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Family Living Focus

With the beginning of spring comes the end of winter’s flu, cold, and cough medicines. This means it is also a great time to unclutter your medication cabinet and get rid of dangerous and outdated items. What to Throw Away: Expired medicines lose their effectiveness and, in some instances, can become dangerous. Check expiration dates thoroughly. Nearly empty bottles create clutter and may not even have enough medicine left for a full dose. Improperly stored items can partially evaporate, leaving them more concentrated and dangerous. Get rid of items that were not sealed or ...

Antiques & Collecting: Some reproductions can be as valuable as real antiques

Sometimes a reproduction of an antique is worth almost as much as the original antique. Wallace Nutting (1861-1941) was a collector, expert, photographer, furniture maker, author and an important part of the Colonial Revival in the U.S. He went to Harvard, married and started taking photographs of the New England scenery. Soon he furnished his home with authentic antique American furniture, using the furnishings as props in pictures he staged with men and women dressed in Colonial clothes. The pictures were black and white, but he hired colorists to turn the pictures into color photos. ...

Off the Shelf: April is National Poetry Month

Did you know that April 2021 is the 25th annual celebration of National Poetry Month? I have to confess in all my years working in a library, 16 this year, I did not. I assumed that we had been celebrating poetry since I first fell in love with it in sixth grade. I spent my children’s elementary school years, about 20 of them, reading and putting together anthologies of favorite poems for school. The truth is in 1995 the Academy of American Poets, along with a group of publishers, booksellers, librarians, literary organizations, poets and teachers convened to discuss the need to ...

Family Living Focus

Amazing allergy facts Allergies can make you feel miserable. Following are some tips that can be helpful to allergy sufferers. Hay fever sufferers should wash their hair at night because washing will remove any pollen from your hair and keep them from settling on your pillows and bedding. Avoid common irritants like tobacco smoke, automobile exhaust, hair spray and perfume. Wash your hands frequently. Venture outdoors only when the pollen counts are low. The best time to take an antihistamine, which helps block allergic reactions, is before symptoms surface. Remember, ...

Park & Rec Report

Rec Center closing announcement/update: The Rec Center will be closing on designated dates through the end of construction; expected late summer: April 10 (Saturday) –7 a.m.-12 noon April 11 – Rec Center campus CLOSED thru construction April 12-18 Fitness Equipment will be relocated to the Civic Center, 1212 N. Franklin St. April 19 – Civic Center will be open for Fitness equipment use, classes and walking Fitness Classes continued to be offered with membership or $5 walk-in fee. Please check the schedule at newulmmn.gov for dates, times, location and Zoom options. ...

Antiques & Collecting: Eyeglasses have been around for centuries

The earliest use of eyeglasses was recorded about 1300. Rock crystal was shaped and set in round frames to wear and improve clarity. Glasses with temple arms that sit on the ears were not created until the 1700s. Glasses with dark lenses were worn for medical reasons by the late 19th century. Sunglasses that just cut glare were not used until 1929. President Theodore Roosevelt wore a monocle, probably the first president to admit he had trouble seeing. In 1784, Benjamin Franklin had special spectacles that had bifocal lenses. Benjamin Martin (1704-1782) invented Martin’s Margins ...