Saturday April 20, 2024 
Friends of Poestenkill Library present Spring Market Day!
The Friends are excited to present our Spring Market Day, to be held on Saturday, May 14 on the library lawn from 9am-12pm, with a rain date of Sunday.
There will be a book sale, bake sale, board game sale (new!), flower baskets, gift basket drawings, a small jigsaw puzzle sale, and more, with tasty breakfast and lunch items available for you to enjoy while you shop. Come mingle with your neighbors and support the library!
Haiku Highway
Join us for this series, Tuesdays, May 3, 6-7:30pm (May 3, 17, & 31, June 14, July 12, & August 9), and learn the art of Haiku! This is a workshop in the practice and history of Haiku poetry. Local Haiku poet, John Stevenson will mentor participants in their journey into learning this unique art form. Please bring a notepad and pencil to the first session.
John Stevenson is a former president of the Haiku Society of America and former editor of their literary journal, Frogpond. Since 2008, he has been managing editor of The Heron’s Nest, a leading journal of English-language Haiku. Since 2007, he has judged the English sections of a student haiku contest sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations.
This in-person event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register call the library at 518-274-7071 or online at www.thetroylibrary.org Troy Public Library is located at 100 Second Street, Troy, NY.
Save the Date – Sand Lake Garden Faire!!!
The Sand Lake Garden Club, in conjunction with the CCE Rensselaer County Master Gardeners, are proud to announce our very first Garden Faire!
There will be plants (annuals, perennials, vegetables, and herbs), floral arrangements, new and used garden tools, garden decorations, baked goods, and several vendors selling their wares. There will also be a raffle for a quaint raised garden, a beautiful wreath, and a planted ceramic urn. Please join us on Saturday, May 14 from 8-1, at the Salem United Methodist Church in West Sand Lake, rain or shine. See you there.
Spring into Art!
Join us the Tuesday, April 26, at 2:30pm and discover how artists have been inspired by the beauty of Eastern Long Island. Live on Zoom, tour the studio and home of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, and learn creative ways artists capture the sublime energy of nature in art. Following the tour, live on Zoom, Joyce Raimondo will demonstrate how you can capture the beauty of Springtime with paint.
Join virtually from home and have paint supplies on hand, or attend at the library, and we will have assorted art supplies available.
This is hybrid virtual event, attendees may participate at the library or on zoom from home. Registration is required. To register call the library at 518-274-7071 or online at www.thetroylibrary.org Troy Public Library is located at 100 Second Street, Troy, NY.
East Greenbush Community Library Programs
Hours: Mon & Fri 10-6; Tue/Wed/Thu 10-8; Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5. Check eglibrary.org or call 518-477-7476 for updates. Register: https://events.eglibrary.org. We have programs for kids & teens too!
4/27, 5/4 (7p): Wednesday Night Book Chat (Library’s Facebook). Tell us what you’ve been reading lately. No registration required.
5/3 (2p): Greenbush Garden Club presents Chair Gardens. Join Master Gardener Colleen E. Abercrombie from Cornell Cooperative Extension (Schenectady) for a presentation about Chair Gardens. Club meeting begins at 6p, program at 6:30p. Register.
5/9 (1-6p): Red Cross Blood Drive. Walk-ins welcome, appointments recommended. See event calendar for donor requirements. To make an appointment call 1-800-733-2767, go to www.redcrossblood.org or use the Free Blood Donor app.
5/12 (6p): Counting Breaths Meditation. Join Surya Chennapragada in an interactive session to learn and practice this simple, rule-free meditation that quickly calms the mind, helps you sleep, enables you to focus, as well as reduces stress and anxiety.
5/19 (6:30p): Virtual Trivia (Zoom). Find out what everyone is raving about! Join as a team or individual. Compete for all kinds of prizes! Register.
5/21 (2:30p): Live Outdoor Concert: Sonny & Perley perform songs drawn from the Great American Songbook, International Cabaret, and Bossa Nova. Register.
5/22 (2p): Historical Society: The Gilded Age Rises Again in Troy, NY. Kathryn Sheehan, Rensselaer County & Troy City Historian will present an illustrated lecture on how Troy’s 19th century architecture became an integral backdrop to the Julian Fellows HBO series “The Gilded Age.” Registration opens May 1st.
5/23 (10:30-5p): AARP SMART Driver Course. $25 AARP member/$30 non-member. Payment by check (made out to AARP) is strongly preferred. If paying in cash, exact change is needed. Bring driver’s license and, if member, AARP card. Bring a lunch (30-min. break on site). AARP COVID protocols.
At Wit’s End
The North Chatham Free Library will host a special treat for moms of all ages on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 8 at 3:00 P.M. Actor and educator Nancy Rothman will perform as columnist and Queen of domestic humor, Erma Bombeck, in excerpts from the play “At Wit’s End” by sisters Alison and Margaret Engel. This event will take place outdoors in the garden behind the library, or in case of inclement weather, at the North Chatham United Methodist Church a few doors down the street.
Erma Bombeck’s observations, popular in the 70’s and 80’s, took familiar but trying situations like childcare, checkout lines and house cleaning, and made them funny. For example, “Never go to a doctor whose plants have died.” “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved away the dessert cart.” “Cats invented self-esteem.”
Nancy Rothman is well known in our area through her many performances as actor and storyteller and leader of workshops for public schools and arts organizations, and as a private coach. She has over thirty years’ experience performing regionally, in New York City, as well as internationally.
Pre-register by email for limited seating: registernorthchathamlibrary@nullgmail.com
This project is made possible with funds from the Restart NY Regrants, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered in Columbia County by CREATE Council on the Arts.
Sand Lake Town Library Meetings and News
Farm Animals Storytime, Thursday, April 21, 11:30! Stories, fun and a simple craft. Please call to register.
SLT Library Board meets Thursday, April 21, 6:45pm to discuss strategic planning, community report, and bathroom improvements.
SLT Library Friends meet Tuesday, April 26 at 6:30pm at the library.
Tech Help Sessions are back! Call 518-674-5050 to reserve a time slot to bring in your device & get your questions answered. Wednesday, April 27, 2 – 3pm. Let us know if there are specific classes you’d like to see scheduled.
Book Club – Wednesday, May 4 at 7pm on zoom discussing “Matrix” by Lauren Groff.
Author Book Talk with Steve Sandler, Saturday, May 14, 11 – 12pm.
Pick up kids’ Take & Make kits at the circulation desk.
Seed Swap – help yourself and please share any extra seeds you may have.
Did you know the library has wi-fi hotspots to loan for up to 14 days plus 3-day loans of museum passes to The Clark, MASS MoCA, or the USS Slater?
Check the Community Calendar at sandlaketownlibrary.org for events around town. Submit events to info@nullsandlaketownlibrary.org.
Library Hours: M-TH 11 – 8; F 11 – 3; Sat 10 – 2. Masks encouraged. Call 518-674-5050 for more information.
North Greenbush Public Library Update
What’s up doc? Mark your calendars! Outdoor Storytime with Ms. Donna returns for a new season (no reruns here!) on Tuesday, May 3 at 11 AM. Ms. Donna has stories, songs, crafts, and playtime to engage your eyes, ears, nose, and fingers.
You can throw your hat in the air and give a big cheer! The North Greenbush Public Library has been selected as the April beneficiary of the Hannaford Helps Reusable Bag Program! Each time the $2.50 reusable Community Bag is purchased at the Hannaford on Main Ave in Wynantskill during the month of April we will receive a $1 donation!
You can never have too many reusable tote bags…$4 will buy one of our forest green totes with the library’s distinctive logo and an opportunity to fill it with books during our April used book bag sale. Hurry to the circulation desk before April runs out!
More ways to help the library? The Friends of North Greenbush Public Library has put together it’s spring Garden Basket Raffle with gardening gloves, book, seed pots, a trowel, pruning shears, a solar garden light, seeds, and more. Three tickets are only one dollar to get you into the drawing on May 16.
The NGPL Board of Trustees monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, April 28 at 7 PM, in the meeting room at Eastwyck Village (1 Eastwyck Circle off Best Road.) Hear what’s happening in your library and attend!
Library hours are Monday-Friday, 10 AM to 7 PM; Saturday, 10 AM to 2 PM; Grab ‘N’ Go is available. Masks are strongly encouraged for all patrons. Questions? Call 518-283-0303
Events at Castleton Public Library, 4/24-4/30
CPL is located at 85 S. Main St., Castleton, NY. All events are free. Questions? Call 518-732-0879.
Events and Take-Home Kits
Cool Science at Home Kit: Floating Ms – Kit available for pick-up through 4/30 – Learn about solubility and how it works by making the Ms on M&Ms float off of the candy!
Take & Make Craft Kit: Bug Crafts – Kit available for pick-up through 4/30 – Celebrate springtime with some insect-themed crafts!
Walking Storytime at Schodack Island State Park – Thurs., 4/28, 10:30am – Location: We’ll meet at the beginning of the StoryWalk (near the playground) at Schodack Island State Park – 1 Schodack Island Way, Schodack Landing, NY 12156 – Children from birth to age 5 are invited to join us for stories, rhymes, and movement while we follow a story along a walking path in the park together. We’ll explore a new book every week!
Friends of CPL Bottle & Can Drive – 4/25-4/30 – Drop off returnable bottles & cans at the library any time during open hours! All proceeds benefit the Friends of CPL.
Upcoming Events at Poestenkill Library
Wednesday 4/27, 6:30 pm – Collaborative Poetry. No prior poetry or creative writing experience required. Each Participant will anonymously write a single line of poetry based on a visual prompt. Then all lines are combined to create one cohesive collaborative poem. We’ll attempt to create 3 poems during this event. Open to teens & adults.
Thursday 4/28, 6:00 pm – Understanding & Raising Your Credit Score with Kim Hale of Citizens Bank. This is the first in a series of financial literacy workshops Kim will be hosting at the library. Information covered in this program will be beneficial to both adults and teens. Registration recommended.
Friday 4/29, 10:15 am – Poem in Your Pocket Day Storytime.
Saturday 4/30, 9:00 – 11:00 – Friends of Poestenkill Library Garden Clean Up Day. Volunteers needed. Rain Date 5/1.
Saturday 4/30, 11:00 – Intro to Fly Fishing. The Capital District Fly Fishers will be joining us for an interactive introduction to fly fishing program! In this introductory class you’ll learn about equipment set up including basic knots from the reel to the fly, basic wading safety, and basic casting. Additionally, if you have your own fly fishing gear, you can bring it along & club members will be happy to help you balance it out and offer advice on set up. Registration is required for this program. Please call the library at 518-283-3721 to sign up.
6 Tips to Reduce Digital Eye Strain
Have you experienced digital eye strain? Symptoms include blurry vision or burning, itching, and tired eyes after using a digital device such as a computer, tablet, or cell phone. In America, it is estimated that digital eye strain affects nearly 2/3 of adults and up to 80% of children ages 10-17.
Here are six tips from Cornell Cooperative Extensions Digital Literacy Program to help you take care of your eyes and reduce the symptoms of digital eye strain:
1.Practice the 20-20-20 rule
For every 20 minutes using a digital device, take a brief screen break for at least 20 seconds, and focus your eyes on something 20 feet or more into the distance.
2.Take longer breaks during longer screen time sessions
For every 2 hours of screen time, users should take a longer break from all screens for at least 10-15 minutes
3.Blink, blink, blink.
Make an effort to blink often, and try squeezing your eyes closed extra tight every now and again. A tight squeeze instead of a quick blink can help release additional lubricating oils to soothe your eyes.
4.Consider blue light filtering glasses
The lenses of blue light filtering glasses are thought to help with sleeplessness and overall eye health.
5.Adjust your angles
Avoid glare from windows and overhead lighting on your screen by adjusting the angle of your monitor. Gently tip the screen up or down slightly.
6.Adjust your device settings
Use dark mode, comfort lighting settings, and lower your brightness.
If you are having difficulty finding or changing your display settings, stop by a free Cornell Cooperative Extension “Bring Your Own Device Tech Help” event offered at many local public libraries, or call (518) 272-410.
Adult Book Group
TROY – Our monthly book group meets the first Monday of every month at 6:30 pm to discuss a wide range of book selections. New members are always welcomed. Monthly participation is not necessary, come for the books that interest you! This is a hybrid program, you may attend in person or via Zoom according to your preference.
Here are our upcoming book selections:
•May 2nd – The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Shwalbe
•June 6th – Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
•July 11th – Cuba: An American History by Ada Frerrer, Chapters 1-21
•August 8th – Cuba: An American History by Ada Frerrer, Chapters 22-33
•September 5th – The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
This discussion is free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register call the library at 518-274-7071 or online at www.thetroylibrary.org Troy Public Library is located at 100 Second Street, Troy, NY.