Library Closed For Presidents Day

The Kasson Library will be on
Monday, February 15
for President's Day

Valentine Storytime Week of Feb 8th

Children's Librarian Ingvild chose Valentine Day as this week's theme. The children loved the stories, and enjoyed makingtheir very own cards to share with their families. As a special treat she also made sugar cut out cookies in the shape of a heart with an extra special treat a melted jollyranchers so the cut out heart looked like stained glass. Very tasty!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Kasson Headstart Thursday, February 11

Wednesday, February 10

Tuesday, February 9

Finished Valentine Cards!

"Cook Like Julia" with Pat Dibble

The Friends of the Kasson Library sponsored the second in a series of three events for 2010 Hot Reads For Cold Nights.

Pat Dibble's Come Cook With Me business for the second year shared cooking knowledge with others. Her theme this years was Cook With Julia: A French Cook Experience. Twelve people in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her knowledge of french cooking. Pat tries to use ingredients available locally and her helpful tips on how to substitute ingredients were very useful.

She cooked French Pork & White Bean Cassoulet (casserole) and Daube Provencal (beef stew). She also make some excellent French Baquette bread to go along with the meal. Many people asked questions about her two dishes and all agreed they were very hearty and were surprised at the large amount that recipes provided.

Thanks Pat from all who attended, all thoroughly enjoyed the food and especially your vast knowledge on how to make french cooking easier.

Pat Dibble in her updated kitchen.

Pat's has decorated Come Cook With Me so that you feel like you are in a french bistro.

People thoroughly enjoyed the food, knowledge and conversation.

What’s Luck Got to Do with It?

I ran across this blog last fall and had to read it a couple of times to really get the message. Being lucky sometimes takes hard work and dedication to achieving your goals.

Ever worked your tail off only to have someone call you “lucky”? It’s a pretty bad feeling. It’s much more fun to take complete credit for everything you do, and paint yourself as an odds-beater. But where does luck really come into the picture, and what role does it have in our success?

In my estimation, luck is an opportunity, nothing more. You can use it or abuse it. Luck has little power over you that you don’t supply yourself. What do I mean by “luck is an opportunity”? Like an opportunity, luck can change your life. Whether that change is good or bad, is up to you.

Luck is one factor among many. I doubt even the luckiest person in the world can fall into lifelong happiness if they’re bent on being a good person. Your attitude, your talent, your willingness to share your good fortune, and your goals all have more of an effect on your day-to-day life than sheer luck. So while it can sting when you’re working hard and someone else “gets lucky,” there’s always more to the story.

The importance of luck often depends on how much effort you put in. You’ve heard the stories of million-dollar lotto winners who wind up destitute. There are also an equal amount of stories where someone gets a lucky break after doing a ton of groundwork. If you want to be a writer and you meet an agent at a cocktail party, you’re lucky. If you’ve got an outline of the book you’re working on and demographics on the intended audience, that luck might even get you somewhere.

You can’t force luck, but you can give it “come hither” eyes. You can’t always be in the right place at the right time, but you get yourself within proximity.

Go to places where the people you want to meet hang out.

Sign up for conferences to make connections.

Help people now (out of genuine kindness, please) and they might be able to return the favor later.

Dress like you’re about to meet your new boss.

Have a written plan for your dreams, not just a vague idea.

Stay in touch with friends and acquaintances. (It’s so easy now there’s really no excuse…)

Do what you have to in order to stay healthy. (In other words, eat and sleep. Simple, right?)

Be interesting and have fun. (I know it sounds trite, but hey, how much easier is it to approach someone when you’ve got something in common or worthwhile to share?)

Introduce other people to each other.

Luck itself isn’t good or bad; only what you make of it can determine that.

Season's Storytime Week of 2/2

This week's theme was the Four Seasons. The children read stories about the season's were especially excited about the seasons paper where they could choose their own stickers to put on the appropriate season. For additional photos:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Thursday, February 4 Just Like Home Daycare

Getting their special treats!

Wednesday, February 3rd

Children's Librarian Ingvild reads to the children.

The children choose their very own stickers to put on the seasons sheet.

Tuesday, February 2nd

The children are enjoying the stories read by Children's Librarian Ingvild.

Working on their season sheets with stickers.

Fiddle-dee-dee! The Art of Scarlett O’Hara Optimism

I saved this On Simplicity blog in hopes of sharing optimism with all of you sometime at the beginning of the new year. http://www.onsimplicity.net/2008/09/fiddle-dee-dee-the-art-of-scarlett-ohara-optimism/

She may be a spoiled, somewhat delusional, sheltered Southern belle, but you’ve got to give it to Scarlett O’Hara: the gal’s a first-class optimist. This is a character who doesn’t just turn lemons in to lemonade, she turns curtains into couture. And while her aim may not always be pure, she never lets a setback (or even a war) stop her from dreaming and reaching her goals.

If you’re a dreamer of any kind, then optimism isn’t just a state of mind, it’s a weapon in your arsenal. Without a healthy amount of optimism, the first setback you come across can cause you to give up. So if you’d like to tap into some of that “tomorrow is another day” optimism, consider the following ways to embrace your inner believer:

1. Ignore convention. The most optimistic act you can commit is one that flies in the face every bit of conventional wisdom you’ve heard. Scarlett didn’t let anyone tell her she couldn’t run a plantation, a business, or well, anything. If you listen to the crowd on every issue, you’ll never have an extraordinary moment. Have the courage to believe that you can challenge the status quo and come out ahead, and watch doors you never even saw before suddenly fly open.

2. Change your mind. The ultimate form of optimism is knowing that there’s a world of possibilities yet to be discovered. In Scarlett O’Hara’s terms, just because you told someone you hated him and hoped you never saw him again, that doesn’t mean he’s not the love of your life. Hopefully, your changes of mind and heart are less dramatic, but above all, reserve your right to change your mind. Changing your mind is not giving up; it’s evolving. It’s recognizing that there may be more different, better options for you. Far from being a pessimistic act of waving the white flag, changing your mind can be the ultimate act of Scarlett-style optimism.

3. Earn the respect of others. Yes, she was manipulative, but in the end Scarlett got what she wanted because she had earned the respect of the people she needed. Whether you earn that respect through being consistent, being great at what you do, or simply because you’re unimaginably ballsy (the Scarlett method), it’s vital. Optimism can get you pretty far, farther than you might imagine, but you will need the help of others if you have big goals. Take the time today to start earning the respect of your peers and industry, and you’ll be able to get others to believe in your optimistic vision.

4. Never be afraid to dance. So what if you’re in mourning for the husband you never loved and only married to make your sister’s husband jealous? If you want to dance, then by all means dance. There’s never (well, rarely…) a bad time to embrace the joy in life and follow your passion. When you can view life as full of possibility instead of filled with limitations, guess what? You’re an optimist. Take a cue from Scarlett and dance, laugh, and love, even when the world is quite certain you should be crying.

5. Embrace your special talents. If you’re Scarlett, this means pinching your cheeks for color and batting your eyes to get what you want. If you’ve got good people skills, then it means taking the time to engage as many folks as you can in conversation. Whatever your best talents are, use them as often as possible. It’s always good to stretch yourself, but there’s no reason not to use your natural talents to your advantage. What does this have to do with optimism? By identifying and tapping into your strong points, you can find more opportunities to shine and be confident in yourself as well. If you feel that you can use your talents to your advantage in any situation, you’re a bonafide optimist.

What do you feel are the best ways to be optimistic? Are there limits to how far optimism can take you?