It is a new year, and we got a new frosting of snow to welcome everyone back to schools and work on Monday morning, January 4. The overnight snowfall on Sunday was just enough to add a bright shine to the town without disrupting the morning routine. Thanks to our highway department for making sure the roads were cleared and ready for early traffic.

Our favorite oversize decorative spiders are at it again. Large spooky spiders were first placed along the fence in front of a Riverside Road home back in October, for Halloween. They remained in place for Thanksgiving, and were updated with festive red hats for Christmas. Last week they were updated once more, this time with the largest of the spiders hoisting a shimmery blue and gold sign welcoming 2021. We admire and enjoy the continued creativity of Paige Galanis and her mother-in-law, Deanna Galanis, who we are told are responsible for the celebratory arachnids.

January 8 is national bubble bath day, English toffee day, winter skin relief day, and something called JoyGerm Day (which “reminds people across the country that by being positive and treating people with kindness, they can influence those around them and pass that positive attitude on to others. When we share good moods, we impact the lives of people around us and those people become infected with that same positive joy and spread it to others.”) dedicated to having a positive attitude. How’s that for a great way to end the week?

The Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary reminds us via their Facebook post that an AWE Walk is a wonderful way to celebrate the outdoors. “...Awe is an overwhelming sense of wonder and reverence in which you feel a part of something that is vast and unified. Awe transcends separation and fosters deep compassion for the world around us, including all the beings we share it with. Just a short walk appreciating the vibrancy of the sky, the texture of tree bark or the communication between birds can have tremendous mental, physical, and emotional benefits.” Find your “awe” as we move into this new year.

Newtown Youth and Family Services is seeking donations of new toys and books, appropriate for children up to age 14, for a special Birthday Bin. Gift cards will also be accepted, and NYFS has also set up a wish list at amazon.com. Donations can be dropped off at NYFS, 15 Berkshire Road in Sandy Hook. Once a supply has been built, parents and guardians who need gifts for a child’s birthday will be able to select a few new gifts from the Birthday Bin, no questions asked.

Danbury Hospital Nursing Supervisor Jeannette McCambley is grateful to Dr Laura Nowacki, of Newtown Center Pediatrics, as well as other Newtown residents, who recently donated 15 iPads to the hospital, news Jeannette first heard of on a Facebook post. The New Year’s Eve donation of iPads will let patients communicate with their families, Jeannette says, which is a wonderful thing for patients who are in the hospital for COVID and cannot have visitors. She reminds everyone, as well, that continuing to practice physical distancing, washing hands, and wearing a mask will help prevent the spread of the virus.

The office of The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road, continues to be a collection site for FAITH Food Pantry. You’ll find a donation box just inside our front door. Feel free to stop by and leave your donation anytime the office is open, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. Please wear a mask when you come in. If you are not comfortable coming in, knock, and someone will be happy to take in your bags of goodies for you.

2020 may be behind us, but a new year does not magically make the stresses of the past several months disappear. Meditation is one way to alleviate the blues and feel stronger mentally, and there is still time to make a reservation for the four-week series of meditation classes offered by the Resiliency Center of Newtown, which start January 13. The class is led by Eileen Lynch, and each one lasts about 45 minutes. For information or to reserve a spot, call 203-364-9750 or e-mail beth@resiliencycenterofnewtown.org.

A meditation class also takes place at the Newtown Senior Center, 8 Simpson Street, each Tuesday, at 9 am, for members. The in-person class is limited to just three participants, but the class is also offered via Zoom. Members can call 203-270-4310 for Zoom link. Not a member? Anyone age 55 and up is eligible to join the active center; dues are $20/year for Newtown residents, $25 for out of town residents. Visit newtown-ct.gov/senior center for membership information, or call 203-270-4310.

Every week an original Bee-created coloring picture is in the Education section of The Newtown Bee — usually one by the talented Education reporter Eliza Hallabeck. Please feel free to take a picture of your finished work and e-mail it to eliza@thebee.com. We would love to highlight your effort!

A reminder, as well, that if you or a fellow Newtown/Sandy Hook resident you know would like to be a Snapshot profile (see Page 2 of every issue), please e-mail alissa@thebee.com. Interviews are currently being done by e-mail or telephone for this regular offering of a personal profile of a local resident.

Oh, baby, wherefore art thou? The Newtown Bee is still seeking its first Newtown Baby of 2021. If you are Newtown/Sandy Hook parents of a baby born on January 1 — or any of these first days of the year — don’t miss out on the opportunity to receive a multitude of gifts and gift certificates from local businesses. Contact shannon@thebee.com for details, or see the December 25, 2020, issue of the paper for information and a peek at all the goodies in store for the town’s first baby of the year.

It can be so hard to find a place for all of my beloved objects: soft cushions, catnip mice, fluffy balls, cream saucers, scratching posts... so I may turn to Sue Duval of The Organized Hive for some advice. Sue is scheduled to present an online C.H. Booth Library program with tips on making your space more livable and usable. With school, work, and the usual home life encroaching on each other these days, I’ll bet she has some words of wisdom we can all use. Visit chboothlibrary.org to register for the January 11 program that begins at noon, or call 203-426-4533.

Excessive collections might be a harbinger that you are headed toward hoarding, though. Learn about this psychological issue at an upcoming program scheduled for Friday, January 29, at 11:30, through the Newtown Senior Center. See details in this week’s Senior Notes column on this page, or call 203-270-4310 for registration information.

I’ll be hoarding only one thing in upcoming days: newsy bits of news. Be sure next week to... Read me again.