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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (July 16, 2021)
The Columbia Press July 16, 2021 7 Off the Shelf Senior Moments with Emma Edwards by Kelly Knudsen Method for remembering things Plenty to do this summer at Warrenton library “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving,” -- Albert Einstein. I tend to believe almost ev- erything I read about health. However, just pages apart in one of my books, Einstein’s quote is followed by another reminding us that “Sleep is the most powerful anti-aging medicine.” Yet another source in the same book presents a plan to “Give your brain a fighting chance” by treating oneself to a nap for no less than 30 minutes and no more than an hour. When planting a field of lavender, we need to start with a “plot and a plan.” I take naps. I couldn’t help but think of a song I used to teach my toddler Sunday School class, “Oh, be careful little tongue what you say; Oh, be careful little tongue what you say, for the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little tongue what you say.” We would sing on and on, adding things like “Be care- ful little eyes what you see,” “little ears what you hear,” “little hands what you do,” “little feet where you go,” “be careful little heart whom you trust,” and “careful little mind what you think” and on and on until we ran out of ideas. Even that little song has a way of giving us a lesson on the brain. Lately, I’ve been reminded that I need to “be careful” with my mind or brain in almost every aspect of life. The subject of memory loss came up recently during my Pinochle Club. Some in the club are advanced seniors while others are fledgling se- niors. I was able to share my latest remedy for going to my pantry and forgetting why I went there. Oh, yes, it can be most frus- trating. I have, all by my- self, developed a system that could be applied to many ar- eas of life where I’m forgetful. I would not be sharing this with you except that those in listening range thought it a very clever idea. OK, here it is: Let’s say I’m baking and maybe I need a teaspoon of baking soda and realize I used the last of it a few weeks ago. Rather than heading there and forgetting what I went there for, I begin to chant “Get a box of baking soda,” “Get a box of baking soda,” “Get a box of baking soda.” Guess what? Three times does it for me! I head straight to the item for which I opened the door of my pantry. I am good at forgetting names too. I think I will try that system and let you know if it works. Having six adult kids all with spouses helps too. Most seem aware that I worry sometimes when it is not warranted. Yesterday, one of them sent the following clip to me: “Worry is a conversation you have with yourself about things you cannot change. Prayer is a conversation you have with God about things He can change.” So much to learn and so lit- tle time. Greetings from Warrenton Community Library (WCL), a place for you! The library has a steady flow of patrons and book browsers visiting daily and, with summer in full swing, it is a great time to stop in and grab the latest best seller, car trip books, or games to take camping. We have them all. WCL’s summer reading program, Reading Colors Your World, is well under- way and, last month, partic- ipants read a total of 17,760 minutes. We want to congratulate our top readers for June, starting with pre-reader, Micah Ma- sak, who read or was read to for 300 minutes. For War- renton junior readers, ages 5 through 12, we have one super-reader prize for Carly Vineyard, with 1440 minutes read. Plus, there were three amazing-reader prizes for Chase, Madelyn, and Sahalie, all with 960 minutes read. Way to go! For our teens, we have a tie between Gavin Vineyard and Caleb Vineyard, each with 960 minutes read. And the June winner in our adult cat- egory is Christy White with 3,900 minutes. Wow! Thank you to everyone who participated this month. It’s not too late to participate for July and August. Stop by the library (with your kids, grandkids or send your teen) and pick up a reading log and a free book. Participants keep track of how many minutes they read on the reading log and turn it in when it’s complete. Each completed log earns the reader another free book as well as an entry for an end- of-summer grand prize in each age group. The more you read, the more chances you have to win. As part of our summer reading program, we part- nered with the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History to bring a monthly Museum Connec- tion kit to young people. This month, kids can discover an- imal life in Oregon -- both past and present -- through hands-on activities and ex- periments. Stop by any time to pick up a kit or for Storytime Satur- day at 10:30 a.m. July 24 to hear stories and songs about animals. Take-and-make craft bags also are available for July with various arts and crafts activities and fun. There is a ton of ’tween and teen programming happen- ing this month at the library, including a craft day from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. July 22, Dungeons & Dragons club at 4 p.m. July 27, and our first teen book club, which starts at 3:30 p.m. July 29. The book club is for teens ages 13-18 and the book they chose to read is Dungeon Born by Dakota Krout. It’s not too late to sign up for the book club. Following the Book Club on the 29th, there will be a Teen Advisory Board Meet- ing and an opportunity for young adults in Warrenton to tell us what type of pro- gramming we should have at the library. And don’t miss Sparrow Dance Company and their performance Dance, Dance, Freeze at WCL at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, sponsored by Astoria, Seaside and War- renton libraries as part of our countywide summer reading program. Keep on reading! Kelly Knudsen is director of Warrenton Community Library. She has a master’s degree in library and infor- mation science. Special columns in The Columbia Press Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards Week 1: Financial Focus with Adam Miller Week 2: Here’s to Your Health from CMH Week 3: Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen Final week: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer We’re online at www.thecolumbiapress.com. You’ll find expanded stories, more photos and a place to pay for subscriptions.
