When Roger F.H. Leclere and his wife, Martha, initially laid eyes on Pine Knot in the mid-1990s it was in rough shape. Theodore Roosevelt’s rustic getaway near Keene had never been more than a humble, two-story cabin in the woods.

Our Lady of Peace residents are getting into the Olympic spirit with a statewide competition of Nintendo Wii bowling.  Several teams compete at the Hillsdale Drive retirement community and the scores are compared with other nursing homes around the state.  For many seniors, it’s the first time they’ve ever played a video game. 

Dedicated sleuthing through the dusty pages of history can turn up colorful bits of minutia that serve to animate otherwise tinder-dry dates and basic facts.

For most of his 81 years Harry J. Dannals has used the dots and dashes of Morse code to meet and say howdy to people around the world.

Drop the s’more and take that hot dog off the stick — one of the hottest trends in summer camp has kids whipping up haute cuisine.

Chef Chris goes organic tonight at the 9

Vintage Virginia, the state’s oldest outdoor wine tasting, will hold it’s 27th annual festival at Bull Run Regional Park in Centerville on Saturday and Sunday.

On a recent afternoon dozens of locavores could be seen gathering in the parking lot of Woodbrook Elementary School. 

Wintergreen Winery in Nellysford will present its annual Memorial Weekend Celebration from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

May is the month many European gourmets live for. It is asparagus month, and Allan and I were fortunate to be there at that time on several occasions. Many restaurants had whole menus consisting of asparagus in various forms at each course. We even experienced a tart lemon asparagus souffle for dessert.

Ash Lawn prepares for 14th annual WineFest

Ash Lawn-Highland’s 14th annual WineFest will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

White Fences Winery will join the lineup of vintners this year, offering complimentary samples and selling wines by the bottle.

Spry’s will offer hearty fried fish and Carolina barbecue.

Sue Charney and Kelly Michelsen decided to market their culinary skills about six years ago and, frankly, they have a pretty sweet deal.

Some travelers heading to Beijing this summer to attend the Olympics also will make a side trip to Japan. 

Joe Giovanelli, 79, was born blind. Through playing the piano in weekly concerts, he gets joy by giving joy to others. 

After being blinded in battle, the World War II veteran was savaged by feelings of despair and worthlessness.

Pizza Bella serves up special brunch for Mom

Ted Allen boarded a plane Tuesday to find out who will make the final cut on “Top Chef.”

A recent segment of television news showed people at Sam’s in Atlanta buying bags upon bags of rice — it used to be called hoarding. Last week an article in the Wall Street Journal also talked about the shortage of rice, in part due to poor harvest in Thailand and Cambodia.

May day, May day!
It’s time to check out new shows

Of the three ancient cuisines, Chinese, Greek and Roman, we are probably most familiar with that of Rome. Although much has been written about Roman art, architecture and government, early food writings of Rome are sparse.

Men Who Cook prepare real treat for MACAA
The 21st annual Men Who Cook will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the Doubletree Hotel to raise funds for the Monticello Area Community Action Agency.
More than 50 men will serve up their best recipes, including Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo, Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Claude Worrell and many other community members.
There will be a silent auction, music and guest volunteers, including youths from the Project Discovery program.
Tickets are $75 and can be purchased online at http://www.macaa.org or by phone at 295-3171.

The bottle’s label features a profile of a distinguished gentleman enjoying a cigar and gazing into the distance. Restaurateur Mark Brown recently directed a visitor’s attention past the picture of Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle to the bourbon within. What the owner of the Upstairs restaurant on the Downtown Mall wanted to point out was the liquor’s hue.

If you don’t know what to make of a raw turnip, much less a robust rutabaga or bulbs of fennel, help is at hand.

UVa’s first female in the engineering department
finishes the career that her father never had.

When Jennifer Bowman received an order for 525 cupcakes, she didn’t start warming the oven.
The founder and chef executive officer of Jenni B Originals is in the business of making what she calls “the best desserts you’ll never eat.” She specializes in creating zero-calorie faux dessert items ranging from cupcakes to full-sized cakes with nonperishable cherries on top.

Big Read programs
continue at the library
Two talks are on tap this week at branches of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library as part of the Big Read.
M.Thomas Inge will be at the Louisa County Library at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and Nick Patler will speak at the Greene Country Library at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Inge, a professor of humanities at Randolph-Macon College, will speak on “To Kill a Prejudice: Race Relations in Twain, Faulkner and Harper Lee.” Patler, and author and historian, will discuss “Killing the Mockingbird: Historical and Contemporary Efforts to Ban to Kill a Mockingbird.”
The library also will host two book discussions.

Here’s the most important thing you need to know about making an omelet: If you mess it up, don’t worry. “It’s just an egg,” Andrew Melton said. “Don’t cry. Keep trying.” We already like this guy, and he hasn’t even started cooking.

When Jenny Gardiner looked into her mailbox she felt her heart drop into the basement of her being.

Old Michie Theatre will present “Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy’’ at 7 tonight and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

Writers strike brings late-night reruns, could hurt promising new shows. Find out how the strike will affect your TV-watching-schedule.