Features

It is a wonderful thing for a gardener to find an exotic and interesting plant that is easy to cultivate. Pitcher plants are a rare and unusual carnivorous plant that are easy to incorporate into the garden and are especially amenable to container planting; however, their cultural needs differ from most plants, and it is necessary to understand the lifestyle of pitcher plants so you can give them a proper home in your garden.

More yuletide events will light up the season in coming days in Brunswick County and the surrounding area. Activities slated in coming days include:

•“A Holiday Tribute to the Nightmare Before Christmas,” 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, and Friday, Dec. 12, at West Brunswick High School theater and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, at New Beginnings Community Church, 730 Whiteville Road. Admission is $5 and $3 with two non-perishable food items.

Santa can’t be everywhere—that’s where area animal shelters, rescue and support facilities come in.

They provide food and care for homeless pets until, it is hoped, someone steps in to offer a loving heart and a good, forever home for an adoptable dog or cat, puppy or kitten.

Now might be a good time to pay one of the facilities a “Santa visit” of your own.

Most facilities in Brunswick County are filled to capacity and welcome visits from all who may be in search of the perfect canine or feline companion.

Mixing sour cream with one of those dry onion soup mix envelopes was a staple at parties at our house a decade or so ago. It was a cheap and easy way to make a pretty yummy dip. And, with a bag of nacho chips and a bottle of wine, the dip would make the occasion festive.

Then one day, I read the label on the onion soup mix envelope. The company suggested mixing their onion soup with ground beef for an onion meat loaf. It really added some zest to it. I decided to ask some friends what they used it in.

If a lovely North Carolina Christmas tree is part of your home’s decorations this season, we have some tips to keep it looking its best:

1) Keep the Christmas tree and all holiday plants watered and protected from hot or cold drafts. Christmas trees may take up lots of water the first day or two so keep a close eye on them. Christmas trees are not dangerous as long as they are green and pliable. If they dry out, they become dangerous.

All that one hears these days is a doom and gloom tale of woe, from Wall Street to Main Street and back again.

The market is dropping, sales are down, money is scarce, foreclosures are rampant, and retirement funds are racing downward. Crisis is the word of the day and the power that fuels nightmares. Henny Penny is having a field day.

As a result, some choose the path of avoidance and denial. They sit before a television set watching football games or soap operas, or “reality shows” that have little to do with the reality around them.

You walk down any aisle of a grocery store and you will see products labeled “no cholesterol” or “low cholesterol.” What does this mean?

In some respects, it is a marketing gimmick. In fact, stores could put a sign above the entire produce section that says, “Cholesterol Free” because cholesterol is only found in products that originate from animals. Plant-based products have no cholesterol.

Just after Thanksgiving and for the next two weekends, it will be the busiest time to purchase a Christmas tree. Early shoppers will pick from the best available trees on lots or in fields.

Locally, it is difficult to find a choose and cut operation. For our area, it usually means going to a tree lot to select a tree that has already been cut and shipped into our area.

Advent has come again. The four-week spiritual preparation time for Christmas is often lost in the frenzy of commercial preparedness.

Many fall prey to a hectic countdown against a sales clock that marks the birthday of the Prince of Peace as an ending, rather than a beginning.

We become people holding all kinds of expectation instead of being people of expectancy. As a result, we are more often disappointed than excited, discontent rather than enthusiastic.

We lose our sense and commission to be People of Peace.