Whenever February comes along, I can't help it, I get excited about Valentine's Day.  Maybe I am a kid at heart, but  Valentine's Day can be really special, and a lot of fun for very little cost.  I love to surprise my family, friends and co-workers with "a little something".   It is a great time to recognize the people in our lives that matter to us.  Young and old, we all love to receive a valentine.  Here's one idea that will surprise your valentine.  Consider  stashing  some

Sometimes labelling a book "science fiction" causes people to shy away from it, but science fiction is for everyone!  Here are some great reads that should not be overlooked.

I remember, when attending university for my first degree, going to the library on campus to conduct research and being completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of materials they had there. Needing articles from academic journals for research papers, I would stroll the stacks of bound journals, picking them up randomly to read table of contents and eventually finding something "close enough" to useful. I spent hours of wasted time trolling for information I needed.

The other day I was looking at some fascinating illustrations from a 16th century anatomy book.  No, I didn't have to travel all the way to the University of Toronto archives to do so; I simply accessed digital images of the book via the OurOntario.ca portal.

Let Jesse Cook transport you from our cold, dark Canadian winter, away to sunny Seville. The selections from his lastest CD, Frontiers, were written during an escape to the artistic capitol of Spain.  The award-winning flamenco guitarist will make you feel like you are sitting in a barrio, sipping wine and watching the dancers. Most of the CD is instrumental, and it is refreshing to get lost in the notes, without any words getting in the way.

I am captivated by our new online audiobook service--I read lots and love to read, but there are many times when I play an audiobook CD and listen to a good story--on a long car ride, or when I need to settle in and finish knitting a sweater for my grandchild, or when I'm polishing the silver (once a year).

Let Jesse Cook transport you from our cold, dark Candain winter, away to sunny Seville. The selections from his latest CD, Frontiers, were written during an escape to the artistic capitol of Spain. The award-winning flamenco guitarist will make you feel like you are sitting in a barrio, sipping wine and watching the dancers.

While working at a busy branch library and parenting two sons,  I've noticed over the years that there are indeed some unique aspects to raising boys.  I like a holistic approach that recognizes that our children have physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects, and have appreciated being able to find at the library many books that address these.

Want to combine travel, adventure and a summer job? Think about heading to the Yukon. Several years ago my son went on a 3 week vacation to the Yukon and while there visited Dawson City.  He had a great time as he met a lot of youth living and working there for the summer. He liked it so much that he went back the next summer and ended up staying for 13 years!

So the New Year has begun and most of us are getting the message that we should relax, accept our normal bodies and not expect the crazy level of physical perfection that is routinely paraded on the fronts of the newsstand glossies. Great. Finally. Now we know that looking perfect isn’t necessary and that we should be focusing on being healthy instead!