My daughter says the worst thing I did was sit her in the middle of the room so she could see her toys but not reach them.
Catherine White, 55

I was supposed to go to the beach with my cousins, but I went with my friends instead. When I got back, everything was missing from my room except my mattress.
Sarah McLeod, 18

A bad report card would get me whipped.
Lee Davidson, 44

When I was about 8, I broke something my grandma had given my father. That made him cry, and it broke my heart.
Hannah Rogers, 18

I use to be afraid of the dark. Once my daddy told me it was time for bed, but I wouldn’t leave the kitchen. So he turned off all the lights. It scared me into bed.
Nancy Abee, 57

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Posted in Gab in Print

By Apryl Blakeney

MORGANTON — Blaka Abee became fascinated with pottery when her son took up the trade the old fashioned way.

The retired News Herald reporter (who still writes Faith and Values stories for the paper) says she’s never crafted a piece of clay. But she wanted to actively support the art.

So she picked up her own tools: a pen and camera. After two years of work, Blaka held a copy of her first book.

“My Dad, The Folk Potter,” is a picture book of pottery making from beginning to the end.

Blaka presented a copy to her alma mater, George Hildebrand Elementary School, Thursday evening.

“That would be a great book for teaching fourth grade history,” says teacher Tracie Lail. “Because that’s when we study the Catawba Valley.”

Blaka told her story through the eyes of a child, to better educate young readers on the 19th-century methods of making pottery.

“There are lots of books out there, but there aren’t any for kids,” Blaka says. “And more young people are becoming interested.”

Eleven-year-old Brandon Yoder had never seen pottery in the process, until he starred in his great aunt’s book.

Blaka hired her nephew to put a face with the child’s narration.

At first Brandon was excited about being a model.

“I thought in my mind, I am famous,” the boy says.

But he actually learned a lot from the process.

“This is where we went to dig out the clay,” Brandon says paging through the book.

“It was the most, most, most best part,” he adds. “It was squishy and felt like mud going through my fingers.”

Brandon shares the literary spotlight with Blaka’s son Steve, who plays dad in the book.

Steve started turning in the late 1980s and is one of a few potters in the Catawba Valley region to make pieces the hard way.

Steve digs for his own clay, mixes his glazes and fires his art in wood-fired kilns.

The art of tradition increases the value of the product. Blaka says her son’s face jugs sell for $160 on average.

Blaka’s book is cheaper. Hardbacks sell for $26.99 and a softbacks sell for $20.99.

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Every day, every 30 minutes, because I’ve got kids. We are always picking up clothes and toys.
April Mosteller, 21

I have a big house and I clean it with pinesolve and bleach everyday.
Ingred Morelis, 40

With two kids I clean all the time. I do a load of laundry every day, dry and fold them. I mop and vaccum every other day.
Jo Harris, 37

I do basic kitchen stuff every day. I hit the other rooms once or twice a week. But I can’t tell you when the last time I did spring cleaning.
April Buchanan, 25

I clean, sweep, mop, dust and vacuum every day. You’ve got to when you’ve got kids.
Katy Lowman, 25

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Posted in Gab in Print

Tracy Farnham
www.grabthegab.com

Every woman has heard the adage ‘a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so what kind of menu will please your sweetie this Valentine’s Day and send cupid’s arrow straight to his heart?

Should you try a new dish, desert or stick to an old stand by?

Whether this is a first time attempt at cooking, or you’ve been around the frying pan a time or two, keep it simple and familiar.

By the way, I recently conducted a little survey to help aid in the task of writing about what men want for Valentine’s Day. So speaking with some influence from our male counterparts let’s start with the standard man pleaser: meat and potatoes.

Option No. 1
Rib eye, sirloin tips with mushroom gravy, baked chicken or ham
Mashed sweet potatoes, scalloped potatoes, or seasoned red skin potatoes
Side items — serve a tossed salad on a chilled plate, offer pasta vegetable medley, or choice of candied carrots, corn or French cut green beans
Rolls,  French bread or cheese and garlic drop biscuits
Beverage of your choice

Option No. 2
Beef, pork or chicken stir fry, sweet and sour version or teriyaki
Rice or noodles and a vegetable medley
Egg rolls (frozen of course)
Soy sauce and sweet and sour sauce available
Don’t forget the fortune cookies (available at the grocery store)
Beverage of your choice

Option No. 3
Spaghetti, lasagna or chicken parmesan
Tossed or caesar salad on a chilled plate
Choice of dressings
French bread
Beverage of your choice

Option No. 4
Take out from his favorite restaurant can be substituted for those who may be culinary challenged.
Serve dinner on the good china and use cloth napkins.
If you really want to prepare something toss a salad or make the dessert.
One of my own memorable Valentine dinners came from the deli at a nearby grocery store.
According to the survey results there was a tie between going out for dinner or eating in with preference to bringing take out home.

Kid friendly tips
This might be a good time to teach the children about the proper etiquette of a nice sit-down dinner.

Consider offering a special gift for the best mannered child.

Another option is to order a pizza and movie and let them have dinner in the living room.

Dessert choices
These are meant to be simple, non-time consuming and with limited ingredients, all of which you may already have at home.
You can even use the single serving size puddings in place of making your own.

n Brownies cut in the shape of a heart with a cookie cutter, drizzle with melted chocolate either white or dark and top with candy sprinkles or red hots (whip cream optional).

n Vanilla pudding (tinted pink with a few drops of red food coloring) served in chilled stemware, ice cream or parfait glasses. Top with whip topping and crumbled chocolate cookies.

n Chocolate pudding served in chilled stemware with whip topping and a cherry on top or chocolate candy heart.
n Sliced angel food or pound cake drizzled with strawberry glaze

Gift Ideas for Him
As much as women love to shop, they can easily be dumfounded when it comes to buying something to please their significant other.

According to survey results and regardless of popular appeal, men don’t want chocolate or candy for Valentine’s Day.

Unofficial Survey results
When given a choice between 10 of the most popular gifts for men (choices included cologne, chocolate, tools, music, electronic items, hardware gift cards, movie tickets, hunting/fishing stuff, clothing or a massage), chocolate came in dead last.

Also at the bottom of male gifting suggestions were cologne and movie tickets.

Surprisingly clothing was ranked above music or electronics and held fifth place from among the suggested 10.

Getting a massage came in just five tenths behind hunting and fishing equipment, which placed third.

The most popular gift suggestions for him according to the survey, were hardware store gift cards taking second place and tools being the most sought-after gift.

Of course you know your sweetie better than anyone so with these suggestions in mind consider which one may say ‘I love you’ best on this Valentine’s Day.

Don’t forget the card — most of the men surveyed say they like getting cards.

You might want to include a few compliments, give him a hug and a kiss because these were suggestions as well.

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Posted in Gab in Print Relationships