Oh dear, I’m way behind on posting the biweekly columns I write for the local free newspaper. I don’t imagine wmtc readers need to read these, but I like to preserve them on this blog. To avoid a barrage, I’ll post a few columns each week until I’m caught up.
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Scripturient: When Did I Become My Parents?
When Did I Become My Parents? When did I stop listening to new music, and change the dial to something familiar: oldies, classic rock; comfortable tunes? When did I stop driving a standard, shifting gears with practiced precision, and buy an automatic, with power windows, and heated seats? When did
Continue readingScripturient: Musings on Downsizing, No. 1
Downsizing seems to be all the rage among people our age. It’s so popular, it might be classified as a sport or a game for seniors. Assuming someone could codify the rules, that is. I’ve been told it’s all over the TV, too, but since we haven’t had cable for
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: an antidote to covid boredom: virtual book clubs
An Antidote to COVID Boredom: Virtual Book Clubs As winter settles in on the North Island, and we continue social distancing to lessen the risks of contracting COVID-19, life can sometimes get a little monotonous. Boredom is bad for our mental health. Plus, it’s boring! If reading is one of
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" column in the north island eagle: homeschooling? your library can help
Homeschooling? Your Library Can Help One of the many ways COVID has changed our lives is an increased interest in homeschooling. Of course no parents want their children to be exposed to the virus. But many families face health challenges that make the possibility of exposure much more dangerous. Parents
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: new e-resources and new hours at the port hardy library
New E-Resources – and New Holl different areas – language learning, music, crafts, local history and culture, auto repair – and so much more. And like everything in your library, iurs The Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) has added some terrific new e-resources to our catalogue. The Vancouver Island Regional
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: september is literacy month
Catching up on my “At Your Library” column in one of our free local newspapers. September Is Literacy Month When you hear the word “literacy”, you might think of reading and writing. That is the traditional definition of literacy, but did you know there are many different kinds of literacy?
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: kids bogo at the library
Kids BOGO At the Library September is Literacy Month in BC, and your library will be celebrating in a big way. During the month of September, we are offering “Kids BOGO”. BOGO usually means “Buy One, Get [Another] One”, but this BOGO is “Borrow One, Get One”. When you borrow
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: make screen time count with library e-resources for kids and teens
At Your Library: Make Screen Time Count with Library E-Resources for Kids and Teens You know I’m always going on about the great e-resources you can access through your library. “E-resources” means e-books, digital magazines, streaming music and movies, plus ways to learn new skills, expand your small business, and so
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: columns published since re-opening, part 1: library takeout
Since the lockdown ended, I’ve been writing my column in the free local newspaper again. These columns seem very specific and not of wide interest, but since I started collecting the columns on this blog, I want the record to be complete. At Your Library: Your Library Is Coming Back… One
Continue readingScripturient: Juet’s Journal in Word format
For those readers interested in the voyages of the late-16th-early-17th century adventurer, Henry Hudson, or in the European explorations of North America, I have recently scanned and edited a copy of Juet’s Journal into Word format and placed it online here. Here is my website on Henry Hudson, too. I
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" column in the north island eagle: two columns suddenly without relevance, part 2
This ran after the library was closed… and it’s about a resource that can only be accessed in our branches! Ancestry Library: Your Library Can Help You Discover Your Roots Many Canadians are interested in learning about their family background. After all, unless you’re an Indigenous person, your ancestors were
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" column in the north island eagle: two columns suddenly without relevance, part 1
This ran shortly before the library closed. Reading to your children is one of the best and most important things you can do to help them succeed in school – and in life. Storytimes – coming to the library so someone else reads to your children – are another important
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: let your reading take you someplace new – part 2
Is your reading stuck in a rut? Do you read the same authors all the time? Do you ever search for something new (to you) and different to read? I’m suggesting a little reading challenge for readers of this column: this year, read three books that take you out of
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" column in the north island eagle: let your reading take you someplace new
Let Your Reading Take You Someplace New Many of you already appreciate the joys of reading. Reading transports us to other worlds and lets us vicariously experience other lives. Reading helps us feel less alone, knowing there are other people who struggle with the same issues we do. Reading helps
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" column in the north island eagle: let your reading take you someplace new
Let Your Reading Take You Someplace New Many of you already appreciate the joys of reading. Reading transports us to other worlds and lets us vicariously experience other lives. Reading helps us feel less alone, knowing there are other people who struggle with the same issues we do. Reading helps
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" column in the north island eagle: let your reading take you someplace new
Let Your Reading Take You Someplace New Many of you already appreciate the joys of reading. Reading transports us to other worlds and lets us vicariously experience other lives. Reading helps us feel less alone, knowing there are other people who struggle with the same issues we do. Reading helps
Continue readingScripturient: The Sounds of Winter
To the tune of Sounds of Silence, with apologies to Paul Simon… Hello, winter, my old friend I have a bone to pick, again Because a snowplow softly creeping Passed my house while I was sleeping My driveway’s blocked and I’m shovelling again My back’s in pain I curse these
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: be "smart": your library can help you keep your new year’s resolutions
January is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. But our best intentions can come back to bite us. How many of us have made grand plans in January, only to see them disappear by February? Change is hard – and personal habits are the hardest to change of
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: be "smart": your library can help you keep your new year’s resolutions
January is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. But our best intentions can come back to bite us. How many of us have made grand plans in January, only to see them disappear by February? Change is hard – and personal habits are the hardest to change of
Continue reading