Features

People usually react negatively to the label: simple. It evokes a sense of naiveté and oversimplification that borders on avoidance and denial. We know the agony of being considered a simpleton. Somehow simple and simplistic have become identified, but there is a significant difference. To be simple is to model divinity. God is simple. Union with God is simple. Yet, neither is simplistic.

When the temperature dips into the 20s and 30s this time of year, sometimes even the teens, maybe it’s time to start thinking about making some good, slow-simmered stew on the stove.

Using a combination of small cuts of meat (beef, pork, veal or lamb) along with bunches of carrots, celery, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions and any other vegetable of your liking, and then placing them in a large covered pot and simmering them in a seasoned liquid for a long period of time would probably constitute being called a stew or a “burgoo.”

Now is a great time for planning weed control in your lawn. There are two kinds of weeds to consider. Winter weeds will be discussed first.

The majority of winter weeds are annual weeds. They grow during the winter, flower and produce seeds, and die during the first hot spell in the spring.

Typically, I avoid Clint Eastwood movies. The violence disturbs me, but I was advised to see “Gran Torino” and to report my thoughts and feelings about the film. So I did. And, I was amazed at what I saw.

The first surprise was there was a nearly full house on a Wednesday afternoon. Gray and graying heads bobbed in conversation, since we all arrived many minutes before show time. I caught bits and pieces of the varied dialogue, mostly about golf, taxes, and maladies—speech that seniors find interesting and informative.

BOLIVIA—Two weeks ago, they were patrol officers. Last week, they were investigators.

In the coming weeks, they’ll prepare their cases for court—running the gamut of law enforcement from taking the original reports to trying their cases before a judge.

For the students in the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Citizens’ Academy, each week brings a new challenge, and last week was no exception. Students, divided into five groups each investigating seemingly unrelated incidents, took reports, processed crime scenes and collected evidence.

When I read other cooking columns, and I read quite a few, I have always enjoyed the ones that included some food history and food trivia. If you are a regular reader of this column, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the obscure facts and trivia associated with that week’s highlighted food ingredient.

Bluebirds are flying over the area in search of accommodations. It’s a little early, but like some other smart animals, it’s time to plan ahead.

Bluebirds are particular in their nesting habits. Don Adams of Southport has provided the following information on how to attract these beautiful little birds to your garden:

Cavity nesting bluebirds are in need of man-made nest boxes. The change from wood fence posts with cavities to steel posts and the cutting of hollow trees for firewood has reduced the natural nest sites.

Johnny Cash is gone, but on Thursday, Jan. 22, you can relive the music and spirit of the “Man In Black” when Rockabilly Hall of Famer Rusty Evans performs his “Ring of Fire” tribute at Brunswick Community College.

With a voice like rolling thunder and a spirit of gentle rain, Evans has been wowing audiences from Nashville to San Francisco with his tribute to the Man In Black.

Although the company is named after Fred Waring, a popular entertainer of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, Waring did not actually invent the blender. He did, however, perfect the original version and introduce this version to retailers and consumers, which ultimately became a big success.