A California Online Magazine with Local Focus and Global Appeal
If you are serious about maintaining healthy eating habits, the central San Joaquin Valley is the place for you. Over 360 different crops are grown right here, and we have direct access to just about all of them. Are we lucky, or what? But if not for one small but mighty creature, we wouldn’t have this bounty. I’m talking about bees.
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Virtual Rogue Festival has one more weekend to enjoy some great shows virtually! Just like Rogue is different this year, we are posting our reviews differently this year–we won’t be posting them all together, though they will still be in groups. Here is our first group of reviews!
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Well, here we are, nearing the end of what has been a very disruptive twelve months. We’ve all been faced with changes. Our workplaces, schools and social outlets have been turned inside out and backwards in order to remain functioning during the pandemic. But this year might be remembered as more than one of turmoil and loss. It could also go down in history as that time when the performing arts hijacked Zoom.
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Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved to play “store.” Fascinated with cash registers and display counters (as well as the Wizard of Oz), she dreamed of someday running a retail establishment of her own.
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The year 2020 will no doubt be remembered as one of the worst ever. It’s been a stressful, divisive time, with Covid-19 in the forefront, putting our resiliency and sanity to the test.
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For the past seven months, we’ve been on a seemingly never-ending emotional roller coaster ride and for many, these feelings have become commonplace. We’ve been bombarded from all directions by social unrest, political upheaval, international health crises, natural disasters, and deep personal loss. Our schedules, diets and sleep cycles have been disrupted. In short, the world has been thrown for a loop.
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What do the following have in common: An upgraded Nancy Drew, Santana, a black and white cat, and a clarinet player named Vic Ratto. I’ll give you a few minutes to think about it.
Did you figure it out? No? OK, this eclectic cast of characters has influenced, or is the product of, Jeff Bowman’s vivid imagination.
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When you think of locally-owned, family-operated businesses, what comes to mind? I’m guessing it’s a restaurant or maybe a hardware store. Perhaps it’s a nursery or place that sells pet supplies. But there’s one Valley-based company you may not be aware of, in spite of it’s achievements.
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Here we are in the 12th week of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying shutdown, with a return to normal—whatever that was—still far away. We’ve worked from home, done our best to keep our kids mentally stimulated without going flat-out mental ourselves, practiced social distancing on those rare occasions when we braved going out in public, and embraced facial coverings as a fashion accessory.
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Sometimes it feels as though we have overdosed on digital imagery. Good or bad, it’s everywhere. Animated billboards. Movies. Selfies. TV commercials. Magazines. It’s fast, easy, and fairly inexpensive.
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Chocolate. Ooohhh, yes. This delicacy has been around for over two-thousand years, and it’s as powerful as it ever was. Just the word alone conjures up all kinds of imagery, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s the miniature candy bars in your trick-or-treat bag on Halloween or a big bunny in your Easter basket. It has been featured in literature and film: a sensual pleasure in Chocolat, concealing a hidden treasure in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and administered as medication in the Hogwarts infirmary in the beloved Harry Potter series. Ancient civilizations used it for currency and as components in rituals. This delicious treat is also one of the most frequently given gifts for Christmas. I’m not surprised – are you?
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Let’s assume you are someone who includes meat in your diet, whether it’s because you have certain nutritional goals or you just enjoy a steak or burger now and then. Got that? Now, what if you are concerned about the quality of that meat, the way in which it is produced, and how the livestock is raised. You could spend a ridiculous amount of time searching online and end up with not much more than eye strain.
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Good things come in small packages, and few people know the truth of this old saying more than Joel and Margie Weber. They’re the founders/owners/operators of Rocky Oaks Goat Creamery in Clovis, producers of a variety of unique, hand-crafted artisan goat cheeses.
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When I was a kid, something I could always count on during the summer was an excursion “out to the country” to pick produce. Peaches, strawberries, corn, and black-eyed peas were readily available at you-pick farms scattered throughout the rural areas just outside Fresno.
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Meet little dolly Molly, she is a kitty who has a quiet elegance, a big heart, and an undemanding personality. She is independent, sits back to observe before exploring. Such a down-to-earth attitude is probably the result of being the single sister with three lively brothers who all have easy, undemanding natures, but love playtime and each other. Like them, this pretty sweetheart does love to leap and swing at toys on a wand, is especially fond of chicken, and can’t resist a tasty kitty treat! She has also gotten along with bigger cats and small dogs. A beautiful, silky black and white ensemble has her always looking dressed for success. What a devoted and adorable addition lovely Molly will be in a home where she will be given time to adjust to a new situation. How about your home sweet home? Molly is very shy and will need a lot of time to adjust to a new home, she is a little hissy with lots of attitude she would be a great friend for a current kitty and not much of a person cat. She loves other cats. Molly is available for adoption at their Blackstone Ave Petco Adoption Center, from Cat House on the Kings.