Wet enough for ya?
Well, the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers. “ Right?That being so, my yard and everybody else’s for that matter, should be resembling the Amazon rainforest. Of course, the late-season plunge down to frost warnings may have put the kibosh on that scenario, at least temporarily. All of this “El Nino” weather fluctuation may have confused some of...
Fatberg!
Have another piece of cake, Chubby? OMG! New scientific research indicates that obesity is likely about three times as great a factor in mortality rates as had been previously believed, up from 5% to 18%. Some 78 million people in the U.S. are struggling with the condition…or not. Some twenty per cent of deaths in the 40-85 yr. age group...
Adventures in summer travel…or…You Can’t Get There From Here
You know those orange and white saw horses that the ODOT crews used to have marking off forbidden territory when the summer construction season started? (They have up-dated all that now with tall, skinny cones and plastic tape) An ironic gentleman of my acquaintance once proposed that they should be designated the state animal…probably because they spent even...
“What makes a rock maple table different from a regular maple table?”
“What makes a rock maple table different from a regular maple table?” The Newton Falls Public Library staff began their investigation in the library’s woodworking books. We found a complete list of various woods with photographs and descriptions in The Complete Manual of Woodworking by Albert Jackson, David Dan and Simon Jennings, p. 26. There are two kinds of...
Weather or Not…
Don’t look now, but it seems to me that as far as weather predictions go, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has crashed and burned in its outlook for February. And in the ruins might be found the remains of a groundhog or two—Punxsutawney Phil and Buckeye Chuck, perhaps—who had stepped out for a snowball fight during the six more...
Henry V
So...I’m sure that everybody gets the reference, right? Oh yeah, we all go around quoting Shakespeare to all and sundry who will listen. Anyway, what came to me as I sat down to take quill in hand to write about what’s going on, was this famous line from the Bard, encouraging his soldiers to take heart, make the great...
Your Kind of Retirement
How do you picture your retirement? Do you envision visiting old friends and traveling to new places? Do you plan to take up a new hobby or pursue an old interest? If you have high hopes for your retirement, you aren’t alone. The retirement script is being rewritten by today’s generation who don’t plan to spend their retirement days...
Makin’ A List…
Now that the clock tower lights are lit, Santa has made the first of his (many) local appearances…for lunch, for breakfast, for pizza, etc….it’s time to get down to some serious shopping—preferably local, but wandering off into the exotic every so often. So, in pursuit of exotica (Try looking that up on the internet some times; Sears & Roebuck ,...
Mantua’s Stonehenge
Our story begins in 1914 when a new school building was built in Mantua, Ohio. Designed by a world-famous architect to new fireproof standards it is one of the very few examples left in existence—a true Stonehenge of sorts. Life went merrily on as usual for the next 90 years until 2004 when the school system, faced with state requirements consolidated all their holdings and created one new central elementary school. What to do with this magnificent old building? Why, offer it to the Township government for a ridiculously cheap price. They could certainly make good use of it since their current buildings are meager, not in the best condition and God forbid, made of matchstick wood (easily flammable)... Let us continue our transition into modernity.
Vegan Bar-B-Que
Once, many years ago, I ran across a book with the title, Hollywood Is A Kosher Nutburger. I think that I read it but who knows. At any rate, it struck me that it was a fine shorthand for “This place is nuts!” Well, the news lately—internet, the comics, the news pages, magazines—all of it, is proof that while time...
Thoughts From the Big Store
Every so often I make my way out of town(Somebody else is in charge as soon as I cross the village limits, just so everything does not “go to hell in a handbasket”. So far, so good.)and I frequently take the opportunity to “people watch” –especially when I go to one of the “BIG” stores, where there are a...
Notes From The Vineyard
2011... wow – I can’t believe it! Where did 2010 go? Oh well... now that 2011 is here, it is time for me to get started on all of my exciting plans for this year and not dwell on last year. I know that 2011 is going to fly by just as fast so I am ready to start...
The machines are out to get me!
Does a computer count as a machine or a device? Matters not, they’re after me. So I’m sitting at the computer typing away at my much-anticipated column for this week, when, out of the blue—or whatever color cyberspace is nowadays—the screen went black (that color I know) and totally unresponsive. I wiggled and jiggled various plugs and...
“I was looking at a magazine and I saw this little ceramic bird stuck in the middle of a pie. Can you tell me anything about it?”
“I was looking at a magazine and I saw this little ceramic bird stuck in the middle of a pie. Can you tell me anything about it?” Some members of the Newton Falls Public Library staff were familiar with this cute item known as a pie bird, but having some personal understanding about a topic does not always supply...
It “Bites” To Be A Former Allcare Dental And Dentures Patient
It’s been over a year since I’ve written a column for the Weekly Villager. Thankfully our practice has become very busy and I have not had time to write. But, I just can’t stand by idly and not comment on recent events that have befallen the dental community. An event occurred last week that that is outrageous, sad and unfortunate....
Doll Collecting: Bringing Generations Together
I could not keep back the tears last month while attending a junior doll club event with my precious granddaughter, Mattie. As I helped her to get settled at the large banquet table in what must have seemed a massive banquet room at a hotel in Beachwood, it occurred to me how blessed I am. There we were, grandmothers...
It Must Be Spring!
Must be Spring, the litterbugs are out in their cars—at least I assume they’re not the type to be out walking to enjoy the benefits of nature—and they’re pitching trash out of the windows of said vehicles. I picked up, I think it was, six cans on my way around the village in the morning. ( This is all...
Out Like A Lamb?
Out like a lamb? Maybe a drippy-wet lamb. Maybe a lamb looking up at the occasional flurries and possible thunderstorms lurking in the wings next week. Baaaa! Enjoy it while you can. Quoting The Old Farmer’s Almanac here, “Showers often; the earth softens. Sunny and sweet. Watch out for sleet!” Sounds like Winter : Lite to me; a sunnier version...
Way TMI!!!
A recent feature in the AB-J has indicated to me that I am on the “way to hell in a handbasket”, or, as the “Car Guys” and “Sports Illustrated” have said upon occasion, “a sign of the Apocalypse”. The title of the section is LIFE, the particular feature was : Your Decor, What does your bookshelf say about you?...
Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates Lately…
Uhhhgggggggg………..I know it feels like it’s the seven plagues of Egypt every time we turn on the news or look at Facebook. If it’s not politics then it’s the economy, if it’s not the economy then it’s the health department telling us to wear masks or an article telling us there’s a vaccination coming or maybe we shouldn’t get...
Random Observations
A Word to the Wise…. There’s a new restaurant –reported on in The New Yorker—that you might want to think twice about patronizing this month (or any other month, if you ask me ). It’s in Paris, for one thing, not exactly on our regular circuit of dining experiences (anyplace over twenty miles away seldom makes the cut), but...
Meet Bob, he is a cool cat!
Bobcats, though seldom seen, are the most common wildcat in North America. The Bobcat, Lynx rufus, is named for its short, bobbed tail. They are medium-sized cats and are slightly smaller, but similar in appearance to their cousin, the lynx. Rumors of Bobcats being seen on Headwaters Trail, in Pondbrook Conservation area west of Aurora, and several other areas...
The Disney Chronicles: Part II
Ever been on a bus or a similar crowded situation with “wound-up” young persons when singing (and other such expressions of high spirits) breaks out and at some point, there is a raucous announcement of what is to come, namely : “Second verse! Same as the first! A little bit LOUDER and a little bit WORSE!”...? Well, here’s verse...
HA HA ! Ha Ha! ha ha…what?
I have always thought that my sense of humor was, at least, O.K. But I’m beginning to wonder about everybody else, especially in the public prints and commercially-produced correspondence, i.e., cards of various sorts. Whole bunches of TV commercials too, fail to make it to contact my funny bone. Ditto for a lot of the programming. Too many laugh...
Dragons
Who needs to watch Game of Thrones to see dragons, just go out to the nearest meadow, stream or pond and you will be amazed to see all sorts of dragons flying around…dragonflies that is. Worldwide there are more than 5,000 known species of dragonflies, all of which, along with damselflies, belong to the order Odonata, which means “toothed...
Oxford English Dictionary and then some
The Oxford English Dictionary has just come out with its quarterly revisions and additions. Some nine hundred new words and phrases have now been deemed worthy to grace its pages, some of them pretty far out there. How often do you wish to know the meaning of Empedoclean? ( Don’t go there. It’s about some Greek philosopher dude named...
Prodigality
O.K., I can definitely understand the viewpoint of the older brother in the Prodigal Son scenario and I have to wonder if there might be a story to be told about how family life went on after the younger brother returned, all contrite and grateful for a crust of bread, let alone the Fatted Calf. The older brother, upon...
One Down!
Whew! Do you remember a TV program from ages ago called TW3 (That Was The Week That Was)? Well, tweak it just a little to That Was the Week-end That Was and you’ve got November 4th, 5th , 6th and 7th , 2010 at this establishment. It was --literally and figuratively--really cool! Thursday, the evening candlelight tour opening date of...
That was a fine old time!
That was a fine old time! Well, if you weren’t trying to get anyplace in a hurry, that is. The annual Garrettsville community garage/yard/porch sale seems to have attracted quite a crowd for most of the weekend. Some of the narrower thoroughfares were a challenge for those just trying to get into their own driveways. Down Park Ave. some savvy...
IRA Rollovers: Helping Retirement Savers Defer Taxes, Avoid Penalties
If you participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you may have concluded that you don’t need a traditional IRA. Many people see the IRA as unnecessary because they don’t exhaust the contribution limits on their employer plans. But don’t be fooled into thinking that an IRA can’t help you reach your retirement saving goals. Chances are actually pretty good...
