Dyeing eggs never gets old!

Just when we thought we were through with sweaters and jackets, here comes a frost warning! Not unexpected but still a nuisance to have to cover tomato plants and drag pots of impatiens inside. It was nice however to have a cooler weekend for Easter activities. In addition to hunting eggs, we found families enjoying something new on our Town Green. Today we have a noteworthy note about that.

You no doubt know that your columnist is a pushover for horses and babies. No surprise that we have news today of some BIG horses and LITTLE children. Continue Reading

Many families enjoy dyeing real eggs for Easter weekend fun!

Spring Break. Easter week. Lots of families are traveling – especially to the beach – but for the rest of us, it is a wonderful weekend to stay in town, relax in the hammock, take in the Farmer’s Market, attend church services and of course, dye Easter eggs. With four children and lots of “real” eggs to color, your columnist for years added Paas Easter egg kits to the shopping list. Finally another mother set me straight. A plastic cup, a teaspoon of vinegar, 8 ounces of warm water and food color made the brightest eggs of all.

To this day our family mixes glorious colors ranging from orange sunset to jungle green – all by mixing drops of food color into the vinegar/water mix. Directions can be found on the back of any McCormick food color/egg dye box. And a hint for the most beautiful eggs? Leave the last eggs in their color cups overnight. You will be amazed. Happy Egg Hunts to all our readers!

News for this first Thursday of April 2012 includes Cub Scouts earning their Arrow of Light, Girl Scouts completing requirements for their Gold Award and Betsy Hazelton’s special celebration. Continue Reading

Spring is an exciting time for scouting. Boy scouts are thinking summer programs, Webelo cub scouts are preparing to cross over to boy scouts and senior girl scouts are anticipating Gold Award ceremonies.

This past weekend was a milestone for Davidson’s Boy Scout Troop 58. Six young men in this troop were awarded scouting’s highest honor: the Eagle award. Today Around Davidson brings news of these six scouts and their accomplishments. Thursday’s column will have news of Webelos soon to cross over into Troop 58 as well as a report on three young ladies in our area earning Girl Scouting’s highest honor: the Gold Award. Continue Reading

Happiness is a warm puppy with a best buddy and a soccer ball!

Something about having out of town children, grandchildren, grand-dogs and even a grand-puppy underfoot for the past ten days which found your correspondent focusing more on missing socks and dog treats than Davidson news. Thanks to David for letting me have a day off on Tuesday but now it is “back in the saddle” and a return to the computer keyboard.

Today Around Davidson has news of the fleet feet of Maryline Roux, a new book from Elisabeth Davis and a few gardening notes. Continue Reading

It’s here! Tonight at midnight, three sold out screens at Our Town Cinemas will show the most anticipated movie of recent memory, “The Hunger Games.” Based on the first book in a trilogy by author Suzanne Collins, the movie is receiving positive reviews from early screenings by film critics. The book is promoted as a young adult novel but it seems that just as many adults are enjoying this fictional work set in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem. First published in 2008 the novel has been translated into 26 languages and rights of productions have been sold in 38 countries. Every news program this week seems to feature one of the stars.

Film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth may be household words throughout the U.S. but not to worry, we have our own film stars right here in Davidson. Well, OK, they were only extras but we consider them stars – and they will be at Our Town Cinemas tomorrow evening from 6-7 p.m. signing autographs. Davidson talent in The Hunger Games included Beth and Audrey Gibbs, Emma Landau, Rachel Figard, Beach Galloway, Luke Williams and Isabella Taylor.

Around Davidson caught up with Beth and Audrey Gibbs, Beach Galloway and Luke Williams earlier this week and have news today of their experience in the filming of this blockbuster movie as well as other tidbits you need to know about The Hunger Games. Continue Reading

Oh those NCAA basketball brackets! When Duke and Missouri were eliminated, all but a handful of brackets were shredded. What a weekend for round ball enthusiasts and especially for Wolfpack and Tarheel fans. Good luck to both NC teams who made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Spring starts today and we all are enjoying the beauty Mother Nature is providing this month. Today Around Davidson has a mention of spring blooms as well as news of an honor for Carol Carroll, results of Road Bowling and a visit with the Pariola family on Davis Road. Continue Reading

How about this weather? One has to dive into the closet to find summer clothes in the middle of March. But just a word of warning: Don’t put those sweaters away just yet. Our last frost date for this region is April 15. It is mighty tempting to get flowers in pots and plants in the garden but the Agricultural Extension Service recommends waiting just a bit. This Saturday, however, is St. Patrick’s Day and the traditional time to plant potatoes – so at least give the spuds a try!

Around Davidson today brings happy news of Melissa Sanderson’s wedding, a note about spring arrivals on the farm, a trip report from Russell and Carmen Mase and a musical mention about Lauren Jackson Coplan. Continue Reading

Brenda tries out some new Ben & Jerry's flavors.

Was it the basketball, or switching to Daylight Savings Time that left us all a little discombobulated yesterday? What a weekend. Bet CVS was plumb out of antacids for those of us whose stomachs were tied in knots from watching Duke, N.C. State, UNC and Florida State in their last-second cliff hangers! And now we know the pairings for the NCAA tournament with Davidson College playing Louisville on Thursday in Portland, OR. Tip off for the game is Thursday at 1:40 p.m. EDT! Hope you have your brackets filled in. (We hear tell that some are filling in teams according to the pretty colors of their uniforms … probably as good a way as any to pick a winner!)

Leaving round ball behind for now, Around Davidson has news today of yummy new flavors at Ben & Jerry’s, a note about our post boxes, girl scout anniversary wishes and congratulations to Elizabeth Rodes headed for the US Naval Academy. Continue Reading

It is a great week to be a Wildcat!

What a great week to be a Wildcat! Congratulations to all the basketball coaches and players at Davidson College for a wonderful Southern Conference Tournament championship win. Now we eagerly await the NCAA tournament pairing for the first playoff game.

With the students away on spring break, it is a nice time to use the college’s facilities for other events. The very successful Business Expo met Monday in the Baker Sports building and Tuesday marked the 28^th Horticultural Symposium which used the Knobloch Student Center as its meeting space. All week visiting Collegiate Challenge students used the Davidson College Presbyterian Church’s Congregation House as its base of operations.

Today Around Davidson has news of the Horticultural Symposium as well as the Collegiate Challenge group from Ohio Northern University. We also remind our readers about upcoming music events and 100th birthday happenings. Continue Reading

What makes a sports fan? How to answer that question? Did you cheer for the Patriots or the Giants in this year’s Super Bowl? Do you pull for Coach K. and his Duke Blue Devils basketball team? Or does Carolina basketball with Roy Williams shouting instructions from the sideline send your blood pressure skyward? And we can’t leave out cheering for the Davidson Wildcats and their successful basketball team. Were you awake for hours with your adrenalin still flowing after Davidson’s double-overtime win, 93-91, over the Western Carolina Catamounts last night? What a thriller! Go Cats!

Yes, professional football season is behind us. Spring training is just getting started for baseball fanatics. Go Red Sox! College basketball tournaments will continue until the Final Four in New Orleans in April. Professional basketball has a lot of fans “pumped” watching the rise of Harvard-educated Jeremy Lin playing for the Knicks. We can’t forget that NASCAR is a year-round fan favorite in the Carolinas. Indeed fans of all sizes abound in our area but how many have a room in their home dedicated to a particular team? And how many can boast that they have been a FAN for the past 32 years and have a basement full of memorabilia to prove it!

Today Around Davidson introduces you to such a fan: Tommy Walker. Seldom does this column focus on a single individual but we think this remarkable fan-tastic sports fan-atic deserves his own space. Continue Reading