News lifestyle 2008-06-01 Andanh.com

Chapel Hill, N.C. more than basketball Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:53 EDT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. . I felt a bit unnerved, like a spy trying to make myself invisible behind enemy lines. As a devoted Wildcat fan, I know that the .true. blue is the rich, royal blue worn by the University of Kentucky faithful . not the anemic, washed-out powder blue that everyone around me seemed to be sporting in Chapel Hill, otherwise known as Tar Heel Central. As I slunk into The Lantern Restaurant on a busy Saturday night, behind my local hosts, I imagined everyone in the restaurant had suddenly stopped eating to stare, as if a scarlet A . make that a blue K . were stamped on my forehead.

If that wasn't bad enough, I knew that just 8 miles down the road, there was another rival shade of blue to contend with . that of the Duke Blue Devils. I was adrift in a sea of .untrue. blue, and for a Kentucky fan, that is one choppy sea indeed.

I must, however, make a confession. As much as I dislike the Chapel Hill area's basketball teams, I love the area itself. Without the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels to muck things up, this part of North Carolina is heavenly, a lovely place for a leisurely weekend getaway.

I was here in early spring, when showy purple rhododendrons, creamy dogwoods and milky magnolia blossoms were in full bloom, and pink and scarlet azaleas sprouted in masses between towering pine trees.

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:53 EDT

Beef: It's what festival's about

One of the highlights of the annual Fort Harrod Beef Festival, which starts Thursday, is Saturday's beef grill-off at the Mercer County Fairgrounds.

Professional, amateur and youth teams will compete to grill the best briskets, steaks, and back-yard burgers. If you would like to sample their creations, you can buy a $6 bracelet and vote for your .favorites, beginning at 11 a.m.

Chef demonstrations will be at 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. featuring John Plymale of Porcini .Restaurant in .Louisville, Whitney Brown from the Kentucky Beef Council and .Louisville chef Nancy Russman. Demon.strations will be at the .fairgrounds. Grilling .demonstrations begin at 9 a.m. at the Kentucky Beef Council booth.

Study: Bone-loss drug also prevents cancer returning Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT
A drug to prevent bone loss during breast cancer treatment also substantially cut the risk that the cancer would return, results that left doctors excited about a possible new way to fight the disease.

It is the first large study to affirm wider anti-cancer hopes for Zometa and other bone-building drugs called bisphosphonates. Zometa, made by Novartis AG, is used now for cancers that have already spread to the bone.

The new study involved 1,800 premenopausal women taking hormone treatments for early-stage breast cancer. Zometa cut by one-third the chances that cancer would recur -- in their bones or anywhere else.

The study was led by Dr. Michael Gnant of the Medical University of Vienna and reported Saturday at an American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago.

If a second, ongoing study also finds a benefit, doctors predict that Zometa will quickly be tested against other cancers that tend to spread, or metastasize, to bones, such as prostate and kidney cancer.

Milkshakes can have fewer than 200 calories Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:53 EDT

Swimsuit season and ice cream don't always mix well if you're watching your weight, but you can treat your sweet tooth to one of my milkshakes with mix-ins for less than 200 calories.

I use slow-churned ice cream because it has a rich flavor with less fat and fewer calories. Using bite-size cookies also helps because I can buy a snack-size pack rather than having a big bag of cookies around the house.

rECIPES

Kathy's chocolate chip cookie shake

A coat of ferns Sat, 31 May 2008 08:13 EDT

As summer approaches, it's a great time to bring home big Boston ferns in baskets to hang between porch columns or in a planter to place on a corner pedestal. Right now is the perfect time to find a wealth of these huge, healthy plants at local garden shops.

Ferns have been around in various forms for more than 300 million years. With an understated elegance, these natives return year after year in the wild, dressing the Earth in green petticoats with a ruffle of delicate arching forms and lacy fronds.

Most like a shady spot where they can hold rich, woodsy earth under their roots, but others seek out rock crevices and a bit of sun.

In Harlan County near Pine Mountain in southeastern Kentucky, ferns begin to send up their fiddlehead crosiers in late April, after the first spring wildflowers have gone by and the leaves of trees overhead have come out to shelter the forest floor. The slightly acidic soil there is perfect for many ferns.

Vacation bible schools combine biblical lessons with a lot of fun Sat, 31 May 2008 08:25 EDT

In some festooned Sunday school classroom on some weekday in July, some first-grade girl will fuss with crepe paper and foam board, silk flowers and sticky glue, and she will don herself a mighty fine skirt that wiggles just so when she does.

And thus spake Moses.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

This, my dear Christians, is vacation bible school, and somehow, some way . and we are casting no aspersions because teaching children about faith is a good thing anyway you do it . someone has connected parting the Red Sea with hula dancing.

Destination: Quirk, KY Wed, 28 May 2008 19:18 EDT

Everyone knows what Kentucky is famous for . Thoroughbreds, bourbon and basketball. Muhammad Ali, Mammoth Cave, mint juleps, My Old .Kentucky Home . Bluegrass and .barbecue. Churchill Downs and .Cumberland Falls. The list goes on.

But there's a lot about Kentucky you might not know. It was the birthplace (Garrard County) of anti-.liquor crusader Carrie .Nation, but it also was the first state to plant a commercial vineyard when, in the 18th century, the winemaker of the Marquis de Lafayette tried his hand at Kentucky-grown grapes. The 12th .president of the United States, .Zachary Taylor, although born in Virginia, is buried in .Louisville. John Travolta once performed at Danville's Pioneer Playhouse. In 1893, a pair of Louisville sisters penned the words to Happy Birthday, and the first U.S. performance of a Beethoven symphony took place in Lexington.

When you get right down to it, the Bluegrass State has some downright quirky places . some with cult .followings; others fairly obscure . that are as .fascinating as its better-known spots. To kick off the summer travel season, here are a few of them.

Schmidt's Coca-Cola Museum, Elizabethtown

Helpful tips to have when flying with your infant Mon, 26 May 2008 19:37 EDT

On every flight with my daughter Taryn, I learn more firsthand flying lessons that I'd like to share with other traveling parents. Beyond making sure that your little flier has something to suck on during take-off and landing, here are 26 tips I've gathered after more than two dozen flights with my infant travelmate. This advice is for those traveling with a baby younger than 2.

A: Always use the restroom yourself as your final move when you're still in the presence of another adult who can watch your child.

B: Buckle up. Remember to buckle your seat belt on the plane before you get your child settled on your lap. Once your baby falls asleep or starts nursing, you'll be hard-pressed to find the two parts to your seat belt . especially if you're .traveling alone.

C: Cheerios are a mom's best friend. Those magic circles can come in handy at the gate, on the tarmac . any time you're in need of a distraction or a small snack for your mini-traveler.

A new breed
Robin Hale lives by two mottos.One of them is “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

On the wing to Ashland
Singer-songwriter Corey Wills likes to tell curious onlookers that his band, the Chicago-based Inspector Owl, was formed when a wizard handpicked the musicians to perform together.

Photographer offers HMA exhibit, lecture, workshop

Dance recital takes on a green theme
A mother and daughter team tackles world problems with an original ballet that will be presented at the Paramount Arts Center next month.

Chinese Dir