Get Ready for Fall Color
The weather has been perfect for us to have great fall color this year. Because it’s been warm during the day and chilly at night I’m looking forward to the show. Many trees and shrubs are already showing color because they are stressed from...
To Beef or Not to Beef
“I enjoy cooking with wine,
sometimes I even put it in the food I’m cooking.”
- Julia Child
Give me a good old American-style beef pot roast, with all its dark wine-rich drippings and a crusty French roll, and I am in heaven.
In just one week, my...
Oil, What’s it Good For?
“We should look for someone to eat and drink with
before looking for something to eat and drink.”
- Epicurus
While reaching for the mundane bottle of vegetable oil in the market, my eye caught the label on the bottle of avocado oil. Now, I love avocados...
A Day in the ER With Dignity Health
The phone rang, and my doctor’s assistant was on the other end.
“Janet, our office is not equipped to help you; you must go to the ER (emergency room) today.”
I was almost out the door heading to a 1:1 meeting over the hill before the...
When Butter Becomes Ghee
This morning, while up to my elbows in potato yeast dough, a voice calling my name came through my opened screen door. It was my neighbor Heather Boynton. We have this understanding, Heather and I, that ‘mi casa es su casa,’ or, in English:...
Thinking Strategically About Our Future
This spring, Scotts Valley City Council held public workshops to discuss the City’s long-standing strategic goals. City Manager Mali LaGoe led the Council through a series of questions and discussion topics to update and prioritize staff’s focus to achieve the listed goals. Metrics were...
Homegrown Tomatoes
Alaska, where the Crows created the world
And the Ravens brought the sunlight
- Native quote
I have been in Alaska and my hometown of Aberdeen, Washington for the past two weeks and my traveling shoes are beginning to show serious wear, not to mention wear on...
My Traveling Shoes
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness,
and many of our people need it solely on these accounts.
Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things
cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of
the earth all one’s lifetime.
- Mark Twain
While taking my ‘traveling...
Women in Business Make a Difference
Throughout history, women have demonstrated leadership. And, when women band together, their abilities foster growth, support and wisdom. Without getting into our modern-day cultural and diversity correctness, let’s say everyone in business knows about the power of how networking groups work. When you take...
Focus on the Valley: Steve Kuehl
In 1989, Northern California was rocked by the Loma Prieta earthquake, which was centered in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz. The 6.9 quake was responsible for $6 billion in damages (close to $40 billion in today’s dollars), 63 deaths...
New Scotts Valley Council members look forward to making their mark
After first-place finisher Donna Lind, the incumbent for Scotts Valley City Council, local voters selected Steve Clark—a retired law enforcer, known for volunteering around...