As we plan for fall and summer, we are faced with uncertainty. While food systems are secure and safe due to USDA oversight, there can be food shortages of some products at times. Food preservation is a great way to ensure access to food, decrease food waste, decrease trips to grocery stores, and save money. However, it must be done safely.

Randi McNutt, the owner of Cutting Crew Family Haircare, was shut down the last week of March due to Covid-19.
As of May 11, the shop is reopened, but things are a far cry from normal.
“We are wearing masks and our customers are too,” said McNutt.
Cutting Crew employs five staff members in the Maynardville shop and also has a salon in Blaine. McNutt says even with extended salon hours they are booked a week out.

It’s a pain. About 80 percent of adults in the United States will experience lower back pain at some point. Treating back pain typically involves medication, including opioids, surgery, therapy and self-care options. Efforts to reduce opioid use and increase physically based therapies to reduce pain and increase physical function and safety are crucial.

Driving down the road you may enjoy seeing pasture and hay fields full of lovely yellow flowers, which are buttercups. While I agree they create an attractive scene, they are a wolf in sheep’s clothing in that they are toxic if eaten by livestock and compete with the grass for nutrients, sun and other resources.

A few weeks ago I left three fictitious youngsters in the hayloft of Uncle Ex Newman’s barn as they laid out of school— Clark Mosely, his older brother Hen, and their still older cousin Jay Harvey Tatum.
“It’s hotter’n seven hells in this blamed hayloft,” Jay Harvey said.
“That sun’s a beatin’ on that tin roof. I bet it’s a lot cooler down on the barn’s dirt floor,” Clark said.
“Yeah, and a sight more like to be caught hiding out down there, too,” Hen said. “How long we gonna stay up here, Jay Harvey?”
“’Til time for school to let out, I reckon,” Jay Harvey replied.

Have you ever taken a day trip that gave you quite the unexpected surprise? We did years ago. Most people probably wouldn’t have appreciated our experience the way I did, but I have a quirky way of enjoying things.

Our trip started out innocently enough. We were traveling to Tim’s family reunion in Churchill, which is located in the northeast corner of the state. Some of the roads had been reworked since our last visit, so we were following another relative.

Recently my niece sent me a picture of her youngest daughter on Instagram. Brittany was dressed in a sparkly maroon uniform with an equally sparkly maroon flag in her hand. She was a bit disappointed that this year had been abbreviated by the Covid 19 because she loved being in color guard and performing all those intricate routines.

No, this is not a soup. It is a delicious baked mess of beans. Yes, sour and cream does get along well with baked beans.

This is not just another filled baked potato. Creamy mashed potatoes are on top, but underneath there is a surprise waiting for your fork. Your family will wonder when you had the time to go to cooking school.

State Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro, and State Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, today announced the funding has been approved for the final phase of construction of State Route 33 connecting Union and Knox counties.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has completed the right-of-way phase of the development for State Route 33 (Maynardville Highway). This 5.2 mile project will adjoin the portion of State Route 33 in Union County to the Knox County line and State Route 144. The proposed project includes widening the highway from two lanes to five.