Old Christmas

You can learn a lot from talking with elders. In a conversation about Christmas with my mother some years ago I learned that the Christmas of her childhood had an extra bit of celebration. Her father Sillus Day would always hold back some candy from Christmas in a big, locked chest and would give it out on January 6, a day he called “Old Christmas”.

UT Launches Farm-to-Table Beef Program

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – High-quality, locally sourced ‘UT Beef’ is now being served on the University of Tennessee Knoxville campus.

Produced at UT’s Northeast Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Greeneville, and being prepared and served through an agreement with UT Dining Services managed by Aramark, the farm-to-table effort supports sustainable agricultural production by utilizing locally grown beef as a reliable food source while maximizing supply chain resiliency.

Big Ridge FCE

The Big Ridge Family Community Education Club celebrated with a festive lunch on Dec. 16th at St.Teresa’s Catholic Church. After a short business meeting and donations made to a local Food Bank and a needy family, the group exchanged small gifts. A game of Secret / Dirty Santa was played and enjoyed by everyone. Lunch consisted of lots of delicious Finger Foods.

Panicked Papas

There’s nothing like a good last-minute adventure, especially one on Christmas Eve. This happened to me many years when my daughter Sara was still small.
It started on December 23rd when we went to a cousin’s house for an early Christmas gathering. I so enjoyed being with my family and watching Sara open her gifts. That is until she opened the one with a doll.

Back Pain Shows Association With Increased Mortality Risk In Women Part II

New research from Boston Medical Center identifies elevated mortality risk for women with back pain when compared to women without back pain.

The research cites chiropractic care among the treatments that are effective and safe for managing back pain.

Beautiful Clichés

It is rarely that anything seems to surprise me. I suppose that is common as one grows older, but occasionally I am reminded that there might be a few surprises yet to come.
I went to the credit union to pay my car payment earlier in the week. I walked in just barely before the lobby closed. I walked up to the only available teller, a friendly young lady who grew prettier in my estimation throughout our brief encounter.

Old Christmas Superstitions

Christmas has been well entrenched in our culture for centuries, with most of our traditions coming over from Europe with the early settlers. It’s not surprising that superstitions about Christmas worked their way into the holiday. Here are a few that have hung around

Smashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes

I like sweet potatoes about any way you can fix them. In fact, I buy a 20 pound box of sweet potatoes every fall from a man who brings them up from the Carolinas and parks in front of Janet’s Hair Salon in beautiful downtown Maynardville. It takes me all year to finish that box. I am always looking for new ways to fix them. I come up with this recipe the other day. It is a variation of a rutabaga recipe I tried. They are spicy but not like a pumpkin pie. Try them and see what you think.