Monthly Archives: July 2024

Thanks For The Good Reads, Francine Pascal

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If you were a young girl in the eighties or nineties, odds are pretty good you read at least one book from the Sweet Valley High Series. This series followed teenage twin sisters Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield. The two girls lived in a fictional town in California called Sweet Valley and the books follow them and their friends through all kinds of drama and fun.

These books have been on my mind since reading about author Francine Pascal who died Sunday at the age of 92. She created the series and authored the first twelve books before going on to oversee ghost writers who stretched the series to a total of 181 books over twenty years.

I was already a reader when I discovered the series in the late eighties and was quickly hooked. I collected many and borrowed some from the library. Somewhere in this house there is a tote filled with these once treasures paperbacks.

The series inspired some spin offs as well as a tv show that ran for four seasons in the late nineties. I don’t recall reading any of the others and the tv show was awful but the kids at Sweet Valley High entertained me for several years before I discovered other authors and deeper stories.

I can’t be the only one who can say that these books kept me reading at an age when a lot of kids stop reading at all. I wonder if Francine Pascal had any idea what sort of influence her books would have on an entire generation of young readers. It may seem like a silly little series but what Francine Pascal achieved is so much more than the sum of 181 paperback books.

I bet there are a lot of readers out there who can thank Francine Pascal for their love of books and storytelling. I know I can.

Meet Spiny

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Meet Spiny. He resides in the vestibule of a Twinsburg, Ohio Chinese restaurant.

This creation comes from artist Bill Starcher, a retired steelworker who transforms unusual materials into art including old silverware and even tires. This piece is made of spoons, forks and knives!

At ten feet long, this stainless steel spinosaurus is quite striking. The sign says his mouth and eyes even light up. How fun!

A quick glance at his Facebook and Instagram pages reveals that Mr Starcher believes his art is meant to be touched, embraced and even climbed on. It’s meant to be enjoyed by anyone who wishes to engage with it. What a delightful and generous philosophy!

We actually stumbled into this sculpture when we stopped here for lunch on our way from the Christmas Story House to the Learned Owl Book Shop. The true purpose of the weekend was to see the Monet exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Obviously, fine art museums are a place to look and not touch. Rightfully so. Many of the pieces they own are priceless works of art that are centuries old. Decorum and respect for the art are vital to a successful museum trip that doesn’t end in your being escorted into museum jail.

Yet, this idea that public art can be durable and engaged with is pretty cool. I’m grateful that Mr Starcher shares his creativity with the world. Look for his Facebook and Instagram pages by searching Bill Starcher Art.

Fall Fever In Mid Summer

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The urge to transition from summer into fall is becoming intense. This is never a surprise given how much I prefer fall over summer but it’s surprising that I’m already thinking about it.

I typically make it to Labor Day before indoor decor transitions to pumpkins and plaids, woodsy aromas and piles of recipes for soups and baked goods. It’s normally late September before I pull out a few Halloween decorations and begin stockpiling mums, asters and pumpkins on the front porch like some sort of pumpkin spice emergency may lie ahead.

And yet, here we are.

We’ve recently had a couple of mornings that felt like fall. Low sixties with blue skies and a slight rustle in the trees feel refreshing enough to trick you into believing summer will be over soon.

I have already started a stack of movies, books and tv shows for fall and am thinking about recipes. I’ve been looking for some vintage amber glassware and am wishing I had planted some pumpkins. How fun would it be to have your own backyard pumpkin patch?

I always say that half the fun is in the planning and anticipation. I suppose this will give me plenty of time to be ready!!

The Learned Owl Book Shop

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Hudson is a pretty-as-a-picture town in northeastern Ohio. Tree lined streets, cute shops and plenty of greenspace will drawn you in and make you want to stay. At least that’s the effect it had on me. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to dwell here. Instead, we were there to check out a bookstore and pick up some chocolates on the way home.

The Learned Owl Book Shop has been around since 1968 and offers books for all ages on three floors. It’s a charming shop filled with bestsellers as well as some harder to find titles that you didn’t know you needed until they caught your eye here. 

We went here because I liked the name. When we got there, I liked the sign. When we went inside, I liked the total package.

It’s not always fair to judge a book by its cover or a store by its sign. It’s awfully nice, though, when the inside lives up to the outside! Find the Learned Owl on Hudson’s Main Street and learn more about them on their website!

Glimmer

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There are glimmers everywhere. Glimmers of hope the weekend is near. Glimmers of ideas that could change your entire day. Glimmers of opportunity to change your whole life.

And yes, glimmers of sunset over the farm down the road.

A glimmer may not be enough to start a fire but it could be enough to get you through and give you the start you need.

Morning Musings In Nature

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To wake up and find a bee frolicking in flowers, covered in pollen and joyfully buzzing from one flower to the next is pure and utter happiness. When it happens on a cool Ohio summer morning against the backdrop of a pastel blue sky, it feels like a miracle.

When the breeze gently rustles the leaves of a nearby tree where a woodpecker feeds its young, all the world feels fresh. The small bunny hopping past, happily munching on grass lends optimism to an otherwise dark and confusing world. 

Life abounds when you’re in nature but when you live in the country and are surrounded by it all the time, it’s easy to take for granted. It’s easy to forget how lucky you are to step outside your door and see trees so thick they block the sunrise and how special it is to have fresh air to breathe and little toads hopping through the flower beds. It’s easy to take for granted the tawny brown deer that wander through the yard and the colorful butterflies that flutter by. The buzz of a hummingbird, the chatter of squirrels, the sounds of a summer morning can quickly become backdrop rather than the incredible, beautiful, inspiring life giving force that they really are. 

What a shame it would be to never stop and appreciate these things. Today, let’s learn from the bee. The bee that’s so covered in pollen and so joyously moving through this world that there’s no time for trouble and no time for anything but the flowers. 

Let’s stop and smell the flowers.