Silver Ladle, Cincinnati OH

I had the joy and honor yesterday of taking my daughter to lunch in downtown Cincinnati, since she works downtown and I was there for ICRS at the Duke Energy Convention Center. She chose the spot: Silver Ladle, a "fast casual restaurant specializing in homemade soups, chilis, gourmet sandwiches, and salads" (or so says their website, after I corrected the spelling and capitalization).

We ordered within seconds of entering the restaurant and had no trouble (at 12:30 pm) finding a table. I ordered and enjoyed the "Silver Ladle salad" (seemed appropriate) and a cup of Loaded Potato soup. Good. Simple. Straightforward. And I found a quarter in the drain tray of the soda fountain dispenser. All I do is win.

Silver Ladle is located in the downtown Cincinnati central business district, on Sixth Street between Main and Walnut.

ICRS, Cincinnati, OH

I've been enjoying a whirlwind week of books and more at the annual International Christian Retail Show at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati this week.

Not as large or as celebrity-studded as past shows I've attended, it has still been a lot of fun...and not just for me.

It has been quite a ride already. I rode a chariot with Ben Hur (he's the guy on the left, above).

And I've connected with many friends I see only once or twice a year, such as award-winning novelist, Cynthia Ruchti (above),

Author/Diva Michelle Medlock Adams (who needs three names to contain all her awesomeness),

Author/blogger/conference director Edie Melson (who wedged her way into an interview ahead of ME, while I sat outside and waited and waited),

Author/blogger/speaker/sweetie Michelle Cox,

Distant cousin Eli "Small" Hochstetler (and owner/proprietor of the amazing Gospel Bookstore in Berlin, Ohio),

Actor/author/comedian/romance cover model Torry Martin, who tried to convince onlookers that he didn't enjoy my kiss,

Author/comedian/TV star/short person Rhonda Rhea (and her daughter Kaley, who I like much better), and more!

It has been a productive week for me, even though I wasn't provided a "handler" like Michelle Medlock Adams and Rhonda Medlock Rhea and others. I just don't rate that highly. Or pay that well. Maybe some day. The fun continues today. As soon as I get off this computer thingy.

The First Folio at Cleveland Public Library

I've been looking forward for quite some time to yesterday's adventure. I left Tuesday morning to drive to the Cleveland Public Library main branch on Superior Avenue where just the day before a touring display from the Folger Shakespeare Library arrived.

First of all, what a magnificent building the library occupies. Majestic. Beautiful. Startling, from top to bottom, in its graceful, elegant design.

Shakespeare exhibits are found on the first and third floors of the library. Part of the first floor is a Fourth Folio (below), not as valuable or important as a First Folio, but important in establishing the canon as it exists today.

I presented my ticket (obtained at no cost via an online reservation) and was shown into the "holy of holies," a small room where the First Folio was kept under glass and with an armed guard nearby. I was told going in not to lean on or touch the plexiglass case. So, of course, the first thing I did was touch the plexiglass case--and the guard was quick to correct me. Fortunately I didn't get kicked out. Unfortunately, photos of the First Folio were not allowed. It was opened to Shakespeare's most famous soliloquy, the "To be or not to be" passage in Hamlet. I took the time to read the entire soliloquy aloud (no one else was nearby); the four-hundred-year-old print was perfectly legible (though the misspelling of "than" as "then" stood out to me!). What an experience.

I spent just short of ninety minutes in all, perusing the many volumes and informative displays, including a 1647 volume of Fletcher and Beaumont's Comedies and Tragedies, opened to the title page of The Woman's Prize or The Tamer Tamed, Fletcher's sequel to The Taming of the Shrew. Amazing.

While no one pointed me out as the author of the soon-to-be-released The Bard and the Bible, I'm sure they knew. Nonetheless, it was a delight to read Hamlet from a text that (though no one could tell me the Folger number of that particular Folio) was printed a mere seven years after the Bard died, and no more than a quarter century after Hamlet was written. "Such stuff as dreams are made on."

Oxford Great Strides Walk

What a great day we had last month (May 7) at the Oxford, Ohio, Great Strides walk to benefit cystic fibrosis research!

It was a beautiful day, weather-wise, and a beeeaaauutiful day, people-wise.

All the work of our family and the planning committee and others paid off wonderfully!

Once again, our efforts were buoyed by the music of the Worley Boys (above)!

So many people contributed their efforts. We can't possibly thank them enough.

Even "Swoop," the Miami U mascot, showed up, swooped, and made it a great day. And, most importantly, the combined efforts of participants raised $31,000 that day, $11,000 more than the goal! And in case you're heartbroken that you missed it, you can go here to support our efforts!

(photos courtesy of Megan Sackenheim)