THE COLD NIGHTS OF WINTER

What did Nettie Bullis do on a cold winter's evening, as darkness settled in before 5 o'clock and high banks of snow covered the landscape? Like some of us, perhaps she snuggled down in an easy chair with a good book. But what might she have chosen from the three rooms full of books in her house on Canandaigua Road?

She may have picked up 7000 Words Often Mispronounced and nodded in approval when she read that "alpaca" is pronounced al-PAK-a" rather than "al-a-PAK-a," and that one should say "FAM-i-li," not "FAM-li" and "hwich" instead of "wich." (All good reminders when William Henry P. Phyte wrote this reference book more than a hundred years ago--and for us today.)

If she was longing for summertime and a trip up north, Nettie might have looked through H. A. Lapham's collection of indelible photographs, 1000 Islands. Even today these 1891 photos of Alexander Bay, Edgewood Park House, Rose Island, Castle Rest, and Lost Channel bring visions of summer to most winter-weary minds.

And I think Nettie may have ended her evening by leafing through Charles E. Merrill Co.'s 1900 edition of Graded Literature Readers Fifth Book, those stories, poems, and phonics chart eliciting fond memories of her early school days and childhood. And with that, I think she probably went off to bed, warm on the inside, impervious to the cold on the outside.

Can you think of a better way to end a winter's day? Or any day?

THE JOYS OF READING

Renewing old friendships of heroes and heroines;

Traveling to faraway places without leaving home;

Expanding the mind to learn anew;

Studying the past and learning from our ancestors
and much more.

Give yourself the gift of time this winter,
settle down with a good book.

You won't regret it.


HAPPY HOLIDAYS
THE BULLIS ROOM COMMITTEE

A CALENDAR FOR THE NEW YEAR

You may already have a 2009 calendar hanging on your wall, and have several appointments and activities jotted down for the new year. Or perhaps you use an online calendar program to plan your busy days.

Looking through the shelves recently, I found a different kind of calendar in the General Science section of the collection. And it's as current today as it was when it was published in 1892. This calendar is in the form of a book titled Sharp Eyes: A Rambler's Calendar of Fifty-Two Weeks Among Insects, Birds, and Flowers. Illustrations by author Wm. Hamilton Gibson enhance the descriptive prose between the covers of this unique book. Open it at random and you're sure to find something inspiring and informative, no matter the page.

Sharp Eyes impressed me so much I did a web search and, yes, copies are available online. (I've sent a link to my favorite Santa, in hopes he takes the hint.) Fortunately for all of us, it's on the shelf here in the Bullis Room and you're invited to stop by on a Thursday morning to take a relaxing ramble through this beautiful seasonal calendar.