My daughter Mona is great at making salads. As part of a large farm family, she’s used to cooking for crowds. When she comes to visit, as she did for my July Fourth party, she always asks me to get out the large bowls. Then she peruses her vegetarian cookbooks, which she brings with her, and prepares her latest salad success. Read more →

Thursday I wrote about how more than 50 percent of inflation is caused by corporate price gouging and wondered why politicians don’t talk about it and news organizations don’t cover it. Friday I was going to write about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suing Acima and its former chief executive officer Aaron Allred for illegal lending activities. Read more →

Consumers need to read ingredient labels carefully to avoid brominated vegetable oil or BVO because, although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally banned it, products containing BVO may remain for sale on store shelves.  BVO has mainly been used to help stabilize citrus flavorings in sodas, sports drinks, and energy drinks. Read more →

For the second time in the last few years, I almost hit a pedestrian in the parking lot of our local co-op. A woman standing beside my car, who I saw, and the woman in my blind spot, both yelled at me. They were mad, but I couldn’t see her. I’d carefully checked my mirrors, looked out the back window, and looked over my left shoulder. Read more →

For most summers, my daughter Lisa, who lives in Madrid, visits me with her kids, Rafa and Cecilia. Although the visits are shorter now that the kids are older and want to spend more time with their friends, we had a great time. Fun times included a barbecue, swimming, walking in an arboretum and parks, dining out, and a July Fourth celebration. Read more →

Recently, I stayed with my daughter and her family at an Airbnb in Seattle. After we were there a while, I saw a big safety hazard: dishwasher pods were stored in an attractive glass container and placed on the kitchen counter. Dishwasher pods are dangerous for children and seniors who may think that they’re candy or some treat to eat. Read more →

Consumers are in a poor position in the economy, because corporations spend so much on advertising and they donate billions of dollars to influence government to do their bidding making products and services more expensive and less safe. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has made another decision that will reduce consumer “power” even more. Read more →

Another huge recall deserves your attention. MM Products is recalling about 580,000 JoyJolt brand glass coffee mugs. The glass mugs, which are clear with a handle, can break and crack when filled with hot liquids, posing burn and laceration hazards. There have been 103 incidents of the coffee glasses breaking at the base, resulting in 56 injuries. Read more →

It seems today that writing about extreme heat is strange. This weekend, I was so cold when I did yard work here in the Seattle area that I wore my extra-sweater-and-leggings outfit I wear for winter gardening. And, although everyone is warning about not to avoid heat exhaustion and even death, I’m going to write about it, too. Read more →

When I’ve had a consumer complaint recently, several times the customer service representative has said to me “I’m sorry that you feel that way.” The “sorry,” but I’m not sorry response it like getting an emotional slap in the face. One time it happened when I didn’t get information about a credit union fee, and I also mentioned lacking customer service at a local branch. Read more →