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Monthly Archives: September 2012
Clifford the Big Red Dog feted on 50th birthday
By LEANNE ITALIE
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — School kids sang “Happy Birthday” and Scholastic unfurled a huge banner worthy of a big red dog from the roof of its headquarters Monday to fete Clifford, the beloved book and TV character, for his 50 years of nudging kids to read.
This image released by Scholastic shows first-graders celebrating Clifford the Big Red Dog’s 50th anniversary, along with his creator Norman Bridwell, center rear, his daughter Elizabeth, left, and Scholastic CEO Dick Robinson at Scholastic’s headquarters in New York, Monday, Sept. 24. (AP Photo/Scholastic, Stuart Ramson)
His creator, 84-year-old Norman Bridwell, took questions from a few dozen first- and second-graders during a webcast beamed live into more than 5,000 classrooms around the country from the party held outside the downtown building as tourists snapped photos from atop open-air double-decker buses stuck in traffic.
And Bridwell’s real-life daughter, the all-grown-up Emily Elizabeth, spoke to reporters of her special place in publishing history as the inspiration for the perky, blond girl who shares her life — and 90 books worth of adventures — with the gawky, big-hearted Clifford.
She was just a year old when her father, a struggling artist from Indiana, and his wife, aptly named Norma, were trying to eke out a living in New York. It wasn’t going well when Norma suggested he try his hand at illustrating children’s books.
Norma came up with the name Clifford, based on an imaginary friend she had as a girl.
Bieber mom Pattie Mallette writes of painful past
By LEANNE ITALIE
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Pattie Mallette was 18, living in a home for pregnant girls after years of unrelenting sex abuse and depression when she gave birth to a boy she thought she’d name Jesse, a boy whose first cry sounded like a song.
Well, the baby seemed more like a Justin after he popped out. And his last name isn’t Mallette.
It’s Bieber.
You’d have to be firmly under a rock not to know at least a little bit about Justin Bieber’s YouTube-to-riches story, his loyal fan base of
This book cover image released by Revell Books shows “Nowhere but Up: The Story of Justin Bieber’s Mom,” an autobiography by Pattie Mallette. The book was released on Sept. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Revell)
Beliebers, 28 million Twitter followers or the hordes of screaming girls who pack his tours.
What you probably don’t know are his mother’s struggles, starting with the painful divorce of her parents, through years of emotional turmoil and hard partying that made school a blur, and her eventual turn to God after a suicide attempt about six months before Justin was conceived.
Mallette, 37, has laid bare her past in a new book, “Nowhere but Up: The story of Justin Bieber’s Mom,” out recently from the inspirational publisher Revell. It’s a powerful, plainspoken story, written in collaboration with A.J. Gregory, a mother herself. A portion of proceeds have been promised to shelters like the one that harbored Mallette in Canada when her mother kicked her out of the house after she got pregnant.
I Pinky Swear
“Dad, you promise not to tell?”
“Yes.”
“Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
A Pinky Swear, in my house, is forever. It is an unwritten rule in my house that pinky swears have a half-life just north of Uranium-238. Just like how I never was able to figure out how my kids learned to open childproof containers, I don’t know where they learned about using a pinky swear as a bond? But sometime around the period they started talking, they started making me pinky swear to things (it must be one of those characteristics inherent to kids, like their hatred of baths). To quantify the magnitude of the Pinky Swear, take a ‘Cross My Heart Hope to Die Stick a Needle in My Eye’, multiply that by a Knight Templar Blood Oath, and add in a dozen Scout’s Honors and you have how much a Pinky Swear means in my house. So if there is information deemed valuable enough by my children, they will ask to notarize the telling of that information with a pinky swear.
The Ephrata Fair is Under Way
Dane Horning, 5, of Denver, center, strolls through the cow tent tuesday afternoon with his twin brothers, Conner, left, and Logan, 2, at the Ephrata Fair. (Photo by Marty Heisey)
The Ephrata Fair has two hearts.
There’s the intersection of State and Main streets, the center of the big downtown hub of games, concessions and up-down-around and maybe-that-second-milkshake-
And there’s Grater Memorial Park, where the livestock stamp their feet, nibble hay and create a selection of rural smells.
That’s where 9-year-old Elise Balmer of Lititz was hard at work Tuesday evening, scrubbing the muddy hooves of Mary, her 9-month-old winter calf, with a bright-red brush and a yellow bucket.
Mary, a black-and-white Holstein, will compete Thursday in the dairy cattle division of the fair’s animal shows.
“I think she will probably do pretty well,” said Elise, who earned her first blue ribbons this year in Lampeter.
Standing There
This summer I noticed a noticeable change in my kids. I began to notice my kids’ interest in doing things for themselves. Up until now, I have been standing next to them to help with lunches, tying shoes, scaring away monsters from their rooms, and whatever else it is they needed. I was hoping it might have been a passing whim (like when they ‘had’ to have Silly Bandz) but it hasn’t been. While I have have tried to stay in the present, all around me time continued on at breakneck speed with my daughters riding shotgun toward the future.
Throughout their lives, I have stayed close enough to my kids without hovering over them. I was content to let them fall so they could learn how to get back up again. I didn’t use the kid collars to keep them close to me in the mall (make them as colorful as you want, they’re still leashes). I have been a dad who encouraged them playing something that did not include me. Yet, with all the distance I allowed between us, when my girls turned around they knew I would be close by. When they called my name I came running. I have contorted myself into positions that should have put me in a walker just so we could play Hide and Go Seek together. When they had a question, they asked and I answered. On more than one occasion I have heard them playing in another room only to hear the oldest tell her younger sister, “Go ask Dad”.
Flank steak and grilled romaine: No muss, no fuss
Submitted by Ann Fulton
Flank steak gets high marks for ease of preparation and great flavor. Plus, it’s inexpensive compared to many other cuts of beef, and I like what can be done with the leftovers.
When I first served this grilled romaine salad with our favorite flank steak recipe, it occurred to me that this is the perfect meal for company. How easy is it to flash-grill some romaine lettuce halves and strips of prosciutto, then top with the make-ahead dressing while my husband tends to the flank steak?
Incredibly easy! Yet while this meal is basic at its core, a few interesting twists transform it into something rather glamorous.
My favorite part of this meal is how it all works together. The clever salad completes the meal and can be prepared in the time the steak takes to rest. The kicker is the grilled prosciutto. I first tried this as an experiment, and it was a flavorful hit. By the way, it works with bacon, too.
Grilled chicken would pair beautifully with the salsa and salad, too. Icing on the cake? Hardly any dishes to wash!
GRILLED FLANK STEAK WITH GORGONZOLA AND TOMATO SALSA
Grilled Flank Steak With Gorgonzola and Tomato Salsa
Flanks steaks (per your serving needs; plan for leftovers)
Montreal steak seasoning, or an all-natural blend (see note)
Grape tomatoes, halved (approximately one pint for every 6-8 people)
Greeked-Out Gorgonzola Dressing (recipe follows)
Chopped chives or parsley, for garnish
Sprinkle seasoning over both sides of the steaks. Allow steaks to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to grilling.
Local nonprofit organization holds annual Remembrance Gathering for bereaved parents, families on National Remembrance Day
October 15th is National Remembrance Day for families who have experienced the death of a baby. In observance of this day, and in honor of all the babies that are so deeply loved and missed, Sweet Pea Project is holding its 3rd Annual Remembrance Gathering. This event is free and open to the community, but registration is requested. Registration will remain open until October 14, but parents who register before October 1st will receive two complimentary Remembrance T Shirts. Register online and learn more about this event at www.sweetpeaproject.org/
The Remembrance Gathering will be held in the grassy field in front of the amphitheater at Long’s Park in Lancaster at 6pm. Guests are encouraged to arrive between 5:00-5:30. During that time, volunteers will be handing out biodegradable balloons and compostable seed paper. Come early to ensure time to write a small note to your baby, which will be placed in the balloon before inflation. After the balloons burst, the notes will fall and be reclaimed by the earth. Eventually wildflowers will sprout from the love letters written to our children.
State Museum to Host Annual HomeSchool Day on Sept. 26
Harrisburg – The State Museum of Pennsylvania will host its fourth annual HomeSchool Day, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 26, offering a special program tailored for families and community organizations that teach in a home setting.
HomeSchool Day visitors can choose from a variety of activities based on their needs and interests. Drawing from The State Museum’s vast historical, natural and scientific collections, curators and educators will showcase Pennsylvania with exhibit tours, gallery chats and demonstrations highlighting the state’s rich heritage.
“This program is an excellent opportunity for home-schooled students to get to know the museum and its collections,” says David W. Dunn, museum director. “This year we have added a session on the many resources of the Pennsylvania State Archives, also a part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, located next door to the museum.”
