Barbara Frum District Blog

Spring Clean the Natural Way

It’s that time of year again! Spring is finally here, the sun is shining and many of us will take this opportunity to open the windows and do a thorough house cleaning. Cleaning with natural products is better for your health, better for the environment, and just as effective as using the brand name products you find in the stores.  With ingredients like white vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda, natural cleaning is relatively cheap, and uses products you would find in your kitchen, or at any grocery store.  I have slowly been de-toxifying my products for years, and have been very pleased with the results.  It's easy, cheap, and I don't have to worry about my three year old helping to "clean".  Don’t know where to start?  Come and check out, or place holds on the titles below:

   

   

Gardening Mastery

                                               
    

Join us at the Barbara Frum Branch

on Thursday, May 16th from 2:00-4:00 p.m.

for our Balcony and Terrace Gardening program,

presented by the Toronto Master Gardeners.

All are welcome, please call 416-395-5440 to register. 

 

Join us for a discussion of the importance and challenge of city gardens.  Presented by the Toronto Master Gardeners, topics will include repairing containers, maintenance issues and different types of containers.

Learn how to select plants such as annuals, perennials, herbs, bulbs, climbers, shrubs, trees, and roses.

 

  

Celebrate Asian Heritage

 

 

May is Asian Heritage Month

 

In May 2002, the Government of Canada signed an official declaration designating May as Asian Heritage Month.

 

Toronto Public Library joins in celebrating the richness and diversity of Asian culture throughout the month of May with many exciting programs and events. 

 

Check out some of these fiction titles available through the TPL catalogue for more information on Asian culture, and works by Asian authors:

 

 

The wandering falcon by Jamil Ahmad, The good muslim by Tahmima Anam, Dogs at the Perimeter by Madeleine Thien, and Red earth, pouring rain by Vikram Chandra.

 

 

The grammarian by Annapurna Potluri, The hope factory by Lavanya Sankaran, Dreams of joy by Lisa See, and The headmaster's wager by Vincent Lam.

 

There are thousands of non-fiction titles available as well, including many travel books.  If you are planning a trip to Asia sometime, or want to read more about these wonderful places, consider some of these titles:

 

India: a sacred geography by Diana L. Eck, Lonely Planet China by Damian Harper, South Korea by Elizabeth Raum, Japan by John Hart Benson. 

 

Southeast Asia handbook by Andrew Spooner, Silk Road: monks, warriors and merchants on the silk road by Luce Boulnois, Where China meets India: Burma and the new crossroads of Asia by Thant Myint-U, and To Cambodia with love: a travel guide for the connoisseur by Andy Brouwer and Tewfic El-Sawy.

 

Check out the TPL website and catalogue for these titles, and many more informative and enjoyable reads, or stop by and visit us.  Don't forget that we also have many titles available in electronic format, DVDs, CDs, newspapers and periodicals.

 

 

Camping or the Cottage?

 

Typically, with the arrival of warmer weather, most Ontario cottagers and campers can't wait to head back to their favourite wilderness spots to enjoy those early days of spring.  This year has been an odd one, however, with unseasonably cool temperatures and devastating flooding in Bracebridge, Huntsville and the Kawarthas.  While the season hasn't started out ideally, we like to think that things will improve and before you know it, it will be a warm Friday evening and we will be inching our way along one of the 400-series highways to our little piece of paradise by the lake.  Until that time, we will whet our appetite for the great outdoors with a selection of camping and cottage titles that can be found in the library: 

 

Mommy Lit

It seems like everyone famous is pregnant these days.  From Kate Middleton to Kim Kardashian, its hard to open up a magazine or website without seeing something about their fashion choices or what they are eating.  Having recently become a new aunt, I've learned all about the importance of keeping regular bed times, how to change a diaper, and how to keep a baby entertained (silly faces and noises always work for me).  As I eagerly await Kate's little prince or princess and sit in anticipation wondering what Kim and Kanye will name their baby (will it have a K name?), I've started to read some books about motherhood.  If you are interested in Mommy Lit too, check out some of these titles. 

         

         

         

What's greener than a Green Book Sale?

In honour of Earth Day, come out the Green Book Sale at Barbara Frum Branch on Thursday, April 18, 2013, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.  There will be LOTS of books and other library materials for sale at a reduced cost.  This is a great way to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

Also, if you have any trinkets lying around at home that you no longer want, bring it in on the day of the book sale and exchange it for something else.  After all, one person’s trash can be another person’s treasure!  Feel free to leave something behind as long as you take something else home.

Mark it in your calendar!  That’s the Green Book Sale, Thursday, April 18, 2013, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Barbara Frum Branch.

 

When it comes to making your life greener and your environment more eco-friendly, the possibilities are endless.  Every day can be Earth Day with a few simple changes to our habits and practices.  The TPL catalogue has many resources to help you get started.  Check out some of these titles:

 

Remake it clothes: the essential guide to resourceful fashion: with over 500 tricks, tips and inspirational designs by Henrietta Thompson, 2012

1000 ideas for creative reuse: remake, restyle, recycle, renew, by Garth Johnson.

Delicious gifts: edible creations to make and give, by Jess McCloskey

Composting inside and out: to fit your space and lifestyle, by Stephanie Davies

Junk genius: stylish ways to repurpose everyday objects, with over 80 projects and ideas, by Juliette Goggin

Gardening by cuisine: an organic-food lover's guide to sustainable living, by Patti Moreno  

 

We can all help to make the world a greener, cleaner place.  This Earth Day, how will you celebrate?

Working the dead beat - how did these people change Canada?

 

 

   In her book, “The Dead beat,”  Sandra Martin, a columnist for the “Globe & Mail”, has honoured the lives of Canada’s famous, infamous, and unsung heroes  in this collection of obituaries of the first decade of the twenty-first century.

    Please join us as Ms. Martin presents at the Barbara Frum Library on April 18, 2013, to talk about her book and the interesting people whose lives and deaths she has chronicled. 

    Do you agree with the choices she has made for this book?  Are there other people who left us in the first decade of this century, whose lives and deaths you think should have been included?  Are there choices here that surprise you?

    One of the subject headings for her book is “heroes.”  Do you agree that some or all of these individuals would be considered to be heroes?  And how do you define what constitutes a hero?

 

Call 416-395-5440 to register for this event.

Kids Have Stress Too!

Did you know that children can suffer from stress just like adults?  We all complain of having too much stress in our lives, but we often don’t even consider the stress in our children's lives.  School and social situations can sometimes be overwhelming for children, and it is important for them to learn techniques to cope with stress.  Stress can affect a child's ability to learn, be happy, and can even negatively impact their health.  If you are interested in learning more, Barbara Frum Branch will be hosting a program entitled Kids Have Stress Too!, for parents who have children ages 4-9 years old, on Tuesday April 16. Facilitated by a Toronto Public Health Nurse, this program will cover what is "stress" for your children, how stress affects your children, and how to help your children cope with stress.  Please call 416-395-5440 to register.

For more information on kids and stress, check out some of the Toronto Public Library resources below:

       

Stompin' Tom saved my career, or, you might think it's goofy, but the new librarian is a newbie....

The year, 1990. The setting, the Audio Visual Department at North York Central Library where, a few nervous months after arriving in Canada, I had begun working in a temporary position.  I might have been the first South African librarian they had worked with. It is certain that I was probably one of the most confused and also one of the luckiest they had met.

 

As any newcomer to Canada or any other country soon finds out, being the "new kid on the block" involves so much more than learning a new language or which side of the road to drive on. Once, I listened to a programme on CBC in the 1990's about newcomers to Canada. Of  the many people who were interviewed for the show, the vast majority stated that it was much harder trying to integrate into the new culture than the actually learning of English as a Second Language. It is such a good thing that today there are so many wonderful resources for newcomers such as LIP and settlement.org .

 Anyway, returning to my early, angst-drenched days here  - would my previous experience be enough to keep the job? Would I fit in with the work group? Would my accent prevent me being understood? How would I ever manage to learn the intricate booking sytem? And who on earth was Stompin' Tom? What did he do? And why was he so important to one of my colleagues in particular?

Soon I was enlightened. Somewhere between the "voluntary" viewing of an old 16mm film, Across This Land with Stompin' Tom Connors and the gleeful, unabashed joy of those watching me watch the film, Stompin Tom got to me.  Seeing him in all his everyman glory, stamping away in his famous style, sharing the love he had for all things CA-NA-DA.  From that unlikely moment on, the Stompin' Tom bond grew between myself and my colleagues. From the annual Stompin Tom parties held at the end of each crazy year,to any mention of Bud the Spud, by any of us, warm chuckles would soon erupt and often an extra snippet of info about him would emerge.

In this bizarrely unexpected way, my first feeling of community in Canada slowly developed. Slowly but surely, my knowledge of Canadiana grew and so did my confidence. It wasn't too long before I realised that I need not feel bad that Tim Horton hadn't invited me personally for a coffee, because "he" was a chain.  And I soon stopped bumping into people when I realised that one walked on the right down supermarket aisles.

So, thanks to all of you from AV - you know who you are! - and thanks to Stompin' Tom, I found out all about Canada and how goofy it was to be a Newbie. I mean Newfy.

The wearing of the green

St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated on March 17^th has become a day when everyone, regardless of nationality, is Irish for the day.  On “St. Paddy’s Day”, people flock to their local pub for a drink with friends, usually donning something green, because it is a day associated with mirth and merriment.  Banners, signs and t-shirts emblazoned with the words “Kiss me, I’m Irish” can be seen everywhere, in addition to pictures of shamrocks and leprechauns.  Spirited Irish music can be heard and many an impromptu song can erupt from crowds of happy revelers.  How much is known about the history of St. Patrick though?

 In the Catholic calendar, the feast day of St. Patrick is March 17^th.  St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, even though he was not Irish by birth.  It is believed that St. Patrick was of English or Scottish origin, and he journeyed to Ireland as a missionary.  There are many legends associated with him, including the famous tale in which he banished all the snakes from Ireland. 

 If you are interested in finding out more about the origins of St. Patrick’s Day and the history of St. Patrick himself, check out these titles available through the Toronto Public Library catalogue:

 

                                      

 

The History of St. Patrick’s Day (DVD) and The Wearing of the Green by Mike Cronin.

 

Today, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated around the world in both religious and secular ways.  Here in Toronto, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on Sunday, March 17^th, beginning at 12:00 noon.

The procession will travel east from Bloor and St. George Street to Bloor and Yonge Street, then proceed south along Yonge Street to Queen Street, and finally proceed west to University Ave. where it will end at Nathan Phillips Square.  For more information, please visit the parade website at http://www.topatrick.com/

Since no celebration is quite complete without some lively Irish music, be sure to tune into CHIN radio’s Irish and Scottish hour http://www.chinradio.com/radio-programs/irish-scottish/ hosted by Toronto’s beloved Irish personality, radio host, comedian, entertainer and 2010 Irish Person Of The Year, Hugo Straney 

However you decide to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, may the luck of the Irish be with you and if you’re heading out for a pint of green beer somewhere, don’t forget the Irish Gaelic for cheers: Sláinte!