I recently celebrated another birthday! Over the years, I’ve had an uneasy relationship with birthdays. I loved them as a child. However, there were times in my adult life that I wasn’t sure I wanted to celebrate my birthday. One of those times was the year after my mother died. That year with no birthday […]

If you remember Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper of the 1970s, raise your left hand. Why the left? “Lefty” was the mascot for the product introduced to consumers to address the 1970s meat shortage by adding pasta. I find this information fascinating because in contrast, in 1984, “Chicken Helper” was invented in response to readily available […]

Several years ago, my son bought me a cookbook called 101 Things to Do with a Casserole (Ashcraft). Being compelled to buy me such a cookbook tells you how not great I was at making casseroles. Making a pleasantly memorable casserole is not just a matter of throwing ingredients together. They don’t have to be […]

Suppers JAY — Frank L. Mitchell VFW Post #3335 at 64 Jewell St. in Jay. Friday take-out supper. Served at 5 p.m. Enter from the Jewell St. entrance. May 21 supper will be Salisbury Steak, potatoes, peas and carrots cake for dessert.  $9 Call Janice early at 897-2122 to reserve your meal. FARMINGTON — June […]

Our parents’ influence runs deep and long. As an adult, I realize my father’s perspective on life continues to influence me, even though I only knew him a short time before he passed. Through his World War ll love letters to my mom, I gleaned more of his true personality and experiences. Such experiences included […]

Keeping the refrigerator clean and organized helps reduce food waste by keeping track of leftovers, preventing unnecessary purchases, and storing food properly. Accomplishing this task can be daunting. If you ask the wee one here, she will tell us, “That’s easy. You eat all the food and what you don’t eat, give it to the […]

 NO. LIVERMORE — At the North Livermore Baptist Church May 2 service the congregation was welcomed by Pastor Bonnie Higgins at 9:30 a.m. to begin the service. The Call to Worship was read and the Invocation/Lord’s Prayer was recited. The hymns that were sung was “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”, “The Solid Rock”, “Break […]

NO. LIVERMORE — At the North Livermore Baptist Church April 25 service, the congregation was welcomed in by Pastor Bonnie Higgins at 9:30 a.m. to begin the service. The Call to Worship was read and the Invocation/Lord’s Prayer was recited. The hymns that were sung was “Standing on the Promises”, “Trust and Obey”, “We are […]

I just finished cleaning my refrigerator. I get a thrill seeing the insides of a sparkly refrigerator. A clean refrigerator is essential for storing food safely. The idea of food stored in a dirty freezer or refrigerator gives me chills. (no pun intended) Cleaning the refrigerator is a good reminder to not waste food. Today […]

“Like a honey bee gathering honey from all types of flowers, the wise men search everywhere for truth and sees only good in all religions” (Hindu scripture Srimad Mahabhagavatam). The Hindus refer to honey as the “nectar of the sun.” When I came across this quote, I realized that I’ve never really thought about bees […]