As many of you know, I have been held captive by my own house that has been due for some updating.

We chose the house we have now occupied since mid-December because of its location, its historic charm, and frankly, because we missed having a pool.  This past summer of constant triple-digit daytime highs was a huge influence on that decision.

However, as is the case with almost any home that has been previously occupied, there are rooms with wall colors that don’t blend well with your furniture or just flat out drive you crazy.

I’m not questioning anyone’s taste here.  I have no room to criticize bold color choices on walls since I am guilty of painting the half-bath of our previous home a citrusy tangerine orange.  You have to consider the fact that I took that shade of orange from an accent color in a framed family photo and extended it into the entire room, a decision that several realtors found “interesting,” to put it politely.  But given the competitive real estate situation in our previous neighborhood, we felt it was necessary to neutralize the area with a coat of light cocoa brown paint.  The market: 1, Mika’s orange bathroom: 0.

Our new abode, lovely as it may be, has a couple of rooms that clash with my decorative conscience.  Where the previous owners had success in coordinating the wall colors with their furniture and possessions, I failed miserably.

Let’s just start with the fact that I’m not a big fan of wallpaper because it’s the most difficult wall cover to put up, and as soon as it’s complete, you can almost hear the stop watch ticking to the time when it will start to look outdated.  If my research bears out, the downstairs bathroom with teal wallpaper and a floral border dates back to the mid 90s, well before our sellers occupied the property.

One day shortly after we moved in, I was cleaning the bathroom in question when my impulsivity got the best of me.  I saw a tiny bubble in a seam of the wallpaper and I began tearing.  The first sheet came down without incident, so I continued on until I was left with a mountain of wallpaper in the bathroom floor and spotty dry wall around me.  With that action, I committed myself to at least a month of work.

I began to panic and snapped pictures of the naked walls with my phone.  I sent the photos to my mother as if I was confessing to a crime.  She thusly responded as if she was helping me cover up a crime.

“Ok, you need to go out and buy some joint compound.  Spread it as thinly as you can with a trowel and use a sponge to lightly texture it.  Don’t worry, you can do this,” she assured me.

I bought the supplies immediately and let them sit for a couple of days while I mentally prepared for the job that lie ahead.  Finally, I owned my decision and started smearing joint compound across every wall, along every baseboard seam and carefully into corners.  For an hour or two almost every day, I put on yoga pants and an old T-shirt and resurfaced the walls of that bathroom that I had once defaced.

After weeks of finding white grit in my hair and along my forearms, elbows and wrists, the bathroom walls were covered and textured.  (Well, almost.  Just don’t look at the wall behind the toilet tank.)

If you need some time to contemplate things in your life or do some creative thinking, I highly recommend texturing walls.  Among other ideas, I think I’ve loosely developed a plot line for a Broadway-style musical based on the songs of Tom Petty.

After a nice coat of paint and new light sconces with coordinating towel ring and paper holder, the bathroom is now presentable and ready for use.

However, just because I’ve wrapped up this project, don’t expect to see me out in public much for the next few weeks either because I just tore down all the wallpaper in my son’s upstairs bathroom.  It’s not my fault I couldn’t control myself.  It was metallic wallpaper, folks.

Metallic.

DO YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE?

My job at the chamber exposes me to wonderful moments of kindness and there’s plenty of that right here in Smithville.

The random acts of kindness sometimes arise from unexpected places.  I received a call recently from a woman named Cindi Ford who lives in Pennsylvania.  She is a quilter who was watching “The Today Show” when she was moved by the story of Patrick and Tiffany Beasley.

Patrick and Tiffany are just two of thousands of people affected by the Labor Day fires here in Bastrop County, but they were featured on the show because of their association with the Heart of the Pines Volunteer Fire Department.  Cindi was particularly touched when Tiffany spoke of the quilts she had lost in the fire that were handmade by her grandmother and therefore not replaceable.

Cindi then placed a call to the chamber where I got the opportunity to speak with her.  She was determined to help Patrick and Tiffany start their quilt collection anew.  Even though the quilt would not come from her grandmother, it would still be made with love.

Cindi has already sent the quilt to the chamber of commerce office and I would love to present it to Patrick and Tiffany on her behalf.

I have put out a call on Facebook and still have not been able to get a response from Patrick and Tiffany.  Therefore, I’m employing my legion of loyal readers out there.  If you know how to get in touch with Patrick or Tiffany Beasley, please have them call the chamber of commerce office at 237-2313 and leave their contact information.

I’ll keep you all updated on what happens.

SCHWANS TRUCK IN TOWN

The Smithville Cheer Booster Club is inviting the Schwan’s truck back to town on Friday, Feb. 3 (tomorrow) from noon to 7 p.m. in the DAEP/Bus Maintenance lot located at the intersection of Highway 95 and Loop 230.

The truck will be stocked with a variety of your favorite ready-to-heat-and-eat favorites, plus frozen treats.  You may shop directly off the truck or pre-order and pick up from the truck that day for speedier service.  To pre-order, call 888-724-9267, select option 4, and enter Campaign ID number 38072.  Please make sure to use the campaign number so the Cheer Boosters get credit for the sale.

The Smithville Cheer Booster Club will receive 10% of the sales for that day.  It’s an easy way to help a local non-profit and a convenient way to feed your family.

For additional information, contact Cheer Booster President Kellye Bonorden at 237-2496.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK

Don’t forget to buy your Fish Fry tickets!  Contact anyone from the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department or the Smithville Noon Lions Club to get more information.  If you can’t find anyone from either group, call me at the chamber of commerce and I’ll get you set up.

So, when was the last time that a film made in Smithville was nominated for an Academy Award?  I think, even from the most stubborn of you, the answer would have to be never. Well, that was never – until now.

Congratulations to the team of “The Tree of Life” for nominations in three categories: Best Picture, Best Director (Terrence Malick) and Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki). This is an exciting time for those hard working professionals.

Congratulations to everyone in the community that has supported our film making efforts. We are all winners.

So, how can we let a moment like this pass by without having a celebration! Everyone is invited to a free awards viewing party at the Smithville Rec Center on Sunday, Feb. 26, beginning at 6 p.m. Bring your own snacks and wine if you would like – Sherry’s chili, popcorn and beverages will be available for purchase. Prizes will be given to the best dressed “movie stars,” but feel free to come casual. Maybe you’ll be the best in the guess the winner game!

Fish fry

Purchase your tickets now for the annual fish fry on Saturday, Feb.4 also at our rec center. Tickets are $100 and include dinner for two. Proceeds benefit the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department and the scholarship fund of the Smithville Noon Lions Club. If you don’t want a whole ticket, partner up with a friend or two and make your own donation smaller. But the fun is in having a ticket and being a part of this fundraising effort. Tickets are available at the chamber or from any of the members of the Lions and fire department. You do not have to be present to win, but your ticket does. It’s a fun night full of cheers and groans!

Thunder

Posters and flyers are in for the Thunder on the Colorado Bike Rally – the chamber’s largest annual fundraiser. Mark the dates – March 16 – 18.

Go to www.thunderonthecolorado.com for details about the event. The Larry Wilson Band will be playing on Friday night and Jeff Haney on Saturday night. Saturday, March 17, will include a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration! Wrist bands for the entire weekend are $15. It’s a fun time and open to anyone over 21 years of age.

Chamber banquet

Another opportunity for good food and fellowship is the annual Chamber Banquet on Saturday, Feb. 25.This event is an important celebration for our community. You do not have to be a chamber member to attend. Tickets are $30 per person with sponsorship tables of ten for $300. Please join in celebrating an amazing year in Smithville’s history.

Mark your calendar

• 2/13 – Economic Development meeting – 11:45 a.m. – La Cabana – Program:Central Health Connection – A collaborative vision for improved health and economic outcomes in Central Texas

• 2/13 – Smithville Music & Film “Reel Film Expo” meeting – 7 p.m. –Smithville Public Library (507 Main)

• 2/16 – Thunder on the Colorado meeting – La Cabana -  6:30 p.m.

• 2/25 – Annual Chamber Awards Banquet – Smithville Recreation Center  – Tickets $30 – advance sales only

• 2/26 – Smithville Red Carpet Celebration Party – Smithville Recreation Center – Doors open at 6 p.m.

• 2/28 – Keep Smithville Beautiful meeting – 5:30 p.m. – Pocket’s Grille

• 2/27 – Smithville Music & Film “Reel Film Expo” meeting – 7 p.m. –Smithville Public Library (507 Main)

** No chamber mixer this month due to the banquet

We’ve had very little winter so far, with temperatures mostly in the 60’s and 70’s, and only two light frosts. Some of my roses are still blooming. As a result of these cool moist nights, I’ve developed blackspot on a few of them, when I usually have no problem. Remember, I grow the old roses, rather than the fussy modern hybrids. They seldom have trouble with fungal leaf disease. This week I am going to go out and spray dormant oil spray on all the rose bushes, hoping to smother the fungal spores and to encourage the old leaves to drop. Once the leaves do drop, I will rake them up and put them out for the garbage man. I never put diseased materials on the compost pile.

In most years, it is too early to prune roses yet. Pruning will stimulate new growth that will likely be killed by later frosts. The extended forecasts for Central Texas are predicting warmer than normal and drier than normal into April and uncertain after that. So if you are “itching” to prune (friends are emailing me asking me if they can’t move the timing up) you could take a chance and prune now.  I’m going to wait another week or two and prune in mid-February, the recommended time.

Right now I am planning for later tasks, gathering the materials I will need. I’m making sure that my pruners and loping shears are well sharpened and oiled and checking my small folding “keyhole” saw for any defects. I’ll need all three for the upcoming rose pruning. I plan to go to Smith Supply and order some materials I’ll use to fertilize the roses: alfalfa pellets/meal (nitrogen), bone meal (phosphorus) and green sand (potash). They don’t always have those on hand, but Melvin will special order almost anything you need in the way of fertilizers. (Give him 1-2 weeks to get it here). I’ll have him add to the order two 40-lb bags of corn gluten meal, the pelletized type. It is expensive (about $30-$35 a bag) but it is the only fertilizer I use all year on my lawn. In addition to providing slow release nutrients that last six months or more, it also prevents the emergence of warm (or cold) weather weeds. I try to time the application to precede the change of seasons from cool to warm. Usually mid to late Feb is the best time.

I need to replace a few shrubs which did not make it through last summer. This is a good time to finish up planting those new shrubs, roses, trees, groundcovers and vines. It is also a good time to divide any perennials that are crowding their “neighbors” and relocate them or give them to a friend.

I’m also going to complete planting the last of my cool season vegetables. Artichoke and asparagus crowns are best planted now.  We can plant snap beans, beets and broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards and kale transplants, as well. I will expand my plantings of carrots, lettuces (red, green, loose-leaf, and Bibb or Romaine types), parsley, peas (English, snap and snow types), radishes and spinach. You can also start kohlrabi, parsnips, rutabaga and turnips now, but somehow I never learned to like most of those semi-exotic root vegetables. Give me instead onions (red, white and yellow), leeks, Irish potatoes, garlic and shallots, which can all be planted at this time in early February.

Next week I will review rose pruning and touch on pruning times/techniques for a few other plant types.

The Paige Volunteer Fire Department fundraiser chili dinner was sold out by 5:30 p.m. with  450 lbs. of meat gone! By 5:45 p.m., the 4-H had sold out of cakes and cornbread.

My hat is off to the cooks. Every year I tell you  how good it is, but this year it was awesome. They make a spicy and a regular and I got some of each. But the spicy was the best to me, not too hot, but so much flavor.

BEE Club

We will have an EEC club meeting Wednesday, Feb. 1 at Paige Community Center at 9 a.m. Hope to see some new faces there.

The Old Frontier

Three Bastrop County men, Ronnie McRee, John Long and Adam Meuth, bought the Old Frontier and the guys said it will be opening soon. They could not tell me anything more at this time. Sure would be nice to have a good steak house in Paige. They were nice and very personal. I wish these guys luck in their new adventure.

Hermann Sons

The next meeting of the Hermann Sons will be Feb. 12 at noon at the lodge hall in Paige. A pot luck lunch will be served.

Birthdays

Savannah Kimey turned five last Thursday, Jan. 26 and the day was shared with family and friends.

Paige Lions Club

The Paige Lions Club was chartered in March 2009 with 31 members. We are excited to have the opportunity to serve our community and are actively seeking new members. If you would like to join or just to see what we’re like, feel free to come to one of our meetings, which are held the first and third Wednesday every month. Meetings start at 6:30 p.m. at the Paige Community Center.

Super Bowl

My house is in a buzz. A good friend is coming in from Houston to watch the super bowl.

We will have a quiet day with football. I know very little about football, so I do more cooking then watching, and it works great at my house for me. For the people that will be out and about, please drive safe and good luck on your team.

Thought

I have been reminded by LaDona Fuchs  to thank God for the rain and perfect weather we have been having.

How soon we can forget the long dry summer we had.

orry the Rosanky News column wasn’t in the paper last week. I had a medical issue that prevented me from getting it in on time. Thank you to those of you who called to check on me!

Rosanky Youths

win big

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about young Kadence Barta from Rosanky who is a five-year-old competitive cheerleader at Twister Cheer Company in Bastrop. Kadence is a member of the Tiny Drizzlers All-Star Cheer Team who competed in San Antonio on Jan. 22. Along with Kadence, there are two other TCC youths from Rosanky that competed. Alexis Rodriquez and Austyn Lastovica are both members of the Level 2 All-Star Cheer Team called Lightning and brought home the first place trophy. The Tiny Drizzlers brought home the second place trophy. Overall, TCC won three national championships, two high point jackets, third and second place trophies in San Antonio. What a great day for the Twisters. A big congratulations to Alexis, Austyn and Kadence and the rest of Twister Cheer Company.

Rosanky Community Center

For February, the Rosanky Community Center will be joining with String Prairie and will have their monthly meeting on Feb. 9 at the String Prairie Community Center at 6:30 p.m. Guest speakers will be president David Gahagan from Emergency Services District #1, as well as commissioner Clovis Boatright and chief Glen Boatright of the 3N1 Fire Department.

“They will discuss the role of the ESD, fire safety and ISO – how to reduce home owner’s insurance,” says Rosie Knowlton, who is the secretary and treasurer of the Rosanky Community Center.

String Prairie folks will be providing a spaghetti dinner and the Rosanky folks will be bring desserts.

“Come join us for a fun and informational evening,” says Knowlton.

Recipe of the week

Ice cream cone cupcakes: This is a great idea for birthday parties or just a simple after school snack. You’re going to need a box of cake mix, and all the ingredients listed on the box to bake a cake. Also make sure you have plenty of ice cream cones.

Mix your ingredients according to your cake mix and pour them into your ice cream cones about half-way up instead of in cupcake papers. You can place the cones in a muffin or cupcake pan and bake as the box instructs. My mother always makes icing from scratch but I cheat and buy it!

After the ice cream cone cupcakes have cooled, top with icing and sprinkles and serve. It’s a fun treat your kids will love.

Kids Korner

Homemade Piggy Bank: You will need a large plastic soda bottle, a detergent bottle cap, four soda bottle caps, pink paint, scissors, hot glue, pink paper or fabric, a pink pipe cleaner, two small black buttons, a black marker, a box cutter or Exacto knife.

To make the piggy bank, cut off the open end of the bottle so that the detergent cap will fit snug. Also make a small hole in the top center of the back for the pipe cleaner you will twist into a tail.

Paint the detergent cap and bottle caps pink. Cut out two rounded triangle shapes from your pink paper and glue them on as ears.

Glue the two small black buttons on as eyes. Make a slit in the top of the bottle where you want the coin slot.

Once your caps are dry, hot glue the small caps on the bottom as feet and the detergent cap on as the pig’s nose. Use your black marker to paint the nostrils on the nose.

Twist the pipe cleaner around a pencil and press through the small hole you make earlier, you can hot glue the tail to the bottle to make sure it stays.

Now, it’s time to start saving! I’d love to see pictures of your piggy banks, let me know if you try it.

Got News?

If you have any news, announcements and/or photos, please email me at rosankynews@live.com.

The Old School House Tolbert Chili and Barbeque Cook-off was at the Red Rock Community Center last Saturday, Jan.28, and was a big success. All of the participants had fun and many were able to earn points toward competing in the International Tolbert Chili Cook-off in Terlingua later this year.

There were 46 chili entries and Lew Routon was the winner of the coveted first place chili trophy. Steve Bonnell won second place and Samantha Castillo won third place. Debbie Thompson won first place in brisket out of 22 entries, with Michael Valencia winning second place and Matthew Sturn winning third place.

Kelly Gonzalez won first place in chicken, out of 13 entries. Doug Johnson won second place and Bubba Thorp won third place. In the ribs category, there were 22 entries and first place went to Rodney Cordick. Robert Henderson won second place and Kelly Gonzalez won third place.

There were 29 entries for beans and Dwight Hamilton won first place, Lew Routon won second place and Steve Reeder won third place. First place in the salsa competition went to Steve Bonnell and first place in hot toddies went to Kelly Gonzalez. First place in showmanship went to the “Pants on the Ground” team from Ronnie’s Lone Oak Bar.

Besides the fun and camaraderie, the teams were also raising money to benefit the ongoing restoration of the Red Rock Community Center and ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

To promote awareness and raise money for ALS, two of the cook-off’s organizers, Debbie Tucker and Janet Matthews, will be riding on horseback from Alpine, Texas to Terlingua in November.

The 75-mile trek will take them five days to complete and their goal is to raise $10,000 for ALS over the course of this year. They will present the money raised to the ALS Foundation on Nov. 3.

Tucker and Matthews are members of the Texas Martini Girls, a cook-off team that has been helping to raise money for several charities over the past few years, such as the Bastrop ROTC program and many local scholarship funds.

Anyone who would like to help their cause or get more information may contact Debbi Tucker at (512) 284-4097.

In addition, Linda Janney of the Red Rock Community Center is looking for any old photographs taken at the Red Rock Schoolhouse. Please contact her at (512) 321-4222 if you have any photos that she might copy for display at the community center.

In my coverage of this year’s chili cook-offs, I have decided to try and score at least one recipe from these seasoned cooks. Second place ribs (and frequent cook-off winner in all categories) Robert Henderson agreed to share his recipe for the sauce he uses on his ribs.

As a talented and experienced cook, he did mention that he hardly ever measures anything, though, so some of the measurements are approximate!

Robert Henderson’s Barbeque Sauce for Ribs

½ bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey

½ cup French’s mustard

Juice of 2 limes

Juice of 2 lemons

3 tablespoons Tiger Sauce (H.E.B. brand)

2 tablespoons Zesty Italian dressing

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, or to taste

1 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce, or to taste

Pour half of the honey out and add the remaining ingredients to the bottle to mix, adjusting to personal preference.  Pour over ribs and enjoy.

Relay For Life Dance

“Give Cancer the Boot,” the sixth annual Relay For Life dance, will be held Saturday, Feb. 11, at Watterson Hall and this year features music by the Chris Allbright Band and Bruce Robison.

Doors will open at 8 p.m. and the dance begins at 9 p.m.  There will also be a silent auction.

Tickets are $30 each and reserved tables are available. For tickets or more information, contact Delena Meuth at (512)809-4446.

RHA Fundraiser

The Rockne Historical Association is having its annual fundraiser on Sunday, Feb. 12 at Holtman Hall. The event includes a spaghetti lunch at noon and a live auction beginning at 1 p.m.

There will also be a raffle drawing and lots of silent auction tables.

To purchase raffle tickets (you need not be present to win) or donate items for the auction, contact Gerri Martinez at (512) 303-5936.

Got News?

Contact me with any events and news from the Rockne area at Rocknenews@gmail.com.

So the opponents for Super Bowl XLVI (or “46” for those of you who don’t have access to Google right now) have been determined and we get the privilege of sitting through a rerun of the 2008 Super Bowl.  Ho hum.

The most obvious result of Sunday’s playoffs was that we would be denied the two-week lead-up of Bob Costas-induced drama between the Harbaugh brothers had Baltimore and San Francisco advanced.  But the other interesting piece of the puzzle is how the Harbaugh brothers didn’t arrive at that destination in Indianapolis. Both outcomes came off the legs of kickers.

I always feel nervous for the kicker when he jogs onto the field for the potentially game-winning kick. Maybe it’s the mom in me, but I almost never want the kicker to fail, unless of course they are playing for the opponent of the Texans, Aggies, or Tigers. There’s just something about seeing a game hinge on one person’s ability to kick a ball through an upright that eats at the pit of my stomach.

The kicker then either becomes the hero thrust upon the shoulders of his teammates or the outcast who is the first off the field and into the locker room.

I can’t believe I am saying this, but Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis offered some reasonable perspective for those calling for the head of Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff, whose failure to convert a kick into a game-tying score led to the Patriots’ victory in the AFC Championship game.

Lewis, who has taken time in the past to impart upon us his ridiculously-flawed wisdom regarding the effect the NFL lockout would have had on the crime rate had it continued, actually added an element of cool-headedness when he reiterated what coaches have been saying since the dawn of competitive sport and everyone has long-since tuned out:  We win as a team and we lose as a team.

That doesn’t change the fact that the last best hope of the team was the kicker and he couldn’t get it done. Therefore, in every angry fan’s mind, he is automatically the scapegoat no matter how many interceptions the quarterback threw or how many fumbles the running back committed up to the last remaining seconds of the game.

Aside from a healthy leg, I believe a kicker must possess the toughest mentality on the team. A lot of guys can get on the field and take licks play after play, but the kicker, who manages to avoid the repeated grueling physical contact for the most part (except on small high school squads where he may serve in many positions throughout the game) has to stand on the sideline helpless until he’s told to run out there and kick a 52-yarder for the win. No pressure there, right?

Then, when he’s finally mentally prepared to kick the team to victory, the opposing team’s coach calls a time out to “ice” him. Yes, let’s allow him to think about it some more.  Doubts begin to creep in, second-guessing his footwork and approach.

This cruel approach is often successful. Just ask Cowboys coach Jason Garrett.

All in all, the kicker typically spends less than a full minute of playing time on the field in an average game, yet many look to him as the redeeming factor. He’s the ultimate skill player, yet woefully underappreciated until the clock begins approaching zero.

I have often felt that football is full of parallels to life itself. So who is your kicker? Whomever he or she is, make sure you give due recognition even when the “game” isn’t on the line.

LITTLE LEAGUE

REGISTRATION

Spring is quickly approaching, and with it comes baseball.

Smithville Little League has released its registration information as follows: Registration fee is $60 for the first child and $55 for the second. The rate then drops to $5 for each additional child.

All registration will take place at Smithville Recreation Center on the following dates: Saturday, Jan. 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 6-8 p.m.; Thursday, Feb. 2 from 6-8 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Saturday, Feb. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  After Feb. 11, the late registration fee is $75.

MARGARITAVILLE

Bring your friends and head on over to “Margaritaville” on Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in La Grange. This annual fundraiser and dinner gala benefitting the Family Crisis Center begins at 6 p.m. with a social hour, followed at 7 p.m. by Caribbean Cuisine catered by KC Hall. At 8 p.m., “The Triumphs” take the stage with their tropical tunes sure to get you dancing.

Tickets are available at Heritage Hallmark Shop and Fayette Savings Bank in La Grange or by calling the Family Crisis Center at (512) 321-7760.Ticket purchase at the door is not guaranteed.  For more information, visit www.family-crisis-center.org.

FISH FRY COMING SOON

Come help support the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department and the Smithville Noon Lions Club by attending their 23rd annual Fish Fry and Fun Night on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Smithville Recreation Center.

Dinner and registration begin at 6 p.m. Each ticket includes two meals of fried fish, hush puppies and cole slaw, plus tea or water.

Tickets must be registered no later than 7 p.m. and ticket drawings will commence at 7:30 p.m. Participants should make sure they bring the top portion of their tickets in order to claim prizes. There will be prizes awarded for the following tickets drawn:  First, 100th and 200th plus the 7th ticket drawn from the end all the way to the last ticket drawn will receive prizes.

Only 350 tickets maximum will be sold prior to the event with five tickets being auctioned off during the event itself.

To participate, you must purchase a ticket for $100 from a member of either the SVFD or the Lions Club or you can pay a $10 meal fee at the door on the night of the event and try to win a ticket available for auction.  Your “Talk of the Town” columnist will have tickets available for purchase at the chamber of commerce office (at First and Main) by calling 237-2313. If I’m not at the office, leave your name and number and I will return your call as soon as possible.

Special thanks to Mac Simpson at Brookshire Brothers for donating fish for the event. That donation brings these two worthy groups closer to their fundraising goals even faster.

All proceeds benefit the SVFD and the Noon Lions Club scholarship fund for Smithville High School students.  See you on Saturday, Feb. 4 for a night of fun and excitement!

UNTIL NEXT WEEK

Happy anniversary to my wonderful husband Neal!  It just gets better every day with you.

We welcome discussion on our stories but we will only publish comments that do not violate our Comment Guidelines.

There have been a lot of thieves around Paige and luckily, some arrests. Have you noticed all the police? There were two men reportedly jumping Mr. Smith’s gate Wednesday. Fortunately, Mr. Smith  was home and yelled  at them and they ran. He called the police and they were arrested and found to have warrants for theft. Another family on Stockade Ranch Road was robbed and they caught them, too.

I just want everyone in Paige to be aware and look out for one another.  We are such a small community and we need to stick together. People need to know to put things away because these crooks are looking for quick cash items. If anyone looks suspicious, please call the sheriff’s department.

Drive by Chili

Don’t forget to stop by the Paige Volunteer Fire Department chili fundraiser on Saturday, Jan. 28, beginning at 5 p.m. one block north of Hwy. 290 at the fire station. The chili is good and the community needs your support. Without your help, we would not have made it through the hard year. The nice trucks and our building are because of you and all the support you give to your community. The ladies in town and the Paige 4-H will have cakes, pies and cornbread for you to purchase.

Bring your own containers and the cost is a free will donation.

Paige 4-H Club

Paige 4-H will be selling cakes and corn bread Saturday at the Drive by Chili. The 4-H has two fundraisers each year – the club uses the funds from one for their own expenses and the other funds are donated to the Paige Fire Department. If any of the ladies in town would like to help us, please bring your items to the fire department. Thank you!

The doors are open

Papa Woody’s Icehouse in Paige is now open for business and had a tremendous turnout for their opening weekend. Papa Woody’s is situated on 11 wooded acres, near the intersection of Hwy. 290 and Hwy 21. They have built a large, beautiful “lodge-style” establishment that serves as a bar and grill, live music venue and outdoor entertainment complex. They also offer shuffleboard and have four pool tables and a large import and draft beer selection.

The bar opened this past weekend and will be followed by the grill, serving burgers, catfish, oysters, gourmet hot dogs, etc., opening this coming weekend. They plan on opening the outdoor venue this spring, including a large outdoor live music stage and dance floor, washer pits and a sand volleyball pit. There will be washer tournaments on Sundays, Karaoke on Mondays, Texas Hold Em on Tuesdays, acoustic artists on Wednesdays, APA pool tournaments on Thursdays, live music and “in-house” pool tournaments on Fridays and live music on Saturdays. The business owners, Chris and Jordan Kimey, invite everyone out to join in the fun and see what has been missing in Paige. Their hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to midnight. For more information, call 1-800-259-5954 or go to papawoodys.com

Thought

“I do” at the altar meant sacrificial service, sincere forgiveness and unconditional love.

We welcome discussion on our stories but we will only publish comments that do not violate our Comment Guidelines.

Two of the most famous trees of old Southern gardens belong in the category of Large Evergreen Trees (Live Oak and Magnolia). These trees are best planted in larger gardens or parks. They can grow both too tall and wide for the small city/town garden.

Trying to keep them away from perimeter overhead wires and from overhanging the house leaves little room for the tree to expand to its full potential. If you do choose to plant one of these, check with your neighbor to be sure they approve and won’t be cutting off major branches from their side, should the tree grow into their yard.

• Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora): Growing from 50-80 feet high and 30-45 feet wide, this beautiful tree has thick, shiny, dark green leaves and huge white and very fragrant flowers. It grows in part shade to full sun and needs neutral to acid soil and medium water. Many of the larger specimens in Smithville suffered damage in last year’s drought. Plan to give them supplemental water when rainfall is short. Place them where the litter from leaves and seed pods falling is not a problem. It is best to leave major branches on all the way to the ground since gardening beneath the heavy shade and surface roots is very difficult.

• Live Oak (Quercus virginiana): Most if not all of us recognize a Live Oak. There are many very old specimens here in Smithville; one of the loveliest is at the home of Emily and Roger Hewitt, on the corner of 4th and Ramona streets. These trees grow fairly quickly when young, if given supplemental water. They start out as round-headed, but mature to a canopy that is nearly twice as wide as the tree is tall.

Expect the tree to grow up to 50 feet tall and perhaps 90-100 feet wide with great age. Their shade is very dense, they drop leathery leaves off and on all year and you can expect root sprouts to form along with large surface roots that can make mowing difficult. When they are pollinating, the yellow pollen can fall on cars beneath and cause damage if not rinsed off regularly. They are also susceptible to Oak Wilt, so prune with clean equipment and only between late summer and the new year.

• Monterrey Oak (Quercus polymorpha): This tree is actually native to the southwest border between Texas and Mexico and southward into Central America. The leaves are quite similar to the Live Oak, but the tree grows quickly to as much as 60-80 feet tall, and only half as wide.  For that reason and the reason that it is also Oak Wilt resistant, it can be a good substitute for the more common Live Oak in smaller landscapes. It is semi-evergreen; in harsh winters it may drop some or all of its leaves, but rarely does so here in Bastrop County.

• Italian Stone Pine (Pinus pinea): This Mediterranean native is the plant from which edible pine nuts are harvested. It is medium to slow growing to a mature height of 50-80 feet. In youth, it is round-headed, but with age develops a flat crown that is very distinctive in its appearance. The trunk is also very beautiful, a deep red brown and furrowed. You see many of them in California, but rarely here. There is a large specimen in the parking lot of Miller Blueprint on West 6th Street in Austin.

• Long-leaf Pine (Pinus pilustris): This tree is native to Southeast Texas and so will require occasional supplemental water here in Central Texas. It grows slowly when young, remaining grass-like until a good root system is established. At that point it will grow quickly and to a mature width of 20 feet and a height of 80-100 feet in 100 years. The very large cones are nearly a foot long and very ornamental. Plant this tree in acid soil that is sandy or sandy loam.

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Jeffrey Meuth celebrated his thirtieth birthday in style last Saturday night at Henry’s Place in Rockne. The domino tables were filled all night with players using personalized dominoes that read “Happy Birthday Jeffrey.” Friends and family enjoyed great snacks such as pizza and towers of cupcakes. Jeff’s uncle, Steve Meuth, even serenaded him with a special song written just for the occasion.

Another great touch was a “photo booth” section, complete with costume props such as glasses, wigs, masks, boas and inflatable instruments that party-goers could don to pose for silly pictures. A Polaroid camera and scrapbook were nearby to document your birthday wish for Jeff. I personally chose the Mexican wrestling mask to be as incognito as possible!

Many of these personal touches were planned by Jeff’s family and especially his fiancé, Kristy Hilboldt. Jeff proposed to her the night before his party, so this added even more fun and reason to celebrate to the festivities.

Rockne Boosters fundraiser

Holtman Hall was filled to the brim for the 17th annual Rockne Livestock Boosters Steak Supper fundraiser, which took place on Saturday. The fundraiser always takes place around the third Saturday in January. Money raised goes to help local youth in 4-H and FFA with the cost of their animal projects as they prepare for the Bastrop Area Livestock Show and auction in March.

Besides the steak dinner and hamburgers for the kids, the fundraiser included both live and silent auctions. The seemingly tireless Clayton Adams not only auctioneered for the event, but he provided music for the dance, which was held after the auction.

Cook-off in

Red Rock

Come out to the Red Rock Community Center this Saturday, Jan. 28, for a chili and barbeque cook-off. The event will begin at 10 a.m. with a cooks’ meeting and the categories to enter include chili, ribs, brisket, beans, chicken, salsa and hot toddies.

There will be plenty of parking and covered areas for cooking (no hookups). The cook-off is benefitting ALS and the Red Rock Community Center. For more information, contact Debbi Tucker at (512) 284-4097.

Got News?

Contact me with any events and news from the Rockne area at Rocknenews@gmail.com.

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