South Bloomfield news
The Pickaway County Master Gardeners invite you to their annual plant sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 17, at the Pickaway County Library parking lot, 1150 N. Court St., Circleville.
Annuals, perennials, herbs and planted containers will be for sale.
Hope all of you enjoy your Mother’s Day Celebration. A favorite day of Hallmark, florists, and wireless phones.
I love to go shopping late on Saturday eve or early Sunday morn and watch those who don’t have a clue what to get but trying to find something to keep themselves out of trouble.
Too often folks who have older parents could save themselves time and money by just spending a little extra time with that loved one that may not be able to do much any longer because of failing health.
Planting flowers, sprucing up something around their home, purchasing some stamps and a box of cards for them to send is a nice gift. Maybe just doing a chore that they can’t do like washing windows, cleaning a closet can mean so much to someone who sits in their home most of the time.
Often just being a little kinder the other 51 Sundays of the year is a nice gift.
I know being a caregiver is not easy. It is easy to become short tempered and judge unfairly because we don’t want that loved one aging and not being what they were when we were young.
I will try to think of my own written advice when my fuse is so short and I am tempted to have a cane fight with Mom.
I think how often she strives to forgive all of her six ducklings and to weigh her words as to not offend. I would have done hurt to all of us by now, LOL.

circlevilleherald.1upmonitor.com

When she makes snow inside the Riffe Center’s Capitol Theatre, Olivia Langwasser will have a far easier task than another one she has faced in her young life.
Olivia has fought cancer for two years.
A sign of her battle: the new head of hair she is growing.
Children like Olivia explain why, in 2002, magician Jon Petz created “Miracles & Magic,” a variety show that benefits Adventures for Wish Kids — an agency that organizes activities for youngsters with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
Olivia, 7, will help Petz create a snowfall this weekend in the theater.
The latest event, the sixth, will also feature Ed Alonzo, a comedian, an illusionist and an actor perhaps best-known for the role of Max on
Saved by the Bell; Mike Caveney, a magician from California; and Charlie Frye, a vaudeville-style juggler and magician from Las Vegas.
Petz, a performer who also produces the show, hails from central Ohio.
Last year, about 1,400 people attended “Miracles & Magic” — which collected $80,000 for the charity.
“Not only do our kids get a remarkable adventure, but we also raise money for them,” said Jeffrey Damron, executive director of Adventures for Wish Kids.
The show isn’t meant just for children and families served by the organization.
The two-hour program, Petz said, is staged to appeal to any family.
“We’re taking the approach of comedy magic this year,” he said, “so there are going to be a lot of laughs.”
Laughs are certainly appreciated by youngsters such as Olivia.
On Aug. 31, 2006, just a few days after Olivia started kindergarten, her parents were told she had an acute, high-risk form of lymphoblastic leukemia.
She has since received numerous chemotherapy treatments — and spent about 100 nights in the hospital, according to her mother.
With her disease in remission, Olivia undergoes a spinal tap with chemotherapy every other month in the hospital and takes medication every night at home.

dispatch.com

Just before the NCAA basketball tournament tipped off Thursday, male radio listeners in and around Eugene, Ore., were greeted by a message from the Oregon Urology Institute.
Their pitch sounded a lot like this: Come in for a vasectomy, stay for the basketball.
Forget about whether a No. 13 seed, such as Siena, could pull off a bracket-busting upset. Administrators at the Oregon Urology Institute suggested a procedure that could create an entirely different state of upset.
That, my friends, exemplifies the true meaning of March Madness.
Most of us just feel like we’ve been kicked, uh, down there after our NCAA brackets have been hit by such outcomes as San Diego over UConn.
“When March Madness approaches, you need an excuse to stay at home in front of the big screen,” the copy for the clinic’s radio ad read. “Get your vasectomy at Oregon Urology Institute the day before the tournament starts.
“It’s Snip City.”
The first 24 customers reportedly received “premium” vasectomy… uh… packages for visiting Snip City. While most of us would prefer to watch the games while indulging in a slice or two of pizza rather than a cut of another kind, the Oregon Urology Institute tried to make its experience as painless as possible.
After undergoing the 10- to 15-minute procedure, patients were sent home to recuperate for four days. As new residents of Snip City, patients were treated to free pizza delivery, a batch of sports magazines and a bag of frozen peas.
The frozen peas might seem to be a curious selection for a Get Well grab bag, but it’s doubtful any patients will be including them with dinner. The Jolly Green Giant’s real value can be found when applied as a cold compress to alleviate scrotal swelling.
“The frozen peas are malleable enough that you can get them right in there and get the swelling down,” Oregon Urology Institute administrator Terry FitzPatrick told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

tradingmarkets.com

The Notre Dame de Namur University gala honors Marie Gallo with the fifth annual NDNU Community Spirit Award. The evening includes dinner, dancing and a live and silent auction. Proceeds from the gala benefit the school’s Community Spirit Scholarship Fund. $175, tables of 10 $1,750. 6 p.m. March 29. Walter Gleason Center, Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont. (650) 508-4161, www.ndnu.edu/gala.
Invitation of the weekGateway to India Cal Shakes’ annual gala includes dining, music, dance and silent and live auctions. Festive formal and Indian attire. $250-$500, tables $3,500-$5,000. RSVP by Thurs. 6 p.m. March 8. The Rotunda, 300 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. (510) 548-3422, Ext. 125, www.calshakes.org .
Send hard-copy invitations to Benefits, Style section, The San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103. Fax: (415) 543-6956.

sfgate.com