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Rounding Third: A concert grand piano produces grand concerts

I had a love affair with a piano. A great big piano. For 11 fascinating years, I was the executive director of the award-winning, historic Struthers Library Theatre here in Warren. One of my best takeaways is how much I learned on that terrific job. And I got to know our piano – a splendid Steinway Concert Grand piano. Steinway has always been the gold standard for American pianos, and many are used around the world. Now a concert grand isn’t your everyday grand piano. A standard grand piano is about six feet long, give or take a few inches. The theater’s concert grand is ...

Savoring cheese month

I recently discovered that October is National Cheese Month. I must admit I do like cheese. There are so many kinds of cheese that it is impossible to list them all. In my refrigerator now I have mozzarella, pepper jack cheese, American cheese, sharp cheese, and dill Havarti. I use them all differently. When I make grilled cheese, I like American cheese with a couple small slices of pepper jack. I put a little mustard on the bread as well. When I make macaroni and cheese, I like to mix my cheeses to get the best flavor. There are cheeses made from cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and ...

Rounding Third: There’s a high price for procrastinating

A month ago, I spent a morning planning finances for 2025. Social Security hasn’t told us if we’re getting a raise, and I was already creating my spending plan for the new year? I was definitely looking for an area to save some bucks. The expenditures were chugging along as anticipated, until I got to the category “Storage Unit.” I looked at that figure - $175 quarterly – and decided NYET! NO MORE! I was paying $700 a year to avoid tackling the last of my mother’s stored items? Mom died eight years ago. Somehow, I have racked up $5600 in storage fees. How is that ...

View from Hickory Heights: Time for apples

I love the fall. Apples are my favorite fruit. Usually, I pick one out of the basket and eat it before I leave the orchard. The orchard I go to has samples to eat so you can pick out the type you want. One thing that I really appreciate about apples is their versatility. You can use them in so many ways. I have all sorts of recipes. They range from the very easy to the more difficult ones. Apple pie was a favorite of Don – that is after mincemeat. With Don’s birthday coming up I recall the mincemeat pies we received from his daughter Melanie who lives in Alaska. The first one she ...

Rounding Third: Summer, September and the season’s end

My daughter’s birthday is Sept. 21. We kiddingly used to call her the “last rose of summer.” “Autumnal equinox” just doesn’t have the same ring. My garden’s last summer roses, along with the zinnias, and verbenas, are trying to hang on. But the pumpkin I bought for the front steps means the seasons have officially changed. I never used to agree with the calendar, always wanting to eke out a few more weeks of summer, a few more celebrations of lunch or supper on the deck. I would fertilize for the last time in late August, and continue watering and deadheading, hopeful ...

View from Hickory Heights: Navigating the maps and AAA tour guides

Does the name Mercator mean anything to you? It should if you are between the ages of 60 - 90. They were found in all classrooms of that era – third or fourth grade through high school. They are the selection of maps that every classroom had. The teacher had an array of maps with the countries. He/She would pull down the one that was needed for a lesson. I recall using them during the Olympics to find the countries that were participating. By the time I taught sixth grade the maps were helplessly out of date. By then the Soviet Block was broken up and countries were renamed. The ...