to 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.
Archive for February, 2010
Is it me, or does it seem odd …
Friday, February 26th, 2010Bruce Springsteen exhibit extended at Rock Hall
Friday, 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!!
Imagine the possibilities …
Thursday, February 25th, 2010of living on just 2-3 hours of sleep a day! Today I met a man who does just that. He works from home during the day, watching his infant son and napping for an hour or two in the afternoon with him. Then he works from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., sleeping for an hour when he gets home, then waking to see his wife off to work. The man, probably in his 40s, said he’s been like this since he was about 10. He’s been the study of hospital research, but I guess he’s just one of those anomalies who can live like that. Boy, what I could do with another 5-6 hours a day!!! I’m envious!!
Now that’s a snowman!
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
I may be an artist, but I have never, ever been able to build a “proper” snowman. That’s why I was so impressed with this giant snowman on Castle Blvd. in West Akron! (Even more impressive was that the builder used this as a fundraiser for Akron Children’s Hospital.)
I told you I have a chocolate problem
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010This is bad. Okay, so everytime I make pancakes, I put chocolate chips in them. Well, today I went to make pancakes but forgot we had (gasp!) run out of chocolate chips. I couldn’t not have chocolate in them, so I took a bunch of miniature peanut butter cups my mother-in-law had given us. I chopped them up into small pieces, threw them in the batter, and voila, Peanut Butter Cup Pancakes. Yes, I know I have a problem. But I’ll tell you — those were some tasty pancakes!
(500) Days of Summer … haven’t we all been there?
Sunday, February 21st, 2010So I kept hearing that (500) Days of Summer was a really good movie. But I knew that the two main characters didn’t end up together and I didn’t know if I wanted to see a movie that had what I thought was sure to be an unhappy ending. Finally, curiousity got the better of me and I rented it the other night. But I must confess that before watching it I read the complete summary on imdb.com so I wouldn’t be taken off guard. I wasn’t in the mood for surprises, especially ones that would make me sad. The basic plot is that the boy, Tom, meets the girl, Summer, and believes she’s “the one”. She, on the other hand, knows he’s not and just wants to go out for fun. The thing about the movie is that it will ring really true to anyone who’s ever been in a relationship with the one we thought was “the one”. We get so delusional and will do anything to make things as good as they were (or we thought they were) in the beginning, though it’s clear to everyone else that things aren’t going to work out. The nice thing about watching it with my husband is that it reminded me of how completely different things are when you both know you’ve found “the one”.
If they really want to make driving safer …
Sunday, February 21st, 2010
… they should ban driving with those helium-filled balloons. If those crazy, swaying, out-of-control bearers of good wishes aren’t a driving obstruction, I don’t know what is. (If you do want to take your life into your hands and buy some, you might luck out by having a Dollar Tree store near you that sells them for $1 each. They aren’t super-fancy, but they do the trick. For $5 you can have a nice little balloon bouquet to give someone, if you make it there alive.)
Indoor miniature golf lights up area malls
Sunday, February 21st, 2010
I rarely go to Summit Mall, so I was a bit surprised when my hairdresser mentioned taking her nieces to the glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course there, next to Dillard’s. Last month I checked it out with my daughters and my BFF and her daughter. My daughters got a kick out of it, but my BFF said if we really wanted the indoor glow-in-the-dark miniature golf experience to go to Firefly’s in Southpark Mall (Strongsville). Our family trekked to Southpark yesterday, and yes, Firefly’s is 10x better than the Lunar Mini-Golf at Summit Mall. The only problem was the group of six playing in front of us. Groups are supposed to be limited to 4, which was the first issue (and no, my husband and I didn’t play, so our group was just three children). Second, they waited until every single person finished before moving on to the next hole, instead of continually moving. Third, when they were done, sometimes they remained standing on our “green” while watching the next hole, instead of getting their behinds off the course. Fourth, their slowness caused a backup of three more groups behind us, though this family seemed oblivious to it all. The other nice thing about Firefly’s is that for just $1 you could do the course a second time (we passed on that). It’s funny because no one I have talked to in this area ever even heard of glow-in-the-dark indoor mini golf, although apparently for a while there was one right by Chapel Hill Mall. Anyway, if you want to give the kids a fun time indoors, put on some white clothes and head to Firefly’s.
Why isn’t the Valley booming?
Sunday, February 21st, 2010When I moved to Akron in the mid-’80s, the Merriman Valley was the place to go. I wasn’t going to the bars, which were the real hotspots, but I remember the big fish tank in McDonald’s; eating at Crocker’s, G.D. Ritzy’s, Bangkok Thai and Jackie McConnell’s; renting VHS movies from Dairy Mart; and shopping at Presentations. I know trendy spots fall in and out of favor (think the Flats) but there is no reason the Valley shouldn’t boom again. The construction which really hurt a lot of businesses several years ago is done. The highly popular Towpath Trail runs right through it. Why can’t some businesses capitalize on that, like ones in Peninsula have? I just love the area so much and want it to thrive again, but this time based on nature and the arts rather than nightlife.
Bowling for a penny a pin
Sunday, February 21st, 2010
I don’t know about other parts of the country, but growing up in a suburb of Cleveland meant you grew up going to a bowling alley. Everyone’s parents were on at least one league and you were encouraged to learn as well. Alleys were smoky, there were no bumpers to prevent your balls from going in the gutter, and you had to keep score with a pencil, a knowledge of scoring, and a basic ability to add. Needless to say, things have changed! If you want your kids to experience the modern age of bowling for a moderate price, go to Legend Lanes (formerly North Lanes) on State Road in Cuyahoga Falls. On Sunday mornings from 9 to noon, it costs just $1 a game, and from 1 p.m. to close, you only pay a penny a pin. But don’t go around 2:30 on a Sunday if you want one of the 16 lanes with bumpers. We waited for 53 minutes. Yikes! By 4 p.m. they were pretty much all empty, so that’s probably a good time to go. It is a bit odd playing in a lane that has bumpers. If it weren’t for the bumpers, I don’t know if my son and daughter would have knocked any of the pins down (they were throwing/dropping the balls in slow motion like they do in the comics). And I felt like I was cheating when I threw what would have been a gutter ball and it richocheted off the bumper and knocked down nine pins instead. Still, it’s more fun to knock down pins than not whether you’re an adult or a kid! And it is nice to not get all that secondhand smoke and have the computer do all the scoring for you. So if you haven’t been bowling since you were a kid, you might want to give it a try!