![How are you really?](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/finn-nJupV3AOP-U-unsplash.jpg?itok=4-fjBWgK)
Tips for Better Mental Health During Covid-19
Anytime there is a crisis, it can be hard on everyone, but it is especially hard on individuals with a mental illness. Here are a few ideas for those living with a mental illness, but that could also be valuable to anyone.
![Get Carded](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/get%20carded.jpg?itok=gX0qUNhQ)
It All Starts with One Little Card
Remember what it felt like when you received your very first library card? Like me, maybe you were seven or eight years old and although you may not have comprehended it completely at such a young age, holding that card in your hand felt like you were holding the whole world!
Library cards have been around for a long time, probably since the 19th century, when it became necessary to register library patrons and to connect those patrons with the books they borrowed.
![Staff in masks](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/95515085_818989665261073_4796547634254839808_n.jpg?itok=BKuUcj_O)
Missouri River Regional Library Reopening Plans
Missouri River Regional Library will begin the process of reopening physical services in the coming weeks. The Library staff and board will continue to monitor the situation and adjust dates as needed moving forward. As of May 4, 2020, the reopening plan is as follows:
![Cough Drops](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/20200212_164128.jpg?itok=MpdS5EM3)
DIY Cough Drops
Cough drops are surprisingly easy to make at home. The nice thing is you can customize them to what you like. These are made with ginger, cinnamon and cloves, but you could substitute any flavors you like. You could even just leave them honey and lemon.
![Phoebe](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/Phoebe.png?itok=Xuqv8-LH)
Boredom Buster: Bottle Play
When I was a child, I remember my mom keeping an older set of glass Coca Cola bottles in the garage that we got out on occasion to play with. We usually made them musical, filling with water and blowing over them like flutes, or clinking them with spoons. We felt super accomplished if we could fill the water just right to make the notes for an actual tun
![Kathlene and Stu](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/Untitled%20design%20%281%29.png?itok=Xrcn_k29)
2020 Library Volunteer and Ambassador
Kathlene Woodruff Named 2020 Library Volunteer of the Year
DIY Homesteading: Shower Steamers
![Virtual Programs](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/virtual%20programs%20TV%20slider.jpg?itok=g7Q7z4w6)
Virtual Programming with the Library
In an effort to continue to provide some of the events and programming that our community loves so much, we will begin to offer some of our programs virtually beginning the week of March 23, 2020. We will continue to update this post with links as they are created.
![Digital Learning Resources](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/digital%20learning%20resources.jpg?itok=P0CV5Ayv)
Digital Learning Resources from the Library
We wanted to be sure that our schools and parents know about the resources that we have available for digital learning during this unprecedented time. We know many teachers and students are having to adopt virtual education measures, and we have some unique resources that can help with that...for free!
![closing](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/COVID19-closed%20WEB%20slider.png?itok=IB8te29f)
Missouri River Regional Library Closing
In an effort to decrease risk among customers and staff during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, all Missouri River Regional Library buildings and outreach services (including the bookmobile) will be closed after 9:00pm on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 until further notice. This has been a difficult decision for the Library, but it has been made considering all of the best advice from federal and state public health officials.
Normal Doesn't Exist
I have been called odd my entire life. Growing up, when people used the word “odd” it was meant as a negative connotation. Today the word “odd” could go either way, but most people use it in a positive way. I don’t mind being called odd because it shows I have my own identity. Now people say, “a special snowflake” instead of odd. But, the great thing about snowflakes is their individuality and when they gather together, snowflakes
![Beeswax Wraps](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/20200114_102616.jpg?itok=yTbegmDW)
DIY Homesteading: Beeswax Wraps
The Library recently hosted a program on making your own Beeswax Wraps as part of our monthly series on DIY Homesteading.
![How To Invent Everything](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/How%20To%20Invent%20Everything.jpg?itok=2zik9GA0)
What We're Reading: "How to Invent Everything: a Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveller" by Ryan North
It’s a common enough scenario: you rent a time machine and set the dial to your favorite era in history. Just for a little sightseeing, you know? Instead your malfunctioning time machine hurls you back hundreds of thousands of years into the past and refuses to budge once you’re there. You are stuck somewhere in the past, with no way to return to the future and no one around to sue. What do you do next?
![Moving](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/80658975_3594495770562336_452510044840263680_n.jpg?itok=liX_qVrI)
Osage County Branch's Big Move and Updates
We’re getting closer! It’s almost time for us to say goodbye to our current location and move to our new location at 101 Highway CC, Linn, MO. As we make this transition, there will be some challenges that come with moving an entire library.
![Pumpkin](/sites/default/files/styles/river_reader_image/public/freestocks-org-kVv8AvoKJ7g-unsplash.jpg?itok=KSuCjs_o)
Season of the Witch
This is my favorite time of year, the Autumn/Mabon season. The Fall crops are harvesting, leaves are crisp, pumpkins, and finally Halloween and Samhain. In Jefferson City every time you take a deep breath, the air is cool and clean. Some people call this time of year, “The Season of the Witch”.