Columns

Hygea Health Bite: Save Money With Easy Do-It-Yourself Household Cleaners

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Hygea Health Bite: Save Money With Easy Do-It-Yourself Household Cleaners
 
By LISA BAKOSI

It’s hard enough to make dinner. Why on earth would you want to spend time making your own cleaning products, you ask?

It’s a good question. Making your own anything (especially the first time) can seem daunting and like too much of a hassle. I hear you but I can tell you that it’s not only easier than you think but also incredibly worthwhile.

Benefits of DIY Cleaners…

  • Huge money-saving potential;
  • Fast and easy to make;
  • Peace of mind that your clean home is also safe; and
  • Essential oils actually boost your
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Hannemann’s Music Corner: And Now, A Word From Your Instrument

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Hannemann’s Music Corner: And Now, A Word From Your Instrument
 
By RICHARD HANNEMANN
 
First, for purposes of discussion, there are five levels of instruments, to wit: beginning, student, intermediate (also referred to as step-up or performance), professional and custom. 
 
Generally, the first three are “production” meaning that they are manufactured to consistent specifications. They are essentially supposed to be peas in a pod with no difference one from the other (within the level category). If you recall our earlier discussion on how innate
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Food on the Hill: Mushroom Tart

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This Week’s Recipe:
Mushroom Tart
 
Photo by Sue York/ladailypost.com

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, mixed
Parchment paper, sprayed on one side with vegetable spray
6 oz of mixed mushrooms, sliced ( I used oyster and baby bella)
3 tablespoons of butter
Vegetable spray (Pam)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (2 for cooking and 2 for garnish)
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon flour
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons cream

Directions:

Photo by Sue York/ladailypost.com

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Unfold the pastry and press the seams together if Read More

Solo Traveler: Free Lodging, Part I

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Solo Traveler: Free Lodging Part I

Column by SHERRY HARDAGE

I have mentioned in previous columns how traveling solo over many months can be rather expensive. And I’ve talked about house sitting as an alternative to paying for expensive hotel rooms. But there is another excellent way for people to travel without paying a dime for lodging.

For those who own homes, the cheapest way to travel abroad is to trade houses with other people.

I’ve had friends express horror at the thought of strangers using their stuff, and possibly stealing or breaking their things. But the flip side of that is when you trade Read More

Sydney’s Corner: Food of the Netherlands

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Sydney Frazier, 8, with Poffertjes. Photo by Jason Frazier

FOOD OF THE NETHERLANDS

Introduction by Teralene Foxx of Los Alamos

I have previously updated you on the around the world travels of our daughter Kerri Foxx Frazier, Jason Frazier and their 8-year-old daughter Sydney. Every week, as part of her home schooling Sydney does a blog of something she has found interesting. Having just been in the Netherlands on a river cruise, I found this blog about her experience with food in the Netherlands delightful and wanted to share it with you.

 
SYDNEY’S CORNER: FOOD OF THE NETHERLANDS
By Sydney
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Column: If You Want to Sell Your House … You Have to Let Go

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If You Want to Sell Your House … You Have to Let Go
By KAREN HAWKINS

During my career as a Realtor, I have noticed a common obstacle that sellers face – they are too attached.

It’s perfectly understandable. After growing up in a house, raising children in a house, and adding countless personal touches, it becomes a “home.” Nostalgia makes it hard to see things from the buyer’s perspective.

When it is time to sell, you need to take a step back and go back to thinking of it as a house – just brick and mortar.

Here are a few ways you can disassociate yourself from your house before you begin the process of Read More

Scribble Works Reviews: THE LAME RANGER

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Naftali Burakovsky, left, and Lorenzo Venneri

Scribble Works Reviews

By LORENZO VENNERI and NAFTALI BURACOVSKY
(Kevin Gao contributed to this review)

THE LAME RANGER

The Lone Ranger is, contrary to the ill conceived title, the story of a duo composed of odd Comanche Tonto (Johnny Depp) and East coast city lawyer John Reid (Armie Hammer), as they face off against bandits and greedy railroad owners.

Jerry Bruckheimer’s film is the second major western released in the last year, following Django Unchained. We’d rather watch Tarantino’s masterpiece than this pointlessly action packed and childishly Read More

How the Hen House Turns: Lucy Goose

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How the Hen House Turns: Lucy Goose
Column by Carolyn A. (Cary) Neeper, Ph. D.

We inherited Lucy the goose in 2002, when my neighbor said she couldn’t keep a goose in the house. Lucy kept banging on the glass door, wanting in when she saw the people inside. My hen house and pen were available, so I said—not realizing that geese live 25 to 30 years—okay.
Young Lucy fit right in, with Little Bear the turkey, White Silkie hen Fluffy, and two Polish chicks sporting creative feather-dos (another story for another day).

The young dogs, DeeDee and Scooter, our pointer-heeler mix fugitives from the 2000 fire, Read More

Your Money: Do You Know The Facts About Social Security?

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Your Money:  Do You Know The Facts About Social Security?
By KATE STALTER

I regularly speak to groups around northern New Mexico on the topic of Social Security. (In fact, I’m giving such a talk next week in Santa Fe – details are at the end of this column.) It’s a financial planning topic that people have plenty of questions about.

That’s understandable, since it’s a topic rife with confusion. Adding to that, Social Security Administration employees, by law, cannot provide advice about your individual situation. They can offer you information about your benefits, but that’s about it.

One Read More

Dispennette: Speed Kills

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SPEED KILLS
By Abe Dispennette

Add another concern to the reason learning to drive is so risky: Speed kills.

In fact, speeding is a primary culprit in a third of fatal crashes involving teen drivers, according to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). The report was funded through a grant from State Farm®.

“Speeding-Related Fatal Crashes Among Teen Drivers and Opportunities for Reducing the Risks,” authored by Dr. Susan Ferguson, reports that speeding as a contributor in fatal teen driver crashes has inched up over the past decade from 30 percent in Read More