A few blogs ago I mentioned that I just discovered a ton of Bruce Springsteen videos on YouTube (yes, I do live in a cave). So today I signed up for YouTube using my Google account and did a quick search for some Bruce videos. I created a playlist which contains, right now, 15 videos, and as I write this, I am listening to “If I should fall behind.” So if I want, I can watch the video, or if not, I can just hear the songs playing in the background. (I hit “play all” so they just start one after another.) The challenge, of course, is deciding which ones to add from the tons available (some songs have 12 versions to pick from). I also like to read people’s comments, some as current as an hour before, some in a different language, a few with political overtones. But most express a very passionate devotion to their man. I understand!! (P.S. Just try to watch his version of “Twist & Shout” without tapping your toes, smiling and maybe even throwing your arms in the air.)
My own Bruce Springsteen YouTube concert
March 7th, 2010Making mandalas at the Massillon Museum
March 6th, 2010
Before our family participated in this activity, we had no idea what mandalas were. We just kind of stumbled upon it; I was looking for something different to do with the family today, and saw that the Massillon Museum had their monthly “Do the MassMu” event. Each month (first Saturday) they have a free art activity, snack and sometimes a special museum tour. Today an art therapist led the mandala-making activity. In a few words, creating a mandala (which means circle in Sandrit) can be very therapeutic. Everyone in our family made one - basically you start by tracing a circle on your paper and you go from there. At first the kids were like, “This is it?? This is all we came here for?” but by the time we were all done everyone was strangely satisfied. It was especially sweet to share the activity as a family (we “warmed up” by tracing each other’s hands on the same piece of paper; that will be a keepsake too).
Half the museum space was closed, so the only real exhibit was that of Nelly Toll. Nelly lived in Poland and during the Nazi occupation she and her mother lived in hiding. During that time she created (at the age of about 10) many watercolors, which somehow survived. In the ’90s she incorporated some of these images into collages (several are now at the Holocaust Museum in D.C.). This was my children’s first introduction to the Holocaust, and I struggled with how to convey the horror of it without totally freaking them out.
For a small museum, they sure do big things.
Cheer up! Rita’s reopens March 13
March 4th, 2010
I was never an icee fan until I tried Rita’s. I thought an icee was similar to a snowcone and all its disappointments (you know, you lick off the three drops of flavor and then you just have plain old boring ice). Although Rita’s has had a location on State Road for several years and people kept telling me “you have to go there” it wasn’t until two summers ago that I got hooked, as well as the rest of the family. The kids are now counting down the days until March 13 …
Looking it up
March 4th, 2010When I was a curious kid and asked my parents questions all the time, their answer was always “look it up”. We had an incomplete early model set of encyclopedias in our basement that was our at-home reference. When I was on my own without my handy dandy encyclopedias, I would call the reference department at the library. They were amazing! Now of course the Internet is an encyclopedia and reference library all rolled in one. Whenever my kids have a question I can’t answer, they ask me to “look it up” on the computer. In half a second, I know if bears are nocturnal, what snow leopards eat and which state in the U.S. has the most tornadoes. The problem with the Internet, though, is sorting the 1% fact from the 99% fiction or opinion or just general misinformation. That can definitely be a problem.
Paying up front to see a doctor
March 4th, 2010I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel comfortable with the new trend of paying a doctor upon arriving at his or her office, before receiving any services. This has been true with my family physician, urgent care, ER, convenience clinics, specialists and even my children’s eye doctor. Do that many people skip out on their co-pay after an appointment that they have to collect before they’ll even see you? I don’t use many professional services, but do you have to prepay at accountants and lawyers, too? It just seems odd to me for a profession that’s supposed to be about helping others.
The Great Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Experiment
March 2nd, 2010
I don’t eat near as many vegetables as I should. But ever since the kids were little, I made sure they did. However, I’ve pretty much stuck to the basics — corn, peas, carrots, peppers, onions, potatoes, lettuce and beans with the occasional spinach, mushrooms or broccoli. Well, last week my daughter was at the grocery store with me and asked why I never buy zucchini. So I did, thinking I could make chocolate chip zucchini bread, which I remembered politely eating once many years ago. So my daughter helped me make the bread from scratch (I even iced it to make it extra-yummy) and we offered it to my other two children when they came home from school as a special “treat”. They each ate a piece, as did my husband later that night, and all declared it “good.” But guess what? No one ever asked for another piece, despite my repeated offerings. By the time I came to terms that no one was going to finish the remaining 80% of the 13×9 pan, I didn’t want to offer it to a neighbor or anyone. So I’m ashamed to say it is on its way to a landfill, where I always like to tell myself “the animals will eat it.” Needless to say, I won’t be making that again … but I did make oatmeal raisin cookies today. Not vegetable-based, but healthy in their own way (and there won’t be any left for the animals to eat!).
I wonder what my kids will think of …
March 2nd, 2010
some of the books I saved from my childhood? Because I’m a “saver”, through the last 30+ years I have hung onto some my old paperbacks. They’re not even “classics”, just books I had bought with my own money in grade school through the “Scholastic Book Club” and read over and over again. I got to bring some of them out last night because my oldest daughter is now reading chapter books and had already gone through all the ones we had in the house. I gave her a handful of my old favorites; she chose “What’s for lunch, Charley?” as her first choice. So last night before bed she read me the first chapter. What an odd, yet wonderful, feeling, to have my own daughter read to me a book which I had read over and over to myself so long ago. But will these books stand the test of time? We’ll see … but hey, they can’t possibly be worse than Junie B. Jones books (which are not allowed in our house!).
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss
March 2nd, 2010I’m so glad that schools around the country celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday today. He was a genius at teaching life’s lessons (tolerance, conservation, etc.) in a way children could understand. It doesn’t hurt for adults to be reminded of these lessons as well. In fact, when I turned 30 I received the book “Oh, the places you’ll go”. Since then I have often referred to the book to encourage me when I’m afraid or feeling down. So sit down with a plate of green eggs and ham this morning, and raise your glass of orange seuss, I mean juice, to salute this extraordinary man!
Is it me, or does it seem odd …
February 26th, 2010to hear birds chirping again in Northeast Ohio in February when there is like 10 inches of snow on the ground? My husband said the other day he saw a flock of geese flying back north. Are they just confused because it’s been unseasonably cold in the south? I thought the buzzards were the first to return to the area when they arrive in Hinckley on March 15. I don’t know, it just seems weird to me.
Bruce Springsteen exhibit extended at Rock Hall
February 26th, 2010If you haven’t seen the exhibit yet but want to, you should know it’s been extended until the end of 2010. As you know, I’m a big Springsteen fan. And although the Rock Hall of Fame is only about 45 minutes from me, I haven’t been there yet. Basically because I need a time to go by myself. I’ve only been to the museum twice, but I don’t feel it’s very kid-friendly. And if my husband comes with me, we’d need to get a sitter, which would make the already pricey admission ($22 for adults, or $18 if you’re a Northeast Ohio resident with ID) even more expensive. I’m curious what fans think of it …
Speaking of Springsteen, the other night I was in my husband’s car (with the XM radio which he did renew after the initial 90-day free period, which helps feed my Springsteen fix) with E Street Radio on of course and I heard the Bob Dylan song “I want you.” I actually sat in the car until the song finished. I swear I hadn’t heard that song in well over 20 years yet I still remembered half the words. I immediately came home to see if I could download it on iTunes, which I couldn’t, but I saw it was on YouTube. I rarely visit YouTube so I was surprised and delighted to see so many rare Springsteen songs there (I can’t actually call them “videos” because, for example, “I want you” shows only a picture of Springsteen from the ’70s while the song plays — but hey, that’s good enough for me!). I haven’t had time to watch/listen to the other ones, but I’m sure looking forward to doing that!!