Partygoers at First Night Akron this year can re-create the adventures of some great figures of biblical and literary history:

Jonah.

Pinocchio.

Capt. Ahab — well, his leg, anyway.

Like them, the First Night revelers will have the opportunity to enter the belly of a whale, albeit an inflatable plastic version.

The walk-through whale will be the centerpiece of the Air Aquarium, a new attraction at First Night Akron, the family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration in downtown Akron. The attraction at the John S. Knight Center will also feature aquatic-theme entertainment, including about 50 remote-control fish and shark balloons called Air Swimmers gliding through the air.

It’s all intended to be fun, of course, but there’s a serious aspect: This big blue whale was created as a teaching tool.

The whale was constructed this year by students in an advanced oceanography class at the University of Akron, using 3,000 square feet of 6-mil plastic, extra-sticky tape and a good deal of creativity. The beast is the size of a real blue whale, the largest creature known to have lived on Earth.

The blow-up whale is owned by the Akron-based National Museum of Education, whose director, Nick Frankovits, taught the course and oversaw the whale’s construction. The museum takes it to schools around the area for educational programs, said Gay Evans, the museum’s assistant director.

The whale was created over three days by 20 students, who tweaked plans created by oceanographer J. Mike Williamson of Wheelock College in Boston. Frankovits said Williamson helped them alter plans he’d created for building a blow-up humpback whale, a project that had been taken on by a previous oceanography class at the University of Akron.

The students named the whale Mike in honor of an ailing classmate, Michael Broyles.

(You can watch a video of the blue whale’s construction on YouTube at http://tinyurl.com/bluewhalevideo.)

The whale arrived at the Knight Center this month in a humble roll about 8 feet long and 1½ to 2 feet high. Once it was attached to a fan, though, the roll of plastic quickly ballooned into an imposing figure roughly 10 feet tall and 30 feet around at its widest point and about 110 feet long.

Frankovits said the whale can accommodate about 90 people, who enter through a slit in its side. The whale’s handlers try to take care that no one trips on the opening or pokes a hole in the plastic, although accidents happen.

“Any rips we have in here, we call them shark bites,” he said. The remedy for shark bites? More tape, which will be on hand at First Night, just in case.

The whale will help First Night visitors appreciate the enormity of a blue whale, Frankovits said. Visitors can also hear the sounds the whale makes and learn such facts as what it eats, and a curriculum will be available for teachers, he said.

The Air Aquarium is just one of nearly 100 exhibits, performances, craft opportunities, workshops and other activities that will fill indoor venues throughout downtown Akron during First Night. Metro buses will be available to shuttle partygoers between the sites.

The is the 17th year for First Night Akron, a visual and performing arts festival that brings the community downtown to welcome the new year. The First Night concept was born in Boston in 1976 and has since spread to 67 other cities across the Untied States.

Among the additions to First Night Akron this year is a harp workshop in Greystone Hall led by Holly’s Harps, a program of the Cincinnati arts organization Lyrica Inc. The organization will set up 30 children’s harps and introduce people to playing the instrument, said Sharon Gillberg, communications director of Downtown Akron Partnership, the organization that produces First Night.

Other new events include a dance in the Greystone Hall ballroom featuring music from the 1940s up to Lady Gaga, and performances by comic hypnotist Michael Oddo at the Civic Theatre and the Knight Center.

The First Night weddings will be back, with couples bringing in the new year by tying the knot or renewing their marriage vows. The ceremony will start shortly after 9 p.m. on the grand staircase of the Akron Civic Theatre.

Plenty of entertainment will be offered for the little ones, including a play area at the Shoppes at Akron Centre. Gillberg said toys donated by Step 2 for the event will be donated to Summit County Children Services after First Night.

The traditional Kids Fireworks Show will light up the sky at 9 p.m., preceded by a countdown show starting at 8:15 in front of Lock 3 Park on South Main Street. The grown-ups’ fireworks will begin at midnight, with a countdown show starting 15 minutes earlier.

And for those who want an insider’s view of First Night, it’s not too late to volunteer. Volunteers get free admission to events before or after their shift.

Interested people can fill out the application at www.firstnightakron.org/volunteers, or contact Jane Startzman at 330-535-3179 or jstartzman@akroncivic.com. Deadline for volunteering is Saturday.

Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.

Details

Event: First Night Akron.

When: 6 p.m. to midnight Monday, New Year’s Eve.

Where: Downtown Akron.

Admission: $10. First Night admission buttons are available in advance at sites throughout Summit County, including most Acme Fresh Market stores and participating FirstMerit bank branches. On New Year’s Eve, they will be available at Acme Fresh Markets until 8 p.m., at the Library Shop on Main and at the Akron Civic Theatre’s Stage Left Boutique.

Parking: Free at decks and lots throughout downtown.

Information: www.firstnightakron.org or 330-374-7690.

People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. The list ends New Year’s Day, but the charities’ needs do not. Please consider supporting the causes of your choice throughout the year.

Information about People Helping People and a list of causes already published can be found at www.ohio.com/charity.

Guardians Advocating Child Safety and Protection, 53 University Ave., fourth floor, Akron, OH 44308, is a proactive nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a safer environment for children.

GASP needs volunteers for a variety of tasks, such as participating in programs designed to protect children from dangerous situations, helping at fingerprinting/ID events, observing in court at the sentencing of sex offenders, educating children and parents at events and searching for missing children.

It also needs volunteers to help with fundraising and the marketing of GASP.

For information, call Debbie at 330-247-1402, email office@gasp123.org or visit www.gasp123.org.

Beacon Journal Charity Fund Inc., 333 S. Main St., Suite 319, Akron, OH 44308, helps provide orthodontic treatment for needy children who are not eligible for assistance from other public or private organizations. It also funds the Dr. Milton Rubin Oral Health Education Program for third-graders in the Akron and Summit County schools.

The organization is seeking monetary donations. For information, call Judy Burkett, 330-253-7700.

The Arc of Summit and Portage Counties, 3869 Darrow Road, Suite 109, Stow, OH 44224, is an advocacy agency for people with developmental disabilities. It is seeking donations of money for advocacy efforts and disability awareness materials; grocery store gift cards, to be given to individuals having financial difficulties; gift cards for organic grocery stores, to be given to individuals with special dietary needs; stamps for informational mailings and general office supplies.

The organization also needs volunteers to help with events.

For information, email Carol Cottrill at carol.cottrill@thearcneo.org.

The organization’s website is www.thearcneo.org.

People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. The list ends New Year’s Day, but the charities’ needs do not. Please consider supporting the causes of your choice throughout the year.

Information about People Helping People and a list of causes already published can be found at www.ohio.com/charity.

Kidney Foundation of Summit County, 750 Lafayette Drive, Akron, OH 44303, helps kidney patients who need assistance with prescriptions, utility bills, transportation to dialysis and education.

The organization is seeking monetary donations. Checks may be mailed.

For more information, call 330-864-1236 or email carolynruns@yahoo.com.

MCC Connections, 4080 Kidron Road, P.O. Box 19, Kidron, OH 44636, is a not-for-profit thrift shop raising funds for the relief, service and development work of the Mennonite Central Committee around the world. The shop strives to provide quality, affordable clothing and household items.

It is seeking the following:

• Donations of clothing, kitchen items, furniture, toys, plants, bedding, books, collectibles and antiques. Items should be clean, good quality and salable. Donations are accepted during store hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and until 8 p.m. Thursdays).

• Volunteers to process donations and prepare items for sale.

For more information, call Virgil, Cindy or Jenny at 330-857-7802 or email connections@zoominternet.net. The store’s website is http://thrift.mcc.org/shops/kidron-thrift-shop.

Here’s Hope Horse Farm, 2545 Northampton Road, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223, provides therapeutic horseback riding to children and adults with special needs.

The farm is seeking sponsors for a new Percheron draft horse it hopes to lease from April through October so it can add more students to its program. The horse will cost $200 a month plus expenses.

Donations can be mailed.

For information, call 330-929-7694, email hereshope58@yahoo.com or visit www.hereshopehorsefarm.org.

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. It’s not that I couldn’t stand some self-improvement. It’s just that it takes more than a calendar page to spur me on to meaningful change.

Still, once the bustle of the holidays is past, I often find myself indulging in a little dreaming about how I might make my home better.

A new paint color for the laundry room? New tile in the sun porch?

The possibilities are delicious.

So maybe my resolutions this year will be about improving my surroundings. Maybe I’ll resolve to finally paint over the Cleveland Indians colors in my son’s bedroom or update the guest bathroom with the awful cabbage-rose border.

How about you?

Your home-improvement resolutions don’t need to be big projects. Sometimes little changes can make a big difference, and the satisfaction you get just might encourage you to keep going.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Edit. Most of us have too much stuff. We accumulate things little by little, but we never seem to take anything away. Before you know it, our rooms are cluttered, physically or visually or both.

The cure for a bloated room is editing, and it’s a project you can tackle in just a few hours. Empty the room of everything except the big pieces of furniture, and then put back only the things you really like or need. You might be surprised at how many possessions you can easily do without, and how much better the room looks without them.

Explore. When you live in a home long enough, you stop seeing it the way visitors do. You no longer notice the nicks in the woodwork or the rust on the registers.

Once in a while, it’s helpful to walk around your house and look for all the little things that need to be painted, replaced or otherwise attended to. Take a notebook or recorder with you to take note of what needs doing, then make a to-do list that you can tackle one chore at a time.

Pin. If you haven’t yet discovered Pinterest, check it out. The social media site (www.pinterest.com) is a virtual bulletin board where users “pin” all sorts of ideas.

It’s not just about home decorating, but that’s what I like it for most. I love poring over the pictures, and I almost always come away inspired.

When you find something you like, you pin it to a board you’ve created. I have boards full of ideas for individual rooms in my house, fireplace mantel decorations, craft projects, organizing tips and even one I’ve labeled “bookshelf porn.” No, it’s not smut. I just really, really, really love bookshelves.

Spend an hour on Pinterest, and I guarantee you’ll come away with at least one idea to make your home better — if you can tear yourself away long enough to actually accomplish it.

File. Creating a design file is sort of the manual version of Pinterest.

A design file is just a place to gather photos and information that inspire you. I use a plain old file folder, but a binder or shoebox work just as well.

When you come across something you like — a picture in a magazine, a paint chip, a swatch of fabric — put it in the file. It doesn’t even have to relate to a project you have planned. It’s just a place for gathering stuff you like.

Then periodically look through the file. You might be surprised to discover something that’s just what you’re looking for at that moment.

Paint. It’s been said that paint is one of the cheapest ways to change your surroundings. A gallon or two of paint and a weekend’s worth of work can transform a room.

But painting the walls isn’t the only way to make a difference. A fresh coat of paint can turn an old chest of drawers into a focal point for an entryway. A new color on the front door boosts curb appeal. A coat of chalkboard paint turns a refrigerator or a cupboard door into a fun family message center,

My niece recently put a coat of glossy black paint on the outdated but sturdy dining room set she inherited from my parents. I swear it looks better than it ever did new.

The best part about paint? It’s not a big commitment. If the project doesn’t turn out as you’d envisioned, you can always paint over it.

Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.

Q: What can I use to paint Styrofoam? Won’t spray paint eat through it?

— C.F., Stow

A: The website for Styrofoam brand foam crafts recommends using acrylic craft paint. Solvent-based paint may damage the foam, the site says.

Some spray paints are safe for use on polystyrene foam and are usually marked as such. Your best bet is to read the label.

Have a question about home maintenance, decorating or gardening? Akron Beacon Journal home writer Mary Beth Breckenridge will find answers for the queries that are chosen to appear in the paper. To submit a question, call her at 330-996-3756, or send email to mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. Be sure to include your full name, your town and your phone number or email address.

The new year is a great time to take a slow, hard look at your landscape.

Examine it like a potential buyer. There is really something to be said for curb appeal.

As a buyer you probably discovered you liked the ones with gorgeous landscapes better; and homes with attractive landscapes generally bring a premium in price.

While it’s not necessary to plant your yard to help the house get top dollar, you should avoid doing anything to hurt the investment. And this includes doing nothing when it comes to the landscape.

Trees and shrubs for the landscape can be expensive, but when you consider what they can do for the value of your home, they may be well worth the investment. Carefully designing and planning for these additions can ensure years of pleasure.

After meticulous plans, some gardeners fail to follow proper planting recommendations. The $5 plant in the $10 planting hole does have merit! Successful establishment of new shrubs and trees in the landscape often depends on planting techniques and care. This will be the only chance to get the new plant off to a good start.

Just like a container, where we usually find success growing plants or flowers, our shrub bed should be well-drained, moist, loose, nutrient- and humus-rich with a layer of mulch added to prevent loss of moisture, deter weeds and moderate extremes in soil temperatures. This is precisely why basic planting instructions are included with the plant.

This soil will be the home for the life of those plant’s roots. Metal edging, landscape timbers, brick and masonry work well to separate turf from beds, and to let you raise the soil with organic matter or specially prepared landscape mixes.

Just like you would go to the nursery or garden center to buy a bag of potting mix for a container, you can also prepare your landscape for that raised-bed of new azaleas or hollies with a soil mix. Here at the Columbus Botanical Garden we regularly purchase a truckload of what I consider black gold — not because it is expensive, but because it allows the soil to be improved and plants quickly get established. These soil mixes can be purchased by the bag, cubic yard, or truck full. When you look at the price by the cubic yard, you’ll wonder why you have been torturing your plants with heavy compacted clay.

Try to plant in bold curves and avoid planting in straight lines whenever possible. This allows you to create a mystery as to what lies around the curve. Use three to five basic plant materials that you repeat in other parts of the landscape. When you grow one or two of every shrub available, it may look like an unplanned arboretum. Place your shrubs in groupings or clusters of odd numbers like five, seven or nine.

If you want shrubs but the economy has you flinching, stretch the pocketbook by buying larger container-grown shrubs and smaller trees. It might seem expensive to buy 3- and 5-gallon shrubs, but you will not need as many, and you will be more likely to plant at the correct spacing.

Just like pledging to get fit after the new year, it’s also good to get back to basics in your landscape. Your home is your most important investment, and after a little digging, you may find yourself getting fit too!

Thanks to my friends at Secrest Arboretum in Wooster, my kitchen garden is adorned with cut winterberry stems this holiday season.

I’ve filled pots with evergreen branches and winterberry, and decorated fence posts with swags of red berries and green pine boughs. Secrest curator Ken Cochran sells the cut branches every year, and I’m eagerly one of the first in line to place my order just after Thanksgiving at the arboretum which is on the campus of Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

This year, my berries came with a surprise order of birds. As I looked out my kitchen window two days before Christmas, I was greeted by the sight of a dozen chickadees and as many juncos crowding in and around the winterberry. The next day in a fleeting visit that barely lasted five minutes, we had bluebirds. The memory of those bright blue birds and the red winterberries against the white picket fence is sure to stay with me through more than a few gray days of winter.

My mother, a lifelong bird lover, tells me about the birds at her feeder each time we talk on the phone. I hear about the antics of the blue jays, and the visits by the cardinals and grackles. This week, there were woodpeckers. Mom gets excited about her birds, and always has a bird guide and binoculars close at hand.

Bird-watching and gardening go hand in hand. By adding cover, habitat, food sources and water to the garden, gardeners can create a patchwork of landscapes that from a bird’s-eye view, might just look like home. Even small changes can make a big difference to help the birds in every season.

Use plant diversity

To enhance bird habitat in the landscape, think about creating layers with trees, shrubs and low flowers. Tall deciduous trees can provide shelter and places for nesting, as well as shade and cooler temperatures in the heat of summer. A shrub border using conifers such as arborvitae or hemlock offers nesting sites, protection from predators, and shelter from wind and rain. Roses, raspberries and other thorny shrubs can create a thicket to protect birds and provide food.

Lower growing wildflowers, perennials and annuals can provide food and protection for ground-nesting birds. If space allows, a prairie patch using native perennials creates habitat for butterflies and pollinators, in addition to birds.

Keep a brush pile

Instead of obsessing about garden tidiness, the bird-friendly gardener creates habitat throughout the yard. A brush pile made of twigs from conifers and deciduous twigs can offer protection from predators, shelter from weather, and materials for nest-building. Along that vein, using leaves as mulch and keeping a leaf layer over soil provides nesting materials and also offers ready-access to soil for birds that feed on worms and ground-dwelling insects.

Fruit in every season

To attract birds throughout the year, include shrubs and trees that offer food sources in summer and winter. Besides winterberry, some of the best woody plants for birds are serviceberry, black and red chokeberry, viburnum, and dogwoods — both tree and shrub forms. Crabapples and bayberries also produce fruit that birds love.

Provide nectar

Hummingbirds begin to visit the garden around the time our native red buckeye tree blooms. This coincidence (an example of phenology, or the link between weather and natural events) can be used as a reminder to clean and fill hummingbird feeders.

In the perennial border, include coral bells, lobelia, bee balm, and columbine to provide natural nectar sources.

Grow seeds

Grow a patch of seed-producing plants such as sunflowers, purple coneflower, amaranth, zinnia and sorghum. Instead of deadheading plants like purple coneflowers, allow flowers to fade so that the seeds will develop. Once the seeds are mature, birds will feed directly on them.

Tolerate insects

While some birds feed on seeds, many consume insects. By tolerating some insect feeding in the garden, the gardener is providing food for birds. This also creates a natural balance in the landscape by keeping birds close at hand to help when new insect problems erupt.

Water source

Birds don’t need a complicated water feature, but they do need water. A shallow water source like a bird bath or shallow dish will attract them; add a stone to the middle to provide a place to perch. Birds find the sound of water irresistible, so consider adding a fixture that allows water to dribble or trickle. Bird bath heaters can keep water available through the winter.

Allow dead trees to stand

Unless they create a safety hazard, allow dead trees to stay in the yard, where they can provide food (boring insects) and nesting sites for birds and many other creatures, including native solitary bees.

Plants to avoid

Avoid allowing Russian olive, autumn olive, buckthorn and multiflora rose to grow in the landscape. While these plants do provide food relished by birds, they are also known to be invasive plants in natural areas. The fruit of many invasive plants is also considered to be of lower quality for birds, providing the bird equivalent of empty calories.

Denise Ellsworth directs the honeybee and native pollinator education program for the Ohio State University. If you have questions about caring for your garden, contact her at 330-263-3700 or click on the Ask Denise link on her blog at www.osugarden.com.

Two luminaries in the local home and garden world have announced their retirements.

Elaine Evans, a pioneer in the urban gardening movement, is stepping down as director of Let’s Grow Akron. And avid preservationist Sylvia Johnson is leaving her job as director of the Hower House museum.

Evans, who grew up on a farm in North Carolina, started Let’s Grow Akron in 1989 as a way of making productive use of vacant lots in the city. A longtime community activist, she recognized that turning those lots into community gardens could address two problems, urban blight and hunger.

The program has grown to include educational efforts and children’s gardening programs, and it has prompted stronger community ties and neighborhood improvements. One of Evans’ proudest accomplishments was overseeing the transformation of a notorious illegal dump near Summit Lake into a cheerful children’s garden.

Evans is leaving her job because of illness. Her successor, Lisa Nunn, said Evans’ wish is for volunteers and donors to make improvements to her beloved children’s garden.

Johnson joined Hower House in 1987 as its first paid staff member.

When she started, the Second Empire Italianate mansion was in good shape, she said, but the third-floor ballroom had not yet been restored. She counts among her accomplishments the installation of a slate roof, the conversion of the attached garage for handicap-accessible restrooms and storage, the restoration of the carriage house and the expansion of tour hours.

Johnson, who called herself “a frustrated architectural historian,’’ said the job fit her passion for preservation and her love of Victorian houses. “It was just the right thing for me,” she said.

She intends to remain active in old-house preservation by joining the Massillon Woman’s Club, which occupies the historical home Five Oaks, and serving on an advisory council for New Franklin’s Tudor House. She also intends to work with the Portage Lakes Historical Society and continue her involvement with the Christ Child Society of Akron.

A new director has not been named.

Design and Beyond

“Perennial Diva” Stephanie Cohen will headline Design & Beyond 2013, a symposium presented by the Master Gardeners of Summit County.

The event is 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Jan. 19 at St. Sebastian Church’s Zwisler Hall, 348 Elmdale Ave., Akron. Check-in starts at 8 a.m.

Cohen will give two presentations, Natives With Bling and Shrubaganza. The noted garden writer and lecturer wrote The Perennial Gardener’s Design Primer, Fallscaping and The Non-Stop Garden and is a contributing editor for Fine Gardening magazine.

Other presenters at the symposium are Judy Semroc of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, who will talk on The Many Faces of Conservation, and Lorree Cummings of Stone Cottage Farm & Garden in Cuyahoga Falls, who will give the presentation Urban Homesteading.

Cost is $40 for registrations postmarked on or before Jan. 4. The cost includes materials, a continental breakfast and lunch.

If space is available, late registrations will be accepted until Jan. 12 at $45.

Details and a mail-in registration form are at www.summitmastergardeners.org. To request a form by mail, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Sherry Beam, 2633 Hudson-Aurora Road, Hudson, OH 44236-2325.

For more information, call Beam at 330-342-0969.

Events, programs

• Holiday Memories, noon to 3:30 p.m. today and 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Hower House, 60 Fir Hill, Akron. Victorian mansion is decorated to reflect memories of holidays past. $8; 65 and older $6; students $2; children 6 and younger free with adult. 330-972-6909 or www.uakron.edu/howerhse.

• Deck the Hall, 5-8 tonight and Sunday, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, 714 N. Portage Path, Akron. Music-theme holiday decorations in the Manor House, lighted grounds and entertainment. Members, $13.50 for adults and $5.50 for youth; others, $17 for adults and $7 for youth. 5 and younger admitted free. 330-836-5533 or www.stanhywet.org.

• Glow, through Monday, Cleveland Botanical Garden, 11030 East Blvd. Holiday plantings, trees and decorations, along with entertainment, a gingerbread house display and a Garden Express train ride. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday. Spiced Sachets With the Western Reserve Herb Society, 1-3 p.m. today. Glow admission: $12; children 3 to 12, $6.50; members and younger children, free. 216-721-1600 or www.cbgarden.org.

• Warm Up Akron meeting, 2 p.m. Thursday, Danbury of North Canton, 181 Applegrove St. NE. Members knit or crochet squares that are used to make afghans for needy people in the Akron area. Information: 330-699-3252 or http://warmupakron.webs.com.

• Needlework Circle meeting, 6 p.m. Thursdays, Seville Library, North Center Street. 330-769-2852.

• Hook & Needle Club meeting, 10:30 a.m. Friday, Buckeye Library, 6625 Wolff Road, York Township, Medina County. Registration: 330-725-4415.

• Knitting and Crocheting Circle meeting, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 5, Highland Library, 4160 Ridge Road, Granger Township, Medina County. Learn the basics or bring your projects and swap tips. Registration: 330-278-4271 or 330-239-2674.

Submit notices of classes, programs and events two weeks in advance to mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com or Home and Garden News, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640. Please include name and phone number. All events must be open to the public.

Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.

So you think purebred, AKC-registered dogs are only those elite canines that prance around the ring at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show?

You doubt that those of us who love a common cocker or a lovable Labrador can relate to the aristocracy of dogdom?

You couldn’t be more wrong, said Bath Township resident Rhonda Hovan, who breeds champion golden retrievers and believes other American Kennel Club breeders of registered animals are the watchdogs for all breeds.

“People who say they are just looking for a pet do care that the dog they buy has the characteristics they buy the breed for,” Hovan said.

So you and your pet Pekinese can and should relate, she said.

Breeders of AKC-quality dogs will go to great lengths to make sure their dogs are good-tempered and healthy — the very things pet owners want in their pets, she said.

“These are the things that set the dedicated breeder apart from your neighbors,” she said.

Hovan lives with pet golden retrievers Pi, 5, and Pivot, 2, who are true champions. The dogs have won more than the necessary number of points at AKC-member dog shows to qualify for the title.

They have earned their pedigrees through good breeding practices and carefully guided genetics.

“In the old days, I had one of the top sires in history. Thunder sired more than 120 champions. That’s ‘rare air’ for dogs,” Hovan said. Only three goldens in recorded history can make that claim, she said.

And although Thunder died in 2000, his legacy lives on.

“Pi and Pivot are his kids,” she said, bred with Thunder’s frozen sperm, which has been used to sire puppies as far away at Thailand and Brazil.

Aside from being a breeder and an AKC-registered judge, Hovan has devoted her life to helping establish the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, a nonprofit health registry that provides screening tests to produce dogs without aliments common to their breeds.

Hovan currently holds the title of emeritus director of the registry located in Columbia, Mo.

The registry website (www.offa.org) may be used by anyone who wants to make sure a breeding animal (over the age of 2) doesn’t have a genetic disposition for problems inherent to specific breeds.

Hovan is also a research facilitator for Golden Retriever Club of America, helping provide research materials for the breed.

Hovan got interested in the breed when she was still in high school and her parents told her she could get a pet of her choosing.

“I was the youngest of four sisters and knew from family history that it would have to be well trained. Goldens have the reputation of being easily trained,” she said.

Three years later, Hovan entered her first dog show in 1973.

Considering the years she has devoted to the breed since then, it seems strange she still considers her life’s work a hobby.

“Hobby breeders don’t try to make money on their dogs. We do it because we have a passion for the breed. I see us as the true guardians of the breed,” she said.

A guardian tries to maintain the integrity of the breed for health, temperament, structure and aptitude.

“Almost every breed has a purpose whether it is a hunting dog, a retriever of things or meant to be a lap dog,” she said.

Hovan, who has bred more than 60 champion show dogs in her career, is a member of the President’s Club of the AKC Canine Health Foundation, the world’s largest research organization dedicated to funding sound scientific research to prevent, treat, and cure canine disease. The group has raised more than $30 million in research funds in the past 17 years.

She has been a volunteer since 1997.

It’s only puppy mills and large-scale backyard breeders that can make a profit breeding dogs.

“If it’s done right, you just can’t make any money doing this,” she said.

Other pet news

Cabin Fever Reliever — The Akron Zoo will host a cure for the winter blues from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays starting Jan. 5. Each Saturday, the zoo will have a free craft station for kids and free hot chocolate for all. The events will be themed around the construction of the Mike and Mary Stark Grizzly Ridge exhibit, opening in late summer 2013. All activities will be indoors at the Barnhardt Family Welcome Center. Winter hours for the zoo are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Admission is $6, free for children under 2. Parking fee is $2.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind — The internationally accredited guide dog school that provides greater independence for people with limited sight is accepting area volunteers who want to help raise puppies used in the program. Orientation classes will begin Jan. 5 in Broadway Heights followed by classes on Jan. 12, 19 and 25. All training, support, and veterinary expenses are paid for by Guiding Eyes. Reserve a place in the class by completing the application at www.guidingeyes.org or calling Teresa Camloh at 440-382-9848.

Kathy Antoniotti writes about pets for the Akron Beacon Journal. She is unable to help locate, place or provide medical attention for an individual animal. If you have an idea or question about pets, write her at the Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640; call 330-996-3565; or send an email to kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.

Garden designer and consultant Andrew Keys believes a lot of garden problems can be prevented just by choosing the right plants.

That’s the premise of his new book, Why Grow That When You Can Grow This?

Keys points out that many notoriously difficult plants have easy-care alternatives that resemble them closely. His book points out those problem plants and suggests what he calls “extraordinary alternatives.”

The book offers 255 alternatives for trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, grasses and ground covers.

Why Grow That When You Can Grow This? is published by Timber Press and is priced at $24.95 in softcover.

— Mary Beth Breckenridge

It’s that time of year when texture, character and warmth define the most successful decor. The perfect time for felt.

This season has seen a variety of creative, decorative felt items for table and tree. You’ll find it sewn, laser cut, appliquéd or otherwise manipulated to create eye-catching fashion accessories, charming toys and sculptures and chic items for the home.

Or you can try your hand at felt-making and crafting yourself. (More on that later.)

In Portland, Ore., designer Alison Comfort offers a woodsy wonderland of little felt pumpkins, acorns, mushrooms, nests and forest animals — small sculptures that might add charm to a holiday table — at her Etsy.com shop, www.etsy.com/shop/houseofmoss.

“There’s something so dear and precious about starting with a natural material in its raw state, using a simple tool and my own hands, and transforming it,” she says.

There are guides online for making felt candy canes, but if you aren’t crafty and still love the look, consider Land of Nod’s delicious-looking versions; here too, round ornaments in felt stripes or gathered layers. All would look cute on a kids’ tree. www.landofnod.com

At Crate & Barrel, laser-cut felt placemats with seasonal motifs, felt ball garlands, and a collection of tree ornaments including gingerbread men, Swedish style birds and owls add homespun charm. A felt pillow with appliquéd partridge in a pear tree might make a welcome hostess gift. www.crateandbarrel.com

The nature of felt — soft, pliable and able to take on a variety of colors — makes it terrific for crafting, not only for designers but for creative amateurs.

“Felt is one of my favorite materials. It’s an extremely easy material to work with because, unlike most fabrics, it’s non-woven, so it won’t unravel and doesn’t require hemming,” says Jodi Levine, designer-at-large for Martha Stewart Living.

April Tatom of Louisville, Ky., sells felting supplies on her website, www.feltorama.com. When she decided to try her hand at appliqued clothing for children and experimented with various fabrics, “I found that nothing matched the lush texture of felt. It just beckons to be touched and adds a cozy dimension to any project. There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ side to it. Felt toys are wonderfully tactile for little fingers and visually stimulating for kids of all ages.”

For her own kids, Tatom recently completed a felt “picnic” set complete with a lunchmeat-, cheese- and lettuce-filled baguette, and a cookie for dessert. She also recreated one of her son’s favorite book characters, Lowly Worm, from Richard Scarry’s Busytown.

Food is a popular subject for felt crafters, often as soft children’s toys but sometimes so realistically rendered that it’s elevated to something more artful.

Roving, a washed and carded wool with a texture similar to cotton candy, is the basis for many sculpted felt creatures and items. The fiber is pulled into strands that can be formed and poked with fingers or needles into shapes. Many of the animals on Etsy and in stores are crafted this way; it’s easy to manipulate roving and no sewing is required. Check out www.livingfelt.com for supplies and kits.

Alternatively, a method called wet felting uses hot, soapy water and agitation to enmesh wool or other fibers so tightly that they cannot be pulled apart.

Additional online sources for wool and wool-blend felt, Levine says, include: www.purlsoho.com, www.achildsdream.com and www.commonwealthfelt.com .

Or you may not have to buy anything at all if a common laundry mishap occurs.

“If you’ve ever shrunk a wool sweater, scarf or hat, you’ve created felt,” Levine laughs.

Check the closet for sweater castoffs, then machine-wash and dry them on hot settings and get crafting. Projects like pillow covers, patchwork blankets and pouches are on www.marthastewart.com.

In the felting community, that method, which uses yarn rather than roving, is called “fulling.”

Martha Stewart’s site also has instructions for making little felt mitten clips, mini stockings and mice ornaments, tree skirts and gifts, as well as some easy kids’ projects.

Children also might enjoy making little felt animals with EK Success’ penguin or snowman craft kits. www.eksuccess.com

For first-time felt crafters, Tatom offers these tips:

• Invest in high-quality felt so it will hold up over time.

• Use a rotary cutter for larger cuts and small embroidery scissors for details. Rotary cutters save time, give precise results, and are also available in scallop and zigzag designs.

• Experiment with different types of felt. Each has benefits: recycled eco-felt (created from recycled bottles), 100 percent wool felt (rich texture), wool-blend felt (affordable, versatile), bamboo felt (ultra-soft).

• Don’t create a machine-washable project without first testing a swatch of the felt in the washer.

The design on Slim & Sage plates is more than just decorative. It’s also meant to help users eat healthfully.

The design subtly divides each plate into quarters to make it easier for the diner to eat the proportions of food recommended by many experts — one-quarter of the plate devoted to lean protein, one-quarter to whole grains and one-half to vegetables. The 9-inch plates are also smaller than most dinner plates to help keep portions in control.

The porcelain plates come in two colors and two variations on the design. They’re microwave- and dishwasher-safe.

A set of four plates costs $99 at www.slimandsage.com. Shipping is extra.

— Mary Beth Breckenridge

MINNEAPOLIS: To the untrained eye, the boxes stuffed with embroidered tapestries, pillow covers and clothes stored at a St. Paul, Minn., archivist’s home may look like a pile of pretty things.

But to those behind the first-ever virtual museum of Hmong embroidery, those boxes are treasure chests full of dragon tails, elephant feet and mountains. The swirls and geometric designs in vivid pinks, reds, greens and blues are commonly used in Hmong embroidery, a centuries-old art form that is fading fast.

To preserve this intricate artwork, and to teach more people about it, the leaders of two major Hmong cultural preservation groups in St. Paul, Minn., have teamed up to launch a website displaying more than 200 pieces of Hmong embroidery in their collections.

“It was time for us to work together and tell young people that this is what the Hmong preserve for a long time,” said Txongpao Lee, executive director of the Hmong Cultural Center, one of the groups behind the website.

Many of the pieces featured on hmongembroidery.org were purchased by Marlin Heise, a volunteer archivist at Hmong Archives, the other group involved in the virtual museum. The rest were donated by Hmong people looking to get rid of their old things, said Xai Lor, project coordinator for the website.

“When I see Hmong people tossing [embroidery] away, it’s like tossing culture away,” he said.

A skill once passed on from mothers to daughters, embroidery was used mainly to decorate clothes hand-sewn for the Hmong New Year and other occasions. Called paj ntaub (pronounced “pan dow”), it means “flower cloth” in Hmong.

In ancient times, the embroidered patterns served double duty — to decorate and to communicate. According to oral history, long ago when the Hmong were still concentrated in China, they were forbidden to use their original, written language, which was made up of picture symbols. So the women started sewing the symbols into their skirts to create messages, disguising them as patterns, Lor explained.

Today, no one can decode those messages because the original language’s meaning has been lost, he said.

Most of the motifs that appear in traditional Hmong embroidery are inspired by nature and are associated with animals. A series of swirls facing each other, for example, is called elephant foot and generally is associated with family. There is also the ram horn pattern and tiny slits that symbolize seeds. Traditional motifs appear on everything from belts to baby carriers to aprons.

Newer embroidered pieces reflect influences from China, Vietnam and Thailand, places where many Hmong people currently live. They’re geared toward tourists and include wall hangings, sofa pillow covers, and fabric story books for children featuring pictures of humans, animals and Hmong and English words.

“We tried to put as many different samples as possible so people could see how it evolves throughout the years,” Lor said of the website’s diverse collection.

Two major grants funded the new site — a $10,000 gift from the National Endowment for the Arts and another worth nearly $3,000 from the Asian Pacific Endowment of the St. Paul Foundation.

Lor said the site has been viewed by more than 1,800 unique visitors from countries all over the world, including Japan, France, Israel, Romania, Sweden and Vietnam.

The educational site was built with two audiences in mind: non-Hmong people who want to learn more about the culture, and young Hmong-Americans who don’t know about paj ntaub.

“A lot of Hmong kids in the United States, they don’t know anything about it because they don’t have the opportunity to make Hmong embroidery,” Lor said.

A traditional paj ntaub piece can take months to complete, and young people — and even elders — in the U.S. don’t have time to sit and sew. The advent of machine-made embroidery, too, has led to the traditional art’s decline, Lor said.

A few years ago, folks at the Hmong Cultural Center had some money for cultural classes and decided to offer paj ntaub lessons.

“We tried for a whole year to recruit students,” recalled Mark Pfeifer, a grant writer for the Hmong Cultural Center, who said they had to cancel the classes. “It seems the younger girls, and even their families, are not interested,” Pfeifer said. “It’s not being passed along.”

People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. The list ends New Year’s Day, but the charities’ needs do not. Please consider supporting the causes of your choice throughout the year.

Information about People Helping People and a list of causes already published can be found at www.ohio.com/charity.

Catholic Charities Community Services of Summit County, 812 Biruta St., Akron, OH 44307, provides programs to improve the lives of youth and families, older adults, people with developmental disabilities and those needing assistance meeting basic needs.

The organization is seeking donations of money and items for its recreational respite program for people with developmental disabilities, including board games, Wii games, magazines, puzzles and art supplies. A donation of $350 provides a full weekend of respite to a family, $150 provides one full day of respite and $50 provides one hour of nursing care for participants.

Donations can be dropped off between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays.

For information, contact Tess Flannery at 330-762-2961, ext. 224, or tflannery@clevelandcatholiccharities.org. The organizations’ website is www.ccsummitcounty.org.

Heaven Can Wait, P.O. Box 4865, Akron, OH 44310, rescues animals from Summit County Animal Control and Ohio high-kill facilities, provides necessary medical and behavioral care, and then places the animals in permanent homes.

The organization is seeking donations of dry and wet dog and cat food, treats, scoopable cat litter, collars, leashes, dog beds, cat and dog toys, dog sweaters, ceramic or stainless-steel bowls, dog and cat flea preventative, shampoos, grooming supplies, crates, cages, kennels, food storage containers, dish soap, laundry soap, sponges, trash bags, paper towels, folding tables, a pop-up tent, a lawn mower, weed trimmer, postage stamps, envelopes, paper, money and pet store gift cards.

Items can be dropped off at any scheduled weekly event or on the porch of the Heaven Can Wait House, 51 Vesper St., Akron. For large items, contact the organization to request pickup.

For information, email adoptions@heaven-can-wait.com or visit www.heaven-can-wait.com.

• Check your church or community center for friendship or discussion groups.

• Join a book club.

• Volunteering will put you in touch with new faces.

• Visit www.newcomersclub.com for a worldwide directory of clubs and organizations that welcome you to a town.

• Mothers of young children should visit www.mothersandmore.org, www.motherscenter.org, and www.mops.org for local groups.

• Enroll in classes at the YMCA or neighborhood health club.

• Buy a dog or walk a neighbor’s pup. It’s a great conversation starter.

Source: The Friendship Crisis,

by Marla Paul

Two more days and we’re past all of the holiday hoopla.

Life will settle back into its normal routine, kids will go back to school, we’ll un-decorate our houses, and the last vestiges of holiday food will be tossed in the freezer or the trash can.

Of course, we’ll start thinking about New Year’s resolutions, the majority of which, studies show, involve eating healthier, exercising more and losing weight.

If you want to take off a few extra pounds that came to you by way of Christmas cookies, eggnog and office party food, there’s no better place to start than at the breakfast table.

Eating breakfast is the best way to jump-start your metabolism and help you burn calories all day long.

So instead of dinner this week, here’s a recipe for a quick breakfast oatmeal from healthy eating expert and cookbook author Ellie Krieger. It comes from her book Small Changes Big Results, which recently was revised and updated and issued in a second release from its 2005 version (Clarkson Potter/softcover, $16).

APPLE CRUNCH OATMEAL

1 cup nonfat milk

½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats

½ cup diced and peeled apple

2 tsp. packed dark brown sugar

2 tbsp. granola

Put the milk, oats and apple into a saucepan over a medium-high flame, and, stirring frequently, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and, stirring occasionally, cook for about 5 minutes or until the oatmeal reaches the consistency you like.

Transfer the oatmeal mixture to a cereal bowl. Stir in the brown sugar and top with the granola.

Makes 1 serving.

Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or at labraham@thebeaconjournal.com. Find me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @akronfoodie or visit my blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/lisa.

On your plate

This is the week when lots of local folks will be ringing in the New Year by eating a traditional sauerkraut dinner.

If a steaming pot of sauerkraut with pork roast and sausages doesn’t do it for you, remember, this is Akron, where you can enjoy your sauerkraut in the form of the sauerkraut ball, Akron’s official food.

You can order them from restaurants, or look for the Bunny B brand at local grocery stores, made by Akron’s own Or Derv Foods Inc.

Celebrate nature

You can still catch the spirit of the season at Glow, the holiday celebration at Cleveland Botanical Garden.

The event, which ends New Year’s Eve, features all sorts of holiday plants and decorations, as well as entertainment and a gingerbread house display that’s always a crowd favorite. New this year is a Garden Express train that ferries riders through the decorated gardens.

Glow is open from noon to 5 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. New Year’s Eve. Admission is $12, or $6.50 for children 3 to 12. Members and younger children are admitted free.

Cleveland Botanical Garden is at 11030 East Blvd. in Cleveland’s University Circle.

‘Space Odyssey’ returns

Select Cinemark theaters, including Valley View and Macedonia, will show the Stanley Kubrick classic 2001: A Space Odyssey at 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesday. One of the films that defined mind-bending cinema, it topped the American Film Institute’s list of the best science-fiction films and was in the AFI top 20 for films of all genres. Fans like Video Hound’s Irv Slifkin have maintained that it has to be seen on a big screen to be properly appreciated.

Time in a bottle

If you live in a close-knit neighborhood, have everyone write down a prediction or put something special into a capsule. Bury it on New Year’s Eve and plan to open it in 10 years.

Make sure someone writes down exactly where it’s buried or it could be lost forever.

New in your paper

Look in the Beacon Journal every Monday starting Jan. 7 for American Profile, a magazine focusing on hometown life in the Midwest.

Stories will focus on people, places, lifestyles and food of the region, health trends, current issues and celebrity news.

English pupils talk way out of trouble

The head of the Perse School in Cambridge, England, recently instituted a “10-Second Rule” for minor disciplinary infractions: Students could avoid punishment if they quickly produced a clever explanation for their misbehavior.

“Getting children to talk their way out of a tight corner in a very short period of time” said Ed Elliott, encourages creativity and could produce a generation of British entrepreneurs.

Said a supporter, “Often the ones who get further are the artful dodgers,” who “bend the truth.” (Elliott warned, though, that “out-and-out falseness” would not be tolerated.)

— News of the Weird

1. The Black Keys — Akron natives Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney — had another banner year: a song featured during March Madness broadcasts, induction into the Fire­stone Hall of Fame, five Grammy nominations for their album El Camino and its single Lonely Boy, and one for Dan Auerbach as a producer.

2. The local talk-radio landscape changed dramatically with the deaths of longtime WNIR hosts Howie Chizek in June and Tom Erickson in November.

3. In May, Christie’s auctioned a photograph from the Akron Art Museum’s collection for $2.5 million — Untitled #96, a work by Cindy Sherman. The money raised went to the museum’s endowment to fund future acquisitions.

4. In April, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame held its induction ceremony in Cleveland for the second time. Members of the class of 2012 included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N’ Roses and the Beastie Boys.

5. Dante Boccuzzi’s restaurant dba opened in July in the high-profile Akron Northside space formerly occupied by Vegiterranean. It marked the first time a member of Cleveland’s hot cadre of chef/restaurant owners has ventured south to open a place in the Akron area.

6. The Avengers, shot partly in Cleveland, and Alex Cross, with scenes filmed at Akron’s Glendale Cemetery and Stan Hywet Hall, were released in theaters. The Avengers was the top movie of the year, selling $1.5 billion in tickets worldwide. And 3 Day Test, the latest film set and shot in Akron by writer-director Corbin Bernsen, was released on DVD in December.

7. Local gardeners and farmers saw plants blooming as much as six weeks early in a freakishly warm spring, then battled a summer drought.

8. Mitchell Kahan announced his decision to retire as director and CEO of the Akron Art Museum. Under his tenure, the museum increased its collection from 2,000 to 5,000 objects, and in 2007 opened the architecturally daring expansion that greatly expanded the exhibit space.

9. Derf Backderf’s graphic novel My Friend Dahmer, drawing on Backderf’s youthful acquaintance with serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer at Revere High School, was published in April and became nationally acclaimed — making, among other things, Time magazine’s list of the best nonfiction books of the year — and a big seller, with French and German editions coming.

10. The Akron Symphony marked its 60th anniversary in April with the premiere of Akron Chronogram, composed by Roger Zahab with a video presentation by Laura Bidwell, both Akron natives. And Tuesday Musical opened its 125th anniversary season by dedicating its new concert piano.