Thankful Thursday

Hi, everyone. First of all, thoughts and prayers to all who were affected by Harvey and all who are lie in the path of Irma, including our friends and part-time neighbors on Hilton Head Island.

Last night, a good friend and I met for an Author Night at Gramercy, a new independent bookstore in Central Ohio. Following a great conversation at an upscale fast food restaurant, we were treated to a wonderful book reading/conversation with Julia Keller, author of the Bell Elkins series. Before her novel-writing days... and before her Chicago Tribune days, Julia wrote for the Columbus Dispatch. I loved her Dispatch columns and had forgotten just how darn smart she is.

It was a perfectly lovely evening with a dear friend, discovering a new bookstore while listening to a talented writer.

An evening to remember. An evening for which I am most grateful.

Got a Book to Share?

Built by Don Davis

If so, our neighborhood has a wonderful place for it.

Today's a pretty special Thankful Thursday post... because it's all about our neighborhood's new Little Free Library!!!

This has been in the works for months, with our civic association taking the initial lead in this project. One of our very own built this beautiful library, and several residents stepped up as co-stewards.

Last Saturday, we opened our library with a ribbon cutting ceremony! The weather was gorgeous, the turnout was great, and the mood was joyous. As you can see in the second photo below, our first books were put in by our youngest readers.  :)

Photos courtesy of Rosemary Davis   :)

Our LFL is on the official LFL World Map! You can find it pretty easily by entering the 43147 zip. If you're ever near Huntington Hills in Pickerington we'd love for you to stop by and visit.

Oh, one last thing before I sign off. I just can't resist this American-Gothic-like photo of library builder Don and hubby Tom on hole-digging, post-installing day.  :)

Have a great day!

an OUT OF THIS WORLD Thankful Thursday

Hi, everyone!

Now that the Mother's Day SAS4Kids cards have been shipped to Nationwide Children's, I'm turning my attention to cards for dads and special guys.

Today's card was inspired by the latest MFT Sketch. As you can see, I've flipped the sketch.

Distress Ink core papers; Neenah Soler white
Lawn Fawn out of this world images and sentiment, stamped in SU night of navy
image colored with Prismacolor pencils and embellished with Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents
Simon Says Stamp stacked stars die; SU oval stitched die
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Ranger multi medium matte; foam backing

The current Shopping Our Stash Back to Basics Challenge, which is to use a fussy cutting element. I'm hoping this little card counts. I did use dies for the star background and the stitched oval. However, the little astronaut was definitely fussy cut. Can I get an OK from the SOS Team

Thankful Thursday

Today, I'm thankful for series finales that get it right. It seems we hear about lots of finales that don't quite cut it. The Sopranos, Seinfeld, and Lost come to mind. Making a great send off of a fan favorite show must be an incredibly difficult thing to do. But, the folks at Bates Motel really knocked it out of the park. It was a pitch-perfect ending. Seriously well done.

Parting Thoughts

Headed out of town this weekend to visit a good friend. So, I'll most likely be off line the next few days.

So, have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Summer Reading at PPL

Hi, everyone! A funny thing happened on the way to writing this post.

So, you may remember that I try to build my retirement days around the word CREATE -- crafting, reading, exercising, assisting, traveling, and/or embracing. This morning, when trying to get a few things done before heading out for a library volunteer gig, I told hubby that it was tough fitting everything in. His reply was vintage hubby: "Maybe you should've chosen a shorter word." Later, when resting on the couch after returning home from the library, I countered that I should have chosen a word with the letter N -- N for napping, that is.   :)

Thankful Thursday

Summer activities are in full swing at the Pickerington Library, which means volunteer opportunities abound. Today, two of us signed up kids and awarded prizes for the Summer Reading Program. What fun!

Today, I am thankful for:

• patrons that bring their little ones to public libraries,
• librarians who continue to find creative ways to attract young readers, and
• being available to lend a helping hand.

Books & Movies & Such 

My first blog was Scrapping with Purpose, a blog primarily dedicated to card making for Operation Write Home. When retiring, I decided to start a new blog -- one with a broader take on life. Well, it seems old habits are hard to break, and about all my posts have focused on card making. But, today's the day when that changes.  :)

with PPL Staff Member Colleen

Leisure reading, book clubs, and library events have become favorite pastimes. This past Saturday, the Pickerington Public Library hosted its annual Teen Book Fest -- an event in which tweens, teens, and their parents interacted with 21 of their favorite authors. 

The keynote was delivered by Gene Luen Yang. In the presentation, Mr. Yang discussed the need for diverse books. During the talk, he challenged audience members to be diverse in our reading selections by:

• reading about characters and life experiences different from ourselves and our own experiences,
• reading about topics about which we have little or no knowledge, and
• reading books in different forms/styles than our typical selections.

This really struck a chord with me. I tend to gravitate towards fiction. Favorite authors include Toni Morrison and Mark Twain. (Talk about diversity, right?) But, recent selections seem to fit the diversity criteria outlined by Mr. Yang.

• Middlesex by Jeffrey Euginedes
• The Witches by Stacy Schiff and Dead Wake by Erik Larson
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

I must say I have really enjoyed these diversions. Going to have to remember to vary my reading selections on a more regular basis. 

Parting Thoughts

Next post is likely to involve a card. Have the seeds of an idea for a couple of challenges sprouting in my head.  :)

In the meantime, our Words 2 Craft By New Beginnings Challenge is in full swing. If you have a wedding, graduation, retirement, new baby, new dad in the works, this might be a perfect challenge for you.

Until next time, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

A New PPL Book Club!

August 21, 2015

Please click on the video below for information about a new Pickerington Public Library book club that is open to readers of all ages!

Book Club Selections

• September 2015: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• October 2015: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• November 2015: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
• December 2015: The Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg

Ways to Participate

• Meetings will be held on the third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM, starting on September 16. If you live in the Pickerington area and would like to reserve a copy of TKAM, stop by the library or call 614-837-4104 (ext 221). To visit the PPL Web site, please click here.
• If you do not live in the area but would like to join us in an online discussion, please check back. We are working to have an option in place to do just that in the next week or so.

Discussion Questions

Here are a few general questions to ponder as you read one of our selected books and/or watch its film adaptation. Of course, future discussions will include more book-specific questions.

• Book vs. Film  On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, how would you rate the book? The film?
• Book vs. Film  Which did you do first: read the book or see the movie? Would you have preferred that this order had been different? Why?
• Overview   What was the message/spirit/emotion of the book? Do you feel the movie captured this message/spirit/emotion?
• General Impressions  What part of the book did you enjoy the most? Was this your favorite scene in the movie?
• General Impressions    Have you read the book/seen the movie more than once? If yes, how has your impression of the book/movie changed over time?
• Plot  Did the movie adaptation contain changes from the book’s content? Why do you think these changes were made, and how did you feel about them?
• Characters  In general, did you like the casting choices made to portray the book’s characters?
• Characters   Specifically, which character was your favorite in the book? What did you think about the portrayal of that character in the film?
• Characters  [for older films] If a modern version of the book were being filmed today, what actors would you cast to portray the book’s characters?