Shannon Okey, aka 'knitgrrl,' is a Cleveland area blogger. She writes, spins yarn, and is involved in several different business and has recently started her own publishing company called Anezka Media. Shannon blogs at her website about knitting and Cleveland and anything else. Shannon was  kind enough to answer our five questions below.

If you are interested in being interviewed for the Ohio 5, drop us your blog's name, URL, and location and we'll be happy to check it out!


1) You and your town: a marriage of love, convenience, or necessity?

Necessity. I moved back from Boston to be with the man I love; being back in my hometown came with the deal.

2) A mysterious benefactor gives you $75, with the condition that you must do nothing productive. Where in town do you go, and what do you do?

Phnom Penh for dinner (Dennis Kucinich is a regular!), that's about $30 if you splurge...then River Color Studio or Birds of a Feather for yarn...which I'll knit up at Edgewater Park while watching the waves.

3) You are your town's tour guide, on a tight schedule. What is the one place you show visitors? OK -- two places.

If it wasn't under renovation, my first choice would always be the Museum of Art, particularly our amazing Asian collection...one of the best in the country. Barring that, a trip to the Coventry/Shaker Square area for dinner & book-shopping at Mac's Backs is always good. (Vintage toys at Big Fun! a movie at the nearby Cedar-Lee! Hungarian food at Balaton or Little Budapest!)

4) The mysterious benefactor is back, this time with $500, three days off, and the condition that you must not leave the state. What's your plan?

Athens, Ohio, where I went to college. Basil bagels with sundried tomato schmear, some of the prettiest forests in the world to wander (I like hunting morels), and lots of friends to visit nearby. There's Casa Nueva, southern Ohio's best worker-owned Mexican restaurant and cantina, a fantastic library, great coffee, and lots of little shops to receive aforementioned mysterious benefactor's largesse.

5) You're an Ohioan. What about that makes you proudest? The flip side of pride is shame; go there too if you want.

Ohio in general has a lot to offer in terms of affordability/good living conditions (the mortgage on my old house cost as much as renting one bedroom in Boston ... not a one-bedroom apartment, ONE BEDROOM), an enthusiastic artists' community and more. If I was a startup looking to hire good people, I'd move my business here ... it seems the most talented people I know in this state are chronically underemployed.