Lee Magazine - August / September 2011 by Lee Magazine

LEE M

FINGER FOOD:

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 FREE

VOLUME 4 • NUMBER 3

In Praise of the Sandwich ALABAMA PARADISE: Come See What Patti’s Growing Now!

Tell you what...

Remembering Our Friend A tribute by Joanne Camp

ne summer day in 1970, a teen-ager knocked on the door of my family’s new Sixth Street home and demanded to know who was sleeping in her bed. We had just moved into the former home of Dr. Roy McLure, and the dentist’s granddaughter, Betsy, wanted to know who got the room her grandfather had set aside for her. With that abrupt introduction began a forty-year friendship that outlasted high school, college, first jobs, boyfriends, boyfriends, boyfriends, and husbands. During high school, Betsy was a fixture at my house, and I at hers. We were young mothers together. And when our children were teenagers, and I, at fortyone, announced I was pregnant, she excitedly exclaimed, “That’s great! We don’t have to wait for our children to have Betsy McLure Blake grandchildren. We’ll just have our own.” Betsy was always pushing me out of my comfort zone. Soon after we met, she took me to her church, First Baptist in Opelika. It was my first visit. But Betsy dressed me in a choir robe, and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of the congregation faking hymns I had never sung before. When we graduated from high school, I headed to Auburn University, and Betsy to Judson College, an all-women’s college in Marion, Alabama. My first solo road trip was to visit her at Judson. I thought I would never find it. Betsy’s grandmother had attended Judson, so Betsy, as the oldest girl, was to follow in her footsteps. She endured two years there before transferring to Auburn University. She went on to a stellar career, working in radio, and then switching to sales with a company in Virginia before returning

to Alabama to work as human resources supervisor for Data Technology Corporation in Opelika. After a series of moves, always climbing the career ladder, she ended up at vice president of sales for Carthuplas in Maine. After her retirement a few years ago, she traveled to Israel and Europe. A one-time mission trip to Honduras became an annual venture to visit her dear orphans until her health prevented any more air travel. Betsy was an animal lover. In her lifetime, she made a home for cats, dogs, goats, horses, and the raccoons that came to eat the cat food. Her favorites were Snickers, her miniature Yorkie, Lolly, her miniature pinscher, and Harry, the screeching cockatiel. She would be quick to tell you that what she really wanted was a monkey. Betsy always remembered her friends’ and families’ birthdays with gifts. Christmas was always a great celebration, and no child at her house went home without a Christmas gift or two or three. It irked me that she always had her Christmas shopping done before anyone. I wondered how every year she managed that with work and her many projects, and then I figured it out. It was because she was always thinking about her friends and family, so if she saw the perfect gift for someone in June, it went into the Santa closet. Thinking about her life, and what she meant to me, I reflected on a message I saw on her desk. The words were from the First Letter of John. They said, “Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” That was Betsy, I realized. She lived those words. -lm

o matter how hard I try, I can’t pretend anymore that it hasn’t happened, that Betsy didn’t die. I have to let it sink in that she won’t be popping by the office or that friends and family won’t see her smile (it was so big, it barely fit on her face) or feel her love and caring again. I never knew so much energy and compassion could fit in such a petite body, but it did and she used it well. Betsy McLure Blake was a powerhouse. She retired from her high-power job when her health gave her no choice. She didn’t sit around, though. Betsy never did. Instead, she worked as a registered mediator for the state, taught Sunday school and vacation bible school, took mission trips to Honduras and sponsored children there, taught yoga, and sold ads for Lee Magazine. It’s a lot for anyone to do and she did it while battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She lived longer than doctors predicated but on June 26, it happened, Betsy slipped away in her sleep. So I won’t pretend anymore. I want to keep the memory of her spirit close and I can only make that happen by remembering. I miss her. -Beth Snipes, publisher Lee Magazine LEE MAGAZINE 3

The Place to Find

Your Healthy Balance

LEE M

For the smart, savvy Alabama woman Publisher: Beth Snipes Editor: Jenni Laidman Design and Photography: Beth Snipes Sales manager: Meg Callahan Sales reps: Judy Simon Copy Editor: Kim Darden Web Designer: Brock Burgess Distribution: John Snipes

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Contributors Food: Fashion: Fitness: Garden: Momitude: Smarts:

Heida Olin Taylor Dungjen Lisa Gallagher Patti Householder Kelly Frick Janeane Barett

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leemagazine.com Published by Pickwick Papers Publishing, LLC. Copyright ©2008 Lee Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction and redistribution prohibited without approval. For more information, contact editor@leemagazine.com.

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16 LEE MAGAZINE

LEE contents M

A G A

August/September2011 8 Food The Art of the Sandwich

10 Barley

The power of grain

14 Garden Get Ready for autumn

16 Brawn Check under the hood!

18 Smarts Don't know much about history

20 Momitude

Cell Wars

22 Fashion

Flower Child Redux

24 Cover

Our Vegetable Love

Patti Householder digs vegetables, and fruits, and flowers, and just about anything that grows

COVER PHOTO BY BETH SNIPES

28 Calendar Keeping Busy in Lee County

MELL HALL,

Room 200

Very soon, Mell Hall will be gone By Gail Haynes McCullers

oom 200 Dorm XI -- Mell Hall -- was my first home at Auburn University. It was 1957, and I was enrolled as freshman. Later, when the University converted Mell Hall into an administrative building, I returned to Room 200 with my new master’s degree and served as counselor for Student Development Services. It was beginning of a career at Auburn University that lasted 45 years, until my retirement in 2002. To the forty freshmen women living in Mell Hall that fall of 1957, it was exciting to realize that our dorm had once been a fraternity house. The boys had written their names and hometowns on the walls and rafters in the attic. Dorm XI girls took blankets, pillows and flashlights and had «sleep ins» in that old attic. We used to talk late into the night, imagining what the rafters of the hall, built in the 1920s,could tell us of its former occupants, their history

and accomplishments over all these years. Mrs. Robinson, our dorm mother, didn’t know “her” girls were sleeping in that attic. We were from Hanceville, Gadsden, Dothan, Anniston, Montgomery, Cullman, Mobile, and Birmingham – all finding our place in college life. We were girls who wore our raincoats over our P.E. shorts to walk across campus to the Quad dining hall because young Southern women could not be seen in shorts – or thus university policy dictated. Neither could we wear hair curlers in public. Freshman curfew was 8:30 p. m., but if you made your grades you could stay out until 9:00 on weeknights and until l0:30 on weekends. Because I was the president of the dorm, the housemother had me document any girl’s late arrival. If those tardy minutes totaled ten or more, you were put on Friday night restriction and could not leave your dorm room. To get a drink from the hall cola machine you had

to send your roommate with your quarter. We became true orange-and-blue Auburn fans with the football national championship that fall and have remained dedicated for fifty years and celebrated with the Auburn Family as our Tigers won the National Championship in 2010. Dorm XI girls graduated – most in the spring of 1961 -- and became teachers, homemakers, brokers, business executives, college professors, accountants, administrators, and engineers. One became a tour guide for visitors in Washington, D. C. Today, those forty girls are mostly in their seventies. Some have been married now for 50 years. Most are proud grandmothers who sent their own children to Auburn. Now their grandchildren attend. These women gave a marvelous legacy to the Auburn campus and community when they called Dorm XI their home. We met once a week in dorm meetings and would sing our song in a rousing round: “Dorm Eleven everybody knows Rowdy girls and collegiate clothes. How we love our Dorm Eleven Everybody knows.“

Gail Haynes McCullers is the emeritus director of Housing and Residence Life. She graduated from Auburn in 1961, and received her master’s in 1966. LEE MAGAZINE 7

By Heida Olin

andwiches are the ultimate fast food. Anyone can put meat between two pieces of bread and have an instant meal. The trick is putting together combinations of meat, vegetables, and bread that wow. And don’t forget the spread. Mayonnaise and mustard are okay, but mix them with a little cream cheese and herbs and, oh boy, now we’re building a sandwich. Choice of bread is crucial. Ham and cheese are great on rye, but have you tried it on raisin bread? Bakery bread is great, but go ahead and try some Pepperidge Farms, Arnold, and other brands. One of our favorite sandwich suppers is the Muffaleta. Hot or cold, it brings my kids to the table and a few extra as well. I’m a big fan of the Rueben sandwich, but I’m also the only one in the house who likes sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing. Not to be discouraged, I modified and created a turkey Rueben that everybody loves. Try some of my family’s favorites. Maybe it will inspire you to develop your own family specialties.

From standard to sexy Make every ingredient count for stunning sandwiches HEIDA’S TURKEY RUEBEN The secret here is to slice the cabbage really fine. Let it sit in the dressing at least a couple of hours. Overnight is even better. The “angel hair” cabbage you find in the produce department is all right, but slivering the cabbage yourself makes a difference. Try some dill pickle potato chips on the side – they’re really addicting. 2 cups very finely sliced cabbage ¼ cup thin sliced sweet onion ¼ cup apple cider vinegar ¼ cup extra light olive oil 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon German mustard (coarse-grain country-style) 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional) Salt and pepper to taste 8 slices Jewish Rye 4 slices of Lorraine Swiss cheese 1 pound turkey pastrami sliced thin (4 ounces per sandwich)

8 LEE MAGAZINE

Toss the cabbage and onion in a medium bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, olive oil, sugar, mustard, and caraway seeds. Pour over cabbage and onion. Mix well; add salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate at least two hours to marinate. Spread one side of each bread slice with mustard. Layer cheese, pastrami, and ¼ cup of cabbage mixture atop 4 bread slices and top with a second slice of bread. These are easier to eat if you cut them into triangles.

OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD ROAST BEEF SANDWICH I made these into wraps for a couple of catering jobs but my family thought they were too flimsy for a real meal. When I used German dark wheat bread instead, the sandwich became a favorite. Serve with a spinach salad and it’s worthy of company. Note that I call for slices of blue cheese, which can be difficult to find. Look for Maytag in the specialty cheese case at the grocery store. If you can’t find slices, use your favorite blue cheese, pressing it into the cream cheese-mayo-and-tomato spread.

F O O D 2 ounces cream cheese (see note, above) 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 2 sundried tomatoes packed in oil chopped fine 1 teaspoon of the oil from the sundried tomatoes ½ teaspoon fresh thyme (leaves stripped from the stem) 8 slices German dark wheat bread 8 slices of blue cheese 1 pound deli sliced roast beef 1 red onion, sliced and divided into rings

With a wooden spoon beat cream cheese, mayonnaise, sundried tomatoes, oil, and thyme. Spread on each slice of bread. On four slices, layer the cheese, roast beef, and onion. Top with second slice of bread.

MUFFALETA I’ve made this sandwich more than any other. I’ve cut it into small pieces for appetizers, frequently making extras for guests who want to take some home. Its origins are uniquely New Orleans, not really Italian and not really French but a Mardi Gras special for year round. 1 loaf Italian bread 1 jar Mezzetta California Hot Mix pickled vegetables, drained 1 cup green olives 1 cup black olives ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to brush on bread ½ pound pastrami, deli sliced ½ pound Black Forest ham, deli sliced ½ pound smoked turkey, deli sliced ½ pound hard salami, deli sliced 8 slices provolone cheese

Cut the loaf of bread in half lengthwise, as though it was a giant sandwich bun. Hollow out both top and bottom so you have a nice indentation for the filling. Put the bread you pulled out into a food processor and pulse to make fine crumbs. Store in a plastic bag and freeze to use later as breading. Put the Hot Mix and the green and black olives into the food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add olive oil and pulse about five more times. The mixture should be slightly coarser than a tapenade, with larger bits, so don’t turn this into a paste. This frequently makes enough for two sandwiches and will keep for a week in the refrigerator. It also makes a great topping for pork or beef. Spread olive mixture on the bottom half of the prepared loaf. Layer the pastrami, ham, turkey, and salami, over the olive mixture and top with cheese slices. Lightly brush the cut side of the loaf top with olive oil and place on top of the cheese. To serve hot, wrap tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. If serving cold, tightly wrap in plastic wrap, then in parchment or freezer paper, and chill at least an hour before serving.

HAM AND CHEESE SURPRISE I came up with this sandwich when I bought a loaf of homemade cinnamon raisin bread at the Auburn University Farmers Market a couple of years ago. It’s a delightful change from the normal ham-andcheese on rye. Macaroni salad is a nice side dish for this sandwich. 1/2 cup dried mixed fruit bits (I like the Sun-Maid brand) 1 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger 3 ounces cream cheese 8 slices cinnamon raisin bread, homemade or bakery style 1 pound deli-sliced smoked ham 4 slices havarti cheese 4 romaine lettuce leaves

In a food processor or blender, pulse the dried fruit, ginger, and cream cheese until the fruit is chopped fine. (You can do this by hand: Chop the fruit and ginger very fine and then beat it into the cream cheese.) Spread on each slice of bread. On four slices, layer ham, cheese, and lettuce atop the spread, then top each with a second slice of bread. The surprise is how wonderfully this combination of flavors complements each other.

EXCEPTIONAL CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH Just about everyone has a chicken salad sandwich that they are particularly fond of, whether it’s from a local restaurant or their own kitchen. Of course I think mine is exceptional because it creates the Mmmm effect when I serve it on sesame semolina bread. Next time you grill chicken breasts, make two extra so you can make this salad later. 1 8-ounce package Neufchatel cheese 2 tablespoons Miracle Whip, plus enough to spread on bread 1 bunch fresh watercress, stems removed 1 cup dried cranberries 1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt 3 cups Purdue’s Southwest Chicken Shortcuts (2 packages), or barbeque rotisserie chicken 8 slices sesame semolina bread 4 leaves romaine

Pulse the Neufchatel cheese, Miracle Whip, watercress, cranberries, and seasoned salt in the food processor until well combined. Add the chicken and pulse until the chicken is chopped but not ground, about 3 to 5 pulses. Spread Miracle Whip on each slice of bread and top four with a large scoop of chicken salad. Spread the salad to the edges of the bread, add a romaine leaf and top with second slice of bread. -lm

Heida Olin is a local caterer and educator. You can reach her at heida@lee-magazine.com.. Please visit her blog at www.lee-magazine.com LEE MAGAZINE 9

Photo by Beth Snipes

Move Over Popeye

The Superpower of Barley! By Beth Snipes

rutus found out the hard way not to mess with a man carrying a can of spinach in his pocket. Making eyes at Olive Oyl was a bad idea. Popeye, Brutus’s rival suitor and average sailor, whipped out his can of his green slimy power source, gulped it down and KAPOW! His wimpy muscles turned to guns of steel, sending Brutus running and Olive swooning. After all, who can resist a man with puffy forearms and calves? “Popeye the Sailor Man” debuted in 1929 and parents cheered. The cartoon persuaded children to demand spinach, requesting it almost as much as they asked for turkey and ice cream. Obviously, this was before Popeye’s spinach had to compete with sugary and fatty foods television presses on kids today. Popeye had clout! Parents didn’t stand alone against the onslaught of television images. Every comic book hero had a power up his or her sleeve. Wonder Woman had her golden belt. Gamma rays created The Incredible Hulk, and an irradiated spider made Peter Parker a crime fighter extraordinaire. But what’s a normal person to do? Where do we get our super powers? Well, the best bet is to follow Popeye’s lead – although we can

do much better than his canned spinach in our quest for healthy superpower food. A painless ways to improve your diet is to add veggies and whole grains. I know, I know, you’ve heard this before. You’ve tried. You’ve failed. You’ve tried again. Let me suggest something Popeye never tried: Barley. Yep, let barley help. This nutty, chewy whole grain even makes it easy. Similar in size to rice, barley has more flavor than white rice, without overwhelming its accompaniments. When you serve barley risotto, you’re dishing up a savory plate of insoluble and soluble fiber and no one is the wiser. An American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study showed that barely helps to significantly reduce total cholesterol. An American Heart Association study found the same results. Also, barley is high in the antioxidant selenium, which our immune system needs. It even has twice the fiber and a lower glycemic index than brown rice. Oh, and one more thing: It’s really good. If your children, or most likely your husband, think eating healthy foods is a yawn, don’t tell them. Just serve Chicken Barley Chili and watch. If they ask about it, tell them it’s superpower fuel. It really is. Gladiators in Ancient Rome ate it for strength before entering the ring. Even more impressive, it was a favorite in Ancient Egypt, which may answer the long unsolved mystery of how the pyramids were built. It was barley power all along.

CHICKEN BARLEY CHILI I tweaked the recipe I found on the Quaker Barley box for this family favorite.

BEEF BARLEY SOUP When I was a kid, Campbell’s Beef Barley Soup was one of my favorites. (It still is). I did grow up, though, and now I love this even more.

1 14.5-ounce can of diced stewed tomatoes, undrained 1 16-ounce jar of tomato sauce or salsa 1 14.5-ounce can of fat free chicken broth 1 cup quick barley 1 tablespoon chili powder 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon cumin or paprika 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained 1 15-ounce can white whole-kernel corn, undrained 3 cups cooked chicken Salt and pepper to taste Light sour cream or cheddar cheese (optional)

12 ounces beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 4 14-ounce cans beef broth 1 cup chopped onion, (1 large) 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed ¼ teaspoon black pepper 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 bay leaf 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained 1 cup peeled potato, cut into half-inch cubes ⅔ cup quick-cooking barley

Combine first seven ingredients in a six-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the black beans, corn, and chicken. Bring to a boil , then reduce heat and simmer for five minutes or until barley is tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with light sour cream and cheddar cheese if desired.

In a Dutch oven brown meat in hot oil. Stir in broth, onion, celery, oregano, pepper, garlic, and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, reduce heat. Simmer covered for 90 minutes. Stir in frozen vegetables, undrained tomatoes, potatoes, and barley and return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes more, or until meat and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf and serve.

CHICKEN BARLEY PILAF

CROCK-POT BARLEY, MUSHROOM, AND CHICKEN

One pan and delicious! 2 cups pearl barley 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon Salt and black pepper, to taste 3 teaspoons vegetable oil 6 stalks celery, sliced 2 medium carrots, sliced 1 medium leek, sliced (white part and some of the greens) 1 cup mushrooms, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 teaspoons cooking oil 2 cups chicken broth salt

Rinse and soak the barley for 20 to 30 minutes; drain. Heat a saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the barley and cook for 5 or 6 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove barley from pan and set aside. Season chicken with cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in saucepan and cook chicken until it is no longer pink. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside. Add a teaspoon of oil to the saucepan and stir fry the leek, carrots, and celery for three minutes. Stir in mushrooms and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender. Return the chicken and toasted barley to the pan. Add broth and salt, to taste. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook until the barley is tender,

1 tablespoon margarine or butter 2 pounds chicken thighs 2 cups mushrooms, sliced 1 cup medium pearled barley 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 medium carrots, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 1 rib celery, chopped 1 14½-ounce can chicken broth 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 1 bay leaf

Melt butter in 12-inch skillet until sizzling; add chicken. Cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until browned (5 to 7 minutes). Drain fat. Place all remaining ingredients in crock-pot and stir. Add chicken thighs. Cover and cook on low setting for 2 to 3 hours or until chicken and barley are tender. PORK TENDERLOIN BAKE This is a family favorite. If you have to buy fresh sage, you can freeze the leftover leaves. Wash the sage, pat it dry and remove the stems then pack it loosely in a freezer bag and free. It will keep for a year. 4 tablespoon light buttery spread like Smart Balance 1 medium onion, diced

LEE MAGAZINE 11

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour Cooking spray ½ cup coarsely chopped carrot ½ cup coarsely chopped onion 5 cloves garlic, minced ¾ teaspoon salt 1 10-ounce bag fresh spinach 1 cup cooked quick-cooking pearl barley 1 cup grated extra sharp white cheddar cheese, divided ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs

Photo by Beth Snipes

1 large carrot, peeled and diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 pound mushrooms, sliced 1/2 large red bell pepper, diced 1 cup barley 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced Fresh ground black pepper, to taste 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into ½-inch cubes 2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth 1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 325°. Melt the light spread in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until slightly soft. Add mushrooms and cook, tossing frequently, until the mushrooms are lightly browned. Add red bell pepper, barley, salt, sage, pepper, and pork. Stir and add the chicken broth and water. Stir and cover pot and place in the oven. Check about every 14 minutes to make sure that there is enough liquid. Add water, a half-cup at a time, as needed. Total cooking time will be between 45 minutes and 60 minutes, or until the barley is tender but not sticky. STUFFED PORTOBELLOS

Think what spinach and barley can do for your guns. 6 medium Portobello mushroom caps ⅔ cup 2 percent reduced-fat milk

12 LEE MAGAZINE

Preheat broiler. Using a spoon, remove brown gills from undersides of mushrooms and discard. Combine milk and flour, whisk until blended. Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add carrot and next three ingredients; sauté 5 minutes. Add spinach; sauté 4 minutes or until spinach wilts. Stir in flour mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cooked barley, 1/2 cup cheese, pepper, and nutmeg; cook 1 minute or until cheese melts. Coat reserved mushroom caps with cooking spray; place on a broiler pan. Broil 5 minutes or until tender. Fill each cap with about ½ cup spinach-barley mixture, pressing firmly to pack. Broil 3½ minutes. Combine bread crumbs and 1/2 cup cheese; sprinkle evenly on top of each mushroom. Broil 1½ minutes or until cheese melts. CREAMY BARLEY MUSHROOM RISOTTO 5 cups chicken broth 1 tablespoon butter 1 onion, chopped 1 cup pearl barley ¾ teaspoon dried thyme 1 bay leaf 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 pound mushrooms, sliced 2 garlic cloves, chopped ½ cup Asiago cheese, grated 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the barley, thyme, bay leaf, and 2 cups of the hot broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low, simmering until most of the broth is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Pour in remaining broth a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until absorbed before adding more. This process takes about 50 minutes. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté mushrooms in the hot oil until tender. Add garlic and cook for about 3 more minutes. Stir in the barley mixture, cheese, and parsley. Remove bay leaf and serve. -lm

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G A R D E N

Improving next year’s garden today By Patti Householder

es, it’s 100 degrees and you start sweating the second you walk out the door in the morning, but I’m planning for cooler days ahead. I’m dreaming of autumn. Fall is a great time for planting a garden, shrubs, and trees. It’s also a good time to divide perennials and plant bulbs. And it’s a great time for a vegetable garden. Vegetables that do well in the fall include cabbage, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, lettuce, spinach, beets, and carrots. In fact, I think broccoli does much better in fall than spring. Garden

14 LEE MAGAZINE

centers carry cabbage, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, and some lettuce plants this time of year, and you can plant turnips, lettuce, spinach, beets, and carrot seeds now. All of these should reach maturity before the first frost – usually the second or third week of November -- and most will tolerate a light frost. This is also the ideal time for planting shrubs and trees, even better than spring. Fall gives newly planted shrubs and trees time to adjust and develop a healthy root system before summer’s dry, hot weather. Trees and shrubs planted in the fall have a faster

growth rate than those planted in the spring, according to the Alabama Cooperative Extension website (www.aces.edu). To plant a tree or shrub, make a hole the depth of the root ball and twice as wide. If your soil is clay – as is most soil in Lee County - amend with organic matter such as compost and/or peat moss. Be sure the top of the root ball is even with or slightly higher than the soil surface. Water as you fill the hole. This helps to eliminate air pockets. Do not fertilize at planting, but wait until spring when the roots are better established. A good layer

Photo by Beth Snipes

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of mulch will help with moisture retention and weed control, as well as protect the roots through winter. You can plant bulbs for daffodils, jonquils, crocus, and tulips from now through November. When I am tired of the cold dreary winter, the sight of yellow, orange, and peach daffodils popping up is an instant attitude adjustment. Over the years I’ve planted more than a thousand bulbs. Most tulips will need replanting every year while other bulbs multiply each year. Fall is the time to divide perennials such as iris, daylilies, astilbe, and coreopsis. When these plants put up few or no blooms, they’re overdue for division. Dig them up and separate into smaller pieces or bulbs. When dividing iris, cut the fronds to about six-inch lengths. Plant divisions a foot apart in all directions so that crowed roots will not be a problem for several years. Hostas are another perennial that benefits from division every few years. This is a great way to get “free” plants. If you do not have room to plant your “new” plants in your garden, pass them -lm along to friends and neighbors. Master Gardener Patti Householder is a member of the state Master Gardener Association board and a past president of the Lee County Master Gardener program. She lives in Waverly.

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B R A W N

Rotate the tires, check the fluids

Put yourself on schedule for tip-top health By Lisa Gallagher

got a surprise gift for my birthday. It’s a letter from Internal Medicine Associates reminding me to schedule a colonoscopy. Awesome! The letter said, “Considering your family history of colon cancer, it is very important to be checked periodically.” In addition to this festive birthday month activity, I’ve scheduled an appointment at the dermatologist’s office. I’ve noticed a few spots on my face that worry me, as my history also includes basal cell carcinoma. I’m not complaining. I’m in excellent health, but could I be missing something? When you get an oil change in your car,

16 LEE MAGAZINE

the mechanic tapes the date of your next oil change onto your windshield. We get no similar sticker from our doctors, so I’ve compiled a list of checkups recommended for women by the National Institutes of Health. Stick it to your fridge, enter in your calendar, or carry in your purse. Don’t tape it to your windshield, though. It may block your view. • Blood pressure: at least every two years, unless it’s above 120/80. • Cholesterol screening: every five years. •Colon cancer: African-Americans should be screened every ten years from age forty-five through eighty, and screening

for European Americans should be every ten years from age fifty through eighty. Screening may include a stool test, barium enema, a sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy. A family history of colon cancer could necessitate more frequent screening. Ask your doctor. • Dental exam and cleaning: yearly • Eye exam every two years, including a glaucoma check if you are over forty-five. • Flu vaccine: yearly after age fifty. • A tetanus-diphtheria booster every ten years. • A shingles or herpes zoster vaccine: once after age sixty.

• Pneumonia vaccine: Ask your doctor. Some recommend it as we get older. • Complete physical: Every one to five years. • Breast exam by a health-care provider: yearly, and a self-exam monthly. • Mammogram: Every one to two years after age 40, depending on risk factors such as family history of breast or ovarian cancer. Check with your doctor to be sure. • Bone density screening: If you’re under sixty-five, you only need a screening if you are at increased risk for osteoporosis. Some things that raise your risk of osteoporosis includes sedentary lifestyle, inadequate calcium consumption, smoking, excessive drinking, and certain medications. Your

physician will help you determine how often you should be screened. All postmenopausal women who’ve suffered a fracture should also be screened. • Pap smears for cervical cancer: Every two years. After three consecutive normal readings, every three years. Pelvic exams may be done more often to check for other disorders, such as Chlamydia, if you are sexually active. If you’ve had a total hysterectomy that was not related to cancer, pap smears are often discontinued. ollowing these guidelines lowers your risk for untreated medical problems. Your health-care provider will review your medical history, and may recommend more or more frequent screenings if

you have diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, or another condition. It’s important to remember that some serious health conditions – high blood pressure and diabetes, for instance – often have no symptoms, and yet can bring dire consequences. Screening is often your only opportunity to catch a condition and treat it early. So don’t wait for a signal, get the recommended screenings and stay on the path to optimal health and wellness. -lm

Lisa Gallagher, director of the Fitness Center at the Opelika Sportsplex, is a wellness coach, personal trainer, and group fitness instructor. You can contact her at lisa@ lee-magazine.com.

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With these experiences your child will have concrete examples to help her understand life long ago. When her teacher talks about history, it will be more than words to her, it will be a living thing. There are several in the fall, such as The Pine Hills Lantern Tour in Auburn on October 8 and 9. Volunteers guide visitors by lantern light through the cemetery, stopping at graves of early Auburn notables. One interesting Civil War connection is the grave of General James Henry Lane, whose men accidentally shot and killed the famous Confederate commander, General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Only General Robert E. Lee, for whom our county is named, was better known. If you enjoy this cemetery tour, make sure you attend the one at Rosemere Cemetery in Opelika the fall of 2012. These two events are held on alternating years.

THE LIVING CONNECTION Helping kids find the treasures in history By Janeane Barrett

his year marks the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. That fact invokes a yawn from most people, especially children. It can be difficult to get kids interested in history. There are students who pass all the requirements for high school graduation exams and fail history. But you can build your child’s knowledge, and her interest, as she grows. A great way to get kids interested in

18 LEE MAGAZINE

history is to teach them what life was like in the past. Can Have Grandma tell them about her childhood. Is some relative creating a family tree? There will be a wealth of information to tell your child. Did you have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War? Look up his military unit and read about the battles he fought in. When your child studies about the Civil War, she will have a personal connection. Don’t neglect local history events.

Did you know Alabama was once on the frontier? Your child can learn a lot about Alabama’s early history by attending Alabama Frontier Days November 2 through 6 in Wetumpka. Make sure you plan a picnic lunch at Fort Toulouse, a reconstructed French trading fort in Wetumpka. Walk down to where the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers come together to form the Alabama River, one of my favorite geographical spots in the

area. This was a very important trading route in the 1700s when rivers were the interstates of their day. At Alabama Frontier Days, your child can interact with Native American and French Colonial reenactors. n November 10-13, the Battle For the Armory takes place. This includes special tours of the Confederate Armory on Friday. During this event, Civil War re-enactors portray life in the 1860s. In an age where we use Kindles and Nooks it is hard for children to visualize a world without electricity, one in which having a book was a luxury for common people. With these experiences your child will have concrete examples to help her understand life long ago. When her teacher talks about history, it will be more than words to her, it will be a living thing. -lm

Auburn resident Janeane Barrett recently retired from Auburn City Schools

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Phone Fight THE WIRELESS UMBILICAL CORD TO MOM By Kelly Frick

My 12-year-old daughter can now phone home. Or bug me during a work meeting. “Mom, when will u b home?” a recent text from her cell phone asked. “I want to go to a friend’s house.” I read it with a sigh of relief and a tinge of concern. A cell phone. It’s the latest pre-teen rite of passage, signaling me that someone’s teen years are sneaking up on us. Getting our eldest child a cell phone didn’t come easy (or cheap for that matter). It was nine long months of debating, cajoling, crying, yelling (on both her part and mine) and finally careful consideration of our options. My husband and I had decided a cell phone could wait until age thirteen. That was our answer when she asked a few months after her eleventh birthday. It didn’t stop her cellphone campaign. Emma wants to be a doctor, but surely has a future as a high-powered attorney or lobbyist on Capitol Hill. Doctors give it to you straight; she played dirty. She started with an assignment on persuasive writing for her English class. The title: “Why having a cell phone is a good idea for middle-schoolers.” It quoted such scholarly sources as Wikipedia and her friend Savanna, who got her first cell phone in second grade and has found it useful on several occasions. At least that’s what Emma’s paper said. She earned an A on the paper with a note from her teacher:

20 LEE MAGAZINE

“Good luck asking your parents!” She didn’t have much luck. In fact, her tactics annoyed her father. (Really? She needed to air this subject through a homework assignment?) I, however, found her approach novel. It beat her brother’s door-slamming, feet-stomping, eye-rolling antics any day of the week. Next, she tried calling me from school to tell me track practice was cancelled. “I could have just texted you from my locker. But I

don’t have a cell phone, so I had to leave my math class in the middle of a quiz to come down to the office and call you,” she said, the words flowing so sweetly from her mouth you’d think she was made of honey.

“I could have just texted you from my locker. But I don’t have a cell phone, so I had to leave my math class in the middle of a quiz to come down to the office and call you,” she said, the words flowing so sweetly from her mouth you’d think she was made of honey. That didn’t work either. Then she got desperate. Started a list of everyone in her school who had phones, which was everyone except Emma. (And one other girl, but her parents barely use electricity so she doesn’t count, she told us.) Try again, we told her. This went on and on. It went on so long, my husband and I stopped listening. Believe it or not, she finally decided it was hopeless and stopped asking. Which is when I had second thoughts. It happened very innocently. She asked if she could go with a group of friends to the movies. Without adult supervision. Another mom who would drive them,

but they would go into the theater by themselves, watch a PG movie, and be picked up in front of the theater when it was over. She was just a few weeks shy of her 12th birthday and we trusted the mom and the other girls. So we said yes, after giving her the “stranger danger,” lecture, the “You wouldn’t follow your friends off a cliff, would you?” speech, and the always popular, “We trust you, we just don’t trust other people” explanation. School was out. It was the middle of the afternoon. I was at work. And it was the longest two-hour movie in the history of film. I called my husband and said the words we knew one of us would speak

eventually: Emma needs a cell phone. Or as my husband correctly interpreted: I need Emma to have a cell phone. Because if she had a cell phone, I could have texted her during the movie. “Everything OK?” She could have texted back, “Yes.” She could have called me if the other mom was late picking them up. If her friends ditched her. If she just needed to know I was there for her. If I just needed to know she was OK. So we got her a cell phone. Her first text was to me. “Thx, mom. U r the best.” So are you, sweetie, so are you. -lm Kelly Frick is a writer and mother of two.

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Wait! That’s kind of Sixties, isn’t it? The decade’s style is my personal favorite. I’d go with crop pants, ballet flats, and short-sleeve button up with a rounded Peter Pan collar – something Aubrey Hepburn-like – every day of the year. Can you blame me? Or maybe something with polka dots or a fun floral. You also can’t go wrong with classic staples like a pale blue or white. Seasonal colors on point right now include rust, mustard, bright red, and jade. These pieces are classic – it’s hard to mess that up – and they’re fun to accessorize. Grab your biggest sunglasses and a scarf for your head or around your neck. If you do pop in “Factory Girl,” by about mid-movie you will have an insatiable urge to run out and buy massive chandelier earrings. I mean, earrings so big that they should probably rip your ears off. At least you know they’ll go down stylish. If you don’t already have a shift hanging in your closet, I’m going to suggest – no, demand – you get one. The super sweet Sixties look is perfect for women of any shape and size. A shift dress hangs loose from the shoulders, making it a go-to for anyone and everyone. If you desire some definition, find a skinny belt – also one of fall’s hot looks – and cinch the dress at your natural waist. Need inspiration from the runway? Look no further than Prada and Tibi. Or, as I prefer, go straight to the source. A simple Google search for shift dresses will work, but why stop

Sixties REDUX Relive the Summer of Love this Fall By Taylor Dungjen

ust when you’re finally adjusting to the Seventies-inspired hip-hugging bell-bottoms that came out this spring and summer, designers, fashion critics, stylists, and everyone else in the know fashion-wise, hit another button on the WABAC Machine. If the reference to the 1960s cartoon starring Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman didn’t give it away, the season they’re sending us back to the Sixties. To get in the mood, start with a “girls’ night” viewing of “Factory Girl,” starring the fabulous Sienna Miller as Edie Sedgwick. Or review a few episodes of “Mad Men.” If those don’t inspire you to hit the vintage shops, and to scope out Sixties-inspired pieces, then I don’t know what will help. Maybe sit this season out. … Or run around naked.

22 LEE MAGAZINE

there? Go for the gold and take cues from one of the Sixties most famed style icons: Twiggy. I remember, growing up, my mom always told me how she wanted to be Twiggy. Even though she was too young to dress herself for most of the Sixties, she said she insisted her mother buy her Twiggy inspired dresses. It’s pretty rare for me to understand any of my mom’s decisions when it comes to what she’s wearing, but, this, the Twiggy look, I get. Check out some of my favorite Sixties-inspired looks in my Lee Pinterest board at Pinterest.com/tdungjen. Share your favorites with me and check back frequently for looks I’m loving next. -lm Taylor Dungjen is a freelance writer who often covers fashion. Write to her at taylor@lee-magazine.com

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LGallagher@ci.opelika.al.us LEE MAGAZINE 23

Bloomin’ Patti!

The ever growing garden of a master There seems no end to the bounty of Patti Householder’s garden. Writer Jacque Kochak gives us a tour of the lush spread created by Lee Magazine’s new garden writer.

embers of Patti Householder’s family get to shop at “Mom’s Store” on a regular basis. They can select from canned vegetables, applesauce, honey, dried fruit leather, tomato sauce, and spicy salsa. There are also eggs laid daily by her chickens, as well as potatoes from the root cellar and figs, plums, apples, and pears from the orchard. That’s just for starters. Householder, who lives on seventy-five acres bordering Loblockee Creek north of Loachapoka, is a master gardener. Make that Master Gardener with capital letters, since she is past president of Lee County Master Gardeners and serves on the state board of the Master Gardeners Association. Her home spread, with its terraced gardens, spring-fed pool, and New Orleans-style courtyard, is a great

advertisement for gardening – a little pastime she picked up one day in Tennessee that took root quickly and exploded into

Patti cans, freezes, and dries the bounty of her garden.

luxurious bloom. “I love producing my own stuff,” she says. “I know what I’ve put on it, which is nothing.” Householder grew up near where she lives now. She returned after an odyssey of twenty-five years through Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia. Her grandmother

had a huge garden, and she remembers apples cut up and laid out to dry in the back window of the car. Her chief interest, however, was making money from her grandmother’s efforts. “I remember picking stuff out of her garden and setting up a card table on the side of the road to sell, wanting to earn a dollar.” She attended Auburn University and earned a master’s degree in nursing at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, then accompanied her engineering professor husband, Andrew, to Louisiana. From there they moved to her husband’s home state of Tennessee and she started her first small garden. She says her in-laws, who grew potatoes and canned vegetables like beans and tomatoes, inspired her. Householder’s epiphany came when she moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, home of Virginia Commonwealth University and

STORY BY JACQUE KOCHAK • PHOTOS BY BETH SNIPES 24 LEE MAGAZINE

:Patti Householder in her New Orleans-style courtyard.

one of several large community canneries built around the state in the 1940s. Although these were originally created so people could preserve the harvest of their Victory Gardens in bulk, several still operate for avid gardeners. Householder had a small garden, and started putting up jars of beef stew, spaghetti, and chili as well as vegetables. That way, she could return to graduate school in the evenings and know that her husband and two small children didn’t have to fend for themselves at dinnertime. The community cannery let her expand her operation. “At home, I could only do seven jars in a stovetop canner, but at the cannery, huge baskets held 96 quarts,” she says. “Canned goods have to cook under pressure for 90 minutes, so I could leave and come back when the jars were cool. Even that was easy, because a fine mist cooled the jars down quickly without breaking them.” Householder says she can’t even guess how many jars she put up that summer, but once she started, she could not stop. When the family moved back to Louisiana, she taught nursing but kept a garden and continued canning its harvest. When she and her family moved back to Auburn in 2001 she expanded her efforts. “Now I›m into freezing, canning and drying,” Householder says. “I have a dehydrator with nine racks, so I make fruit leather for my

grandchildren. I›m in the garden every day from mid-May until the end of September. This summer I’ve canned a hundred quarts of green beans and probably sixty pints. Now I’m canning pears.” “I truly don’t know how she fits everything in her day,” Kerry Smith, of the Alabama Cooperative Extension office, wrote in an email. “As a Master Gardener volunteer, Patti is involved at both the local and state levels (volunteer? - her regular day is already full). I›ve known her through the statewide Alabama Master Gardener Association for four years now. It feels like much longer and I think that testifies to her level of contribution. No matter if it›s a small detail or a large one (like creating a policy manual), she has the talent to tackle it. Patti sees the big picture surrounding any project, sets a decisive and practical goal, and then connects everyone else to the project with a charming assurance that ‘We can do this.’”The challenges of Southern gardening are one place where Patti puts her cando attitude to work. One problem she had to solve was how to grow tomatoes without chemicals. “I do tomatoes in containers because of the diseases you get in soil,” Householder says. “Once a disease is in the soil it›s hard to get rid of, so I use new soil every year.” She›s never gardened anywhere but the South, where the heat and humidity contribute to disease. “That›s one reason why it is very difficult to garden organically LEE MAGAZINE 25

Patti attends a wandering flower path.

here,” Householder says. “Apples and pears, and especially plums and peaches, need to be sprayed, and I don›t spray, so sometimes I don›t get much. I have a Granny Smith tree up top that has maybe a dozen apples this year, but my brother›s and daughter›s pear trees are loaded, and they don›t spray either. And every two to three years I get a great crop of apricots. But if I›m expecting a great crop every year, I›m going to be disappointed. “ She stores enough potatoes in her root cellar to last through the winter. Potatoes really benefit from her no-pesticides approach. The peel is the most nutritious part of the potato, she says, but it’s also where pesticides accumulate. “If you want to spend money for organic food, potatoes is one item where there are real benefits,” she says. Householder›s interest in ornamental gardening began when she returned to Lee County. The family first lived in an eighteen hundred-square-foot underground home Andrew built while he worked on a permanent house. He asked Patti up the grounds. The space is now a New Orleans style courtyard, which Andrew designed – a rectangle of blue slate tile surrounded by the French country architecture of the buildings, which include the house, her husband’s small office, the underground home, and

26 LEE MAGAZINE

a gazebo with a grill, half-bath, sink, and dining and seating areas. A riot of flowers and ornamentals spill over stone planter beds and pots in the enclosed courtyard, which also features large trees, including a huge crepe myrtle. “It›s been a lot trial and error, and I›m putting in more perennials so I don›t have

“ When your husband's an engineer, you can›t just ask for a simple chicken house, he has to design the chicken house.” -Patti Householder

to repot every year,” she says.” But I›ve still got a few annuals, like lantana, coleus, angelonia and vinca.” On one side, the courtyard spills out into her backyard, with a path winding through a natural tangle of flowers. “I kind of like a natural look,” Householder says. “A lot of it is volunteer and just comes up year after year.” The backyard is also the site of a small pond, replete with water hyacinths. A small stream supplies the pond, which Patti uses to water her gardens. A weathered picket fence

separates one raised vegetable bed from the backyard. Inside, frothy asparagus ferns keep company with okra, beans, cucumbers, pimiento peppers, and other vegetables. A six-foot fence surrounds the whole backyard to protect the gardens from deer, but Householder knows they could jump the fence if really motivated. Behind the underground house, terraces designed by Householder›s husband, slow rainwater runoff down a low hill. Here, she›s planted about thirty blueberry bushes as well as an arbor of scuppernongs, persimmons, and dwarf citrus trees in containers that she moves into an adjacent greenhouse in the winter. She also has both brown turkey and lemon figs, which she purees to make cookie-sized dollops of fruit leather or incorporates into jams with other fruits. Householder says she loves to eat figs, but they›re expensive and difficult to find because fresh figs don›t transport well. “Birds may get the blueberries and figs, but I have so many I don›t notice,” she says. Deer are an issue, though, so she has a “deer chaser” that turns on a radio and lights when motion is detected. “Along about August I really get upset because armadillos get into garden, even under fence,” Householder says. “But

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 10:00 a.m. Come at 8:45 a.m. for coffee and cookies

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Dr.Robert Gillette and his canine friends

The green house keeps tender plants in the winter.

The fountain in Patti's New Orleans courtyard.

when you live where there is a lot of wildlife, that›s the way it is — I›m not going to sit up all night with a gun and a light trying to kill them.” There›s a whole orchard on the backside of the property along Loblockee Creek, along with a beehive. Householder added the bees to help with pollination, but also got seventy-four pounds of honey this spring. And then there›s the chicken house. “When your husband›s an engineer, you can›t just ask for a simple chicken house,” she laments. “He has to design the chicken house.”

Householder didn›t work outside the home after the family returned to Auburn because she was taking care of her elderly mother and in-laws. As her gardening expanded, she decided to take the Master Gardener course, which consists of one full day of classes for ten to twelve weeks. Aspiring Master Gardeners volunteer fifty hours at the Lee County Extension office or Grandma›s Garden at the Lee County Historical Society museum in Loachapoka, or a demonstration garden in Kiesel Park. Once they›ve attained Master Gardener status, they continue volunteering. “The course goes over lots of things. You›re by no means an expert when you finish, but you get a good overview,” Householder says. “You learn about soil testing, what plants need, how to identify diseases and insect problems, and the safe use of pesticides.” Lee County Master Gardeners sponsors a tour of local gardens every two years, and next year the Householder›s spread will be on the tour. That means from February to May Patti Householder will likely be in the garden eight or nine hours a day. Nevertheless, she says she›s still learning. “Gardening is a lot of trial and error,” she says. “I lose stuff all the time.” Jacque Kochak is a freelance writer living in Auburn

"OUR CANINE PROTECTORS: WHY THEY ARE ELITE ATHLETES" Dr. Gillette is the director of the Animal Health and Performance Program (AHPP) in the Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine.

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calendar AUBURN CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 479 East Thach Avenue, Auburn. Hours: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 2-6 p.m. Information: 501-3190.

JULE COLLINS SMITH MUSEUM OF FINE ART, 901 South College Street, Auburn. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 4:45 p .m. Saturday. Admission: free. Information: 844-1484. LEE COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY, 1140 Ware Drive, Auburn. Adoption hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Drop offs strays or pick up found pets: Tuesday through Sunday, 8:30 to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Information: 821-3222; lchs@leecountyhumane.org. LEWIS COOPER JUNIOR MEMORIAL LIBRARY, 200 South Sixth Street, Opelika. Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Information: 705-5380 LEE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 6500 Stage Road (Highway 14), Loachapoka. Hours: Second Saturday of every month, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Information: 887-3007,webmaster@leecountyhistoricalsociety.org.

28 LEE MAGAZINE

TELFAIR PEET THEATRE, at the corner of Samford and Duncan avenues. Tickets: 8444154 or http://goo.gl/Osvn. Information: 844-4748 or theatre@auburn.edu.

WHEN

JAN DEMPSEY COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER GALLERY, 222 East Drake Avenue, Auburn. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission: free. Information: 501-2963.

LOUISE KREHER FOREST ECOLOGY PRESERVE, 3100 Highway 147 North, Auburn. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission: free. Information: 707-6512.

WHERE

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

ONGOING: To celebrate that there’s nothing so nice as formal wear, the Lee County Humane Society, 1140 Ware Drive, Auburn, offers Tuxedo Tuesday discounts for “tuxedo” wearing pets. All adoptions of black-and-white cats and dogs, as well as solid black cats and dogs, are $50. Information: 821-3222. ONGOING THROUGH OCTOBER 8: The Royal Octavo Editions, prints from John James Audubon’s “Birds of America,” opens at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Admission: free.

Square, downtown Opelika. Information: 745-0466. AUGUST 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 AND SEPTEMBER 6, 13, 20, 27: Baby Time, 10 a.m., Auburn Public Library, stories and crafts for babies six months to eighteen months and their parents. Admission: free. Information: 5013196. AUGUST 17, 24, 31 AND SEPTEMBER 7, 14, 21, 28: Toddler Time, 10 a.m., Auburn Public Library, for children eighteen months to three years and their parents. Includes a story and crafts. Admission: free. Information: 5013196. AUGUST 18, 25 AND SEPTEMBER 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: All are invited to the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve for a Summer Nature Walk at 8:30 a.m. Admission: free. Canceled if raining.

AUGUST 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, AND SEPTEMBER 6, 13, 20, 27: Enjoy traditional Irish music or perform some of your own, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., at the Olde Auburn Ale House Auburn Irish Music Session, 127 Tichenor Avenue. Information: 821-6773.

AUGUST 18, 25, AND SEPTEMBER 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: Ariccia hosts Farm-to-Table Dinners, a three-course dinner at the Hotel at Auburn University, 241 South College Street. Dinner: $34 per person. Information: 844-5140.

AUGUST 23, 30: Shop for fresh fruits and vegetables at the Opelika Farmer’s Market from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Courthouse

AUGUST 18, 25, AND SEPTEMBER 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: Learn jewelry making at Perch Bead Studio, 416 South Gay Street, Auburn, at Wire Wrapping and Wine Night. Reservations required: 209-1378.

AUGUST 18, 25, AND SEPTEMBER 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: Make Beads and Bagels, 11 a.m., Perch Bead Studio, 416 South Gay Street in Auburn. Reservations required: 209-1378. AUGUST 18, 25: The Market at Ag Heritage Park, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., intersection of Samford Avenue and Donahue Drive, Auburn. The open-air farmers market only closes during severe storms. Information: 321-1603.

AUGUST, 18, 25: Learn to email and use the internet at a Basic Computing Seminar, a four-session course at the Lewis Cooper Memorial Library. The one-hour weekly program begins at 6:30 p.m. Cost: $10. Fee must be paid to reserve one of the fourteen spots. Information:705-5380. SEPTEMBER 3: Children through eighth grade can Play Lego All Day at Auburn Public Library, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: free. Information: 501-3196. AUGUST 6 THROUGH NOVEMBER 26: East Alabama was the home of exceptional pottery making in the 19th Century, and a new Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art exhibit brings it to light in an exhibit called Bacon Level, Hickory Flat, and the Illustrious Potteries of Randolph and Chambers Counties, Alabama.

AUGUST 20, 27 AND SEPTEMBER 3, 10, 17, 24: Enjoy a Dulcimer Lesson from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lee County Historical Society, 6500 Stage Road, Loachapoka. No experience necessary. A few dulcimers are available for use. Admission: free. Information: 887-3007. AUGUST 16, 23, 30, AND SEPTEMBER 6, 13, 20, 27: Kindergartners through fifth graders and their parents are invited to the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve 3:30 p.m. for a Summer Discovery Hike. Admission: free. The walk is canceled if it’s raining. AUGUST 13 AND SEPTEMBER 10: Second Saturday at the Lee County Historical Society, 6500 Stage Road, Loachapoka, includes hearth cooking, spinning, and weaving. Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission: free. Information: 887-3007. AUGUST 18: The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art hosts its annual welcome back to school party, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Third Thursday Late Night. Food, cash bar, and live music included. Admission: free. AUGUST 26: The Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series presents Act of Congress, 7:30 p.m., Auburn Unitarian Universalist Church, 450 Thach Avenue. Tickets: $10, students $8, children 12 and under, free. Information: www.sundilla.org. AUGUST 26: Mix and mingle with the arts at The Layman Group’s Business and the

Arts Cocktail Party. The evening includes food by Jim Sikes of Jimmy’s Restaurant, a performance by the We-Rhetoric Ensemble, and a jazz trio. Reservations: Kelsey@thelaymangroup.com or 251-923-6087. AUGUST 27 THROUGH NOVEMBER 26: See pieces of porcelain, stoneware and carved jade from China in On the Silk Road and the High Seas: Chinese Ceramics, Culture, and Commerce at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Admission is free. AUGUST 27 THROUGH OCTOBER 29: Objects representing Haiti’s “Lespri endonptable” (indomitable spirit), created during mid-20th century, are on exhibit in Lespri Endonptabl: Selected Works from the Winslow Anderson Collection of Haitian Art at the Huntington Museum of Art at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Admission: free.

AUGUST 28: Woofstock, a celebration for dogs and their people, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Kiesel Park, 520 Chadwick Lane, Auburn. The event includes a dog agility course, pet safety demonstrations, and children’s activities. Admission: free. Information: 821-3222. AUGUST 29 THROUGH OCTOBER 7: Works by regional craftsmen on exhibit at the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center’s Fall Invitational 2011. Admission: free. continued next page

LEE MAGAZINE 29

...calendar continued

AUGUST 30: Kids in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade learn to “Play by the Rules” at Art Club, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Admission: free. SEPTEMBER 7 AND OCTOBER 5: Magic Tree House Club, for children reading the Magic Tree House Club book series, 3:30 p.m., Auburn Public Library. Admission: free. Information: 501-3196. SEPTEMBER 12: Allison Hietzl presents her one-woman show, Considering Georgia O’Keefe, 4 p.m., Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art auditorium. Admission: free. Information: 844-1484. SEPTEMBER 13: Puppet Play for children ages three to eleven, 3:30 p.m., Auburn Public Library. Admission: free. Information: 501-3196.

SEPTEMBER 15: Satin Soul performs from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Kiesel Park for Auburn’s Fall Concert Series. Admission: free. Information: 501-2930. SEPTEMBER 18: The Bryan King Faculty Organ Recital begins at 6:30 p.m., Auburn First Baptist Church, 128 East Glenn Avenue. Admission: free. Information: 8444165. SEPTEMBER 19: International students in kindergarten through fifth grade and their parents learn about tutoring available in English reading and writing, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., at the Family Literacy Project, Auburn Public Library. Admission: free.

SEPTEMBER 19: OLLI General Meeting: Dr. Robert Gillette speaks on "Our Canine Protectors: Why they are elite athletes" Lexington Hotel-University Convention Center at 10:00 a.m.. Coffee, cookies, and the Information Fair begin at 8:45 For more information: Call 334-844-5100

SEPTEMBER 23: The Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series presents Smithfield Fair, 7:30 p.m., Auburn Unitarian Universalist Church, 450 Thach Avenue. Tickets: $10, students $8, children 12 and under, free. Information: www.sundilla.org.

or visit our website at: www.olliatauburn.org

.SEPTEMBER 25: The Auburn Community Orchestra Fall Concert is 4 p.m. at Kiesel Park. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket. Admission: free. Information: 501-2930.

SEPTEMBER 20: The Alabama Master Naturalist Program: Observing Alabama’s Cultural Landscape seminar covers conservation and cultural history, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Lee County Historical Society, 6500 Stage Road, Loachapoka. Registration limited to 25. Details were not final by press time. Information: 887-3007. SEPTEMBER 22: American Girl Club, for kindergarten through fifth graders reading the American Girl series, 3:30 p.m., Auburn Public Library. Admission: free. Information: 501-3196. SEPTEMBER 22: The AU Music Faculty Showcase Concert is 7:30 p.m. in the Goodwin Music Building Recital Hall. Tickets: $10; students with valid AU ID, $5. Information: 844-4165. SEPTEMBER 22: John and the Conners perform at Kiesel Park, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in the Auburn Fall Concert Series. Admission: free. Information: 501-2930.

SEPTEMBER 23: Listen and nosh at the AU Singers Dessert Cabaret. Performances are 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., First Baptist Church of Opelika, 301 South Eighth Street. Tickets: $10. Information: 844-4165.

SEPTEMBER 28: Matt Wood and Jeremy Samolesky Faculty Recital, 7:30 p.m., Goodwin Music Recital Hall. Tickets: $10, students with valid AU ID, $5. Information: 844-4165. SEPTEMBER 29: The Good Doctor performs, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Kiesel Park for Auburn’s Fall Concert Series. Admission: free. Information: 501-2930. OCTOBER 6: Dave Potts performs, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Kiesel Park, for Auburn’s Fall Concert Series. Admission: free. Information: 501-2930. OCTOBER 7: The Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series presents Cliff Eberhardt, 7:30 p.m., Auburn Unitarian Universalist Church, 450 Thach Avenue. Tickets: $10, students $8, children 12 and under, free. Information: www.sundilla.org.

Have an event you'd like to add to our calendar? Just send your information to: editor@lee-magazine.com

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