78.5 F
Scotts Valley
July 9, 2025

Finance | Commodities Investing in Uncertain Times

“Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants—but debt is the money of slaves.” —Ron Paul Speculation or Responsible Investing? Responsible investors don’t buy commodities for short-term gains or gamble against professionals on squiggles of price...

Plain Talk About Food | Our Little Red Ryder Wagon

I raised my little family in Watsonville on a lovely “piece of land” on Green Valley Road, oh, about 6 miles from town or so. Grandma and Grandpa (my in-laws) owned that property and they suggested we build our home next to theirs. One...

Pantone Color of the Year 2021

the mountain gardener Primroses
Apparently, there was some controversy in 2019 over Pantone choosing Living Coral as its Color of the Year because healthy living coral is in short supply. I thought the color coral worked just fine in the garden but then Classic Blue won the top...

Plain Talk About Food | Happiness is Prime Rib of Beef

Prime rib
“Laughter is brightest where food is best.” —Irish Proverb I love cooking for people, especially when the guests are people I have never met, or perhaps for people who have paid a large sum of money to be guests at my table, with the proceeds...

Plain Talk About Food | Pierogi for the Holidays, With Love

My hubby Norm and I had been married for one year when he announced that it was time we spent Christmas in Chicago with his parents, whom I had yet to meet. Now being away from home at Christmas didn’t sound like a great...

TherapyWorks | 4 Goals to Set to Improve Your Mental Health in 2023

Do you set personal goals as you head into the new year? Did you know that people who set goals tend to have higher self-motivation, self-esteem, independence and confidence? Having goals gives us a sense of purpose and something to strive for—all important for...

Rethink the lawn and save money too

the mountain gardener
Water is a precious and vital resource. Our bodies are about 60 percent water and our brain—a whopping 70 percent. Less than 1 percent of the water on the Earth, however, is suitable for human consumption. With the population increasing and the water supply...

Finance | Entrepreneur Tax

Finance
Starting one’s own business is an archetypal American dream and I have personally prepared Schedule C proprietorships as small as part-time jewelry sales gigs or as large as a property management business that pulled in over a million dollars a year. Twenty percent of returns...

Cabrillo’s ‘Candide’ is a Force

Cabrillo Stage
Promoted as a “Satire of Innocence, Optimism and the Unexpected Lessons of Life,” Cabrillo Stage’s adaptation of Voltaire’s “Candide” is a glorious conglomeration of the very best that local theater has to offer. Incredibly funny, fast-paced and thoroughly engaging, the comical operetta grips the...

The Mountain Gardener | How to Improve Your Garden

The cry for help came from a new homeowner. She loves her lovely new home but feels everything in the garden is in the wrong place. She wishes to create “a haven for birds and bugs and give it a sense of life.” The...

SOCIAL MEDIA

2,479FansLike
6FollowersFollow
762FollowersFollow
News Briefs

News Briefs | Published July 4, 2025

Tree removal leads to temporary closure on Big Basin Highway Caltrans will temporarily close a section of southbound Highway 236 (Big Basin Highway) left on...