Fri, May 24, 2013

    Columns

    • What I've Learned

      Dec 06, 2012 12:00 am

      Back in 2009, I wrote several columns documenting my experiments with no-knead bread. The method involved mixing flour, yeast, salt, sugar, powdered milk, oil, and water, then instead of kneading the resulting dough, simply setting it aside for five or six hours, letting time bring out the gluten.

      I also wrote about baking no-knead bread in a slow cooker.

      Since then – not because of my columns – baking bread in a slow cooker has become popular, as has no-knead bread.

    • What I've Learned

      Nov 29, 2012 12:00 am

      The Grinch, as everyone knows, is a mean one. After all, he stole Christmas. What everyone doesn't know is the name of the fellow with the amazing voice who sings "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

      The reason they don't know his name – it's Thurl Ravenscroft – is because he was accidentally left off the credits.

    • Making the holidays affordable

      Nov 29, 2012 12:00 am

      Susan Graves

    • Wait! what? What is the Period of PURPLE Crying?

      Nov 21, 2012 7:45 am

      The Period of PURPLE crying refers to the stage when an infant might cry for long periods of time, most would say colic. The program was designed by Marilyn Barr, founder/executive director, National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome to help parents understand this period.

      So what does PURPLE mean?

      Peak of Crying – Your baby may cry more each week. The most at 2 months, then less at 3-5 months

      Unexpected – Crying can come and go and you don’t know why

    • What I've Learned

      Nov 21, 2012 7:45 am

      This week in our kitchen, we had two refrigerators: one old, one new; one functional, one in pieces.

      The old one was bought years and years ago when we built our home. It has served us well, keeping stuff cold, providing thousands of ice cubes, seeing five children grow up and grandchildren progress into middle school.

      The new one, though not brand new, is in better condition. It's also larger and more efficient. And it was free.

    • Main Street Matters

      Nov 21, 2012 7:45 am

      .

    • What I've Learned

      Nov 15, 2012 12:00 am

      It was the 1985 movie, The Return of the Living Dead, that spawned the idea that zombies eat human brains. Which leads to my favorite joke.

      What do vegan zombies crave?

      "Grains! Graaaiins!"

      Zombie movies can be divided into two eras, those before 1968 and those after.

      Prior to '68, zombies were corpses that had been animated through voodoo and mindlessly did the bidding of an evil human master. Two early and notable films of this genre are White Zombie, from 1932, and Revenge of the Zombies, released in 1943.

    • What I've Learned

      Nov 08, 2012 12:00 am

      I dreamed of headhunters who kept poking my cheek with spears.

      Yesterday, I had three teeth pulled. Two on the right, one on the left. All three were broken beyond repair – the result of childhood fillings gone bad.

      The dentist wanted to extract the two on the right, then have me come back in a few weeks to take care of the one on the left.

      "I'm here, I'm in the chair," I told him, "let's do all three at once."

      "We'll see how it goes," he said, looking doubtful.

      The two right-side extractions went quickly.

    • What I've Learned

      Nov 01, 2012 12:00 am

      In the late fall of 1680, a light appeared in the sky. As the weeks went by, it grew brighter and brighter until it rivaled the full moon. It had a long tail that stretched across the sky, and could be seen during the day.

      People were struck with terror. It was a sign. It was an omen. Surely, this marked the end of the world.

      It didn't, of course. It was just an exceptionally bright comet. If you're curious what it looked like, search for 1680 comet online and you can find paintings of it.

    • Credit Scores

      Nov 01, 2012 12:00 am

      Oxford Federal Credit Union (OFCU) has begun its annual visits to high schools in Oxford County, bringing its Financial Fitness Fair, called CU@22 (a play on Credit Union and 22, which is how old students are pretending to be) to the schools.

      At CU@22, students have graduated from college, are given a career, a salary, and a credit score and are tasked with visiting different booths to purchase a car, insurance, housing, furniture, food, personal items, etc. that fit into their budget, based on their salary.

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