Briauna De’Juan Williams, a freshman early childhood development major from Midwest City, will be a contestant in the 30th annual Miss Black UCO scholarship pageant 7 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 8. Thursday, February 06, 2014
This is the time of year for students and parents to begin the work for college financial aid. Rose State College is hosting its Mid-Del “Ticket to Rose Parent Night” on Feb. 6 on the Rose State Campus from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Student Center Main Dining Room. Thursday, February 06, 2014
Rebecca Stokes is making a name for herself in a way that’s different than one expects for someone her age. The 17-year-old Carl Albert High School student is focusing her efforts on making a difference, one piece of recyclable material at a time. Thursday, February 06, 2014
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Negotiation is an art form”? For most people, negotiation is a necessary evil, something you have to do if you want find a fair price for a needed product. But for some, the thrill of negotiation is the most exciting part of the process. Thursday, February 06, 2014
When it was announced that George Clooney and Sony were moving their WWII film “The Monuments Men” to February, instead of its prime spot in December, the rumors swirled about what was wrong with the movie. Thursday, February 06, 2014
An exciting event is coming to Choctaw High School’s Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 8. Choctaw’s very own Justin Larman is headlining a benefit concert - Back to Choctaw - with some of his favorite Broadway, Disney and jazz songs. Thursday, February 06, 2014
Choctaw’s Got Talent is back by popular demand and will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11 at Choctaw High School’s Performing Arts Center. The competition will feature individuals and groups with unique talents such as singing, dancing and playing musical instruments. Thursday, February 06, 2014
The cold weather keeps coming, so we gardeners have to busy ourselves with indoor activities. One of the tasks you can be doing in cold weather is planning for your next garden. If you are like many, you love plants with fragrance. Thursday, February 06, 2014
Eastern Oklahoma County has absolutely no shortage of places to eat or enjoy a sweet dessert when it comes to taking that special someone out for dinner.
For this year’s Valentine’s Day, EastWord News has compiled a list of eateries to consider when making your plans:
Midwest City
In Midwest City, Valentine’s Day diners can take the safe route and go to any of the more mainstream sit down restaurants like Chili’s, Old Chicago, Cheddar’s, Logan’s Steakhouse and Santa Fe Cattle Company on SE 29th Street, but be prepared to fight the crowds. The same hectic atmosphere might also apply to Primo’s Italian located on the Interstate 40 service near hotel lodging row.
If you’re one of the many busy people in the world, with schedules full of meetings, appointments, soccer games and community events, you may not have noticed… it will soon be Valentine’s Day!
For those of you looking to stay home for this holiday, here are a few simple and fun ways to share love that will make a lasting impression.
Get the Kids Involved
Even dinner with the kids can be romantic if you get creative. Help set the table with your kids, giving them chocolates and paper hearts for decoration. Have your child(ren) dress up and have them pretend to be the waiter(s). They can serve sparkling grape juice and grilled cheese sandwiches to the family, or grab some on the go dinner from your family’s favorite restaurant. Have fun with it!
Oklahomans love roses. There are so many varieties to suit any landscape, but did you know that shrub roses can be the answer to some of our problems in the landscape? Whether you want roses with fragrance or no thorns, or roses that are cold-hardy or tolerate some shade, there are shrub roses that will suit your needs.
Roses are known for their lovely and unique fragrances, and shrub roses are no exception. There are roses with fruity scents like strawberry and peach, and those that smell like honey, carnations or cloves or the classic "rose" fragrance we all treasure. One way to find shrub roses with scents you like is to visit botanical gardens like the Dallas Arboretum, where you can smell the fragrance of the blossoms and decide your favorites. For example, if you enjoy the classic rose fragrance, try Charlotte, with soft yellow flowers that bloom throughout the summer; it is 24-36 inches tall and wide and hardy in Zones 5-9 (remember we are Zone 7). If you prefer pink, try Hawkeye Belle, which also blooms all summer and gets about 48 inches tall. Be sure to plant your fragrant roses where you can enjoy them – at the entrance to a path or near the front of a border or by the front entrance of your home.
With the success of the "Underworld" franchise, some small segment of the movie-going market is still interested in a bit of monster mayhem. This years offering is "I, Frankenstein."
Based off the Dark Horse comic of the same name written by Kevin Grevioux and adapted by him for the screenplay, the film follows Frankenstein’s monster after the events of Mary Shelley’s book. After the doctor dies trying to destroy his creation, the monster spends 200 years in a solitary existence while hunting down creatures that seek to use him for evil.
Have you ever noticed that, sometimes in life, opportunities to grow our character come when we least expect them, and often didn’t want them?
Consider this modern-day parable:
A millionaire decided to throw a massive party for his 50th birthday. During the party he grabs the microphone and announces to his guests that down in the garden of his mansion he has a swimming pool with two great white sharks in it.
"The man who dares to swim across that pool gets $1 MILLION DOLLARS!"
Kyle Bratcher in his first bout pinned his opponent within 10 seconds.
Bratcher is a sixth grader at Monroney Middle School. He is a 4.0 student, avid wrestler fan (but none of that fake WWE stuff) and a paraplegic.
At age three, he suffered a brain tumor and the strength of the chemo therapy used after the tumor was removed, left him severely immobilized.
"He has reactive movement but he can’t walk (he’s in a chair) he can’t grip so he drives [the wheel chair] with his head." Said Keith Richards, Bratcher’s para-pro assistant and the schools’ wrestling coach.
The fifth film in a series of adaptations of the "Jack Ryan" characters by Tom Clancy hit theatres on Jan. 17. Following in the footsteps of Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck, Chris Pine takes the character on an original mission.
Chris Pine stars as the titular Jack Ryan in the reboot of the series. In an era of origin stories, we have yet another. Ryan is brought forth into the modern post-9/11 era, after observing the attack on the Towers from his economics school in London.
Enlisting in the military and taking a mission that leads to a crippling injury, Ryan gets back on his feet and is recruited to the CIA for counter-terrorism efforts. Sent to get his Ph.D. in economics, Ryan enters Wall Street as an analyst, watching for signs of money being sent to assist terrorism groups. He travels to Russia after discovering such accounts, he encounters Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh), a ruthless Russian business seeking revenge against the U.S.
Wouldn’t it be great to have earlier harvests for our favorite summer vegetables? Recent research has proven that our winters may be getting warmer by a degree or two, but that isn’t going to help much with creating earlier harvests. However, there are a number of techniques you can employ to enjoy home-grown vegetables this summer.
First, select early-maturing varieties for your vegetables; seed companies advertise many options for shorter maturity times for almost every type of vegetable. Look for those that mature at least 10 days earlier than the normal varieties. ‘Sweet Zuke’ or ‘Sure Thing’ are zucchini varieties that mature early, for example; earlier yellow squash varieties like ‘Early Summer Crookneck’ and ‘Early Prolific Straightneck’ not only produce harvests earlier, but also have many other good traits. Most seed companies offer similar choices for most vegetables.
With the entry into a new year, there is a slight shift in the quality of box office contenders. Actually, a big shift.
January is called the "graveyard of movies" for a good reason. It is the time between the award contenders pushing for a nomination and the point at which those movies are rewarded. To fill in the 2014 season, two movies, "Ride Along" and "Legend of Hercules" stepped up.
In theatres Jan. 17 is the Kevin Hart, Ice Cube vehicle "Ride Along." The film is about fast-talking security guard Ben Barber (Hart) who struggles to get the approval of his girlfriend’s tough as nails brother James Payton (Ice Cube).
Have you chosen the varieties of vegetables and flower you want to grow in your garden this year? As you can see from the new plant catalogs there are many exciting new varieties to grow this coming season, and now is the time to make your seed pu rchases. You can give your garden a head start by planting these seeds yourself and growing your own transplants.
February is the time to start your seeds, since many vegetables and flowers need 4-6 weeks to develop before they are ready to put into your garden. Because outside temperatures are still too cold to allow seed germination, you will need to create your own mini-greenhouse to provide heat and humidity for your seeds. Fear not – it isn’t complicated or expensive to do this.
Rose State Wellness Center Director Chris Leland not only talks it, he walks it…and runs it. In 2011, at 5’10 and weighing in at 220 pounds, he found himself overweight and in charge of a college workout facility. At night, he had trouble sleeping.
"I found myself waking up at three and four in the morning. Rather than lie there awake, I decided to get up and go do something. I started taking walks," Leland said. "I started listening to audio books to keep me going."
He decided to change. Walking in the quiet morning darkness in the neighborhood near his home allowed him to collect his thoughts and clear his head for the busy day ahead, he said. As he got to know his route, he also got a little bored. He started to run to break up the monotony.
The next meeting of the Oklahoma Central Parent Legislative Action Committee will be 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28 at the Edmond Public Schools Administration Building, 1001 W. Danforth Rd.
The nonpartisan group has the goal of increasing parent and community awareness about legislative issues impacting public education in Oklahoma. They encourage all parents and patrons from the metro area school districts to attend its fourth meeting of the 2013-2014 school year.
On Jan. 20, 1982, the quiet city of Spencer was devastated when a boiler exploded killing six students and one teacher, and injuring dozens more.
At the time, Star Elementary was located on the northwest corner of NE 23rd Street and Midwest Blvd. After repairs were made to the school, classes resumed until the final bell rang 22 years later.
At that time, Oklahoma City Schools decided to sell the property but it was not until 2006 when the school was demolished and eventually replaced with a Walgreens retail store.
Douglas Boulevard United Methodist Church is once again selling King Cakes as a fundraiser for the church’s mobile meals program.
King Cakes are a pastry sweetbread with a surprise trinket (normally a baby) and whoever gets the baby can be "king" for the day.
Flavor choices include cream cheese, apple, cherry, strawberry, traditional, blueberry, lemon, vanilla with chocolate icing, or double chocolate, peaches and cream cheese, and raisin pecan or any combination as requested.
Rose State College will host many aspiring young inventors for the Annual Oklahoma Student Inventors Exposition, also known as the "Invention Convention," on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. The Exposition is open to students in grades K - 12 in public, private or parochial schools.
The competition takes place at the Performing Arts Theatre on the Rose State College campus in Midwest City from 9 a.m. to 1:40 p.m.
The event is a brainchild of former teacher and Rose State College Regent Betty Wright and inventor/businessman, Julian Taylor. Both wanted to provide a way for students to use their math, science and creative thinking skills to create inventions designed to help our society.
Trying to capitalize on last years war fervor related to Best Picture nominee "Zero Dark Thirty," is the adaptation of the story of Operation Red Wings, entitled "Lone Survivor."
Starring Mark Wahlberg as Petty Officer 1st Class Marcus Luttrell, Operation Red Wings was conducted by Seal Team 10 in 2008 to capture or kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shahd. As per the title, the four-man team is eventually taken down to just Luttrell, who is saved by a Pashtun tribe of Afghanistan, despite attacks from Taliban agents seeking to capture or kill the severely injured Navy Seal.
The film also stars Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster as Lt. Michael Murphy, Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Danny Dietz, and Sonar Technician 2nd Class Matt Axelson, respectively. In addition to Eric Bana as Lt. Cmdr. Eric Kristensen, all of whom were killed during the operation.
If you look out your window at the landscape, you are probably seeing either snow, frost or the brown remains of last season’s garden. Would you like to see some green out there during this winter time of the year? Here are a few plants you can put in your garden this spring that will bring lovely greenery to your yard in the dead of winter!
Holly is a really wonderful plant year-round, but it is most beautiful in winter. With its glossy leaves and berries that will lure your favorite winter birds, it is a natural for your yard. Consider planting some American holly options, like Castle Spire, because it’s more adaptable to a wider range of growing conditions than English holly.
Coral Bells (Heuchera) is another all-season favorite; although it flowers in the spring with graceful spikes, it is the beautiful foliage that we most appreciate about this perennial. Heuchera americana ‘Marvelous Marble’ is a particularly beautiful variety, although coral bells do come in a rainbow of foliage colors. This plant works well in containers as well as beds, and prefers some shade. They will attract hummingbirds in the summer!
New Year’s resolutions are a time honored tradition of self-deception, but they don’t have to be.
Promising change on a bad habit or the addition of a good habit nearly always falls through. A study done by Quirkology found that on average only 12 percent of people who make a New Year’s resolution actually accomplish their goal.
Several local community outreach programs are ready this year to help raise that 12 percent.
Alcoholics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, local gyms and nutrition centers, Narcotics Anonymous, Taking Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) and Weight Watchers, all have local programs to facilitate resolution success.
Seay A. Sanders, my principal at Townsend Elementary in Del City where I grew up, had a saying: “Children do not lie, they only tell the story from their perspective.”
I’ve never forgotten those wise words, but I’ve often been reminded of the danger of ignoring them.
It’s winter and the landscape is desolate and brown, but don’t waste this opportunity to lay out your garden agenda for the upcoming season! Now is the ideal time to be planning your activities for the new growing season, which will be here before you know it.
Did you know that there are certain times of the day that are better than others for routine gardening tasks? Yes, we all know that we prepare our beds and plant in the spring, water and weed in the summer, and prune and divide plants in the fall. But some tasks are better performed during certain times of the day.
Morning, defined between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., is the best time for harvesting, dividing and pruning.
Around this time last year a movie titled “Life of Pi” was released and was touted in the critics circle for its brilliant cinematography.
While Ben Stiller’s “Secret Life of Walter Mitty” may not be receiving quite the same awards buzz, it is still a spectacle to behold.
Stiller directs and stars as Walter Mitty, a photo negative manager at LIFE magazine. His prominent quirk of “zoning out,” in which he becomes a far more interesting person than his meek self, seems to be the butt of many jokes in the office.
As gardeners, we all need something to dream about during the cold and dreary winter months. Although the amaryllis planted in a pot for Christmas is now in full, glorious bloom, we need more this winter! Fortunately, new seed and nursery catalogs will soon be pouring in, so we can see what is available for our spring and summer gardens.
There are a number of new plants that were introduced recently and many will be available by mail order or in our local garden centers. Included in top new annuals is a beautiful purple petunia call the Glamouflage Grape petunia. This will definitely be a head-turner for your containers and beds; the foliage is variegated white and green, which really sets off the lovely, soft purple flowers. Also, because it is slower growing than other petunias, it won’t get leggy or take over your container. This plant is 6-8 inches tall and 10-12 inches wide and prefers full sun; it will be available in local garden centers.
A long-awaited sequel to the cult-favorite "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" finally hit theatres nine years after the original. "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" expands on the tale of Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), the famous, or rather, infamous, news anchor of the 1970s.
Featuring the outrageous style of the 1970s, Burgundy, after marrying Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) and having child Walter, the family moves to New York. When Veronica is offered a nightly news desk spot, at the same time Burgundy is fired, he insists she choose between him and the desk. Who can blame her, when she chooses the desk over her pompous, bumbling husband?
Local residents gathered to artistically and financially support Canvas for the Kids, an event held in part with the University of Oklahoma’s philanthropy Soonerthon for the Children’s Miracle Network. The event, which raised $500, was hosted by Julie Croak, former Carl Albert High School student and current University of Oklahoma student. Thursday, December 26, 2013
A young preacher at his new church decided that the best place for the piano was on the left side of the stage rather than the right side where it currently sat, so he moved it.
Soon after, he was fired for the disruption caused by the new placement of the piano. Five years later he returned to the same church to visit with the minister who had replaced him.
They walked into the auditorium and there was the piano on the left side of the stage.
The last three awards seasons have resonated with one name: David O’Russell.
His last two films, "The Fighter" and "Silver Lining Playbook" have earned him Best Director nods at the Oscars, with each being nominated for numerous acting awards and one taking home Best Picture.
The director is back in awards contention this year with "American Hustle," a semi-based on a true story film about the 1970s ABSCAM operations.
Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a con artist and owner of a local dry cleaner chain, who bonds with Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) over their mutual love for music at a party. They go into business together, as faux loan sharks and art dealers, and are finally caught when FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) draws them into an investigation that gets bigger by the day, eventually targeting corrupt politicians.
Few things bring more pleasure in the winter than watching the birds. Their bright colors and cheery chirps and songs really give a lift to the darkest and coldest of days during the winter. Attracting birds to your landscape is not difficult nor is it expensive; you don’t need a large yard either, and the rewards are so great. Here’s how!
There are several birds common to our area: chickadees, titmice, cardinals, blue jays, finches, nuthatches, and several types of woodpeckers are all plentiful in Oklahoma. They need three things to frequent your backyard – food, water and some sort of cover, like trees or shrubs.
Have you ever heard the phrase, "There are no small roles, only small actors?"
It’s a reminder that we all have an important "part" to play in one another’s lives this Christmas season, even if our "part" isn’t exactly the one we were hoping for!
A church was putting on a Christmas pageant which included the story of Mary and Joseph coming to the inn. One boy wanted so very much to be Joseph, but when the parts were handed out, a boy he didn’t like was given that role, and he was assigned to be the inn-keeper instead.
He was pretty upset about this, but he didn’t say anything to the director. During all the rehearsals, he thought about what he might do the night of performance to get even with this rival who got to be Joseph.
The University of Central Oklahoma will celebrate the achievements of approximately 1,179 graduates during the Fall 2013 Commencement Ceremonies Dec. 13 and Dec. 14 in Central’s Hamilton Field House. Thursday, December 12, 2013
Poinsettias are beautiful star-shaped red blooms, as delightful to boosting our Christmas spirits as Christmas trees and stockings hanging off a fireplace. If you have purchased flowering plants to enjoy during this Christmas season, chances are you have at least one poinsettia. The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima), is one of the most popular winter holiday plants and a native to the area around Taxco, Mexico. Joel R. Poinsett, the first United States ambassador to Mexico, introduced this lovely plant to us after seeing them grow in Mexico to be large woody shrubs, often reaching heights above 10 feet!
The Poinsettia is a member of the spurge family and is characterized by small, inconspicuous flowers and large, brightly colored, leaf-like bracts. Poinsettia bracts may be red, pink, white, yellow, speckled or marbled; the most popular color is red, although horticulturists at OSU have introduced an orange poinsettia for their fans, and you can purchase these orange beauties at the OSU-OKC Horticultural center during their annual sale which lasts until Dec 14.
Director Peter Jackson’s fifth foray into the land of Middle Earth, entitled "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" hits theatres December 13.
This movie has the honor of being the middle child of the "Hobbit" trilogy. What this typically means is, if you haven’t seen the first one, there isn’t time to explain it to you, and most likely the end doesn’t resolve much except moving our main characters along geographically and emotionally. Which is exactly what happened here.
"Desolation of Smaug" introduces us to Laketown, a ramshackle fishing town run by the Master of Laketown (a rather grimy Stephen Fry) and his slimy assistant Alfrid (Ryan Gage). From here, our merry band of dwarves, plus hobbit and wizard, are still being tracked by the white Orc. This story progresses quickly as Azog is called away, the group faces a horde of giant spiders, and we finally get to meet the elves of Mirkwood.
Have you ever noticed that children have a wonderful way of giving us a new perspective on things we’ve long stopped considering?
The Christmas season is the perfect example. If you’re anything like me, it’s hard to get into the "Christmas spirit." Packed parking lots. Busy malls. A crazy schedule of parties and get togethers. But just when you think you could almost do without Christmas this year, you see a child’s eyes light up when they hear the first Christmas carol of the season, or a daughter begs to help put up the Christmas lights. All of the sudden, you remember the "Thrill of Hope" that comes around every year at this time! I’ll say it again: Isn’t it amazing how a child can change our perspective? Consider this modern day parable:
Youth Services for Oklahoma County (YSOC) has welcomed Darius Jackson of Midwest City to its board of trustees.
Established in 1972, YSOC provides emergency shelter, counseling and other life-changing services to Oklahoma County youth and families.
Jackson works in business development and marketing at Tinker Federal Credit Union. A graduate of Southern Nazarene University, Jackson was honored with the Corporate Catalyst Award from the Black Chamber of Metro OKC in 2012 and the Service Champion Award from TFCU in 2010.
Girl Scouts serving Eastern Oklahoma County are hosting a Recruiting, Fundraiser for Camp Cookieland, and skating event at Rollerland in Choctaw 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 14.
The cost for this session is $6 to skate and $3 more for roller blades.
Be sure to bring SWAPS ("Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere") to exchange with friends and non-perishable food items for the Mid-Del/Choctaw Food Pantry. One ticket per item donated, or $1 per ticket without a donation, will go toward a drawing of five Girl Scout door prize bags. All proceeds from the event will benefit Camp Cookieland in Newalla.
New York Times Bestselling author William Bernhardt’s story about the legendary Prohibition-era lawman Eliot Ness will be made into a miniseries for NBC, the Rose State professor recently announced.
The eight-hour miniseries, titled "Nemesis," is based on a true story from Bernhardt’s book "Nemesis: The Final Case of Eliot Ness," about a 1935 serial killer in Cleveland, Ohio that Eliot Ness tried to solve. Dubbed the "torso killer" by the press of the day, the murderer killed and decapitated both men and women, dissecting their bodies before dumping them throughout the area.
The case started when Eliot Ness, of the "Untouchables" fame, became the Director of Public Safety in Cleveland.
Now that winter has truly descended on us and our gardens are but lovely memories, do you miss the color of flowers in your yard? As a gardener, it is difficult to get through the gray days of winter, but there are options to cure your winter blahs with flowers in your home. Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus (covered in a previous column) are readily available now in shades of pink, orange and bright red. Poinsettias are now available at local garden centers; OSU-OKC has their annual sale going on until Dec. 14 and Canterbury Gardens in Midwest City is open Dec. 4 to 6 for their annual poinsettia sale as well. There is another option, also, and if you start now, you will have glorious blooms by Christmas. Read on! Monday, December 09, 2013
It’s often been said that we need to be very careful about the examples we set for our children.
Children are like a sponge that soaks every thing they hear and see. When we set a good example, we will often see positive results in our child’s life.
The latest based-on-a-true-story film to come out of Hollywood this season is "Philomena."
Based on the 2009 book by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith, the film stars Judi Dench as Philomena Lee and Steve Coogan as Martin Sixsmith. The pair embark on a journey to find Philomena’s son, who she had to give up for forcible adoption by Irish nuns in the convent where she live during the 1950s.
What marks this story as extraordinary is the true to life drama that this story tells. Philomena worked in the Magdalene laundries, witnessed her son being adopted by an American family and held onto this secret for 50 years. The journey to finding Antony, or Michael as he became to be named, would be heartbreaking and empowering for the aging Philomena and a hard lesson for reporter Sixsmith.
Although many of us have opted for artificial Christmas trees, for many families, going out and choosing a Christmas tree is an annual tradition. And bringing the tree home and decorating it signals the official start to the holiday season. Proper selection and care of your Christmas tree will help ensure that it lasts through the holiday season.
A cut Christmas tree should last the entire holiday season without becoming too dry or dropping its needles, provided it is purchased fresh and given the proper care. Here are some tips to tell if a pre-cut tree is fresh. Your tree should have a healthy, green appearance without a large number of dead or browning needles, and the needles should be fresh and flexible. They should not come off in your hand if you gently stroke a branch. One useful trick to help you tell if the tree is fresh is to lift it a couple of inches off the ground and let it drop on the cut end. A few dried, inner needles may fall off, but the outer, green needles should not. Also, make sure the base of your tree is straight and 6 to 8 inches long so it will fit easily into the stand. To keep your tree from drying out on the trip home, cover it with a tarp or plastic.
After "Thor: The Dark World" topped the box office for two straight weeks, it was time for its blockbuster competition, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" to show up.
And show up it did. With a budget estimated at $50 million more than the franchise starter "The Hunger Games," this second installment upped the ante for effects and suspense.
"Catching Fire" picks up in the months after the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are preparing for their tour of the districts as the new victors when unrest in the districts sends the pair back into the arena.
This year our fall has been delightful with its sunny days and cool, crisp nights; it is a wonderful time to enjoy your garden and patio, especially if you have a fire pit! Unfortunately, along with this beautiful season come leaves! If your yard is populated with lots of trees like mine is, then you must deal with lots of leaves. Fortunately, leaves are a free and valuable resource and offer plenty of uses. Here are a few ways to use your leaves!
Use leaves as protection for your tender plants through the winter – they make great insulation for your plants. Be sure to wait until your plants go dormant before you cover them; since we have already had our first hard freeze your plants have already gone dormant. Layer several inches over your plants or, for taller plants, surround them with a chicken wire cage and fill it with leaves. Since leaves do settle, it is a good idea to keep an extra bag on hand to fill in. Then, when warm weather arrives in the spring, just remove the wire cage and clear out the leaf pile.
Have you ever noticed how much communication impacts our relationships?
Good communication almost always strengthens a marriage while poor communication can weaken even the closest friendship.
I guess that’s why it’s so important that we take the time to organize our thoughts before we speak and try to always consider the other person’s perspective.
I guess bad communication isn’t the worst thing that can happen, but it sure can lead to some indigestion. Consider this modern day parable:
What better way to get into the holiday spirit than to tour beautifully decorated homes?
On Saturday, Dec. 14, the Midwest City Council of Garden Clubs will sponsor a Christmas Tea along with their Holiday Homes Tour.
This year’s tour features four homes – three in Midwest City and one in Choctaw. The homes will be open for viewing 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In Midwest City, Merle King, 617 Crescent Circle, is opening her beautiful King home decorated with collections of Santa Claus’ and nutcrackers from various parts of the world.
Is your Christmas cactus blooming or about to bloom? Mine is covered with buds and blooms right now, even though it is close to Thanksgiving rather than Christmas. There is a good reason for this!
There are actually three types of holiday cacti: the Christmas cactus has flattened leaves with rounded teeth on the margins; the Thanksgiving cactus has pointed teeth, and Easter cactus has pointed teeth with fibrous hairs in the leaf joints. Interestingly, under normal conditions holiday cactus will bloom close to the holiday of its name, but these plants can be forced to bloom at other times. And to make things a little more confusing, most of the Christmas cactus sold are actually Thanksgiving cactus, and they will bloom in subsequent years at Thanksgiving time! Chances are, if your cactus is blooming now, it is a Thanksgiving cactus, even though it may have been blooming when you got it last Christmas.
The holiday season is the largest box office season after the summer. With students out of school, families are together and looking to fill the time between the excitement of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and gift giving. As a result, there are quite a few interesting offerings coming to theatres.
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," released Nov. 22, the weekend before Thanksgiving, starts up as Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are dealing with the results of the 74th Annual Hunger Games. When Katniss becomes too much of a symbol for the revolutions in the district, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) forces the pair back into the Hunger Games against previous winners.
With an additional $50 million in its budget, the sequel looks to improve upon the mythology of the series in a spectacularly visual and emotional way.
He wants to be a pilot and dreams of being able to fly, but it doesn’t matter to him if it’s in the clouds or floating in space.
To become a pilot would be a dream come true for the 12-year-old, who said he is soaking up everything he can in science class and always makes A-pluses on his tests in the subject.
Hutcheson said he wanted to attend Rose State College’s Kids Camp for something to do, but more importantly, to help him achieve his dream.
Just five years after the last installment of Sam Raimi's "Spiderman" series, Sony has set out to re-establish the web slinger in theatres.
"The Amazing Spiderman" opens May 3 and stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spiderman and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. Sally Field and Martin Sheen play Aunt May and Uncle Ben and Rhys Ifans plays the conflicted villain Dr. Curt Connors and his counterpart, the Lizard.
At 11:45 a.m., Monday through Friday, children form a line inside the Midwest City YMCA basketball gym.
They wait patiently, some more quiet than others, to be handed their brown paper sack lunches.
On Monday, bags were filled with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, fruit and string cheese.
Then there was the choice of beverages to drink: either milk or chocolate milk.
Laura Schwartz, the summer feeding worker at the YMCA, said the chocolate milk is the first to go. It can be difficult to get children to drink the "white" stuff, so she has had to get crafty and only put out a certain number of chocolate milk cartons, she said.
OK, now her secret is out, but shhhh... don't tell the boys and girls.
With summer's arrival comes a journalistic convention that seems more and more dated. It is the "summer reading list" of books, often beside a graphic showing a bathing suit and sunglasses.
Sure, I'd like to check out Douglas Brinkley's biography of Walter Cronkite and Hilary Mantel's sequel to "Wolf Hall." Heck, I'd love to read Joan Rivers' funny and shorter book, "I Hate Everyone ... Starting With Me."
Problem is, few of us worker bees will be packing a steamer trunk of volumes to while away the lazy afternoons. Average working Joes now put in a month more of labor a year than they did 25 years earlier, and much of that time comes out of summer vacation's hide.
Whenever an overly generous soul praises me for my alleged "success," I thank them and gently remind her (and myself) of the unearned luck of my life.
Consider the following: I was born during the Great Depression, after the nation's birthrate had reached a new low, and I was one of approximately 11 people born that same year. This meant that when I graduated from high school, college admissions offices - desperate to fill empty dorms and classrooms - were eagerly recruiting almost anyone who wasn't under indictment or detox, and maybe some who were.
This also meant that when I got out of college and the Marine Corps, and sought to enter the revered "private sector," it was the decade of the 1960s, during which the gross national product of the United States was actually doubling - and because there were so few people in my generational cohort, for us lucky ones there were almost more jobs than there were young people to fill them.
Last week, I wrote about our expanded news staff and the freelance writers who continue to contribute to the quality of our newspaper.
Much to my chagrin, I failed to mention one of the most important people on the staff. She's not a reporter or photographer, but she certainly keeps the wheels of business and commerce going for EastWord News. Her name is Kristina Boehlke and she's our operations director.
Red, White and Blue Potatoes - Just in Time for July 4th
By Judy Kautz, Master Gardener
Gardeners like to experiment with new and unusual plants and vegetables, just to keep things interesting in their gardens. And one of the most exciting things about experimenting is sharing with fellow gardeners, especially if the experiment turns out to be a success.
Theresa, one of the master gardeners in our area, decided to try her hand at raising potatoes this spring. Of course, potatoes like cool weather and they mature in early summer, so this is the prime time for harvesting this year's spring crop. Not satisfied with plain old potatoes, she decided to plant red, white and blue potatoes for the 2012 crop.
Zero 2 Sixty sets itself apart from packs of other cover bands by putting its own spin on arrangements, tinkering with its set list of songs from the sixties, seventies and eighties, according to lead-guitarist/vocalist John Carnuccio.
"Well, a lot of cover bands play exactly like the recording," Carnuccio continued.
However, Zero 2 Sixty doesn't abide by this convention, he said.
And tonight from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the group Zero 2 Sixty plays a free show at Joe B. Barnes Regional Park in Midwest City, as a part of the Midwest Twilight Concert Series, put on by Midwest City's parks and recreation department.
It's a good thing the speed limit down Sunnylane Road is 40 miles per hour because if it were any faster you might miss one of Del City's almost-hidden treasures, J.T.'s Bar B Que & Catering at 505 S. Sunnylane Road. It's not just the ambience of the parking lot surrounded by large shade trees but also the homey, inviting indoor décor. And if you're not wooed by the antiques and eclectic touches then the aroma of heavy smoke will win you for sure.
"My wife has great taste, she decorates everything herself, she and my niece just redecorated the place," J.T. Moon said.
J.T.'s Bar B Que is very much a family enterprise. Moon, his wife Susan and daughters Misty and Angie have been serving up southern style barbecue since they moved to Del City in June 1994. Misty still fills in part time despite her duties as a registered nurse at Integris Baptist Medical Center, and Angie lives in Indiana but helps when she is visiting "home".
