55+ Connections: Week of 3/23/25
This is the 55+ Connections weekly update. If you would like to sign up to get more updates from the city go to northlibertyiowa.org/subscribe.
55+ Connections: Tuesday Gathering
Tuesday, March 25
10:30 AM
North Liberty Library – Meeting Room CD
On the fourth Tuesday of the month, we have book blub! This month we will be discussing The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer.
Next month we will be reading Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu:
Willis Wu doesn’t perceive himself as the protagonist in his own life: he’s merely Generic Asian Man. Sometimes he gets to be Background Oriental Making a Weird Face or even Disgraced Son, but always he is relegated to a prop. Yet every day, he leaves his tiny room in a Chinatown SRO and enters the Golden Palace restaurant, where Black and White, a procedural cop show, is in perpetual production. He’s a bit player here, too, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy—the most respected role that anyone who looks like him can attain. Or is it?
After stumbling into the spotlight, Willis finds himself launched into a wider world than he’s ever known, discovering not only the secret history of Chinatown, but the buried legacy of his own family. Infinitely inventive and deeply personal, exploring the themes of pop culture, assimilation, and immigration
Join us each week for a social gathering full of activities and friendly conversation – board games, crafts, puzzles, book discussions, and more! No registration required. You can choose which events you would like to attend and are not obligated to go weeks when the activity is not of interest to you.
Foodscaping: Creating Edible Landscapes
Tuesday, March 25
6:30 – 7:30 PM
Ely Public Library – 1595 Dows St, Ely, IA
Companion plants, water, soil and a patch of sunshine will create an edible landscape. Containers and integrating some edibles will not sacrifice the beauty of your space. Consider how to: start small, plant in the right place, and select the produce you like to eat. Your foodscape will benefit the environment for birds and pollinators as well.
Movie Night at CPL
Wednesday, March 26
6 – 8 PM
Coralville Public Library – Schwab Auditorium
Come for a free movie night at the Coralville Public Library! They are showing “A League of Their own” rated PG.
During WWII, while most young men are fighting in the war, a professional baseball league for women is created in the Midwest. Sisters Dottie and Kit spar with each other as they, and the rest of the team, struggle to make a success of the league. Starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and others.
Refreshments, including fresh popcorn, will be provided!
This film is approximately 2 hours long.
55+ Connections: Friday Lunch
Friday, March 28
11:30 AM
North Liberty Rec Center – Rooms 3&4
This week China Garden is catering our meal. After lunch, Ranger Peter Hoehnle from the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site will give a presentation about the site and Herbert Hoover’s early life.
Registration for lunch is $5 and required for all who attend lunch. Participants must register before noon on Thursday, March 27th. Call the Rec Center to register (319)626-5716 or go online to your RecDesk Account and register yourself.
Film Fridays & Free Popcorn
Friday, March 28
2 PM
Iowa City Senior Center – Room 302
Come to the Senior Center to watch a movie and eat popcorn!
March 28: Madeleine Collins (2021)
Judith leads a double life: two lovers, two sons in France and one daughter in Switzerland. Entangled in secrets and lies, her lives begin to shatter.
Growing a Successful Veggie Garden
Friday, April 3
6:30 – 7:30 PM
North Liberty Community Center – Gerdin Conference Room (Lower Level)
Want to grow your own produce but don’t know where to start? Have you been gardening without much success? This class is for you! Join us for this free seminar with the experts at Forever Green. You’ll learn how to prepare your garden for success, choose what to grow, choose among raised beds, containers and traditional gardens, protect your garden from furry friends, how to water and reduce weed and insect problems. Register here.
Recipe of the Month
Once a month, there will be a new recipe included in this newsletter! It will be something fairly easy and nice to share with friends. If you would like to send in your recipes to be considered for Recipe of the Month, please email them to Corrie at [email protected] or bring them to the North Liberty Library front desk.
March’s recipe: Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons dried lavender (culinary)
¾ pound of salted butter (about 3 sticks) room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
Instructions:
Grind the lavender up as finely as you can. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can chop it with a knife or crush it with a rolling pin.
Mix together butter, sugar, and lavender in large bowl. This works best with a stand mixer, but you can do it by hand too, the dough just might need a little extra forming later.
Add the vanilla and mix just until it disappears (you could also add a touch of purple food dye if you want your cookies to have a lavender color as well).
Add flour to the bowl and mix until a dough ball forms. Or until well combined and then press dough into a ball.
Roll out dough on a flat surface until ½ inch thick, then cut into shapes. Rectangles work best, but you can get creative with it.
Place the shapes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and put in the fridge for 1 hour until firm.
Preheat oven to 350F and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until edges are just turning golden brown. Let the cookies cool and enjoy!
My notes:
I got my lavender from Stringtown Grocery in Kalona, but you can also get it at Hy Vee and I’ve heard that you may be able to get it from New Pioneer Co-Op and Trader Joe’s as well! You can also order it online, but make sure that you are getting the kind used for culinary purposes.
The original recipe called for three and a half cups of flour, and while that worked, I think it was a bit too much and it made my dough really difficult to roll out and shape.
