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Try garden art to add charm to your yard
A few years ago my par
ents were vacationing
with us in Cape San
Blas, Florida. One day, my
mother and 1 managed to
steal away from the family to
go into the nearby charming
town of Port St. Joe. Our
mission was clear; we were
on the prowl for antiques and
other collectibles-or for what
my husband calls, junk. More
specifically. I was looking for
decorative items for adding
charm to my garden. 1 affec
tionately call these items.
Garden Art.
We stumbled upon several
terrific stores, and I loaded
up the back of my suburban
with all kinds of amazing
finds.
When mom and 1 arrived
back at the beach rental, my
husband and my father were
mystified. "Tell me you did
not spend money for those
chairs," my husband stated.
Divas like to be treated like a lady regardless
I wish there were more men
like Donald Westmoreland
and Gordon Hamrick. Men
who are courtly and gracious,
who rise when a woman
enters a room and never fail to
pull out her chair or open her
door. Gentlemen. The kind of
men who make you feel like a
lady, the kind of lady who
makes a man feel like a man.
I thought of these friends
the other day when I was in
South Carolina for a speaking
engagement. My friend. Mary
Eaddy, who owns a successful
public relations firm in Myrtle
Beach, was with me when we
arrived at the country club for
the luncheon.
“I’ll find a big. strong man
to carry that box of books in
for you,” she said firmly. And.
4-Hers win honors at district meet at Rock Eagle
From Staff Reports
On a recent survey when
asked "What is your greatest
fear?” A group of adults
responded "Public Speak
ing."
Speaking in front of a
group was scarier than death
or snakes.
But not to the 31 Forsyth
County 4-Hers who recently
competed at the annual
Junior-Senior District Project
Achievement meeting at
Rock Eagle 4-H Center.
Seven of these 4-Hers
came away as first place win
ners in their project category.
They competed in a wide
range of projects from Dog
Care and Training to Sports
and Outdoor Recreation.
The Forsyth County 4-H
program was also recognized
for county honors by receiv
ing recognition for having
the most junior participants.
At the Senior level, three
4-H members will .go on to
compete for state honors at
the State 4-H Congress to be
held in Atlanta this July.
Tara Grimes compared the
American and Japanese edu
cational systems in the
International Project. Rene'
Johnson prepared an "Old
World Manicotti" recipe to
take top honors in the Dairy
Foods Project. Erin Lovin
discussed the use of horses in
children’s physical therapy to
• sti 1 : / rl. ' the .-.ire remember
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2613 Freedom Parkway 530 Lake Center Hwy 2330 Canton Hwy
Cumming, GA 30041 Cumming, GA 30040 Cumming, GA 30040
678-455-3150 770-887-1650 770-886-5150
Hours for all offices: 9-9 M-F, 9-5 Sat/Sun (Closed Easter)
OBOO* H*« Mock Tta ta
home
matters
by Adlen
W.
Robinson
for the
Forsyth
County
News
I OB .gM
in a rather huffy manner. The
chairs he was referring to
were a little rough looking to
the untrained eye. One had a
piece of the seat missing,
perfect for a potted plant to
sit in.
The other did not really
have a seat at all. but had the
perfect platform for a partic
ular wide mouthed pot 1 was
thinking of. Both chairs were
D
ixie
i
1
1 Ba
raft
‘fT * M
ins
by
Ronda Rich
for the
Forsyth
County
News
in a blink of an eye. she did.
Mary and I have the same phi
losophy. We believe that we
can be strong, independent,
successful women but enjoy
our femininity as well as the
courtesies offered by gentle-
win the Horse Project.
Other Senior 4-Hers who
participated at the weekend
event are Alyssa Hershy,
Festive Foods for Health, 3rd
place; Sarah Singleton. Food
Preservation and Safety, 3rd
place; Chris Funderburg,
Human Development;
Brittany Snyder, Human
Development; Shelby
Ardizone, Performing Arts,
General; Jessica Wolf,
Performing Arts, Piano, 3rd
place; Jenny Baden,
Performing Arts, Vocal;
Lauren Sullivan. Performing
Arts. Vocal; Brittany
Meadows. Photography, 2nd
place; Brittany Martin.
Public Speaking, 3rd place,
and Christa Vanek. Veterinary
Science. 3rd place.
The Senior level includes
4-Hers in the 9th through
12th grades.
District is the highest
level at which Junior 4-Hers
may compete. The Junior 4-
H level comprises 7th and
Bth graders.
Junior 4-Hers who placed
first in their project area
were: Jordan Rice, General
Recreation; Tristan Harrison.
Performing Arts, Vocal;
Brittany Olney. Veterinary
Science, and Nicki Wright,
Workforce Preparation and
Career Development.
Juniors who placed 2nd in
their project area were
weathered to a beautiful sil
very gray-an ideal color
against the bright summer
flowers in my garden. I
proudly showed off another
fabulous find-an old, peri
winkle blue coffee pot, that
was delightfully rusty around
the edges. The perfect home
for a hot pink Gerber daisy, I
thought. There were other
knickknacks 1 was anxious to
show off too, but my husband
mumbled something and
walked away. My father
scratched his head and asked
again if we had really bought
these items, or if we had
raided a dumpster on the way
back.
Now I knew how Van
Gough must have felt.
Apparently, some people
have a difficult time under
standing art-especially the
garden variety.
Here are some tips for
turning ordinary “stuff’ into
men. It has never occurred to
us, or the women like us, that
professional success should
come at the sacrifice of being
treated like a lady. After all,
we still practice ladylike
behavior ourselves. We write
thank you notes, treat others
with respect, don’t cuss in
public, don’t guzzle beer and
are always willing for men to
carry our stuff or open doors
for us. It isn’t degrading. It's
courtly.
But some women have
lowered their standards and it
is unfairly affecting the rest of
us. Some women have let it be
known to men that they are
perfectly capable of opening
their own doors and carrying
their own stuff. I shudder just
to think of such absurdity.
Hannah Walters, Better
Breakfast; Seth Bolden,
Marine Resources; Laurel
McCormack, Muffins, and
Nicole Mote, Performing
Arts, General.
Third place winners were:
Alicia Carney. Crafts and
Mary Bottoms. Sports.
Other Junior 4-Hers who
participated were: Jacqueline
Stagg, Beef, Jonathan
Henson. Human Develop
ment; Elizabeth Hill,
Muffins; Megan Gravitt,
Performing Arts. General;
Alice Johnson, Performing
Arts, Instrumental; Katie
Tapp. Photography; and
Alicia Smith, Sports.
In addition to their illus
trated presentations, each
participant had to submit a
portfolio in their project
areas. Portfolios included a
record of activities in their
project area for the calendar
year 2003, plus other 4-H
activities, leadership and
community service. The port
folios were judged separately
from the demonstrations.
The scores were then
combined to determine the
overall placing in each proj
ect category.
4-H is the youth develop
ment program of The
University of Georgia
College of Agriculture and
Environmental Sciences.
Project competitions and
garden art and some other
things to be on the lookout
for:
* Birdbaths do not just
have to hold water. Fill them
with soil and plant flowers
and cascading plants in them.
* Watering cans, especial
ly old ones, look great when
filled with soil and flowers.
* Old wooden or metal
tables-to either hold potted
plants or pitchers of iced tea
when entertaining.
* Iron anything is always
classic in a garden.
* Wind chimes are a must.
* Ditto bird feeders and
bird houses.
* If you have a new terra
cotta pot, or anything that is
concrete or brick and you
want to give it the moss look,
try this tip: Swirl a handful
of moss with some buttermilk
in a blender. Then, brush the
mixture on whatever you
want to grow moss. Keep it
Men, though, are puzzled.
They find themselves strug
gling in a world where the
rules are now fuzzy. They
never know when following
the rules of gentlemanly con
duct will offend a woman.
How sad.
One friend complained that
her 17-year-old son - the most
well-mannered young man I
have ever met - had just had a
collision with reality. His
prom date called to inform
him that she would order her
own flowers and send the bill
to him. Then, on the date, she
scolded him for opening the
car door for her. He was hurt
by this confrontation with
feminism but, thank goodness,
he declared that he would still
adhere to his mannerly
■>. to- tUhsfr '1 9
Photo/Submitted
The Forsyth County 4-H Club had a delegation of 31 members competing in the
recent District Project Achievement competion held at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center
near Eatonton.
other 4-H judging contests
help young people learn the
research, organization, and
public speaking skills that
are needed in school and the
f J il Gome close and listen to a story
' Once upon a cross,
xt n - Love's saga completed,
/ xJ IN Vls Forever retold -
/ / UPON /I Never repeated!
7 n S K. A singular Lamb,
m / The Law's Final call -
II / K Z"* A sacrifice offered
Uf/\ / J g Once and for all!
U Gome join the GGG choir as we reflect upon the cross of Galvary
and worship the Ghrist who died upon it and is alive forevermore!
Christ Sunday - Apnl 4 at 6pm
Community Campgwnd Road, Cumming
f Church 770-442-8600
- ,
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS —Sunday, March 2S, 2004
moist and shaded-use a mis
ter or spray lightly with a
hose. Moss will grow in a
week or so.
* Make your own signs
for the garden. I took a big
piece of weathered driftwood
(which my smart mom
plucked from the lake) and
painted a “No Weeds
Allowed” on it. It looks great
hanging in the garden-though
the weeds obviously cannot
read. I have another sign
hanging along the path to the
garden, again just letters
painted on an old board. It
reads, “Thyme Out.”
* If you have children,
consider putting a sand box
in the garden. This keeps
them entertained while you
are working. We have a giant
sand box that 1 hope to turn
into a pond one day.
* Also for kids, let them
have a small plot in the gar
den to plant and tend to.
upbringing.
I am pleased to say that I
still know plenty of gentlemen
but I am especially impressed
with Donald, who lives in
New Orleans, and Gordon,
who lives in Shelby, NC. Both
are impeccable in their man
ners. Both still rise when a
woman enters the room and
remain standing until she is
seated. Both still tip their
heads and rush around to open
a car door before her hand hits
the handle. Poor Donald. Once
during lunch in the French
Quarter, I had to excuse
myself three times from the
table. Six times, he popped up
to help me with my chair
despite my protests. “I’m
happy to do it,” he said quietly
with a sweet smile.
work place.
If you would like to know
more about this event or
other 4-H activities for
Forsyth County youth, con-
PAGE 7B
* If you have the room, a
potting bench is decorative
and functional.
* An old wagon is great
for holding pots of flowers
and plants. Leave it rusty or
paint it bright colors.
* Garden collectible stuff:
metal furniture, Celtic cross
es, finials, sun dials, weather
vanes, jars/bottles, wind
chimes, old signs.
* Don’t forget seating. If
your furniture is less than
perfect, brighten it up by put
ting out brightly colored pil
lows or cushions.
Adlen Robinson's "Home
Matters" column is published
in every Sunday's Lifestyles
section of the newspaper. You
can also read her food column
in Friday’s newspaper. She
welcomes reader tips, com
ments and suggestions! Please
email her at a4kidz@bell
south. net or write to her at the
newspaper.
of status
“Chivalry is dead," moaned
one northern friend.
No, it isn’t. But it has been
severely wounded and in some
places, it lingers on the critical
care list because too many
men have been told off by a
woman when they offered up
their manners. Now, its
incumbent on all women -
southern and not - to band
together and to graciously
accept and persistently
encourage these little courte
sies.
I, for one. think that it
makes life jnuch more pleas
ant.
Ronda Rich is the author
of What Southern Women
Know (That Every Woman
Should) and My Life In The
Pits.
tact the Cooperative
Extension Service in
Cumming at 887-2418 and
speak with a 4-H representa
tive.