Glennie Daniels knows clean. Have a question on how to get something spotless? She’s your go-to woman. Want to be an environmentally friendly housekeeper? is your girl. The family and consumer sciences agent for Catawba County’s Cooperative Extension Service has these hints for the chore we’ve all been dreading, spring cleaning.

Glennie Daniels knows clean. Have a question on how to get something spotless? She’s your go-to woman. Want to be an environmentally friendly housekeeper? Glennie () is your girl. The family and consumer sciences agent for Catawba County’s Cooperative Extension Service has these hints for the chore we’ve all been dreading, spring cleaning.

1. Grandma was right. You really do need to turn the mattresses. They’ll last longer if you do. Make sure to flip them horizontally and vertically.

2. Use that vacuum — the right way. One swipe across the carpet isn’t enough, and most of us do it too quickly, anyway. Daniels says most experts recommend going over each place slowly seven times.

3. Speaking of the vacuum. Get under the bed, in the closet and other places you know you need to clean but don’t get to often. Other spots where the vacuum works: Lampshades, window screens, ceiling fans, underneath the fridge, on the walls (use a liquid and you’ll make a mess) and on couch cushions and crevices.

4. Storing clothes? Wash them first. Even if they don’t look dirty, any speck of food, deodorant, perspiration or food (even a mint in a pocket) will attract bugs who like to munch on your best sweaters.

5. Be green. To clean the windows, mix your own solution with a gallon of water, a drop or two of dish detergent and 1/2 cup white vinegar. It’s less expensive, more environmentally friendly and less likely to leave streaks. But because those streaks are hard to avoid, try washing the inside of the windows with a horizontal stroke and the outside with a vertical stroke. That way you’ll know where the streaks are.

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Even now, in mid-spring, there are enough wildflowers blooming to make a typical walk in the woods into a hunting trip. Naturalist Bruce Beerbower and biology professor Karen McDougal have been observing the wonders of the outdoors for much of their lives. Here are their tips for having a great wildflower hike.

1. Don’t pick them, even if you plan on planting them at home. Many wildflowers depend on very specific underground networks to bloom and you likely won’t be able to reproduce that. Instead, you’ll kill the flower.

2. Want to know what it is? If you don’t have a camera, write down the color and shape of the leaves and flowers, count how many petals it has and notice whether the leaves and flowers are symmetrical. Also estimate how big it is — the size of a dime? A quarter? A 50-cent piece? All these details will help when you look it up.

3. Here’s where to look for flowers: In places with trees that lose their leaves so the ground can get sunshine, in moist coves and on north-facing slopes that aren’t too steep, especially those above bodies of water.

4. Look around before you reach down to touch. Lots of these little jewels grow near the ground and their leaves often help you identify them. So it makes sense you’ll want to get on their level. Just watch for spiders, snakes and poison ivy, which might not yet have its tell-tale three leaves unfurled.

5. Don’t drink stream or river water. Sure, it looks clean and it’s colder than what’s in your bottle. It also can give you parasites such at Giardia, which often results in what Beerbower calls Montezuma’s Revenge. If you’ve been on antibiotics, you’re particularly at risk.

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Some day, you’re bound to be at a bridal shower or a wedding or some other fancy soiree where there’s wine only. Or maybe you want to bring a bottle for a hostess gift. Ty Dotson is a wine associate at Gail’s Hops & Grapes. She is studying to be a wine sommelier, which is a certified wine expert. She has these tips for the novice:
1. Trying your first wine? Go for a lighter bodied variety. If you want white, maybe a riesling. If it’s red you’re looking for, get a beaujolais.

2. Sure, all that swirling and sniffing looks funny. But smell accounts for 80 percent of your taste and swirling releases that smell. You also want to hold the wine in your mouth for a few seconds. And you want a small sip but enough to bathe your tongue in the wine.

3. You can get quite tipsy in very little time drinking wine. Most wines have an alcohol content of 12 to 16 percent. Five ounces is equal to about one beer or one shot of liquor.

4. You can get a good bottle for $15 or $20. And it’s not tacky to go to a wine shop and ask for a good bottle within a certain price range.

5. That red wine with red meat, white wine with chicken and fish rule? It’s looser now. You can have a fuller bodied white with a pork chop or a lighter red with salmon. If your chicken has a rich, heavy sauce, the bird may actually go better with a lighter bodied red. Again, you can ask a wine associate.

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Hickory police Capt. Jay Jackson has been on the force for 11 years so he knows the ins-and-outs of a traffic stop. Here’s the advice he gives his loved ones on what to do when the blue lights come on behind you.

1. Don’t start reaching for your license when you see the blue lights. A lot of activity in the front seat makes the officer wonder what you’re up to.

2. Keep your hands where (s)he can see them. Remember drivers’ ed? Get those fingers on 10 and two. It never hurts to turn on the interior light, too. Show the officer you have nothing to hide.

3. When the cop asks, “Do you know why I pulled you over,” your answer isn’t going to make much difference. The cop has probably already decided whether you’re getting a ticket. He or she is just trying to be conversational instead of scary.

4. Don’t panic. When you see the blue lights, turn on your signal, slow down and start trying to get off the road in a safe place. Make sure all four tires are out of traffic. No officer will fault you for trying to be safe.

5. If the police officer doesn’t tell you, it’s OK to ask why you got pulled over. But you’re never going to argue your way out of a ticket. Save it for the courtroom.

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John Duke is the executive chef at Hickory’s Market on Main, the gourmet kitchen store, bistro and culinary learning center. He knows what it’s like to be the one cooking for the event and he knows what it’s like to be the one hosting the event. Here is his advice for having a successful soiree.

1. Plan the menu before you do anything else. Is there a theme? The food can help tie it together. And be sure to put the menu on the invitation.

2. If you have more people than you can seat and you still want to serve a sit-down meal, have some rhyme or reason for how you separate people.  Try men in one room and women in the other.

3. When you have the party determines what you can serve. If you don’t want to serve a full meal, you can’t have the party at 5 or 6 p.m. At 8 p.m., you can get away with light finger foods. Again, make sure to tell people what they they can expect to eat when you send them invitations.

4. Hors d’oevures aren’t going to be cheaper. You just assumed, right? But think about this: A good hors d’oevure spread has several kinds of meat in addition to vegetables and something sweet. A sit-down dinner means one kind of meat. The up-side of finger foods: They let people be more social.

5. Know what else is going on at the same time as your party. If it’s Sunday afternoon, you will probably have to turn on the race. If the playoffs are on, your TV should be, too. Let your guests know in advance you’ll make those allowances so they’re less likely to skip.

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Don’t make your child do the project you like and (s)he doesn’t. It’ll be a fight to the finish.

What should you do? Help build, especially if it involves tools. Keep kids on track with deadlines and rules. Ask questions to make sure the project is understandable if your child isn’t there to explain it.

Here’s what you shouldn’t do: The experiment itself — or any of the actual book work for that matter — or the writing. Teachers can tell. And it’s unfair to your child, who got cheated out of learning.

If it’s not required, don’t force your unwilling son or daughter do a science project for extra credit. That’s going to make him or her hate science.

For kids who aren’t excited about the project, look for ways to incorporate their interests. Painchaud has seen a ball-kicking machine and a project that monitors heartbeats during video games.

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Hickory beer enthusiast Bobby Bush has his own beer bar in his basement. The waitresses and bartenders at the Olde Hickory Tap Room know him by name. Simply put, this guy loves beer. Here’s his advice for making the most of Hickory Hops.

Start with the lightest colored beers like wheats, pilsners or German-style lagers. Then move on to the reds and ambers like the Extra Special Bitters. Go to pale ales next before hitting the stouts or porters. You don’t want to skew your taste buds.

Try something new. Maybe you like a certain beer. That’s fine. But notice what kind it is and ask different brewers what they have in that style. You’ll get more bang for your buck that way. Feeling adventurous? Look for a chocolate stout or a cask-conditioned beer.

Pace yourself. You don’t have to drink water between every beer but you’ll want to take a break between every few. That clears your palate and helps keep your head straight. There won’t be food vendors, but restaurants downtown will be open so it makes sense to grab a bite to eat in the middle of the festivities.

You don’t have to drink the whole thing. Maybe you don’t like a beer or you just wanted a little taste. Dump buckets will be around. You don’t have to worry about hurting a brewer’s feelings.

Don’t expect it to be like the keg parties you went to in college. Many of the folks at the festival are serious about beer — its taste, its history, what went into making it. This won’t be a frat-party kind of crowd.

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It’s spring wedding season. And you’re going to be sitting through receptions. Chances are Vince Vaughn won’t be there but the slow dancing will. Morganton dance instructor Sherri McGimsey has these tips for cutting a rug:

Talk to your partner. If you don’t know him or her, this is a good place to start.

Don’t worry about a misstep. Dancing is all about having fun. Nobody’s paying attention to see if you’ve got it down perfectly.

If your partner is off beat, you can pretend you made a misstep, stop for a moment and then start back.

If you turn down an invitation to dance, you need to sit that one out. Don’t dance with that cutie you have your eye on until the next number.

If you’re the one getting married or you’re in the wedding party, you might want to take a few lessons. They don’t cost a fortune but the confidence you’ll gain will be worth one. 

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Jim Walters has been tattooing since the 1960s — and he’s had the same spot in Hickory since the mid-1970s. He’s left his mark on thousands of people. Even his ex-wife (one of them, anyway) came to him for a tattoo. Here’s his advice on getting inked.

1. Bring in a drawing or a picture. You need a visual. Just a description won’t work. Try http://www.bullseyetattoos.com or http://www.tattoofinder.com for ideas.

2. Consider your skin color. Lighter colors will hold up better on people who don’t tan a lot. Reds, green, blues, purples and other darks show better on those who do.

3. Avoid names or anything too trendy. Those are the ones Walters covers up most often. Right now stars are big. He’s gone through the unicorn era and the owls, too.

4. Wintertime is a good time to get a tattoo. It’s not that exposure to sun or tanning beds fades the ink. It’s that the layers of skin over top of the ink get darker. Getting one in the winter gives it time to “cure,” Walters says.

5. What hurts the most? Anyplace without a lot of meat on it. The needle in your hands or feet, for example, is going to be more painful than a tattoo needle in your arm.

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Sylvia Vassello has been the general manager of Hickory Dickory Dock for nearly eight years. Before that she worked at similar indoor amusement parks including Celebration Station, Discovery Zone, JumpYard and Hickory’s Calling All Kids, which she and her husband opened. She offers this guidance for making it through the experience – without Valium.

Plan to spend about three hours at the indoor amusement park. Any less than that and your kids won’t get their fill. Any more than that and everyone will be too tired to remember the day fondly.

If your child is having a meltdown – crying, screaming, throwing himself on the ground – when you leave, expect employees to ask some questions. They want to make sure children aren’t being forced to leave with someone other than their parents or caretakers.

Set a budget and, before you get there, give your kid some idea of how many games he can play. You don’t want to spend too much and your sons and daughters don’t want to be disappointed.

Don’t expect them to want to abide by the budget. They’re children, after all. But at least you gave them fair warning.

Make sure your child takes a nap beforehand.

Let your child bring a friend. They get bored by themselves. Parents might want a buddy, too.

Don’t drop off your kids and leave. The employees at Hickory Dickory Dock or Chuck E. Cheese or Cele-bration Station aren’t babysitters. And you don’t really want a babysitter who doesn’t know he or she is babysitting, anyway.

Keep an eye on your kids. They’re going to weave in an out of the play areas so you might lose sight of them. But if you get worried, you want to know what general area they’re in.

If the equipment can hold you, feel free to play. Hickory Dickory Dock even offers kneepads for the grownups.

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Scott Pyatt has been making beer for eight years. He started in a basement brewery in Glen Alpine before moving operations to downtown Morganton. Catawba Valley Brewing Co., with its dozen or so varieties, now opens to the public on Friday nights. He’s got this advice for getting the most out of your night at the brewery.

1. Don’t expect everything to have a high alcohol content. You’re going to find a wide range.

2. It is NOT bad form to ask questions. A good brewer wants to talk to you about the work. He (or she) also wants you to enjoy the experience. Don’t be shy.

3. Ask if they have a sampler. Some breweries, like Catawba Valley, will give you a taste of everything. Others will let you pick out a sampler.

4. Branch out. Don’t just stick with the first thing you try and like. Most breweries will come out with different beers throughout the year.

5. If you like domestic beers, know that you probably like a pilsner, which is a type of lager. In lighter beers, you’re tasting the hops. In darker ones, you’re tasting the malt, which can be, but isn’t limited to, barley, corn or rice.

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Sushi chef Jessica Nguyen had the same first-time reaction to sushi as many of us. “Ewww,” she said before trying her first bite at 14.

Her reaction afterward? “I didn’t know what I had been missing,” Nguyen says now. She went on to take a class at the Sushi Chef Academy in California before doing an apprenticeship in Hickory. She’s been the sole sushi chef at Sakura on Springs Road for three years. Here are some of the things she learned as she went from sushi novice to sushi specialist.

1. It’s not all raw and it’s not all fish. Usually, your menu will tell you which sushi rolls contain vegetables only and, if you’re getting fish, how it’s prepared. The word tempura means the item is fried. You’ll see tempura vegetables, too.

2. Start with the rolls. Sashimi is simply a piece of raw fish and it’s going to be less palatable for the beginner. A lot of the rolls include things you’re familiar with such as cucumber, avocado, cream cheese and even pineapple. They’re all going to come wrapped in rice, seaweed or a combination of the two.

3. Don’t feel weird about asking for a fork. Unless you’re in a strictly traditional Japanese setting, no one is going to get of-fended. It’s also OK to eat sushi rolls with your hands.

4. When possible, eat pieces of your sushi roll in one bite. The chef designed the roll to give you all the flavors in one bite. But with the monster pieces, it’s OK to go for two bites.

5. The traditional Japanese etiquette calls for sushi eaters to put a bit of wasabi (that is the EXTREMELY HOT, horseradish-based green paste that comes on the side) on the sushi and then dip the roll in soy sauce. That little hammock-shaped bowl that comes with your meal is for soy sauce. At most of the restaurants around here, it’s perfectly acceptable to mix your wasabi into the sauce.

6. Beginners should try something familiar like a shrimp tempura roll or a California, which usually has crabmeat, cream cheese and avocado. Want to go raw your first time? Get a single tuna or spicy tuna roll to start with.

How to use Chopsticks

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You wouldn’t admit it in front of your smart friends but chances are something about the mere words ‘art museum’ triggers your yawn reflex. Ours, too.  Hickory Museum of Art Communications Manager Kristina Allen and PR Assistant Bill Olsen explain why we’re wrong.
Nobody’s going to check your credentials at the door. Most museums will explain the style or offer other historical information but it’s not a requirement for enjoying the art.
Expect more than paintings. Lots of galleries will have not only sculpture and other types of art but also moving pieces, video and sound.
Bring the kids. Don’t just assume yours will be bored by art. Simple conversations about color and shape can engage young ones.
Ask for guides. Often, museums will have family or children’s guides. The Hickory Museum of Art even has a scavenger hunt.
Once isn’t enough. Lots of galleries change exhibits frequently. Even if it’s a permanent collection, chances are you’ll see something different every time you look. Children are especially good at finding new views.

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The Western Piedmont Symphony’s next performance is scheduled for Saturday (Feb. 9) at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir. Taking a date to a classical concert says, ‘I’m a (man/woman) of culture and class.” Looking for the hot dog vendor while you’re there? That says the opposite. Here’s Conductor John Gordon Ross’ advice for how to handle it.
1. What do I wear?
Some people wear suits. Some wear jeans. Dress the way you would for church.
2. When do I applaud — if at all?
The rule of thumb is to hold applause until a piece of music is over. But if you feel moved to clap, do it.
3. Not sure you want to shell out the $12, $25 or $34 to go?
Call the symphony office (324-8603_ and ask when rehearsals are. They are free and open to the public.
4. Can you bring the kids?
Sure, but don’t just assume your child can sit quietly through the concert.  Plenty can and plenty can’t. You know which kind you have.
5. Am I going to fit in?
It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman, a man, Hispanic, Asian, black or white. You’ll see someone who looks like you in the orchestra.

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1. Bring earplugs. J.J. Tindall said the audience at the Hannah Montana made more noise than any concert crowd he’s ever heard – including the spectators at a Metallica show.

2. Be prepared to wait in line. Maybe tickets went on sale early. And maybe there’s a show every half hour on opening night. But where Hannah goes, so does a crowd.

3. Wear your 3-D glasses. It’ll make the experience more fun for you, the adult.

4. Be glad it’s Miley and not Britney. The Tindalls say Cyrus is a sweet, normal kid who bites her nails and scribbles on her hand.

5. Expect the kids to sing along. It’s impossible for them not to, says Brandy Tindall.

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Bert Lindsay suggests karaoke singers follow Dirty Harry’s advice.

“A man’s got to know his limitations,” says Lindsey, a managing partner in Magical Music, which brings karaoke to bars and private parties across the area. His advice for making it through a night of karaoke and still being able to look your buddies in the eye the next morning:

1. Don’t try to sing anything you’ve never tried before. Just because you know the chorus doesn’t mean you can make it through the whole song.

2. Don’t expect the karaoke version to be the same as the one you hear on the radio. Journey isn’t playing for the karaoke manufacturers so the music is going to have slight variations. Be prepared to deal with it.

3. Speaking of Journey, most people should stay away from that band’s tunes – and anything with notes that high. Chances are you just can’t hit them. More songs to avoid: “Stairway to Heaven,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Picture” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.” The timing on that last one will kill you.

4. Looking for a song that’s hard to mess up? Try “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” “I Love Rock N’ Roll,” “I Will Survive” or, if you need a duet, “I Got You Babe.”

5. You’re probably not a rapper. No matter how well you have the timing down in the car on the way to the karaoke bar, it’s going to be hard to pull off 50 Cent. Remember, there’s not a lot of actual music in rap so you don’t have the same kind of cues you normally have in a song.

6. Look for the shortest songs. The less time you have on stage, the less time there is to bomb. Lindsay suggests classic rock or country tunes, which usually run about three minutes. If you’re a country fan, try “Husbands and Wives,” a Roger Miller tune remade by Brooks & Dunn.

7. Unless you’re a consummate showman, stay away from songs with too many guitar solos or other breaks. Those are going to leave you staring at the audience with nothing to sing. Talk about a deer in headlights? Watch a karaoke songster try “Statesboro Blues.”

8. Work it! Dance a little. Move around. Involve the audience. And don’t take yourself too seriously. Making a production out of your song helps make sure everyone is having fun. 

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