t TELEVISION 4

t BRIDGE 6

t ANNIE’S MAILBOX 7

INSIDE:Genie Francis: Among stars in holiday-themed TV shows 3

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

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T H E B L A D E , T O L E D O , O H I O y W E D N E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 5 , 2 0 0 7 S E C T I O N D

By CANDICE OLSONHGTV

Christine and Andrew’s world has recently ex-ploded with children. A

few years after having their fi rst child, they decided to adopt a second child from China. But shortly after the arrival of number two, they found out they were expecting a third! So they went from a “unit of three” to a “party of fi ve” — all within 18 months. With busy careers and three kids to attend to, this

tired couple found themselves in desperate need of some quiet time. They really wanted a child-free retreat in which they could relax and unwind in the few precious moments they had to themselves.

The couple had a big, bland, uninspiring third-fl oor master bedroom where they and their youngest child were all bunking together. So I moved the baby (and his crib) into a room of his

Leaves make a great base for compost

Before you rake all of those leaves to the curb, save a few bags for next year. It may sound crazy, but you are throwing away a great base ingredient for nutritious compost next year. You just need to add a few ingredients to the bags and kick them around the yard before tucking them away for the winter.

Winter compost I have been known to ask

my neighbors for some of their leaves to make extra bags of black gold. You can’t do it with leaves alone. Add two shovels of soil, a half cup of fertilizer, and a little sprinkle of water to your bag. If you mix your compost bag earlier in the season, you can also include a handful or two of grass clippings.

To turn leaves and dirt into good compost, you need to let it cook. Gathering your leaves in a black plastic bag will create more heat than a clear bag. Add all the ingredients, then kick the bag around the yard a few times to stir it up. Then, put it in a sunny spot that is out of the way. Once it is in a good spot, poke fi ve to 10 holes in the bag to let a little bit of air into the bag. All of these ingredients will help the yard waste turn into good food.

Kick the bags around your yard again in the spring. Kick-ing it around is like turning your compost pile. It stirs things up and keeps the micro-organisms in the bag working to break down the leaves and green matter. Toss it around again in the summer and add a little more water. The contents should really be changing by the time you kick it around in the fall. When it looks like a bag of soil, it is ready to add to the garden.

Winter coverThe cycle of thawing and

re-freezing will hurt your plants more than being frozen. Cover them with a thick layer of mulch after the temperatures stay below freezing for a few hours during the day and all of the night. Put a four-inch layer of mulch over your bulbs and don’t forget to put some around the base of your trees.

Roses need some special protection, too. Pile manure around the base of the plant fora spring feeding. If your roses are in a windy area, put three stakes around the plant. The stake should be taller than the plant. Secure a wrapping of burlap around your roses and fi ll the area with light leaves un-til next spring when you prune them.

Types of coverComposted leaves are your

best type of mulch. Chop them up by mowing over them a few times, then rake a three-inch layer onto your landscape. It helps hold moisture in the roots of your plants during the hot summer and prevents water from evaporating out of the soil. It also keeps the roots cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Hay and straw make a good insulator, but you have to watch out for weed seeds. Sometimes they will create more problems. Pine needles and peat moss also make great lightweight mulch.

But too much of a good thing can be a problem. A continual thick layer of pine needles will make your soil acidic. To make the peat moss easier to use, water it down even while it is in the bag.

You can also use some of the branches from your Christmas tree to cover your garden. The pine branches help hold leaves on your plants and keep their roots frozen.

Contact Kelly Heidbreder at: kheidbreder@theblade.com.

A luxurious retreat for busy parents

See DIVINE, Page 2

DIVINE DESIGN

Form loop equal to

diameter of finished bow

Pull out loops, twist toward center, alternating sides

Bring ends together,

moving cut areas to center;

secure center with wire

Cut triangles at

end, leaving center

portion

Wrap ribbon around loop as

many times as isdesired for bow;

flatten loops

To make center knot, form small loop over thumb and pinch; wire loops together; trim excess; wire long ribbon to back for tails

Repeat process, forming three loops on sides

Pinch eight inches from end of ribbon

Supplies: Three to five yards of ribbon for each bow, scissors and florist wire. A little patience might

come in handy, too.

dd a special touch to your gifts this season

with bows that you can make in a short amount of time. The extra effort will be rewarded by smiles the billowing bows bring about.

Pompom: When making this bow keep its size in mind, making sure it complements the size of the box.

Florist: Use this bow on giftsor on gathered pine branches and boxwood bush clippings to make a swag for decorating.

Associated PressSOURCE: Offray Ribbon

A Make a five- inch loop (half the size of finished bow), pinch; make second loop, pinch over first two pinches

2

1

4

5

3

2

1

4

3

WRAP UP YOUR HOLIDAY GIFTS THIS SEASON WITH

CRAFTS

By blending the traditional with the modern, and the practi-cal with the luxurious, this third-fl oor retreat is complete.

HGTV

By TAHREE LANEBLADE STAFF WRITER

The European soldiers and sail-ors who conquered America’s native peoples were accompa-

nied by priests determined to con-quer their souls.

A mural in the 100-year-old rectory next to the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Toledo’s old south end shows an explorer — Columbus perhaps — with a Dominican priest, arms outstretched, praying over ra-ven-haired Native Americans on their knees.

The rarely seen 1938 painting by William F. Matthews in the rectory’s dining room, and a painting that’s be-lieved to be another work by Mr. Mat-thews in the church’s sacristy behind the altar, will be on public view Sun-day at 4 p.m. after the church’s annual Darby Homecoming Mass at 3 p.m.

Sited above wood paneling, the 14½-foot-long mural, signed by the artist, shows six Catholic men of the cloth, which pastor Rev. Paul Kwiatkowski tentatively identifi es as brown-robed Franciscans; Jesuits (the Indians called them Black Robes); and one who could be either a Christian Brother or a Jesuit lay brother.

The brown-skinned natives in these softly hued, richly detailed scenes, are strong, befeathered, and often swad-dled in blankets. An especially beauti-ful tree — one of the artist’s favorite things to paint — anchors the piece.

It’s a charming addition to this 18-room home, completed in 1907 as the residence for three priests who

served the fast-growing, largely Irish neighborhood. The parish was established in 1868 and the current church, with its magnifi -cent stained-glass rose window visible from Broadway, dates to 1902.

Little is known about how the mural came to be. Same with the sacristy’s huge wooden-framed painting that Father Kwiatkowski interprets to be St. Peter preach-ing in Jerusalem on Pentecost, when 3,000 people were bap-tized. In the foreground, a disciple baptizes a convert. Long ago, the church’s baptismal font was located just below the unsigned painting.

But we do know something about the artist. William Matthews was born in 1868 in St. Louis, studied art there, and worked as an artist for the St. Lou-is Post Dispatch. He went to New York City, worked as an illustrator, graphic artist, and Broadway stage designer, and eventually turned to painting. He had done murals, he said, in churches, colleges, homes, lodge halls, and public places in New York and Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, and elsewhere.

WILLIAM F. MATTHEWS

No one knows how church mural, painting came to be

See MURAL, Page 2

“Religious Orders of Priests Bringing the Faith to the New World” is a mural that consists of three panels in the 100-

year-old rectory at Immaculate Conception Church.

BLADE PHOTO BY JETTA FRASER/BLADE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

William F. Matthews,pictured in 1937,

also painted several murals in Toledo

hotels in the 1930s.

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