Summer is in full swing now with many areas of the country sweltering and some suffering in torrential rain and flooding. Here in the Pacific Northwest, June was mostly coolish with some nice days and a hot one or two now and then. Our annual July Fourth party was great,... Read more →
On Father’s Day, I’m remembering my dad Minor H. Slingsby. He was an important person in my life. In a tribute I wrote about him, I said two of my main interests in life came from him: consumerism and newspapers. My dad was proud of my accomplishments and me. Although... Read more →
Photo: Hannob In a letter to a bankruptcy court Monday, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission said any company that buys 23andMe, a genetic testing company, in a bankruptcy proceeding, needs to abide by the 23andMe’s privacy policy on use of customer data. Andrew N. Ferguson said: The FTC... Read more →
The TV weatherman and I must have had a misunderstanding. I watched the weather forecast carefully and I was sure he said, with enthusiasm, that Sunday would be the best day of weather coming up. As a result, I made a plan. Saturday, I’d get housework done, and Sunday would... Read more →
It’s fun on St. Patrick’s Day to think about my Irish ancestors and my trip to Ireland. The photo on the left is Laura Jane Baylee Slingsby, my paternal grandmother. Born in Canada, her father Alexander Baylee was born in County Clare, Ireland, and her grandfather Henry Thomas Baylee was... Read more →
A fantastic thing happened. My daughter Mona planned a trip to Santa Barbara, California, for us to visit my long-time friend, Sue Lean, who moved there last March. Mona lives in Sacramento, so we drove the six hours to Santa Barbara for our visit. Our visit began with a trip... Read more →
For winter reading, Dani Nierenberg, president of Food Tank, a think tank on food, offers another great reading list, this one on food books that answer the question why. Why bread, which cost a third of household expenditures in Europe 300 years ago, now costs less than 1 percent. Why... Read more →
Merry Christmas if Christmas is a holiday you celebrate. It’s a day of joy for so many reasons. The celebration of Christ’s birth, the getting together with family and friends, and a time to give unto others. And for giving, Americans are into giving in a big way. With 92... Read more →
It’s that time of year again. Stores are bustling with shoppers, delivery drivers are pulling up daily, and people are exhausted. And while it’s supposed to be the happiest time of the year, 68 percent of people say Santa will be less generous this year due to inflation and 31... Read more →
Somehow, it’s Dec. 9 already and it seems like the holidays are coming in a rush. I’m researching buying a new camera, which is time consuming. Then, I got the idea that what I want for Christmas is a scanner that scans slides. More research when I should be getting... Read more →