From radioactive shrimp to vodka seltzer in energy drink cans, food and beverage recalls have made headlines throughout 2025 and into 2026—and the headlines are often pretty concerning. To end the year, there was a massive recall for hundreds of foods kept at a Gold Star Distribution storage unit in Minneapolis (think: Arizona iced teas, Dole products, Haribo candies, and Kellogg’s cereals) because of contamination from rodent urine, bird feces, and salmonella. It’s not just

I have been having trouble getting my hands on artichoke hearts. I have tried multiple times and they just are not available. This is a canned good so it surprised me. I ended up doing a web search about this problem and was stunned to learn that we (we meaning the whole world) is in a huge food crisis right now. There was Cyclone Harry that caused a lot of problems over there in Italy, which I had not even heard about. And many of the artichokes we get come from there. The s

This is a new topic for me to post about here. I do not remember ever approaching 'finance' in a general way. Sure I post about budgeting for groceries and how to feed your face and still keep a rug under your feet, but I haven't really talked about how to establish a budget or how to deal with finances. I get it that things are in turmoil right now with inflation, prices way up and trying to keep up with the rising rents. So how does a person just starting out, get started?

I have been walking around saying, geez I am eating like a Hippie. I am old enough to remember the late 60's and the early 70's. Yes, I really am. And I remember all the stuff I used to shake my head at and think, those people are definitely "far out", as in way way out there. (This, while I was walking around in my Nehru jacket). LOL Anywho, because it has occurred to me frequently of late I had to bring it to the attention of my web browser and ask about hippie diets. I'm

I am super conservative when it comes to spending money. I am constantly figuring out ways to save money, to spend less (is that the same thing?) to maintain a tight budget. This applies to everything; clothes, furniture, linens, shoes, socks, office supplies, craft items, and of course food. So I have been doing some comparison 'looking' before shopping. Now that Amazon has food beyond that expensive stuff at Whole Foods, ie: their own brands and stuff, and they offer free

Understanding written instructions for tax forms can feel like deciphering an ancient language, where every line seems to lead you deeper into a maze of confusion and frustration. It's as if the instructions were designed to be a riddle, leaving you wondering if you need a tax expert or a magic wand to make sense of it all. It's a maze. You begin one form and it says you need the answer to another form before you can continue. So you go to the next form and it says you need t

Freckles and spots on older people's hands, often referred to as age spots or liver spots, are primarily caused by prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun, which leads to an overproduction of melanin in the skin. These spots typically appear on areas that have received the most sun exposure over the years, such as the hands, face, and arms.   So I should not get natural Vitamin D via the sun. Huh. Anything else? Ultraviolet (UV) Light: Prolonged exposure to