Explore Activities for Summer Fun

How will you spend your free time this summer?  The Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center database is a great source for exploring your hobbies or finding new ones.  You can also check out the library's Discovery Tool for more books and articles on activities to fill your summer.  I have included a couple of books that the library has in our general stacks.

As our house is gearing up for summer I decided to check out this database to get some ideas to keep us busy.  I know there will be some outdoor activities we will be doing so I started out there.  They have an Outdoor Recreation category that includes hiking, camping, fishing, sailing, scuba diving, and much more.

Hiking and Backpacking

GV199.5 .H55 2008

GV199.5 .H55 2008

Since we have a garden I then headed to the Home & Garden category.  I soon got distracted from the garden when I saw that there is a topic covering cake decorating.  We have been trying to learn how to decorate cakes and cupcakes so this will be a great resource for us.

My Cooking Class
TX771 .F3913 2011

After checking out the things I knew we would need I got curious and did some more exploring and found that you can even find out about handwriting analysis under the Science and Technology category.  For those hot 100+ afternoons there is a category on Indoor Recreations that includes topics on different types of games.  Other categories include Scrapbooking, Performing Arts, Needlecrafts, Model Building, Kid's Crafts, and more.

Passionate Gardening
SB455 .S816 2000

Do you have interests beside school? We have databases for you!

This semester we have several new databases for you to use! Most of them are academic databases that will be great for your school work, and you can check them all out on the Guide to Databases Page.  But, we know that you have interests outside of school as well, so today I’m highlighting three new databases that contain information on hobbies, home improvement and engine repair. Hopefully you will find something that will get your creative juices flowing, inspire you to try something new, or maybe even save some money!

Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center has how-to videos, instructions, and project ideas for many different hobbies and crafts, including knitting, outdoor activities, crafting, and scrapbooking. It also includes full-text from many different hobby magazines including American Craft, Scuba Diving, and Horse & Rider.

Home Improvement Reference Center includes information on a variety of home improvement tasks, including decorating, plumbing, electrical and woodworking. The Toolbox includes how-to videos, conversion charts, glossaries, and a guide to working with contractors. It also includes step-by-step maintenance guides for projects like maintaining a grill.

Small Engine Repair Reference Center gives detailed instructions on how to repair and maintain small engines, such as those in boats, lawnmowers, motorcycles and tractors. It includes engine diagrams and full service manuals.

Home to Garden!

It was finally pretty this weekend, so, yay! To the out of doors! Out with the old leaves! In with the new plants! Out with the old soil! In with the new compost (which is made in part of the old leaves you have carefully gathered, of course!)! And I found some gardening websites that you may want to consult. A general one is Back Yard Gardener. And of course, The Dirt Doctor, because where else do you get information on Howard Garrett's Basic Organic Program? Once specific to Central Texas is Central Texas Gardening. Now that is getting pretty specific! And how about Aggie Horticulture, the source of Knock-Out Roses!

Put that sunscreen on, and get some dirt under those nails!