Draw An Ad

Thank You to All the Participants in our 38th Annual

Draw An Ad Winners!

GRAND PRIZE Wyatt Engeman The Edge Bank Age: 9 Grade: 3 Worden Elementary School

1st PLACE

Maggie Anderson Pomatto Lawn Care, Inc. Age: 11 Grade: 5 Columbus Elementary School

1st PLACE

Dakota Burks Cross Auto Body & Towing Age: 13 Grade: 7 Lincoln Middle School

2nd PLACE 1st PLACE

Mitchell Heberer Apex Physical Therapy Age: 8 Grade: 3 Worden Elementary School

Hunter Jones Mark Muffler Shop Grade: 4 St. Boniface School

Page – Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD

2nd PLACE Katie Gierer Sonic Age: 10 Grade: 5 St. Mary's School

2nd PLACE

Lauren Moehle Bobby’s Frozen Custard Age: 13 Grade: 7 Lincoln Middle School

3rd PLACE Grace Northcutt McDonald’s Age: 10 Grade: 4 St. Boniface School

3rd PLACE

Danielle Villhard Hawthorne Animal Hospital Age: 10 Grade: 5 St. Mary's School

3rd PLACE

Cate Watters Brickman Orthodontist Age: 14 Grade: 8 St. Mary's School

Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD – Page

Sicily: Contrasts at Mediterranean crossroads

By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press MONREALE, Italy (AP) — I am inside one of the most glittering monuments to Christianity — the mosaic-filled cathedral of Monreale - talking to a conservator, whose apron is covered in Arabic script, about President Obama.

As our chat about possible new American policies in the Middle East interrupts his excruciatingly slow restoration of the Duomo’s 900-year-old floor mosaic, I can’t help thinking, only in Sicily.

Throughout its 2.5 millennia of history, this jarringly gorgeous Mediterranean island has been at the crossroads of drastically different cultures.

Miraculously, it has managed to fuse those contrasts in a peaceful dialogue. The fruits of that fusion make Sicily one of the most intriguing regions of Europe.

Twice over the last decade, I have done weeklong tours of the island, marveling at everything from Catholic chapels bejeweled by Muslim artists to the everyday heroism of anti-Mafia businesses. A visit to Sicily is a study in the unexpected fusion of times and cultures. And these are a few of my favorite pairings: MULTICULTURAL DEVOTIONS: Bleary-eyed from the overnight ferry that took me from Naples to Palermo, Sicily’s capital, I made a beeline for the Cappella Palatina, the chapel built in the early 1100s by the Norman king in his palace complex. At 8:30 a.m., I had it for myself for a blissful few minutes before the tourist buses arrived, enough to be transported by the glitters of gold chasing each other from the wall mosaics into the painted kaleidoscope that is the carved wooden ceiling.

Under the patronage of Sicily’s first Catholic king, Muslim artists executed the ceiling, complete with Kufic inscriptions, while Greek artists created mosaics representing Christ and New Testament scenes in the Byzantine tradition. Straight

from the era of the crusades comes the most dazzling artistic and cultural synthesis of the medieval Mediterranean world.

Nobody knows exactly how this harmony came about, but it’s both inspiring and humbling to feel they had figured out a way to live symbiotically despite differences we are still struggling with 900 years later.

Other can’t-miss glories of the Palermo area from the time of the Normans are the fortresslooking churches that hide eerily realistic golden mosaics: The Monreale Duomo, perched high on a barren, prickly-pear studded mountain; the Martorana church in Palermo, across from the mosque-looking, red-domed church of San Cataldo; and the Cathedral at Cefalu, standing sentinel over the medieval fishing village.

ANTIQUITY ALIVE: Ancient Greek colonizers snapped up the best vistas in Sicily. I can’t decide if the most scenic archeological site in the Mediterranean is Segesta in its splendid valley isolation among pines and honey-scented wildflowers; Selinunte, framed by eucalypti on its Africa-facing sandy shores; the Taormina theater opening over the sea and the volcano, Mount Etna; or Agrigento’s Valley of Temples, by sheer size the most stunning of them all. I like the latter best in the late afternoon, when the wind-eroded stone of its two best-preserved 450 B.C. Greek temples - the nearly intact Tempio della Concordia and the Tempio di Giunone up the ridge - turn strawberry gold in the dusk and then are floodlit among the dark silhouettes of olive trees and agave plants.

Much criticism has been aimed at the ugly concrete buildings from modern Agrigento looming over the next hillcrest, but I find the contrast can’t possibly spoil this view. At most, I find it shames our modern cookie-cutter architecture juxtaposed to the hushed, solemn perfection of these temples.

REVITALIZING HIDDEN TREASURES: If Sicilians 2,500 years ago stunned by vistas, those who built palaces and

piazzas in the Baroque era astonished by intricacies. Noto, Ragusa Ibla and my favorite, the Ortigia island neighborhood of Siracusa, are full of churches and palaces exuberantly carved with mythical figures and floral arrangements.

Once literally crumbling in decay, they have been scrubbed to a shine like aristocratic drawing rooms. Subtler and more sumptuous at the same time are the palaces of the Sicilian nobility, those haunted by Burt Lancaster in the 1963 film “The Leopard.”

Take two palaces where you can arrange to stay: The countryside villa of Baron Luigi Bordonaro di Chiaramonte, built in the 13th century inland from Agrigento, and the gorgeously frescoed Palazzo Ajutamicristo of the Barons Calefati di Canalotti in Palermo’s historic center. Both young owners are gambling that tourism will help their historical treasures stay vital.

Maria Calefati said hers is one of five or six families who are staying in their ancestral palaces, revitalizing the still dangerously neglected core of Palermo.

Bordonaro says of the villa and surrounding olive groves that have been in his family for 300 years: “It’s my home, it’s my commitment.”

ANTI-MAFIA FOOD: Another young Sicilian, Angelo Fabio Conticello, is taking an even riskier gamble: Fighting real-life godfathers one spleen sandwich at a time. Conticello and his brother own the iconic Palermo restaurant Antica Focacceria San Francesco, so famous that when I visited it I thought the squad cars in the little square outside where there to protect some celebrity gorging on its octopus or fried vegetable plates.

But the 24-hour police escort is actually for the Conticellos, who in 2006 denounced the dons who had come to claim a “pizzo,” the bribe the Mafia makes many Sicilian business owners cough up. “There is fear, of course, but there is hope.

People are beginning to rebel, are starting to refuse (to pay bribes) because of conscience,

because of their children, too,” said Conticello, who has a 13year-old son.

The restaurant has joined some 300 businesses in Palermo that went public as “pizzo-free.”

While tourists are extremely unlikely to come face to face with the Mafia, they can contribute to Sicilians’ everyday fight by patronizing establishments that resist mob influences.

And they can do it while gorging on the unique Sicilian cuisine.

Those 25 centuries of diverse civilizations have created unlikely masterpieces for the table-handmade pasta with swordfish and fresh mint, cuttle-fish filled with pecorino cheese and raisins, wraps of lemon-infused veal tripe, and

the ultimate “cheesecake,” the marzipan-covered, ricotta-filled cassata.

My last night in Palermo, in the quest for take-away delicacies like frutta martorana (a type of marzipan, made from almond paste shaped like “fruits” almost too beautifully painted to eat) and bottarga (a paste of tuna roe to sprinkle on fresh pasta), I nearly miss the ferry. Panting on its deck, I watch this microcosm of Sicily recede and I marvel yet again at the way, truly without comparison, that civilizations fuse in this maddeningly beautiful land of extremes.

If You Go...

SICILY: http://www.regione. sicilia.it/turismo/web—turismo/ ATTRACTIONS: Most attrac-

tions listed have an admission fee, usually between $5-9 (4-7 euros). A car is necessary as distances are considerable; it’s about 250 miles from Noto in the southeast to Segesta in the northwest. But don’t drive in downtown Palermo, where congestion, scarce parking and the local driving style are difficult to cope with.

PALACE ACCOMMODATIONS: To visit or stay in the two noble residences listed, see http://www. bordonaro.it and http://www. palazzo-ajutamicristo.com.

PIZZO-FREE ESTABLISHMENTS: Check out http://www.addiopizzo.org for a list of Palermo businesses that have gone public in refusing to pay bribes to the Mafia.

Turn 2 Collectible

Lexi Sikora - Worden Elementary School - 5th Grade

Creve Coeur Camera

Hannah Miracle - Trinity Lutheran School - 5th Grade

Page – Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD

Enjoying Kansas City without the expense

By MARIA SUDEKUM FISHER Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sure, visitors can drop a bundle whiling away hours in Kansas City’s bornagain downtown, with its shiny new Sprint Center and Power & Light dining, drinking fun zone.

But budget-minded travelers also have a buffet of penny-pinching options in the city of fountains, including rock solid offerings from the holy trinity of summer fun: good food, baseball and jazz. After all, is anything else really necessary?

Nonbelievers take heart. Kansas City also has other entertaining, less expensive alternatives, from worldclass museum collections to theaters and tons of (window) shopping.

BASEBALL: Tickets for the longtime championship-challenged Kansas City Royals start at $14 and go up to about $50. Cut costs by tailgating in the massive parking lot with just about everybody else; http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com.

If you want something beyond the majors, try the Kansas City T-Bones of the Northern League. The T-Bones, who play in neighboring Wyandotte County, Kan., have actually won a recent championship. Their tickets start at $6 for seats in the grass. You can also pack a picnic and get a table that seats six and has a good view of the action for $45; http://www. tbonesbaseball.com.

For baseball history, head to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the historic 18th and Vine District.

Exhibits at the museum tell the story of Negro Leagues players who barnstormed the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Tickets to the museum exhibits are $6 for adults, $2.50 for children under 12.

Kids under 5 are free. The museum is closed Mondays; http://www. nlbm.com/.

JAZZ: Kansas City has a deep jazz history and even its own style of the American art form. There are numerous selections for live jazz, from bars and restaurants to a historic after-hours spot that doesn’t get rolling until well past midnight.

Some notables: The Blue Room, which is part of the American Jazz Museum in the 18th and Vine District; http://www.americanjazzmuseum.com.

Associated Press

Ronnie Hardman holds ribs fresh from the smoker at Arthur Bryants BBQ in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 19, 2009. For budget-minded travelers Kansas City has entertaining, less expensive alternatives, from world-class museum collections to theaters and tons of (window) shopping.

The Phoenix, 302 W. 8th St., has live jazz Tuesday through Saturday and a fairly full menu; http://www. phoenixjazzkc.com/.

Jardine’s, 4536 Main St., near the Country Club Plaza, boasts live music throughout the week; http:// www.jardines4jazz.com.

If 2 a.m. rolls around and you still need more, head back to the 18th and Vine District for the after hours jam session at the Mutual Musicians Foundation, 1823 Highland Ave. Local musicians gather there for late weekend sessions. Cover charges apply; http://www.thefoundation-

jamson.org/.

There are more listings are at: http://www.jazzkc.org/clubs.html.

BARBECUE: What’s the point of a trip to Kansas City without sampling its saucy, smoky barbecue, which can be found in just about any part of town? Stalwarts like Gates — http://www.gatesbbq.com/ — and Arthur Bryant’s — http://www.arthurbryantsbbq. com — pack them in at lunch for the massive slabs of ribs, chicken and sandwiches for reasonable prices. Both restaurants have several locations around the city. A

full slab of ribs will set the family back about $20. Try the Beef on Bun and yammer pie. Help yourself to extra sauce in the back. The burnt ends at Bryant’s are legend.

But there are lesser known spots that locals also swear by.

Oklahoma Joe’s is in a gas station in Kansas City, Kan., at 3002

W. 47th Ave. Try the Hog Heaven, pulled pork with sliced sausage on a bun. There’s also a Pig Salad: pulled pork topped with, what else, barbecue sauce; http://www. oklahomajoesbbq.com/.

LC’s Bar-B-Q, 5800 Blue Parkway, not far from Kauffman Stadium, where the Royals play, is a stop for

those loading up on tailgating fodder. The beef sandwich has gotten heaps of praise; http://www.lcsbar-b-que.nv.switchboard.com/.

Smokestack, another Kansas City institution at 8920 Warnall, has noted smoky beans and slaw; http://kcsmokestackbbq.com/.

BEYOND BARBECUE: The world has discovered Kansas City, and they’ve brought their food with them. Some good cheap spots include just about anything on the city’s west side where several inexpensive Mexican restaurants have opened. Mexico Taqueria has a few locations with a shrimp fajita platter that can feed two.

There are several choices along the 39th Street corridor near the University of Kansas Medical Center too. Try Po’s Chinese Dumplings, 1715 W. 39th St., and Vietnam Cafe, which has memorable seafood Pho and fried sweet potatoes with shrimp, 2200 W. 39th Ave, Kansas City, Kan. MORE TO LIFE: Kansas City’s museums include the venerable Nelson-Atkins, where admission is free. Some highlights are the spanking new Bloch Building, which features a Noguchi sculptor garden. Let it all soak in while you sprawl out on the lawn in the shadow of the massive shuttlecocks; http://www.nelson-atkins. org/ The nearby Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is also free and hosts family, movie and other events. Check the calendar at http://www.kemperart.org/ home.asp.

SPEAKING OF FAMILY: The Coterie Theater at Crown Center has live theater for kids and the family. Afterward, if it’s hot and muggy outside, the fountains in front are good for romping. Bring towels; http://www.coterietheatre.org/ The Toy Museum near the University of Missouri-Kansas City showcases everything from miniatures to puppets; http:// www.toyandminiaturemuseum.

Mojo's Music

Ryan Ebert - St. Mary's School - 8th Grade

TheBank of Edwardsville

Emma Donelson - Columbus Elementary School - 5th Grade

Four Flags Motors

Carmen Spicer - Columbus Elemtary School - 5th Grade

Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD – Page

Bourbon Trail showcases Kentucky whiskey

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press Writer LORETTO, Ky. (AP) — Annette Busch walked away from her distillery tour with a souvenir to savor, sip by sip, as she sported a bottle of Maker’s Mark bourbon topped with her own personal touch.

Having bought the whiskey at the distillery gift shop, Busch then donned protective gear to dip her purchase in hot red wax to create her rendition of the distinctive seal topping every bottle of Maker’s Mark.

After a quick lesson, the woman from Reading, Pa., grabbed the bottle and dunked the top in a tub of wax, swirled the bottle, then pulled it out. She then signed and dated her bottle.

“It’s pretty cool,” Busch said after completing her visit to the bucolic distillery nestled in the hills of central Kentucky, where whiskey-making has been a tradition for more than two centuries.

Kentuckians like to brag about their whiskey, and distillery tours along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail let them show off the craft of turning grains and a few other ingredients into fine whiskey in an age-old process.

Visitors get a glimpse into production from start to finish. They see clear whiskey — called “white dog” — come off the still. Fresh whiskey is placed in new charred white oak barrels for aging in rackhouses.

During years of maturation, bourbon acquires its caramel color and aroma — a blend of caramel, vanilla and fruits.

The sampling comes last, though there’s one catch — anyone taking a nip has to be at least 21 years old.

Kentucky produces more than 95 percent of the world’s bourbon.

Production has doubled since 1999 — from 455,078 barrels to 937,865 barrels in 2007, according to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.

About 4 1/2 million barrels of bourbon were aging in Kentucky at the end of 2007, it said.

Associated Press

In this photo taken on Wednesday, April 8, 2009 David Smith, right, talks about the distilling process with his wife Jennifer and son Aaron during a tour of the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto, Ky. The Smiths are from St. Clair, Mich. Kentuckians like to brag about their whiskey, and distillery tours along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail let them show off the craft of turning grains and a few other ingredients into fine whiskey in an age-old process.

To earn the name, bourbon must be made in the United States, contain at least 51 percent corn in the mash and be distilled at 160 proof or less.

It then goes into the barrels at 125 proof or less for at least two years of aging.

Along with Maker’s Mark, other bourbon makers featured on the decade-old Bourbon Trail are Buffalo Trace at Frankfort, Wild Turkey and Four Roses near Lawrenceburg, Heaven Hill and Tom Moore at

Bardstown, Jim Beam at Clermont and Woodford Reserve near Versailles. Each has its own distinctive features.

At Heaven Hill’s Bourbon Heritage Center, visitors sip bourbon in an eye-catching barrel-shaped tasting room. Four Roses Distillery features Spanish Mission-style architecture.

Wild Turkey sits on a hill crest overlooking the Kentucky River. At Jim Beam, visitors trace the rise and influence of the “First Family of

Wilke Window & Door, Inc.

Bourbon.” Buffalo Trace is on a site settled by surveyors where the Kentucky River intersected a buffalo trail. Tom Moore offers an interesting behind-the-scenes tour.

No single road connects the distilleries, spread out across several counties in central Kentucky.

Spring is a popular time for tours, with visitors treated to Kentucky landscapes bursting in color from budding trees and flowers. Bourbon tours mix well with another signa-

ture Kentucky industry for a day of bluegrass bliss. Some people combine bourbon tours with visits to area thoroughbred farms or spend an afternoon at horse races. Keeneland race track at Lexington has live racing for most of April, followed by the spring meet at Churchill Downs in Louisville, home of the Kentucky Derby.

Bourbon and horses mature near one another at the Woodford Reserve Distillery, nestled in Kentucky’s

Bluegrass region. Visitors heading to the distillery on country back roads drive past picturesque horse farms bounded by miles of black wood fence snaking along the countryside.

The distillery is a collection of stone buildings on a site where bourbon has been made since 1812.

The visitor center features an inviting front porch with a row of rocking chairs. Inside, there’s memorabilia and a gift shop featuring regionally produced foods, gifts, apparel and stocks of Woodford Reserve. A popular local restaurant offers catered lunches that can be eaten on the back porch.

The tour takes about an hour and gives visitors an inside look at bourbon making.

They peer into cypress fermentation tanks in which cooked grains and water — forming a bubbling, brownish mash resembling oatmeal — are combined with yeast, which transforms sugar into alcohol.

In a rackhouse teaming with barrels from top to bottom, tour guide Dave Salyers described how aging whiskey is sampled to determine if it has reached maturity.

Tasters drill into the bottom of the barrel to extract whiskey. They sniff the bourbon — called “nosing” — and check its color. They put a small amount in their mouths, swish it around and spit it out.

Why spit rather than swallow?

Salyers said they take multiple samples each day.

“I wouldn’t be much good after about two or three samples,” he said.

The return to the visitor center means it’s sampling time. Salyers offered suggestions on how to taste test Woodford Reserve, a super-premium, small-batch bourbon.

“Now if you’re the John Waynetype, down it,” he said, drawing laughter. “I had a guy did that one day last week. It really shocked me.

We suggest that you sip a little bit on your tongue, let it sit, swallow and get ready for it. And then do a little bit more sipping.”

Alfonzo's Pizzeria

Hannah Schelling - Worden Elementary School - 3rd Grade

Joseph - St. Boniface School - 4th Grade

Drda Electric

Annie's Frozen Custard

Grace Desse - Worden Elementary School - 3rd Grade

Molly Pohlman - St. Boniface School - 5th Grade

Page – Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD

Hudson Valley marks historic 1609 voyage ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — When explorer Henry Hudson got as far north as he could go on the waterway that would later bear his name, he didn’t stick around long or wander much beyond the riverbank.

“They did not venture far from shore,” said William “Chip” Reynolds, captain of the Half Moon, a full-scale replica of the ship that Hudson, an Englishman, sailed for the Dutch during his 1609 voyage to the New World.

Hudson and his crew spent only four days at what would later become Albany, but others followed his route upriver, mainly Dutch merchants looking to trade for the fur of beavers trapped by local Indian tribes.

Those enterprising Dutchmen established Fort Orange (later renamed Beverwijck, or “District of the Beaver”) 15 years after Hudson’s voyage on “de Halve Maen.” The English renamed the settlement Albany when they took control of Holland’s New Netherlands colony in 1664, but the Dutch influence here and along the Hudson Valley lasted well into the 18th century, and plenty of remnants can still be found today.

Many communities between Westchester County and Albany are hosting festivals, concerts, exhibits and other events to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Hudson’s voyage, along with a belated 200th anniversary celebration of Robert Fulton inaugural steamboat trip up the river in 1807.

Reynolds’ Half Moon will figure prominently in several events, including a nearly monthlong cruise recreating the river voyage that Hudson took in September 1609.

Here are some of the signature events, along with listings for museums and historic sites hosting related exhibits. For a more extensive list, check the state’s Hudson-FultonChamplain Quadricentennial Commission Web site, http://www.exploreny400.com, or the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s site at http://www.hudson400. com.

ALBANY INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND ART, Albany — Current exhibit: “Hudson River Panorama: 400 Years of History, Art, and Culture.” Features hundreds of artworks, artifacts, interactive displays and rare documents from the institute’s own collections. Through Jan. 3, 2010, http://www. albanyinstitute.org.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Troy — Current exhibit: “Horseshoes & Waterwheels: NY’s Tech

Associated Press

In this September 12, 2007 file photo, a replica of Henry Hudson's Half Moon sails on the Hudson River near West Point, N.Y. Valley 1800s.” Explores river’s importance to the development of the Hudson Valley and the nation, using photographs, historical objects and video displays. Through Dec. 31, http://www.cmost.org.

THOMAS COLE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, Catskill — New exhibit featuring Hudson River views by the 19th century artist considered the founder of the Hudson River School, America’s first art movement.

May 2 through Oct. 11 at Cedar Grove, Cole’s home and restored studio. A series of monthly guided hikes will be offered to the local scenes in the paintings beginning June 6 and ending Oct. 3, http://www.explorethomascole.org.

TULIP FESTIVAL, Albany, May 8-10 — A state capital tradition now in its 61st year, the festival celebrates Albany’s deep Dutch roots. Events include the crowning of the Tulip Queen, live music, food vendors, children’s activities, arts and crafts, and 200,000

tulips on display, http://www.albanyevents. org.

NEW NETHERLAND INSTITUTE, Albany — Traveling exhibit: “Light on New Netherland.” More than two dozen panels tell the story of the Dutch colony, with period artwork by contemporary artist Len Tantillo and video featuring interviews with Charles Gehring, who has spent decades translating the state’s thousands of pages of 17th-century Dutch colonial documents for the institute’s New Netherland Project.

Exhibit will travel from Washington, D.C. to Grand Rapids, Mich., over the next year, with stops on Long Island and Dutchess County this summer and fall, respectively.

Check http://www.nnp.org for exact dates.

LAUNCHING OF THE ONRUST, Rotterdam Junction, mid-May — The Onrust (Dutch for restless) is a full-scale replica of the first Dutch ship built in North America.

Launched off Manhattan in 1614, the origi-

nal ship explored the New York and New England coasts. The replica will be launched in the Mohawk River at the 300-year-old Dutch farm where it’s being built. The Onrust’s launching date and schedule for 2009 are to be announced.

OLD DUTCH CHURCH, Kingston, May 30-31 — Celebration of the First Protestant Reformed Dutch Church’s 350th anniversary. Presentation of plaque from U.S. Department of Interior designating site a National Historic Landmark, 11 a.m., May 30.

Followed by Dutch celebration of Pinkster, or Pentecost, with re-enactors and church tours.

Festival service with parishioners from 50 other Dutch Reformed churches and choir performance, 4 p.m. May 31, http://www. olddutchchurch.org.

HUDSON RIVER DAY, New York CityAlbany, June 5-13 — “Relay Flotilla” assembles June 5 in New York Harbor, then heads upriver the next day, arriving June 13 in Albany with hundreds of vessels expected to retrace Henry Hudson’s voyage, including the Dutch replica ships Half Moon and Onrust, and the sloop Clearwater, a Poughkeepsie-based floating environmental education classroom, http://www.hudson400.com.

NATIVE AMERICAN ENCAMPMENT, Cohoes, June 6 — Held at the Van Schaick Mansion, named for the Dutch family that owned the island the home was built on in the mid-1700s. Located at the junction of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers just north of Albany, the site was a military headquarters in the 18th century. Activities include a living history program of Iroquois weapons, clothing and storytelling, http://www.vanschaickmansion.org.

CEMETERY TOUR, Menands, June 13 — Trolley tour of gravesites with stories told of the Albany area’s first Dutch settlers. Starts 10 a.m. at Albany Rural Cemetery, final resting place of the Van Rensselaers, Schuylers, Bleekers, and other members of the area’s prominent Dutch families dating back to the 17th century, http://www.albanyaquaducks.com WEST POINT CONCERTS, West Point — Continuing a tradition begun in 1817, the U.S. Military Academy Band performs alongside the Hudson. Two free concerts are scheduled, at 7:30 p.m. on June 21, and 8 p.m. on July 4, at Trophy Point Amphitheatre overlooking the river, http://www.westpoint.edu/band.

NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM, Albany —

Exhibit: “1609.” July 3 through March 2010.

Using artifacts from the state’s collection and historical images created by local artist Len Tantillo, the exhibit will re-examine Hudson’s voyage, the myths that surround it, and explore the legacies of his unexpected discovery. Also, an August-September tour from Vermont to Manhattan by the Day Peckinpaugh, the museum’s 259-foot, 1921 canal boat. Public tours of onboard maritime history exhibit scheduled at 15 ports, http:// www.nysm.nysed.gov.

RIP VAN WINKLE’S WACKY RAFT RACE, Athens to Catskill, Aug. 16 — 6mile race involving about two dozen nonmotorized, homemade rafts vying for prizes named after old Hudson steamships that raced against one another on the river. Starts at 11 a.m. at Riverfront Park, Athens and finishes at Dutchman’s Landing, Catskill, http://www.greenetourism.com.

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY, Albany, Sept.

14-Oct. 8 — The replica Half Moon recreates Henry Hudson’s voyage on the river, with 7th-grade students serving as the crew. Ship is open for public tours during Albany’s “quad” festival Sept. 26, http://www.halfmoon.mus.ny.us or http://www.newnetherland.org.

WALKWAY OVER THE HUDSON, Poughkeepsie-Highland, Oct. 2-4 — A 1.2-mile-long, 212-foot-high former railroad bridge-turned-walkway for pedestrians, hikers, joggers and bicyclists. “Grand Illumination” of the Walkway, 7 p.m., Oct. 2., with fireworks display. Official opening, 10 a.m. Oct. 3, with rowing races, parade, fly-over by vintage aircraft from the Olde Rhinebeck Aerodrome, http://walkway.org.

STEAMBOAT BICENTENNIAL, Germantown, Oct. 10 — Riverfront Trail grand opening and celebration at Clermont, estate of the prominent Livingston family whose members included a partner of steamboat inventor Robert Fulton. Activities include guided trail walks and re-enactments, http://www.nysparks.state.ny.us or http://www.friendsofclermont.org.

BATTLE RE-ENACTMENT, Kingston, Oct. 16-18 — Re-enactment of the burning of Kingston, the British attack on Oct. 16, 1777, during the Revolutionary War, when the old Dutch settlement (founded 1652) was the first capital of New York. Activities include redcoats landing in replica wooden boats, battle re-enactments, demonstrations of 18th century military camp life and colonial ball, http://firstulster.org.

Buffet City

Madison Mutual Insurance Company

Denny's

First Cloverleaf Bank

Tristin Lieberman - Columbus Elementary School - 5th Grade

Madelyn Harrison - St. Boniface School - 3rd Grade

Anna Odbrizzi - Lincoln Middle School - 7th Grade

Makayla Baker - Columbus Elementary School - 5th Grade

Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD – Page

St. Louis known for family-friendly attractions

By KRISTIN FINAN and PATRICK BADGLEY HOUSTON CHRONICLE ST. LOUIS — This is a city famous for its family-friendly attractions. From the Gateway Arch to City Museum to the St. Louis Zoo, there’s limitless entertainment for little ones of all shapes and sizes.

But St. Louis is also a playground for adults. With its breweries, bars, halfdozen casinos and live-music scene, this town offers a wide range of options for the 21-and-up set.

During a recent visit, we left our infant daughter with Grandma and hit the town to see what kind of grown-up thrills we could find. Here are our favorites.

Van Goghz Van Goghz Martini Bar and Bistro is a small spot with a big personality. Its bright logo draws visitors in, and a menu featuring toasted ravioli — a St. Louis favorite — and plenty more heavy or light options keeps them planted. It makes a great breakfast spot, with top-of-the-line biscuits and gravy and breakfast paninis.

If the sun’s going down and you’re in the mood for a drink, you’ve got plenty of martinis from which to pick. Take a minute to look around at the paintings.

He said: This has to be a sure sign the city is getting back on its feet. Where else can you find in one place an extensive

selection of martinis and biscuits and gravy that taste like Mama whipped them up? Somehow the vibe seems perfect for both.

She said: Since we were having breakfast at a martini bar, I couldn’t help but order a Bloody Mary martini. It wasn’t on the menu, but our bartender happily whipped one up anyway. From the salted rim to the three plump olives to the specks of pepper that collected in the base of the glass, it was perfect. That, along with the delicious breakfast and cool cafe atmosphere, made for a very enjoyable start to our day.

Schlafly Bottleworks St. Louis’ first new production brewery since the end of Prohibition, Schlafly Bottleworks is an alternative to the behemoth that is Anheuser-Busch InBev. At Bottleworks, you can take a free tour of the brewery, buy Schlafly T-shirts and sit on the patio with a bottle of Pilsner, Hefeweizen or Oatmeal Stout.

He said: The tour goes by quickly, and, well, you really don’t look at much of what’s happening behind the scenes, but if you want a few tastes from a microbrewer that really does it right, you should stop in. Our guide was quite informative in her brief chat. The rundown on St. Louis’ brewing history and some information on how Schlafly has performed since Belgium-headquartered InBev’s acquisition of Anheuser-Busch will keep

beer drinkers and the just-plain-curious entertained. The Dry-Hopped American Pale Ale was a real standout.

She said: Patrick is from St. Louis, and he and his friends used to take the Anheuser-Busch tour so often (for the education, not the free beer, I’m sure) that the guides practically knew them by name. So when I heard about Schlafly Bottleworks, I was grateful for the excuse to change it up. During the short but informative tour, we checked out historic photos in St. Louis beer history, listened to an explanation of Schlafly brewing techniques and stepped onto the brewery floor to watch bottles of Pale Ale make their way down the line. When our guide sent us home with a beer “bottled with love” on the date of our visit, I officially became a Schlafly convert.

Lumiere Place Calling itself an “exciting new adventure” that will “redefine your social life,” this $507 million casino and entertainment complex opened in late 2007. Aiming to bring a taste of Las Vegas to downtown St. Louis, it features a 75,000-squarefoot casino floor with more than 2,000 slot machines and 45 table games. The complex also has a 450-seat theater, two restaurants by chef Hubert Keller and two hotels, HoteLumiere and the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis.

He said: It still doesn’t have Vegas’ bright lights and excitement, but this

casino brings you much closer to the feel than others in St. Louis. A smarter, sleeker layout and a classier set of dining spots really make it feel like an escape.

She said: I expected Lumiere Place to be just another smoky, watered-down casino, but it manages to have a Vegas feel, which, for this big fan of Sin City, is a good thing. It was bright and upscale and the mood was friendly — even the doorman who checked my ID gave me a high-five. My only regret? Getting there too early to eat at the artfully decorated SLeeK steakhouse.

Fast Eddie’s Bon Air It’s a quick trip from downtown St. Louis to Alton, Ill., where you’ll step into the dimly lit Fast Eddie’s. Hop in a food line with the pacing of Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi, and experience a moment of disbelief at the prices. It happens to everyone, thanks to half-pound burgers and fresh bratwurst that go for 99 cents, a Big Elwood on a Stick — chunks of seasoned tenderloin steak with green peppers — for $2.99 and other equally cheap choices. Trust us, you’ll be amazed at the quality — and thus adhere to their master plan: Have another frosty beer. The amount of suds they serve could keep riverboats afloat on the Mighty Mississippi.

He said: We all dream of visiting Disney World and the Eiffel Tower at some point. But after hearing radio ads

and listening to adults chatter about the legendary Fast Eddie’s while growing up in St. Louis, I added it to my list of pilgrimages that had to be made.

Patrons must be at least 21, but it was worth the wait for Fast Eddie’s live music, unbelievably low prices and great mix of blue and white collars, many of which will have a drop or two of beer on them by the end of the night.

She said: My half-dozen peel ‘n’ eat jumbo shrimp — at 29 cents each — were tender and perfectly pink. As I dipped them in tangy cocktail sauce and washed them down with an ice-cold beer on the sun-warmed porch, I understood why this bar is considered one of the best in the country: Fast Eddie’s will slow your pace way down. It was the perfect finale to our adult’s day out.

IF YOU GO Van Goghz Martini Bar and Bistro: 3200 Shenandoah; 314-865-3345; www. vangoghz.com. Open at 7 a.m. daily.

Schlafly Bottleworks: 7260 Southwest Ave. in Maplewood; 314-241-2337; www. schlafly.com. Free daily tours.

Lumiere Place: 999 N. 2nd St.; 314-8817777; www.lumiereplace.com Fast Eddie’s Bon Air: 1530 E. 4th St. in Alton, Ill.; 618-462-5532; www.fasteddiesbonair.com. Open 1 p.m.-2 a.m.

Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-2 a.m.

Fridays-Sundays. Must be 21 to enter.

City info: www.explorestlouis.com

Does television really have a season anymore?

By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco --The old-school television season ends in May, and though the notion of a “season” at all makes no sense anymore, let’s take a look at what we’ve seen so far before it all goes away.

September: The month kicked off with “Raising the Bar” on TNT, Steven Bochco’s very average lawyer drama -- TNT all but owns “average.” But then a flush of greatness: FX kicked off the final season of “The Shield” and premiered “Sons of Anarchy,” which had a stellar season. HBO countered with “True Blood,” which was a lot of weird fun.

Then the network fare started flooding in. Fox’s “Fringe” became a hit, but the sitcom “Do Not Disturb”

was woeful (and canceled). CBS opened with “Worst Week” (star Kyle Bornheimer has now been cast in an ABC sitcom for next season, so that’s a bad sign), “The Mentalist,” which was a huge hit, and “Gary Unmarried” which wasn’t. NBC, in the first official sign it would have a lousy fall crop, premiered “Knight Rider.” Ugh. Showtime entered the game with the return of “Dexter” and “Californication,” the former creatively superior than the latter. HBO had a bigger hit-and-miss ratio with the superb animated series “The Life and Times of Tim,” and the woefully unfunny “Little Britain USA.” October: CBS’s romantic comedy “The Ex-List” came and went quickly, but “Eleventh Hour” did decently well. NBC stunk up the month (the season?) with “Kath & Kim,” “My Own Worst Enemy” and “Crusoe.” FX had an uncommon bomb of its own in “Testees,” while

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Starz tried to turn the film “Crash” into a series and -here it comes -- wrapped it around the tree of lameness (it will be revamped and return; oh, joy). ABC’s “Life on Mars” appeared with a splash and went out, canceled, with a curious whimper. HBO imported the comedy “Summer Heights High” from Australia and it was funnier than some of its originals.

While November and December were quiet, January was the unofficial start of the nebulous “midseason.”

January: “Damages” returned to FX but never matched the creative heights of Season 1; Jack was back on “24,” a series that no longer offers up much to critique -- it just is what it is; a cartoon. “Battlestar Galactica” roared through its final 10 episodes ever and proved that a genre series could reach the top tier of great television. “Friday Night Lights” returned, tenuously, to NBC and was recently rewarded with a

surprise two-season renewal. “Big Love” came back strong to HBO while die-hard fans debated the quality of the second season of “Flight of the Conchords.”

Showtime created another original series of merit in “The United States of Tara,” while keeping the underappreciated import “Secret Diary Of A Call Girl” around for a second season. TNT finally developed a series, “Trust Me,” that wasn’t merely average.

Unfortunately, nobody watched and it was canceled last week. Fox closed the month with a solid new hit, “Lie to Me.” February: Unfortunately, Fox kicked of the next month with the underwhelming “Dollhouse” from Joss Whedon, which has struggled for viewers. HBO’s one-note (and yes, that one note is pretty funny) “Eastbound & Down” split opinions on whether HBO’s programming was too inconsistent.

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Page –Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD

Perseverance is key to showing horses

By CAROLE FELDMAN Associated Press Olympian Will Simpson got hooked on horses after his mom saw an ad for two-for-one riding lessons and signed him and his sister up.

Competing in the Olympics was always a dream.

“I just kept pursuing it and working at it and finally it became a realization and a reality,” said Simpson, a member of the 2008 gold medalwinning U.S. show jumping team.

That’s the same advice he gives to people thinking about riding competitively.

“It takes a long time,” said Simpson, who started riding when he was 11. “You really have to persevere.”

The rewards, he said, go way beyond medals and ribbons. “It’s an amazing sense of accomplishment,” he said. “It corresponds to every walk of life, that trust and that teamwork.”

As with many sports, riding can provide camaraderie, and teach responsibility, a strong work ethic and the importance of helping others.

But unlike softball or soccer, it comes with a huge price tag, especially if you start competing in horse shows. You have to outfit horse and rider, cover trailer costs to transport the horse, and pay stall and entry fees. It’s not unusual for a show tab to reach thousands of dollars.

That doesn’t include the cost of owning or leasing a horse, including board and vet bills.

But Simpson, 49, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., said there are plenty of ways to work around the barn to help pay the bills.

“Everything’s expensive — tennis lessons, piano lessons,” he said.

What’s important is hanging in there, even when it seems you’re not making much progress. “It has to get in your blood,” he said.

GETTING STARTED Given competitive riding’s cost and time commitment, it’s not something to get into lightly.

“Horses are wonderful creatures but they require a lot of work,” said Joanie Morris, a spokeswoman for the United States Equestrian Federation.

First-time riders are mostly young, she said.

They also tend to be female, said

Associated Press

This Aug. 18, 2008 file photo shows Olympian Will Simpson as he rides Carlsson Vom Dach during the equestrian team Show Jumping competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong. Simpson, who started riding when he was 11, got hooked on horses after his mom saw an ad for two-for-one riding lessons and signed him and his sister up. Competing in the Olympics was always a dream.

Frank Willard, owner and trainer at Deep River Farm in Oak Ridge, N.C. “All girls love horses and guys get tired of getting beat by the girls,” he said. Most professional riders, however, are male, he said.

People start competing in horse shows for various reasons, Morris said, but one thing is constant: “I don’t run into very many people, maybe a handful, who aren’t crazy

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about horses.”

For new riders, the most important thing is choosing a barn, Willard said.

There you can take group or individual lessons in the basics: walking, trotting, cantering or jumping a fence, for example. A rider must learn how to care for a horse, including cooling it off after a ride, grooming it and cleaning its tack. Only once those

skills are mastered should someone consider the show ring.

“We’re trying to have a partnership, or a dance with the horse that is based on mutual communication,” said Miranda Scott, head trainer at Meadowbrook Stables in Chevy Chase, Md. “The horse has to understand what you’re asking it to do and you’re asking it to do all these weird, arbitrary things.”

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COMPETING Many barns hold their own shows so students can get the feel of competing. Riders may start out with flat classes — walk, trot, canter — leaving jumps for later. The next level is “schooling shows,” which let students test their skills and confidence in the ring against riders from other barns.

As riders become more accomplished, they can move on to the more competitive rated shows.

There are several disciplines in which a rider can compete.

In hunter classes, the horse’s movements are judged on the flat and over jumps. In equitation, it is the rider’s performance that is judged. Jumper classes are less subjective — judging is based on whether the horse clears the jumps within a specified time. Dressage is a series of exercises based on a horse’s natural movements.

TRAINERS Whatever the discipline, finding a good trainer is key.

What should you look for in a trainer? “Someone you feel comfortable with, who provides a safe environment for you to ride in and matches your goals,” Morris said.

Sometimes you have to try a few before you find the right fit.

A trainer can help riders find the right horse for their skills and size.

A child may start out on a small pony, for example, then move on to a larger one before graduating to a horse.

GEAR Then, there’s the job of outfitting horse and rider.

There’s a uniform of sorts for riders: show coat and shirt, breeches and tall boots. And don’t forget the helmet. U.S. Equestrian Federation safety rules bar anyone from riding in Hunter, Jumper and Hunt Seat Equitation classes without proper headgear.

Most expensive is the saddle, which can range from $1,000 to $4,500, according to Berk Lee, a competitive rider and owner of the Tack Box store in Middleburg, Va. You also need a bridle, reins, martingale and bit, stirrups and leathers, and saddle pads.

“Fit is very important, especially with the tack for the horse,” Lee said.

A consignment shop can be a good resource, Lee said, especially when shopping for children, who outgrow their stuff so quickly.

Put all the pieces together, and there’s something magical about horse and rider working together in the show ring, Scott said.

“The real reward,” she said, “is when that horse snuggles you.”

••• So you want to compete in horse shows? Some things you’ll have to do: MASTER YOUR SKILLS: Learning to ride a horse takes practice. You have to know how to ask a horse for a particular gait and to jump fences.

TAKE CARE OF THE HORSE: A horse needs good veterinary care, including vaccinations, proper feed and exercise. It must be bathed and groomed and its stall must be cleaned.

PICK YOUR DISCIPLINE: Do you want to jump in hunter or equitation classes or work a horse through the fine movements of dressage?

FIND A GOOD TRAINER: Do the trainer’s goals match your own?

Is he or she pushing you too fast, or not fast enough? Is safety paramount?

OUTFIT THE HORSE: Tack must fit properly, which is important for both safety and appearance.

DRESS YOURSELF: Proper attire is required for the show ring.

SAVE UP: Showing a horse can be expensive, especially as you move into the upper divisions.

This is the 38th Anniversary of the

DRAW AN AD CONTEST!

Over 600 entries were assigned to kids in our community grades 3-8. Once again, the contest was a huge success and it was obvious students worked long and hard to produce their best possible work.

We would like to express our appreciation to everyone who helped with this year’s contest: � Lincoln Middle School � Columbus School � Woodland Elementary School � Hamel Elementary School � Midway Elementary School � St. Boniface Catholic School � St. Mary’s Catholic School � Trinity Lutheran School � Trinity St. Paul School � Worden Elementary School � The Advertisers � The Teachers who made this a class project � Joyce Freitag, Judge � Amy Ligibel, Judge � Sherrie Hickman, Judge � Alfonzo’s � McDonald’s � Turn 2 � Bobby’s Frozen Custard

But Most of All...

The kids who took the time and energy to submit their entries. Without them, this would not be possible.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN NEXT YEAR!

Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD – Page

There are many reasons to learn a new language

By FRANCINE PARNES Associated Press There are many reasons to pick up a new language, from personal enrichment to career advancement.

“People recognize that the world is shrinking, and to function as educated, globally competent citizens, we need to learn languages other than English,” says Rosemary G. Feal, executive director of the Modern Language Association, in New York.

Foreign language study at U.S. colleges and universities increased 13 percent from 2002 to 2006, with Spanish the most popular, followed

by French, then German, according to Feal’s association, which reported a significant uptick in Arabic, Chinese and Korean, too.

There are also many ways to go about learning a language, however. You might turn to tapes, books or videos; hire a tutor; take a class; register for an online course; or immerse yourself in an overseas program.

Some say a mix of methods may be best. Many language teachers cite Harvard education professor Howard Gardner, known for his theory

that people have several kinds of intelligence.

“The most successful language teachers use interwoven, overlapping activities that appeal to multiple learning styles,” in keeping with Gardner ’s ideas, says Joel Goldfield, who teaches French at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn.

“So I favor language teaching that provides well-organized yet somewhat spontaneous activities and materials that appeal through sight, sound, analytic thinking and body language.”

Here are some methods that draw cries of “magnifique” or “Wunderbar” from the experts: IMMERSION While immersion comes in many forms, you can’t beat personal interaction.

“The best method is to learn face-to-face from native speakers,” says Michael Fee, managing director of Lango, which is headquartered in San Francisco and offers Spanish, French and Mandarin classes for kids age 18 months to 9 years old.

“Learning a language is about learning to communicate, and communication isn’t just learning new words,” he says. “It’s responding in context, watching facial muscles to learn how words

are pronounced, learning gestures and inflection as well as vocabulary and grammar. CD’s, DVD’s and other non-human interaction can be a great support, but the foundation has to be real, human interaction.”

If you can swing it, head abroad: You’ll take in the language 24/7. One of the best approaches “combines an accelerated or immersion structure within the target country,” says Goldfield, of Fairfield University.

Barring that, an immersion program at school can be a next-best approach, he says.

“The student stays in a simulated foreign environment, typically with a pledge to speak exclusively — or nearly — in the target language.”

COMPUTER SOFTWARE Since few people can free up the time or means to uproot to a foreign country for extended study, says Tom Adams, “the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself through continuous practice.”

Adams advocates “software that utilizes imagery, repetition, sound, and interaction.” As president and CEO of Rosetta Stone in Arlington, Va., he offers a program of language software that is interactive and set up similarly to a video

game.

In a matching section, for example, the student has to match the spoken word with the correct image on the screen. In a speaking section, the program says a word, and the student must repeat the word correctly in order to continue.

In another section, which simulates a real-world situation, the student is required to ask questions via typing and speaking.

CD’s Audio CD’s or downloads are “the single best way to learn a language,” says Mark Frobose of Avondale, Ariz., author and founder of Macmillan Audio’s foreign language audio line.

The series, called “Behind the Wheel,” is portable and versatile, says Frobose, who speaks five languages.

“You can learn to speak a language while driving, while shopping or at the gym — anywhere,” he says.

His program, which is most popular in Spanish, followed by Italian and French, focuses on “speed immersion,” which purports to teach students how to create their own simple sentences in the first half-hour of instruction.

Take all the steps necessary to form a book club

By CAROLE FELDMAN Associated Press In living rooms and libraries, bookstores and over the Internet, readers are coming together to discuss books. It’s an old idea that’s been popularized anew by Oprah’s Book Club, now nearly 2 million strong.

Consider: A single posting on a listserve for a Washington, D.C., neighborhood generated so much interest that four book clubs were formed.

“First I expected someone to say (they) had an opening” in an existing book club, said Sandi Branker, who filed the posting and led one of the clubs that started. “Most people said, I’d like to join a book club, too.”

A book club can be a great way to get together with friends — or meet new people — and get some intellectual stimulation to boot. But creating one that clicks takes planning.

For instance, you don’t want a club that’s so big that people don’t get a chance to talk. Or one that’s too small, without enough voices.

About 15 or 20 is good, said Carol Sheffer, president of the Public

Library Association, a division of the American Library Association.

WHO Lining up members is the first step in forming a book club.

“Find a group of people that you’re comfortable with, not necessarily people you agree with on every issue, but people you want to be around,” said Kevin Ryan, vice president for social media at Barnes & Noble, Inc. Diversity is key, Branker agrees. It helps keeps the discussion going.

If you don’t want to do an online posting like Branker did, public libraries can help, as can bookstores and word of mouth.

“In some libraries, the librarians take the initiative and form a book club,” Sheffer said.

Same goes for bookstores. Barnes & Noble, for example, has both online and in-store book clubs.

When Wendie Lubic of Washington, D.C., started a motherdaughter book club with a friend, “We wanted people who were friendly but who were going to be open to other people being there,” she said. “We wanted kids who really loved reading.”

The club started when the girls were in fourth grade and continued

until they graduated from high school last June. Now, with their daughters in college, the mothers keep the club going — for themselves. “It’s absolutely about keeping our relationship together,” Lubic said.

WHEN How often should the group meet?

As the daughters in Lubic’s group got older and their schedules busier, the group met less frequently. “We always set a calendar at the beginning of the year,” she said. “We rarely if ever changed a date.”

Many book clubs set once-amonth meeting times — enough time to read the book, usually, and frequent enough to keep the connection going.

WHAT After you get the group together, picking books is the next step.

Will the group read only fiction, or will it focus on biographies, science fiction or some other genre?

“Often the leader picks the books, but most leaders are very accepting of suggestions,” Sheffer said.

“Sometimes the clubs actually vote on it. It depends on the dynamic of the particular group.”

At first, Branker’s group voted by e-mail on a list of books submitted by members, but she felt discussion would lead to better selections. So she began distributing a paragraph on each nominated book, and at a meeting the person nominating each book would explain why. Then the group voted.

“Everyone felt like we had more of a choice,” Branker said. “It was very democratic.”

Some clubs allow the person hosting the next meeting to pick the book.

In its tips for getting started, Oprah’s Book Club offers a few other suggestions. Among them: “Simply take turns. Go alphabetically, by birthdays, or by whatever you decide. Whoever’s turn it is selects the next book to be read.”

And if that doesn’t work, libraries or bookstores can make recommendations.

HOW How the book is discussed varies.

Take online book clubs: Barnes & Noble has about 20 to 30 active ones on its Web site. Participants discuss the books on a message board.

“You can pose a question today

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and people will be able to interact with it days on end,” Ryan said.

“You can participate in a book club 24 hours a day at your own convenience.”

Sometimes authors visit the board.

However, many people like the social interaction of face-to-face book club discussions, “having that debate rather than answering a blog or something,” Sheffer said.

Branker’s club starts its meeting with a half-hour social gathering over dessert, coffee and wine.

Conversation about the book follows.

To get it going, one member does a presentation about the

author, including biographical material and other works.

“Somebody needs to start with asking the question to get the discussion rolling,” Sheffer said. “It should be some thoughtful provocative question.”

Some books now provide author interviews and questions in the back of the book to help clubs get started. Online sites also offer points of discussion.

The most important thing, Sheffer said, is to be respectful of other people and their opinions.

“You’re not going to love every book,” Branker said. “It’s supposed to be that we should have differences.”

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Page 10 – Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD

Get motivated, organized and write a book

By BETH J. HARPAZ Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Is writing a book on your life list? Maybe you want to get your family history down, or create a collection of poems or recipes. Perhaps you’d like to write a manual or a how-to book for your clients. And while some folks dream of commercial success, others just want to express themselves.

Whatever your goals, here’s some advice on everything from getting started to selfpublishing.

START WRITING: Get into a writing routine. Some people swear by journals; others like to write early in the morning, before dreams are forgotten and the day’s distractions begin.

One way to do it: “Every morning at 5:30 a.m., get up and meditate, then write,” said Jan Sadler, a writing coach and publications specialist in western Massachusetts.

Deborah Edler Brown, who runs writing workshops in the Los Angeles area, had a student who worked out daily but couldn’t find time to write. Brown said, “What would happen if you took your notebook to the gym, and wrote either before or after?

It’s a place you already made a habit of going to.”

Some writers treasure solitude. For others, a class can help.

“It’s like having a trainer,” said Brown.

“Anybody can exercise by themselves but not everyone is successful doing that.”

Sadler recommends writing retreats.

“Just leave behind the cell phone or the BlackBerry,” she said.

Don’t worry about making your writing perfect. “You don’t know how many times bad writing clears the way for the thing you really want to say,” Brown said.

Brown uses random words to prompt short in-class assignments: “When you sit with a group of people and write for five minutes after pulling the word ’apple’ out of a bowl, you realize how much can be done in a tiny amount of time. You don’t need three hours a day.”

Sadler, who offers writing workshops at the Springfield (Mass.) Museums, recommends visual prompts. “Visit the museum if you want to get away,” she said. “Take your notebook some quiet morning. Sit in front of a painting or in a corner. The quiet and the imagery will really speak to you.”

GET ORGANIZED: Create “physical homes” for your project, said Brown. Get a file folder, and “when you see an article that has to do with the story you want to write, or the photo that goes with your memoir,

put it in there.”

Create a folder in your inbox, too, and save copies of all relevant e-mails.

Sadler said nonfiction writers should also make a “map or plan of where you’re going. It’s another word for an outline with subject headings, and once that’s done, everything just flows in.”

Sadler added that nonfiction writers must “define the boundaries of their material” and be able to explain their projects in a sentence or two.

Once you start writing, find ways to keep going. “Life interrupts you and three weeks later, you’re trying to pick up the thread and you’ve lost the spark. That’s heartbreaking,” said Sadler. “If you have to leave a piece, jot down a few notes as a memory jogger. Do Post-It notes.”

Try leaving the last sentence unfinished, so that you have something easy to start with when you resume.

LIFE STORIES: Would you like to write up your childhood memories, or help a loved one tell the family story?

GreatLifeStories.com can help. This Web site is free, easy to use and fun, with tips for interviewing and an outline for capturing a life story in 12 chapters. Themes range from childhood and school years to jobs, romance, favorite pets and vacations.

Uploading stories and photos is free.

GreatLifeStories also turns stories into books for as little as $20 a copy — perfect for the next family reunion.

Reading other stories on the site may inspire you. Or get out a photo album and “begin recollecting stories that the pictures bring forward,” said Phil Gibson, a cofounder of the Web site.

But don’t wait too long to approach family elders. “Capturing a family’s life stories only becomes urgent almost when it’s too late,” said Gibson. “If there’s a serious fall or serious illness, it can make you realize that the person who is the keeper of family knowledge can fade away very quickly.”

SELF-PUBLISHING: Recent technology has lowered the cost of self-publishing a book, from “thousands of dollars to hundreds of dollars,” said Jason R. Rich, author of “Self-Publishing For Dummies” (Wiley, 2006).

“You can publish a few copies for yourself, 100 copies for a family reunion, or 1,000 copies to distribute and sell. You can do full-color books that look as good as any book in the bookstore, and you don’t need an artistic or publishing background,” Rich said.

One type of self-publishing, printing on demand, is basically “a glorified Xerox

machine that takes a PDF file and creates a bound manuscript with a push of a button,” Rich said.

Print-on-demand services like Lulu.com sell books through Amazon or other sites.

Copies are only printed and shipped when someone orders them. Authors set the price for the book, pay $5 to $10 of the printing cost, and earn 15 to 20 percent of the sale.

Alternatively, you could order a set number of copies, pay all costs upfront, and distribute and sell them yourself.

But consider hiring a professional editor from a site like Craigslist, eLance.com or guru.com before you publish. “If you’re an expert in your field and you publish a book that has typos or other errors, your credibility gets shot,” Rich said.

Remember that bookstores generally do not carry self-published books. To sell your manuscript to a conventional publisher, you’ll probably need an agent. A book like “Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents” (Three Dog Press, 2009) can get you started, but be prepared for a long, frustrating process.

That’s why Brown encourages her writing students to have fun. “Success in writing is always such a long shot that you have to enjoy the process,” said Brown. “If you’re not enjoying it, what’s the point?”

Poker Players Association looks for legal online access WASHINGTON (AP) — The Poker Players Alliance is betting $3 million that it can overturn an Internet gambling ban, or at least carve out an exemption that would legalize and regulate online poker.

The alliance, chaired by former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, R-N.Y., says it plans to spend that much on lobbying in this session of Congress. The group gets its money from the Interactive Gaming Council, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based trade association for online casinos, as well as from its poker player members.

The alliance is up against some tough competition.

The National Football League says gambling threatens the integrity of its games and has made preserving the Internet ban a priority in Washington. Last year, the league hired a full-time lobbyist and started a political action committee to make campaign donations.

At issue is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which Congress passed at the end of 2006. The law aimed to curb online gambling by prohibiting financial institutions from accepting payments from credit cards, checks or electronic fund transfers to settle online wagers.

At least half the $16 billion Internet gambling industry, which is largely hosted on overseas sites, is estimated to be fueled by bettors in the United States.

In the last congressional session, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee pushed unsuccessfully to repeal the ban. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.,

plans to try again soon, a committee spokeswoman said.

The colorful and outspoken D’Amato was a natural choice to lead the Poker Players Alliance, even though it was his former GOP colleagues who had pushed the 2006 gambling ban. As a senator, D’Amato organized poker games with staffers and lobbyists in his office.

“We’d order pizza or Chinese, and we would play until the session was over. Sometimes it would end at 10:30, 11,” he recalled in an interview with The Associated Press. “And maybe we’d play an hour or two later. It was a lot of fun. And in those days, we were even allowed to smoke cigars in federal buildings.”

D’Amato lost his re-election race to Democrat Chuck Schumer in 1998. Since then a lot of poker playing has moved to the Internet.

“How dare you come into my house and tell me what I can and can’t do on the Internet!” D’Amato said, citing online activities from business transactions to Facebook, even bragging about the number of friends he has on the social network site — more than 700.

“The Republican conservatives, who basically say” — and at this point, he shifts his tone to a mock, nagging voice, “’We want less government,’ come in and intrude, and they say, ’No, you can’t do this.”’

“It’s a cause for personal choice and freedom that I’ve always thought epitomizes what this country’s about,” added D’Amato, who plays poker Monday nights at

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The NFL sees things differently.

“We are opposed to more gambling on our games which is what would occur if the 2006 law was overturned,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an e-mail.

“We understand that illegal gambling currently occurs but there is little we can do about that,” he said.

“However, we can exercise our right to oppose Internet betting on our games. ... Gambling on our games — online or off-line — threatens the integrity of our games and all the values they represent.”

Other sports backed the 2006 ban as well, including the NCAA and professional baseball, basketball and hockey, but the NFL led the effort. The Christian Coalition also reported lobbying to preserve the ban.

The NFL has opposed gambling on professional football for many years. Pete Rozelle, commissioner from 1960 to 1989, feared tampering by organized crime.

D’Amato said he had no problem with letting leagues ban betting on their games, but argued that online poker should be legal.

“What about the elderly, who have no ability to travel?” he asked. “You’re going to say to them that a form of entertainment that they have — they should be precluded from because Big Brother says no?”

The 2006 law didn’t provide a clear definition of unlawful Internet gambling, instead referring to existing federal and state laws, which themselves provoke

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differing interpretations. The Justice Department maintained that Internet gambling is illegal even before the 2006 law.

Former Rep. Jim Leach, an Iowa Republican who helped write the law, told the AP he recognizes the libertarian argument for allowing gambling. “The question is, is it compelling?” he asked. “It’s not a close call.”

Leach called Internet gambling “a double-whammy for society. It is so seductively habit-forming that individuals can in short order lose their homes and jobs and, indeed, their families and futures. And the effects on individuals redound into society.”

The way D’Amato sees it, if the government were to regulate and tax online poker, it could ensure the games are fair and generate hundreds of millions of dollars to combat gambling addiction or other problems.

“How do you like that?” he said. “Raise some revenue during these difficult periods.”

Last year, the Poker Players Alliance established a political action committee that made around $50,000 in campaign contributions, but its members had been active even before that. Leach lost his re-election race in 2006 after drawing the ire of poker players, who take credit for helping defeat him.

Leach, now a professor of public and international affairs at Princeton University, doesn’t contest that. “I realized that support for the bill jeopardized my re-election,” he said.

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Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD – Page 11

Sorting your way to a better home-filing system

By MELISSA KOSSLER DUTTON Associated Press Determined to bring order to your home office this year?

Tax season is the perfect time to do it because you’ll already be combing through financial records and sorting paperwork.

“Just having a plan can save hours of searching,” said Debra Pankow, a family economics specialist with the North Dakota State University Extension Service.

The first step is determining which documents should be saved and which can be tossed.

Things to keep include tax records for at least three years; paperwork related to a divorce, adoption, lawsuit or military service; and documents on a vehicle, insured items or your home.

It’s OK to dispose of paperwork that can be obtained easily from another source, such as cancelled checks, credit card statements and utility bills.

For more details on what to hold on to, Pankow suggested visiting www. extension.org/pages/Which—Papers— to—Keep and www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ yf/fammgmt/fe445w.htm. Home management expert Deniece Schofield sends people to www.bankrate.com or www. irs.gov for similar information.

“Armed with that information, you can tackle that pile of stuff and make safe, active decisions,” said Schofield, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who has written four books about home organization.

Professional organizer Sara Bereika tells clients to create file names that mean something to them, rather than using conventional labels.

She also suggests minimizing the stream of paperwork flowing into your

house to begin with. Get off mailing lists, she says, and she recommends services such as www.greendimes.com that help do that.

“Junk mail is a big problem,” said Bereika, owner of Neat, an organizing service in Richmond, Va. “Prevention is the first thing I recommend. You’ve got to keep the junk from coming to your home.”

Some more of the pros’ tips for creating an organized home filing system: 1. Start by sorting paperwork into four categories: a. Household goods: owners manuals, receipts, warranties and other papers for appliances, computer equipment, yard equipment, etc. b. Family business: identification documents, insurance policies, car titles, etc. c. Financial papers: bills, bank statements and receipts.

d. Reference materials: articles torn from newspapers or magazines, travel brochures, etc.

2. Once you have the paperwork sorted, you can start breaking out categories within each group.

3. Buy an expandable filing folder to store the household goods paperwork.

Label the pockets A to Z, and file by the first letter of the appliance. (Go through this file every few years and pitch the manuals to items you no longer own.)

4. For the family business files, consider creating a file for every member of the family or every type of information: birth certificates, social security cards, etc. Make separate files for health, car, home and life insurance. Create additional files for 401k and investment information, mortgage paperwork, credit card information, bank statements and medical records. You may want to store copies of important ID papers in your

files and keep the originals in a safety deposit box or fireproof container.

5. Make a tax file. Fill it with receipts from charitable donations, proof of purchases or travel that you intend to claim and other tax-related information. Store it with the family business files.

6. If you opt to save receipts and bills, file them by month in a set of files labeled January through December.

7. The family business files and monthly financial files will likely fit in the same file-cabinet drawer. Put the monthly files at the front as you will access them more often.

8. Create folders for your interests and hobbies and file your reference material according to subject. Consider scanning this information and storing it on disc.

9. Make a list of the information contained in each file drawer and tape it to the front or slide it in front of the first file.

An interview with free-range mom Lenore Skenazy

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Writer Lenore Skenazy could have slinked off to mommyland, stripped of her self-esteem and parenting confidence after her public stoning for letting her 9year-old son ride home alone on a New York City subway.

Coulda, but didn’t.

Instead, Skenazy was buoyed by a healthy legion of supporters. She quickly followed up her revelation in the New York Sun newspaper (make that the nowdefunct New York Sun) with numerous TV appearances, her offspring by her side as if to reassure the world that he survived in one piece, and to make it clear that his was a voluntary journey underground.

During all the TV hopping, she put up a Web site, Freerangekids. com, dedicating it to safe but sane parenting. Skenazy invited parents to share how they let their kids “free range” by doing things like riding bikes alone to the library or walking solo to school.

The goal? “Giving our kids the freedom we had without going nuts with worry,” she told them, suggesting she might “one day collect their tips in a book.”

A year to the month after waving goodbye to her child in Bloomingdale’s, arming him with a subway map, MetroCard, $20 in cash and several quarters (in case he had to make a call), Skenazy has made good on the book thing with her “Free-Range Kids.”

The book serves up statistics aimed at easing the fears of today’s helicopter parents over everything from sexual predators to salmonella from ingesting raw cookie dough (it’s the eggs). Skenazy offers “14 Commandments” for parents on how they can accomplish free rangehood, along with an A-Z guide on why all things scary aren’t any more so than when most were kids themselves.

An interview with Lenore Skenazy: AP: You’ve been excoriated as “America’s Worst Mom” and revered as a parental freedom fighter. Had you anticipated the

depth of emotion when you wrote the column about putting your son on the subway?

Skenazy: Nothing prepared me for the response. Not only was the media attention a total shock — so was being judged by strangers. (I’m sorry for anything I ever wrote about you, Madonna!) I don’t think I’m a hero, but I sure don’t think I’m America’s Worst Mom. I’m just trying to raise my kids the way I was raised. People reacted so intensely probably because I was not just pontificating. I actually sent my dear son alone into the bowels of the earth — and if you’re not from New York the subway seems a lot scarier than it is.

AP: Why did you decide to turn this controversy into a book?

Skenazy: The weekend after the column exploded I started freerangekids.com to explain that Free-Range parents are not negligent. My God — my kids think I’m a safety nut. We use safety belts, bike helmets, weird little wire toothpicks to help us superfloss. But my husband and I also allow them to get themselves to school and the store, because once you prepare your kids, these things are not unsafe. I wrote the book to say: The fear that has made these activities seem radical is new. It has been foisted upon us by terrifying TV shows, and “experts” with babyproofing services to peddle, and the Kiddie Safety-Industrial Complex that’s always coming up with unlikely but awful scenarios so it can sell us stuff to guard against them — like, so help me, “baby knee pads” so your kid doesn’t injure her knees learning to crawl.

AP: Your son’s historic trip is about a year old. Does he ride regularly by himself now that’s he 10, or was it a one-off journey for him? Has he enjoyed his time in the media spotlight as a key figure in your free-range movement? Did it make a difference in his life?

Skenazy: For a couple weeks after the column ran, my son didn’t even have a chance to ride the subway alone and I was like, “’Come on! You are the boy who rides the subway! Get on that train!”’ Then he started going to

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an afterschool program that’s a bus and subway ride from school, so — yay — he became an avid commuter. As for fame: He loved being on TV and manages to point out every ad featuring his pal, Dr. Phil. But I don’t think the whole thing has totally gone to his head. It’s not like he got to make a touchdown for the New York Giants.

AP: Your book mixes advice with a lot of cold hard facts focused on tempering much of the hysteria that has contributed to helicopter parenting. Do you think you’ll change any minds, or are you preaching to the choir?

Skenazy: It is hard to change anyone’s mind about anything!

But one of the reasons so many of us are so scared these days is that the other side — the, “Something is going to hurt your child any moment!” side — has a huge voice. It’s the one on the milk cartons. It’s the one saying, “Is your baby bottle toxic? Stay tuned!”

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little voice that says, “You’re allowed to ask yourself: ’Did I grow up walking to school by myself? Did my mom need a bath thermometer to figure out if the water was going to scald me? Did I survive drinking from a baby bottle?”’

AP: Your parenting philosophy relies heavily on the past, promoting the idea that WE the parents were raised far freer range than the norm today. But doesn’t this romanticize history just a bit? We were free range, to be sure, but was it partly due to our parents being a touch more clueless, less tuned in and able to connect with us kids?

Skenazy: I’m sure I romanticize the past. I’m middle aged! The only thing I can’t romanticize is crime. And the fact is that crime today is on par with the level in the early ’70s, according to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, which bases its analy-

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ses on FBI statistics. From the early ’70s till about 1993, crime was on the rise. But since 1993, it has plunged (thanks to better policing, more unstable folks on meds, and maybe even cell phones), to the point where sex crimes against juveniles — the crimes we’re most afraid of — are down 79 percent!

That means if you grew up anytime in the ’70s or ’80s, it’s actually safer today than when you were a kid. So when parents say they’d really LIKE

to let their kids play outside more — even on the front lawn — but they’re afraid, I just want them to know that their children are no more likely to be kidnapped or molested than we were when we were kids.

This is hard to believe when cable TV blares the scariest stories from around the world, 24 hours a day. But if abductions were really so common, we wouldn’t need to import those stories from Aruba and Portugal.

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Page 12 – Thursday, April 23, 2009 – DRAW AN AD

Three steps to the perfect flower garden

By JIM FITZGERALD Associated Press Start small in spring. Watch carefully in summer. Plant daffodils in fall.

If you’re thinking about creating your first flower garden in 2009, following those three steps will give you a good chance at success, a lowcost test to judge whether horticulture is for you, and a basic introduction to the joys and successes that await if you continue next year.

START SMALL You’ll be happiest if you contain yourself to a small plot. It may not be easy to rein in your plans, especially when you come across photos of spectacular landscapes in the countless catalogs and online offers that will inevitably come your way.

Failure is a constant in gardening, but success in a small space is far preferable to an ambitious undertaking that leads to dying plants and raging weeds.

Besides, if after one year you find out gardening’s not for you, you’ll have spent less time, money and effort to find out. And if your little plot flourishes, and you find yourself delighted, you’ll have a better idea of what you’re in for as you expand your space, try new plants and test more complicated techniques in 2010.

With that in mind, your first step is to pick out a good spot, assuming you have a choice. If your climate is temperate, you’ll want as much sun as possible. As you gain experience you’ll want to deal with the challenges and pleasures of gardening in the shade, but that can wait.

(Would-be gardeners in the hottest parts of the country have special requirements and should seek local advice.)

Remember that you’ll have to drag a hose or lug a watering bucket to your garden, so don’t put it too far from a spigot. And if you can, place it where you can see it from inside or where you’ll pass it every day. It’s easy to neglect a hidden garden.

Testing your soil and learning

Associated Press

In this undated file photo provided by Ball Horticultural Co., a container is filled with a type of New Guinea impatiens called Fanfare Bright Coral. You'll be happiest if you contain yourself to a small plot. Success in a small space is far preferable to an ambitious undertaking that leads to dying plants and raging weeds. how to improve it — with compost, peat moss, manure and such — is an important and interesting part

of gardening but that can wait until next year. Remember, we’re sticking to the basics in 2009.

The next step is to literally dig in.

Wait until spring frosts are unlikely in your region (a date you can get from your local Cooperative Extension or other online source) and the ground is not wet, and then grab a pitchfork or spade and dig down into your little plot to break up the soil. You’ll want to remove stones, grass and weeds and break up big clods of earth so your baby plants can get a foothold. Toss in some fertilizer (ask for a balanced, time-released type), rake it smooth, water well and you’re ready for planting.

Don’t worry, just yet, about seeds.

It’s great fun to start seeds inside, giving you a head start on the season, but it can also be tricky — again, wait to see if you’re interested next year. This year, just head to your local garden center and see what annuals are for sale.

Annuals are plants that live their entire life in one year. Perennials are the ones that survive winter and return in spring. Under our keeping-it-simple program, restrict yourself to annuals this year (until fall, when we get to the daffodils). But keep dreaming about the perennials, shrubs and trees — to say nothing of vegetables — you can try later. After all, you have a lifetime.

Ask for advice at the garden center, or from gardening neighbors, about which annuals might do best in your plot: consider marigolds and zinnias if it’s really sunny, impatiens and wax begonias if you’re stuck with shade. They come in little plastic cells, often in six-packs or flats of 24. Remember that they’re going to get a lot bigger, so don’t overbuy.

Pick plants that are compact rather than leggy, green rather than yellowing, with buds rather than already in flower.

Water those babies when you get them home, then head out to your waiting garden plot with your plants, a trowel and a watering can.

One by one, pop them out of their cells, spread their roots just a bit, dig a small hole with the trowel and carefully set them into the bed. Firm the soil around the roots, then immediately water each plant well. Next

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morning, water them again.

WATCH CAREFULLY OK, the garden is in. But you have to keep an eye on it as you wait for the payoff of beautiful flowers.

Don’t rely on rain; keep the watering can handy and make sure the soil is always moist just under the surface. In summer, you’ll have to check daily. If you go away, employ a neighbor.

Keep after the inevitable weeds. If mulch is available, it will help, but your garden is small enough, and you’re watching closely enough, that you can keep on top of invaders.

By July, the original fertilizer may be exhausted; add more, following the directions on the package. If your plants get so tall they want to flop, use twigs or stakes to prop them up.

If any problems develop, or you’re invaded by deer or other critters, go online or to the garden center for solutions. Horticulture and Fine Gardening magazines, along with

Martha Stewart and many others, have excellent sites.

Meanwhile, enjoy! Watch those buds turn into blooms under your care. Cut some for inside. Brag a little.

PLANT DAFFODILS Come October, it’s time to expand beyond your little plot and think about next year. Buy as many daffodil bulbs as you can afford (well, keep it under 100). Pick up fat, firm ones at the garden center and plant them 6 to 8 inches deep wherever you’d like to see them pop up (but not where they’ll get mowed with the grass).

As your annuals die with the frost and winter sets in, and you begin thinking about next year’s garden (and keeping a garden journal), you’ll know that under the frozen soil, these wonderful, nearly carefree bulbs are already waiting to release bright yellow (or white, or pink) flowers to greet you next spring.

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