By Sally Deering
 Winter has arrived and that means spending more time at home, but if you find yourself burning up with cabin fever, then why not lace up your boots, brave that cold and take a class.
Here in Hudson, several towns offer classes and workshops in painting, photography, tennis, ice skating, even beer-making. Here’s a sampling to stimulate your mind and soul during these next few months of frigid temps. Enjoy!
PAINT & PHOTOGRAPH
Take classes in drawing, oil painting and photography at JC Art School
1 McWilliams Pl, JC
(201) 721-6185
It’s never too late to express yourself with paint, brush and canvas; or to learn to take better photos. JC Art School offers classes in January and February that include beginner and intermediate drawing and oil painting; beginner acrylic painting; experimental figure drawing; and digital photography. Continue reading GOT CLASS? Baking, Painting, Tennis… Classes in Hudson to help Beat those Winter Blues Â
On Monday, 1/19 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), 
Newport Skates is the only outdoor, uncovered ice skating rink in Jersey City, located at 95 River Drive, Jersey City 07310. I’m sending you the info now in hopes you’ll share it with your readers and consider attending for coverage too!
January 8, 2015, Jersey City, NJ – One out of every four adults in the United States has a conviction history. Each year, more than 700,000 U.S. men and women are released from prisons, and most struggle to start a new way of life. The obvious discrimination that accompanies a conviction record is one enormous barrier to former inmates’ successful return to their communities. However, most often these individuals lack the education and skills necessary for meaningful employment.
 At 11:59 pm on New Year’s Eve, many of us will turn to the TV or computer to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Last year, one million people braved the cold to watch the ball slide down the pole atop One Times Square on 42nd Street and now, more than one hundred years since the ball first dropped in 1907, we’ll be watching a crystal ball this time ring in the New Year.