy of Google

Homemade pizza was never a thing growing up, probably because mom wasn't a big fan of pizza. Since meeting the hubby, I have also tried my hand at making homemade pizza instead of buying frozen or ordering pizza. I discovered a really good pizza recipe in my Food Network Magazine that has become our favorite go to recipe for pizza. 

When I saw that Kimberly-Little Chute library was going to teach us how to make pizza as part of the Culinary Thursday series, I was stoked especially since Megan was going to teach us and she's the executive chef at Wildflower Pizzeria (which is too froo-froo for the hubby) and knows a thing or two about food and (hopefully pizza). Then I saw a rumor about the possibility of throwing dough. Sign me up -- pizza making lessons, pizza sampling, and possibly dough throwing what more could a pizza lover ask for.

Since Wildflower Pizzeria is known for their Neapolitan Style Pizza that is what Megan was going to teach us. Apparently to be certified Neapolitan you have to follow all sort of crazy rules and your ingredients have to meet all sorts of standards. Neapolitan pizza is really just crust, sauce, a bit of fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. Personally it's too much sauce and not enough cheese for me. Megan showed us a traditional Neapolitan pizza along with a few specialty pizzas. The best part of these pizzas is that they are wood fired and take only a minute or two to bake. Hence why we could sample several types of pizza.

After Megan showed us how to make pizza she asked if anyone wanted to try to turn a glob of dough into a pizza crust. For Neapolitan pizza this is a lot harder than it sounds. It requires extensive turning and pushing the dough with your hands while keeping a nice lip to the crust. I managed to kind of create a Neapolitan crust..... but when it was too thin since as soon as I twirled it, holes appeared. It went from being Neapolitan pizza to Swiss cheese in a matter of seconds. However, I have to admit I did not drop my dough while twirling it.

As much fun twirling pizza dough is, I will stick with my Food Network crust. I couple of quick rolls with the rolling pin and I have pizza crust -- none of this push, turn, and twirl non-sense for this girl. However, if you want to feed me some Neapolitan pizza I won't say no. 

Art at the Library: Print Making 101

Kimberly-Little Chute Library has started to do Thursday Arts and Crafts Night at the Little Chute Library. It's cool because the library is closed and you still get to hang out among the stacks of books. This month, Stephanie was demonstrating print making. She has done several events/classes in the area and I've never been able to go. This time I was like I'm going to be there.

This is just like the print making I did back in middle school with the linoleum pieces and the same sharp tools. We could do any print we wanted. At first I was like Mickey mouse.. then I was like the "W" for the Badgers, well I ended up with the Brewers logo. Stephanie actually printed it out for me and it saved me the step of drawing it.

After rubbing the back of the design with charcoal, I traced the logo onto my linoleum square. Then I got to dig out what I didn't want to print. This was harder than it sounded. In order to get the logo to show, I just cut away the outline of the ball and glove and then trimmed my square around the logo so I didn't have to dig out a lot of empty space.

Since we had such a small group, we got to experiment a bit more with colors and techniques. Stephanie showed me how to use two colors and blend them together when I printed. It gave the logo a new twist.

She also showed me how to make "ghost" prints, which are essentially just a second print without adding more paint. The ghost prints came out awesome.

I can't remember the last time I had fun with print making. I dreaded this unit in school since it seemed complicated and dangerous. I could never seem to get a print the way I wanted. However, print making at the library was a blast. Maybe I will just make my own Brewer Christmas paper this year.

I can't wait to see what future art nights at the library will bring. Even though I'm not very crafty or artistic, it's always fun (and challenging) to get out of my comfort zone.

For the One that Finds Me Painting Adventure

Because Kimberly-Little Chute has an artsy program person, they have a lot of art events. Partnering with Richeson School of Art and Gallery and local florists, they hosted flower painting nights at both the Little Chute and Kimberly libraries. The idea was to paint a small painting of flowers and leave the paintings and flowers around the community for someone was to find as part of the "For the One Who Finds Me" project.

Despite being a lackluster artist, I wanted to do this. It was not one of my better ideas. This was the one time my lack of art ability really hindered me. I had to paint a still life of a flower and the ones at my table were roses. It was impossible. I know I was afraid of it doing a bad job but it was still tough to paint realistic roses especially since I can't draw one to save my life.

We had an instructor from Richeson who demonstrated a few techniques but really left us up to our own devices. I wanted a lot of help but didn't get much. She got my started but then made me to do the bulk of the work on my own. I was so lost.   I think I should have just left the outlines of the flowers on the background.

We then had to go "hide" our projects in a public place in Kimberly. If we knew our painting was going to be found that night, we could have take the flowers too. I wasn't sure if it was going to be found so I left the flowers at the library, took my dismal painting and headed home. I thought of leaving it at the breakfast joint but decided Sunset Park would be fun. Initially, I wanted to leave it at the bandshell but the couple making out deterred that idea and I left it propped up on a picnic table in one of the pavilions. Hopefully who ever found it, the painting made them smile.

It was a great project.... and if I wasn't so afraid of failing, I would have just painted any flower and not those dang red roses on my table. I can do daisies pretty well. There's always next painting adventure. Knowing Stephanie, there will be plenty of time to get this flower painting thing right.

Date Night at the Library -- Gangster Style

Libraries are a great source of entertainment and they don't just have books and movies to check out. They offer countless programs. As you know I am a library groupie and love going to library programs. Because Mother Nature has forgotten that it is April in Wisconsin, what better way to spend a night with the hubby than at the library... well okay for you non-dork people I am sure you can come up with plenty. But for us library groupies and dorks, the library can be a great source of entertainment especially when the topic is gangsters (or torpedoed WWII ships... not sure why the hubby wanted to skip that one).

The Kimberly-Little Chute library had Chad Lewis present a program on Wisconsin's Gangster History. I knew Capone and his friends hid up in the Northwoods... that Oshkosh was used in filming Public Enemies about the Dillingers... that Little Bohemia had something to do with gangster maybe. However, I knew there was probably more to Wisconsin gangster history than just that. The hubby agreed to come along. He thought it might be interesting.

And it was. Chad Lewis gave a very brief overview off Gangster Places and the history of them in Wisconsin. He covered Capone, Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and even the Barker-Karpis gang. We learned about bank robbings, getaways, the Valentine Day Massacre (which technically was in Chicago but you needed to know the background before diving into the good stuff), and hideouts.

The gangsters of Chicago loved coming to Wisconsin since prohibition was only a suggestion and it was much cooler in the Northwoods than in Chicago in the summer. They would spend lavishly and if need be kill anyone that was in their way. Chad talked about the places they liked to visit or maybe stopped at because of a car that broke down. He only covered the tip of the gangster iceberg in the 45 minutes he spoke. 

The hubby and I found it fascinating all the places that have a gangster tie and not just Capone's Hide-Out near Corduroy or Little Bohemia. It might be a bank they robbed in Racine or a little corner bar where they stopped for a cold one. What really surprised us is that the some of the current owners could have cared less than a gangster stopped at their bar, store, bank, etc bank in the 1920s. Soon all the remnants of this era will be gone and it won't be nothing more than blurb in a history book, a couple of shelves of library books, and a handful of movies. 

One day I'll like to take a Gangster Road trip and see the spot of Capone's Hideout (it's no longer on public property) and have a drink at Little Bohemia. Chad Lewis has a great book about places that have seen Gangsters in the past. It would be a good travel guide. 

Now I will just sit back and wait for the next library program.. maybe about monsters in Wisconsin or Neenah's community band. And maybe one day the libraries will start recording these events so in case of schedule conflicts (hello, too many good events on the same night), I will still get to learn about whatever I wanted to go see and couldn't. You should go check out the library.. maybe you'll find something interesting to attend.

2nd Saturday Library Fun

My local libraries are always coming up with fun and exciting programs and activities that are fun for the whole family. There are crafts, concerts, and even theme nights. Kimberly-Little Chute has taken this one step further and have started Second Saturdays. According to their website, "Second Saturdays are all about casual convo, coffee, puzzles, art making, music and more.".  There is some art projects and you are encouraged to bring your own. They have taken  it one step further and added Yoga in the Stacks beforehand. 

You can always just finish a puzzle

Yoga in the Stacks is exactly that -- yoga in between book shelves before the library even opens. It starts at 8 AM -- which is a bit early on a Saturday for me but since I have always wanted to do yoga, I dragged myself out of bed to go to the library for yoga in the stacks. Jessica from Yoga Story led us in basic yoga for an hour. Everybody is at a different level and she always lets us know of adaptions if the pose is too hard. Even I, who just does yoga with my app when I remember, can handle most of the poses. I think this month the hardest one we had to do was Tree Pose -- last month was Warrior III. The whole balance thing is tricky for me... and breathing not so good at the whole yoga breathing thing. Despite the early start time, I have greatly enjoyed Yoga in the Stacks and hopefully they will continue it or at least bring it back in fall. 

Photo Courtesy of Yoga Story and Kimberly-Little Chute 

Library Facebook page

I stuck around after Yoga to partake in some of the Second Saturday Fun. My initial plan was to stick around for an hour or so but I ended up picking up some overtime at work so I had about 20 minutes to enjoy the second Saturday activities. Luckily they started the activities at 9 instead of 10 so it worked out for me. 

This month's activities all centered around bookmarks. 

There were bookmarks to color

Bookmarks to paint with watercolors. This was so much fun. I learned a great new art technique that I might actually be able to do at home and make it look good. The secret is in the box of Crayola crayons :)

Paper clips to bend into book marks

Origami book marks -- I made it to step 2 before giving up. I didn't even know the kind of fold they were talking about... It has some weird animal name. Apparently I wasn't the only one struggling because I saw Stephanie, one of the librarians, posted on Instagram that she couldn't finish it either. 

Too bad I had to rush through everything. I would have liked to finish coloring my bookmark. Maybe I would have figured out what a rabbit ear fold was. Maybe I would have found the box of paper clips and actually had time to make a really cool bookmark out of it. 

I am sad that I won't be able to attend Second Saturday next month.. I'll somewhere in Oklahoma or Texas. Hopefully they will continue this fun and I will be able drop in another Saturday but I encourage you to go get your craft on during the Second Saturday or during whatever fun event your local library has to offer. The best part -- it's usually free.

Year in Review: Library Fun by the Numbers

I always see posts on Facebook about why do we still need libraries if everything is going digital. Well, besides the obvious answer of many people love the feel of a real book, there are numerous reasons why we still need libraries. Most of them have embraced the digital age and use it to their advantage while still being a traditional library.

I am lucky that I live in an area where I am within 20 minutes of 6 different libraries from two different library systems and with 30 minutes of probably 10 more. I have come to appreciate this little corner of the world greatly.

In the last year, with the help of these 6 libraries, I have:

• checked out 50+ books  -- I rarely buy books (unless they are free Nook books) anymore. I check them out at the library. It saves money and space. I go online randomly pick 4 or 5 books from my to read list at a time and reserve them. When I lived in Neenah, I'd go to the library and browse the new books for something to read.

• checked out 6 movies -- If you are frugal like me or just trying to save money, the library is a great place to check out movies. They have great new releases and old classics... and you get to keep them a week. My friend dropped her internet and solely relies on the library for movies

• Picked up 4 different FAN Passes and enjoyed some nice events in the community. I was able to make some glass creations, go on the SOUP walk, and even visit a museum at no cost to me. My mom, who lives closer to Milwaukee, was able to check out the library's zoo pass for a day of her choosing allowing my brother and his family to visit the Milwaukee Zoo for free. It is a great way to visit local places for free. I'm hoping they continue this next year and I will have the chance to try and go to more community events.

• Besides checking out movies, I was able to see 1 movie at the library. All the area libraries show several movies during the month at various times. Most of them are recent releases and are geared towards families for the most part. Another great way to save money and get out of the house as there are usually snacks served as well.

• saw 12 different authors speak including 10 at the Fox Cities Book Festival. Many of the libraries will have authors come in and talk. I always enjoy hearing them speak and getting a signed copy of their book. 

• Made 3 different art projects. I've painted plates and scarves and made a collage. Depending on the library, depends on the art project. Many of the libraries offer art projects for kids and families during breaks or special events. It's harder to find adult only art projects. I'm like art projects even though I'm not very good at them. 

• I also went to 3 different artist-in-residence events this fall which included more art projects. Some libraries had events while others just showed the work of a local artist. Either way it's a way for the library to come together with the community.

• The hubby and I attended 1 history lesson at Neenah Library. Neenah offers a community monthly history lesson about something in Neenah's history. They are very entertaining but the scheduling doesn't work very well anymore. I kind of wish more libraries would do this.

• I also attended 2 live theater/music events including Shakespeare and Elvis. Many libraries offer concerts throughout the year. They just don't really appeal to me but they are great for music lovers. It also teaches music appreciation. Neenah library actually offers ukulele lessons. You'd be surprised what you can find at your library.

• attended 4 cooking classes. My favorite new library program is Culinary Thursdays where I learn how to cook something different.. salad dressings, squash, root vegetables. Again another way the library is trying to reach out to people of all ages.

• I helped put together a community jigsaw puzzle. For people killing time in a library it is a great activity besides reading. The Kimberly-Little Chute library offer a puzzle swap so you can bring an old puzzle and get a new to you one to do at home. 

Now that's just the tip of the iceberg of what I could do at the library. Reviewing the library calendars, there are story times, book clubs (one of which I attend) for people of all ages, Memory Cafes for those suffering from memory loss and their care givers, fitness classes, nature and gardening programs, the list could go on.

Besides all the fun programs and events, libraries are also great mini museums. Many libraries have showcases that change on a monthly basis. Until recently I never paid much attention to them but since someone pointed them out to me, I think I will make a point of seeing what displays are in the libraries. 

There are many community outreach programs and resources at the library as well. I noticed a coupon swap box at Kimberly Little Chute library. Everyone loves to coupon. Appleton offers a seed catalog that you can plant a garden with and donate your seeds back in the fall. 

The library is more than a building with books in it. It's an adventure waiting to happen. I was one of those check out books and that was it kind of people until a friend told me about the now defunct cookbook club and then I started really seeing what libraries really had to offer. Things come and go as libraries try to keep up with the times but I enjoy finding new and different things to do with my time. 

I definitely have my favorite libraries and programs but I am always looking for new things to learn and do. I am consistently checking out what the different libraries are offering -- online calendars are great resources. I follow all the libraries on Facebook (and a few on Twitter) so I get updates to what new and exciting programs are being offered. I get library newsletters in my email every month. If you make a point to check out what is offered every month you will find something new and exciting eventually. 

I can't wait to see what the libraries have in store for 2018.