The blade is a mirror for tears of joy and disappointment, creating a final spray of sheared ice when a competitive skater comes to a dramatic stop.

More than 250 skaters will vie for fame and personal satisfaction at the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland Jan. 18–25. The event is conducted each year by U.S. Figure Skating, the sport’s sanctioning body. Skaters compete for national titles in a variety of divisions.

What’s on the line? Sometimes a chance to solidify a place on the U.S. Olympic Team or income from endorsements and ice shows. Sometimes the opportunity to move up in national rankings. But most importantly, the championships allow a very few to say they are the very best. >>

The Canton Museum of Art celebrates Itchiku Kubota’s exquisite kimonos.

“There aren’t superlatives to describe what we were seeing,” Joy Timken recalls. “To call it magnificent is an understatement.”

The breathtaking vista they saw while visiting Japan in 2005 was not glimpsed from a beach or hotel balcony — it was a scene created on a silk kimono by the late artist Itchiku Kubota. >>

On a cold, snowy night, Anatolia Café radiates a warm glow on busy Lee Road in Cleveland Heights, a street known for its eclectic dining options — Mexican, Japanese, Thai, Italian and burger-and-beer joints line both sides of the quarter-mile strip.

But it is Turkish food that beckons my husband and me on this frosty evening. Through the expanse of picture windows we see a cozy fireplace, walls painted deep coral and saffron and decorated with colorful rugs, and a bustling scene of white-shirt-and-black-slacks-clad wait staff dashing between two large dining rooms and a spacious bar. They carry plates of impeccably seasoned and grilled meats, tangy cold and warm appetizers and hearty soups.

Now this is comfort food. >>