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Antiques & Collecting: Footstools have served function for centuries

Footstools were used to elevate the feet of a person sitting in a chair as long ago as ancient Egypt. The stool was usually rectangular with four small feet. In the following centuries, footstools were made as long rectangles with four or more feet. They were used by all those sitting on a bench in front of the fireplace. Small stools were kept for use by small, seated children whose feet could not reach the floor. Footstools were often made to match the upholstered furniture in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Ambitious housewives covered footstools with their needlepoint work. In ...

Off the Shelf: Easy, breezy summertime eats

Summer is here! It’s time for lighter meals and recipes that don’t require a lot of stovetime. I’ve found some books in our collection that will help all of us with some new ideas for meals when the temperature soars. Isn’t this a great title? “Eat Cool: Good Food for Hot Days, 100 Easy, Satisfying, and Refreshing Recipes that Won’t Heat Up Your Kitchen” by Vanessa Seder (641.564 Seder). This cookbook contains many recipes with minimal or no stove time to get you out of the kitchen and back to enjoying summertime! “Endless Summer Cookbook” by Katie Lee (641.59 Lee) ...

Family Living Focus: Tips to improve your bone health

With proper nutrition, physical activity, and regular checkups and screening, Americans can have strong bones and live longer, healthier lives. Here are some tips to practice. • Eat foods rich in calcium and vitamin D. Calcium and vitamin D are important to your bone health. Learn about foods that are naturally high in calcium and vitamin D. Eat a balanced diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables, grains, and non-fat or low-fat dairy products. Sunshine is also a good source of vitamin D. If you are not getting enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet, supplements can be ...

Family Living Focus: Consider Home Modification

Instead of moving, perhaps modifications to your home would make it more suitable for your retirement. The following list can help prepare your house so you can continue to live there safely and independently. Provide for Accessibility and Safety. As we age, we often experience reduced strength, slower reaction time, sensory losses, and an impaired sense of balance. • Remove potential barriers such as steps, narrow bathroom doors or make necessary adaptations. • Establish all living areas on one floor and in four or fewer rooms. Put a bedroom and bathroom on the first ...

Antiques & Collecting: Was Cream of Wheat served cold?

Cream of Wheat, a cereal first marketed in 1898, is still a popular winter breakfast cereal. A trolley sign in a recent auction showed the picture of a box of Cream of Wheat and two children eating it from a bowl. The sign read, “Summer Favorite Served Cold with Fruit.” Was Cream of Wheat originally served cold? Most advertising, even today, promotes the use of the hot, cooked cereal for a winter breakfast. Other popular cooked cereals -- oatmeal, cornmeal, Ralston, Maltex, Farina and Wheatena -- are like Cream of Wheat in that they could be eaten cold but are always advertised as ...

Off the Shelf: Recent reads

We’ve added some great new titles at New Ulm Public Library in the past few months. Here are a few I’ve enjoyed. Wending Darling is all grown up, but she has never been able to banish her time in Neverland from her mind. It haunts her, especially when her brothers seem to have forgotten their adventures with Peter Pan completely. When Peter returns looking for Wendy he finds a grown woman. Disgusted that Wendy would dare grow up, he kidnaps Wendy’s daughter instead. Despite her fear, Wendy must follow them to Neverland, rescue her daughter, and confront the growing darkness at ...