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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2016)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL January 13, 2016 9A Just in time for National Hobby Month Learn something new today Have you resolved to learn something new this year? You’re not alone. Each year, millions of people resolve to expand their horizons and for the sake of a more fuli lling life. It is one thing for adults decide to something new, but quite another to narrow down how you will enhance your knowledge or experiences. Don’t be discouraged by the adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. It’s never to late to move out of your comfort zone, and these ideas may help you do just that. • Learn a new language. If you have always dreamed of travel- ing internationally and speaking in a country’s native tongue, begin taking lessons. A Gallup Poll indicates that only about 25 percent of Americans can speak another language sui ciently enough to carry on a conversation, although many agree that knowing a second lan- guage is a good skill to have. In addition to private tutors or classes at nearby community colleges, make use of foreign language apps and computer programs, which allow you to practice in the com- forts of home. Depending on how much time you can devote to studying, it may be just a matter of a few months before you have mastered a new language. How quickly you pick up a new language may be af ected by your knowledge of other languages. For exam- ple, if you already speak Spanish, learning French or Italian maybe easier because of similarities between these widely spoken romance languages. • Take up a new sport or hobby. Hobbies and sports appeal to all types of people. Adults who never participated in sports as a child may i nd their interest piqued upon joining an adult league. Don’t underestimate your potential abilities on the playing i elds or with regard to certain hobbies. Give painting, woodworking, paper- crat ing, and other hands-on hobbies a go and you may be surprised to discover the talent lies within. • Go back to school. Even if you already have a degree, don’t be hesitant to pursue ad- ditional education. In 2013, a report in h e Wall Street Journal indicated that just 29 per- cent of college students i t the “traditional” student mold. h at means nontraditional stu- dents, many of whom are adults, make up the majority of students on campus. Many local colleges and universities of er distance learn- ing or adult education programs. Speak with a curriculum advisor about a particular school’s of erings and i nd out if you’re eligible for re- duced tuition or i nancial aid. • See new sights. If travel is a passion of yours, make sure your passport is current and start making plans to visit areas of the world you have always wanted to visit. Perhaps there are particular ancient ruins you hope to see, or maybe you want to trace your genealogy back to your ancestral homeland. Trying something new is easier than one may think, and it can make for a great resolution and a more fuli lling life with lots of pre- cious memories. Scrapbooks can help document your year Many interesting and special events take place during the course of a typical year. While the trend is to share photos and anecdotes via social media, these memories tend to be forgotten soon at er they are posted. Rather than rel- egate birthdays, holidays, school milestones, and other such year- ly events to the black hole of cy- berspace, crat y men, women and children may want to display them in more prominent ways. Scrapbooking is a popular hobby that can help people docu- ment various events over the course of the year. But scrap- booking can be much more than that as well. Scrapbooks can serve as valuable resources that speak to the way life once was. Such traditions are not new. Books highlighting family memorabilia, such as recipes, poems, let- ters, and illustrations, were popular in England as early as the 15th century. Even school yearbooks are a type of scrapbook, highlighting students and events in a single convenient book. h e reasons for scrapbooking are the same today as they once were. Scrapbooks preserve memo- ries, record family stories and pass down informa- tion through generations. Scrapbooks can even be customized in any manner their creators desire. For those who have resolved to devote more time to documenting happy times and special events in the year ahead, scrapbooking is a great way to do just that. Here’s how to make the process creative and successful. • Devote a box to “scraps.” At the beginning of the year, set aside a medium-sized box, such as a shoe- box, that can store various items you want to in- clude in your scrapbook. h ese may include ticket stubs, receipts, brochures from trips, or any other items you deem worth saving. • Make time to scrapbook. Set aside a few days each month to go through collected items and organize them so you have an idea of what will be included on your pages. Every event may not make the i nal cut, but that’s up to you. • Indulge in some crat -store shopping. Not every- one has the time to design each scrapbook page from scratch. Fortunately, there are numerous pre-designed templates or slip-in pages that re- quire little work on the part of scrapbookers. • Use your own handwriting. Handwritten senti- ments can make the scrapbook even more mean- ingful. • Don’t overload with photos. Let one or two photos on a page best convey the emotions and stories. Create balance with white space, text and other accents. • Categorize your photos. Disorganized photos can make scrapbook creation more challenging and ultimately frustrating. Organize your photos by month and rely on cloud-based photo storage systems to keep them safe. h en, when you need them, you can print only those images you want to include in your book. • Have fun with the process. You have the entire year to create a beautiful scrapbook. Take your time and experiment with dif erent ideas. Tom Harada’s EUGENE PICTURE FRAMING Framing for the 99% 541-895-2708 Fishin-musician@centurytel.net Baker Bay Bead Co. 541-942-3941 )BSNPOZ.BD(SFHPS Proprietor imagineitframedcg@gmail.com www.bakerbay.com 35655 Shoreview Drive Dorena, Oregon 97434 4PVUIUI4USFFUt$PUUBHF(SPWF03
