TheSunNews.com: Coasting

Don’t let winter slow you down

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:45 EST

It’s more than a month into the new year. The good news is that you have been sticking to your exercise goals. The bad news is that winter weather provides many excuses to skip exercise.

Low temperatures and rain make it less than fun to bike or walk outdoors or even to get into the car to attend an exercise class. Skipped days can quickly become a habit of non-activity.

“If you have to miss an exercise class, it is always better to do something on your own than to not do anything,” said Liz Reighard, certified personal trainer who works out of the North Myrtle Beach Aquatic and Fitness Center.

From the Belle Tower | Callista better prepare for Newt’s retirement

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:16 EST

I’ve been worried about what happens if/when Newt Gingrich has to pack it in, admit defeat and head back to his life as a lobbyist/intellectual/moon entrepreneur/devoted Tiffany customer.

The truth is, I’m actually worried about Callista Gingrich, oh she of the waxen blonde bob and perpetually pleasant demeanor. Why am I worried about a woman whose very name means “beautiful”?

That’s easy. Because of all the men to come home, pouty and prematurely retired from what they love to do, can you imagine one who would be a bigger drag around the house than the whirling dervish that is Newton Gingrich?

Buckingham Yellow Zucchini ideal for small garden

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:26 EST

If you are a squash lover, then by all means keep in mind Buckingham, a delightful, small, compact yellow zucchini. This is the perfect complement to the new, small urban-style garden I have been talking about in my last few columns.

Buckingham is also ideal for containers. Most container gardeners have never considered squash for the porch patio or deck but Buckingham changes that perception. Buckingham reaches about 18 to 24 inches in height with handsome foliage yet stays rather compact reaching about 36 inches in width. The golden yellow flowers and fruit make for a most striking plant.

The dwarf bush will produce an abundance of fruit which is best harvested at about 7 to 8 inches long while still tender. This is an ideal size for steaming, stuffing or slicing.

Car Talk | Battery isn’t always the problem

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:46 EST

D ear Tom and Ray | My 88-year-old mother has a 2005 Buick LaCrosse with 15,000 miles on it. It only gets driven to the grocery store, hair salon and church. But that has been the case for all six years she’s owned it. Now, in the past three months, three new batteries have gone stone-cold dead after four to six weeks! The Buick service department says the problem is “She doesn’t drive it enough!” Heck! For nearly six years, she “didn’t drive it enough,” and it used the same battery! I can’t get them to tell me why it apparently is sucking the life out of the batteries now. Any ideas? – Gary

Ray | Well, I agree with you, Gary. If the problem were that she didn’t drive it enough, why did she have no problem with the battery for the first six years?

Tom | There are two possibilities. One is that something inside the car is draining the batteries. It could be a faulty alarm system, dome light or some other electric accessory.

Here is your new to-do list

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:32 EST

Today’s homes are filled with components that weren’t so common years ago. They make your home more efficient and less work. You can’t ignore them entirely, though. So, as you plan your chores and projects for the coming year, here are some to keep in mind.

Limestone/marble

These ancient materials are more popular than ever. Not all stones need sealing. Ask your stone pro. Buy the best sealers you can afford. Grit and acids are the biggest threats to marble and limestone. So:

Reading Corner | Danger and love in a Maine cabin

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:46 EST

Having already read one of O.C. Strunk’s novels, “The Geriatric Murders,” I felt like I had a pretty good idea of what I would get out of another one of his books, “The Forerun Winter.”

To my delight, I got more than I expected. While I enjoyed “The Geriatric Murders” its unique plot, I felt more connected with the characters in “The Forerun Winter” and didn’t quite guess the ending.

The protagonist is 39-year-old Kathleen Lacebark, who has just inherited a beautiful log cabin on some land in Maine. Her benefactor is Obadiah White, a self-made man whom she had met a year earlier and had started interviewing for his biography.

Peter McKay | Some parents have too much money to burn

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:45 EST

Yesterday, over my morning coffee, I read in my paper that parents in New York City are all atwitter because tuitions at most private schools are just about to creep up past the $40,000 mark.

I stared at the story for a full minute before it hit me: They weren’t talking about college. They were talking about regular old kindergarten-through-12th-grade schools – the places where you learn reading, writing and arithmetic.

According to the article, that 40K figure is often just the base fee. Well-to-do parents are also forking out money for fundraisers, activity fees and special tutors, all in the hopes of making sure that their kids will one day be the bosses of your kids. (Students at these swanky schools are expected to bring their own silver spoons and can save money by sitting on a stick before enrolling.) In one of the most bizarre aspects of this situation, parents are shelling out more than $21,000 for private consultants to help 4-year-old Muffy or Chad get into the best kindergartens in the city.

Pam Stone | No time for time away from the farm

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:43 EST

It is a well-known fact that I can’t leave the farm for more than an hour and a half. Even if it’s a special day out – a birthday lunch, a drink with friends, a movie – I find myself getting fidgety and checking my cellphone (because no one wears a watch anymore to see the time), anxious to get back.

Because so much can go wrong, you see.

When you are have horses, to protect their delicate digestive systems, they must be fed on schedule. They need to be turned out in the paddocks in the morning. Then ridden. Then turned back out. Then brought back in. Stalls need to be cleaned and picked throughout the day. The dogs need to be let out.

From the Belle Tower | A note from Paula Deen

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:45 EST

Hey y’all, it’s Paula Deen.

Now I know all y’all are wondering how I’m a-gonna get out of this here PR nightmare. That whole thing about me having diabetes for three years and tellin’ y’all to just go ‘head on and eat that fried stuffing-on-a-stick? Yeah, that.

When I was diagnosed three years ago, I was talkin’ to my sons Bobby and Jamie, which is real easy to do since they are UP MY BUTT pretty much 24 hours a day, and they were all, like, “Mama, you gotta tell everybody to eat healthier” and I was all like, “Sons, I can’t do that because I’ve got to spend three years doing research so I can give hope to other sufferers.”

Reading Corner | Magical world lives on with ‘Ezra Sound’

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:34 EST

You might think that the world has had enough of wizards, witches, spells and magical places. With seven Harry Potter books and eight movies, plus a Harry Potter world down in Florida, we’ve been inundated with all things magical to the point where, after the last movie left theaters, the real world was ready to move on from magic.

After reading M.W. Fowler’s “Ezra Sound: How I Became a Giant,” I realized I am not ready to move on from the worlds authors create for their magical beings.

I might not ever be, but that’s beside the point.

Siblings team up with Wild Creations to sell their toy invention, FlipOutz

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:34 EST

About four years ago, siblings Erin, Lachlan and Jake Johnson were riding home to Charlotte, N.C., after a trip to Myrtle Beach with their parents, Robin and Emily Johnson.

“We were bickering in the back seat,” Lachlan said.

To stop the bickering, their parents challenged them to come up with an idea for a product that they would like to see on the market.

Thinking small is less work when it comes to garden water features

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:43 EST

Water features can bring interest, beauty and wildlife to a garden, but they also can be work.

That’s why many homeowners are choosing relatively small options such as fountains, bubbling urns and waterfalls, rather than ponds and streams, industry analysts say.

“A big backyard pond takes a lot of time to clean,” said Laura Dickinson, extension master gardener coordinator at Kansas State University. “You have to fight with the critters, keep the water in balance and prevent algae from building up. You have to do special things in winter to shut it down and again in spring to set it up.

Spreading rock on gardens can help feed the soil

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:36 EST

If you feel like getting out in the garden, now is as good a time as any to spread rock on the ground.

Or not (more on that later).

You say your ground already has enough rocks in it? True enough, but the rock I’m talking about is a powder, and is likely a different kind of rock from what you already have.

Chinese New Year steeped in familial traditions from China’s heart

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:25 EST

You don’t have to be Chinese to enjoy and appreciate the celebration of Chinese New Year because the holiday is rooted in familiarity.

If you put the fellowship of Thanksgiving, the celebration of the Fourth of July and the newness of Easter and infused it all with love and warm wishes, you will understand the essence of the annual holiday celebrated by Chinese and embraced by others.

“A lot of Chinese people in America are going home for the New Year,” said Fang (pronounced fong) Lin, owner of Hong Kong Supermarket in Myrtle Beach. “There will be a lot of fireworks and the dragon will be dancing in the street. Here, in America, we don’t have all the celebrations because we are working, working, working.”

Reading Corner | Have fun with Chinese astrology

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:23 EST

Starting Monday, it is the Year of the Dragon, according to Chinese astrology. In honor of the Chinese New Year, I decided to take a look at a book that sheds some light on Chinese traditions and astrology.

It’s called “Chinese Astrology: Ancient Secrets for Modern Life” by Sabrina Liao.

“Let the Asian horoscope reveal secrets about your friends, lovers, and you,” it boasts on the cover.

Pam Stone | Hoity-toity house hunters

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:29 EST

Sheesh, don’t you hate it when people decide to move to another country and make no effort to respect its culture or learn its language?

This is why I can no longer watch HGTV’s “House Hunters International.”

In the beginning, this show was an evening ritual for me. My husband Paul and I recorded all episodes and heartily enjoyed sinking back into our sofa, Shiraz in hand, and vicariously lapping up real estate in foreign locales.

Gardening | Several classes offered for a variety of gardeners, landscapers

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:25 EST

Whether you are a professional in the landscape industry or a home gardener, winter is a terrific time to take a gardening class. The Clemson University Cooperative Extension is offering excellent educational opportunities this season.

Low Impact Gardening lecture series

As a landscaper or homeowner, we all need to know how to garden with the environment in mind. And who does not want to grow a better lawn, healthier shrub and flower gardens, or superior vegetables?

Greek basil is tasty, grows fast and is perfect for the patio

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:27 EST

If you have ever had even a fleeting thought on trying a little herb growing for your own culinary creations then by all mean remember the name Aristotle.

Aristotle is a relatively new compact basil that will thrill with both its ease at growing and its flavor in the kitchen.

I recently wrote about the Tumbling Tom tomato and how vegetables were going compact for today’s urban gardener. Aristotle Basil fits this theme perfectly. In a container or on the landscape, it looks like a 12-inch dwarf evergreen shrub, at least until you brush the aromatic foliage with your hands. As the name might suggest, many consider it a fine Greek basil.

Car Talk | Pebbles don’t replace studded tires

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:23 EST

Dear Tom and Ray: The other day, I installed winter tires on my car. Prior to attaching the wheels to the car, I checked the tires for any damages I might have overlooked last spring. Apart from one or two pea-size pebbles, I noticed quite a few very small pieces of gravel that had lodged themselves in the small crevices of the tread. I cautiously removed all those gravel bits – but I wondered: Don’t those embedded pieces of stone somehow resemble the studs or spikes we used to have on winter tires? Maybe I should intentionally allow small pieces of debris to collect there. My question is: Am I doing the right thing when I remove those bits of stone, or should I instead take the car for a spin in the gravel pit to create “instant studded tires (just add stones)”? – Wolfgang

TOM: It’s “Eureka!” moments like these that lead to great inventions, Wolfgang.

RAY: Notice we said moments LIKE these. Not this one in particular, Wolfgang.

Peter McKay | Air freshener + dead mouse = Play-Doh

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:28 EST

It all started a few weeks ago when I noticed a package of cookies in our pantry with a few cookies missing. This in itself was not all that unusual. With three kids in the house, I’m lucky if I ever see a cookie. But this package had a small hole ripped in the side and a tiny trail of crumbs heading toward a hole in the wall. I’m no Columbo, but I suspected mice.

I’ve dealt with mice before, usually by setting traps. But traps are a pain. Before they go off, I have to worry about some unsuspecting family member getting snapped.

After they go off and there’s a mouse in there, I have to worry about my wife finding it before I do. The screams can be heard two towns over. Glasses in our china cabinet could shatter.