Library #32 Eggertsville Branch (Amherst)

The Eggertsville branch is the first library the girls ever went to! We used to live in this neighborhood. When the girls were toddlers we would walk to this library, park the stroller in the hallway and sit and read --it was very fun to be back!

This library was busy on a Saturday morning. We especially liked the Bill Nye DVD set on the children's shelf. We sat and read for an hour even though our plan was to get to the Tonawanda branch as well. The librarian was very helpful and the people were friendly. Great spot!

On the way home we stopped at DiCamillo's Bakery on Main St. for a rye and cross bread for Easter. Then we were off to church to get our basket of Easter foods blessed.

Only 5 more to go!

Libraries # 29, 30 and 31; Eden, Concord and North Collins

In honor of the Sabres quest for the Stanley Cup we performed our second library hat trick!

First we went to the Kazoo Factory in Eden. What a great spot- Karen and her granddaughter were enthusiastic tour guides! They showed us a cool map of the USA with hundreds of pins in all of the 50 states to show where visitors have come from. There were also dozens of notes from people who have come from all around the world! Anna and MaryGrace make their own

Kazoos using a machine that was almost 100 years old. The factory runs several days a week with help from disabled employees from SASI.
The Eden library has abeautiful curved, wooden ceiling. It is cozy and very well organized. The girls loved the way the children's series books were sorted in plastic bins. Al knew the librarian, Joyce, who used to be the librarian at the Orchard Park branch. She told us that the Eden Library was built largely with community support.
Then we were off to North Collins. This library had a neat kids section with some stadium seating for special readings. It was quiet and very relaxing.

The Concord library was small and very busy with lots of homey touches. There was an aquarium that was recently donated by a friend of the library, a stuffed owl for Harry Potter fans and lots of paintings done by local artists. We were told that every Wednesday there is a big flea market with a livestock auction- we'll have to come back for that!

Library #28 Dudley Branch, City of Buffalo

Since our family is half Polish, part of our Easter tradition is to visit the Broadway Market. We arrived early to beat the crowds and get our palczek, chrusciki, pussywillows, painted eggs, and some chocolote covered Peeps! It was a fun time and a great Buffalo tradition. After the market, we drove to the Dudley Branch in South Buffalo. This small library was very busy this Monday just before lunch time. We liked the community room, section of books about Buffalo history, and the DVDs organized with a non fiction section. Nice stop and nice day!

Library #27 Kenmore Branch

The Kenmore Branch on Delaware Road is in a nice neighborhood of beautiful old houses and Kenmore West High School. This place was very busy on the Saturday afternoon we visited. The girls scoured the shelves for fantasy books and Dan Gutman stories, and we ran into an old friend and her son while there! Nice library visit on a cold March afternoon.

Library #26 Audubon

The Audubon Library Branch is one of the Amherst Branches. We had lots of schoolwork to do, so we ended up working and reading here for three hours on Saturday! The girls had no problem staying busy while Mom and Dad worked. It is a spacious building that has the feel of a college library. There is a nice lounge area in the back with a big bank of windows to look out while working on your laptop or reading a book. There is a good selection of dvds and a loaded children's section. Helpful staff helped us use a laptop. We had a great time at this library. It is a perfect place to get some work done!

Florida Library!

While on vacation, why not visit a library? On our vacation in Fort Pierce, Florida we visited the downtown Fort Pierce Library branch. What a friendly staff and fun library! This library had a nice collection of books by local authors and a great children's section. Our favorite was the upstairs reading area with a view of the ocean! Great visit. If we get back to Fort Pierce next year, we will return.

Library #24 and #25 The Reinsteins, Anna and Julia

It ended up being a very snowy day when we visited these two Cheektowaga branches. Both have the name of Reinstien, Anna and Julia. We visited the Anna Reinstein Library first. Right on Harlem Road next to Cheektowaga Town Park, this library was very busy. The library had a great children's section, and excellent dvd selection. It also had a nice extra room for quiet reading that housed the magazines and newspapers.

We then went to Steglemeir Park to feed the nuthatches and squirrels. When Anna was little, we used to live near the park and would take lots of long nature walks there. If you are patient and still, the nuthatches will hop down and eat peanuts right out of your hand! But the snow was coming down so hard that there were no nuthatches to be seen. We were the only ones in the park to enjoy the big, fluffy snowflakes. It was quiet and cold.

The Julia Reinstein Library was a cool octagonal shaped library. It was also busy on this snowy afternoon. We read and searched around for almost an hour. This library is an easy place to relax and lose track of time. It was comfortable. On the way home, we stopped at Duff's and had some great wings. We saw the newspapers clippings and photos from when President Obama came to visit last fall. Another great adventure!