At a young age Emily Rae Higbee, who goes by her middle name Rae, was inspired by her grandmother to begin baking. She continues to be inspired by her favorite celebrity chef, Alton Brown. Higbee is a home baker in Minot. “I call my little business The Witch’s Kitchen. I’ve been ...

Jake and Lilly were sitting next to me on the couch one evening. I patted them on their warm backs. They looked at me approvingly with their big brown eyes. When I reached for the remote control to change the TV channel, they wiggled closer and wagged their tails. I found an old movie and I ...

What is something that we do daily that can engage our intellect, emotion and style? What daily activity with creative moments engage both our mind, heart and good cup of coffee? What daily activity can we improve upon without sacrificing a thing? What daily activity can convey power and ...

Health care as an issue landed with a thud in late December as members of Congress packed up and went home for the holidays. Two important pieces of legislation for patients didn't make it to the finish line. Passage of either measure next year is a crapshoot since it's an election year. One ...

As garden catalogs are piling up and online versions fill your inbox, your thoughts may turn to the growing season ahead. With so many choices of beautiful flowers and scrumptious vegetables it can be overwhelming and hard to resist buying more seeds and plants than you have space to grow and ...

As I did some last-minute shopping in preparation for the holidays, I noticed a wide range of coffee drink makers, multifunction cookers (pressure cookers) and air fryers lining the aisles of retail stores. Think back to when you were a kid. What were some of the gadgets used in the kitchen in ...

I am pleased to have Torie Jones, GRHC Graduate Assistant, prepare this month’s column. Torie is a native of Fessenden, ND, and began working as an undergraduate intern at the GRHC in July, 2015. During her internship, she spent two and a half years processing and digitizing the Johannes and ...

Once your holiday celebrations have passed and the decorations go back into storage, it is time to deal with your real Christmas tree. Don't drag it to the curb to be hauled away by the trash collectors. Give it a second, even third life, in your landscape. No live Christmas tree? Don't ...

Merry Christmas! Greetings from the ranch at 11 p.m., where I just finished up two batches of my mom’s fudge recipe (making it, not eating it) and am currently watching the house cat inspect the Christmas tree a little too closely for my present comfort level. Today my husband and I, on a ...

A friend of mine has a Snoopy blanket that was worn thin by her childhood. She grasped that little blanket tightly in her hands every time she faced abuse. She kept the blanket all these years as a reminder of her faith and the strength we’re given to endure the terrible times. Bad things ...

We started out as co-workers, but soon became friends. We were a group of young women, just launching careers, marriages and families, when we first bonded over shared deadlines and projects in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead newsroom 25 years ago. We worked in the same newsroom, so there was ...

My fourth grade son, Ben, told me his teacher pretends to vomit anytime the kids start bickering with each other in his class. Isn’t that hysterical? Instead of yelling or raining down punishment, the teacher just walks over and pretends to gag. The kids immediately realize what they’re ...

Dear Carol: My dad had a severe stroke six months ago and now lives in a nearby nursing home. Dad’s always been anxious, but since the stroke and some related dementia, he’s worse than ever and I know that my daily visits help. What worries me is that I have an event for work coming up ...

Take a break from the holiday rush for a bit of gardening relief. Grab a pruner and basket then wander through your landscape gathering a few evergreen branches, berry-laden stems and cones to create a holiday centerpiece. Most gardeners are used to walking into their summer garden ...

Merry Christmas. I want to share with you all the holiday spirit that’s floating around this place. I’d really like to tell you that I’m writing this as I sip hot cocoa in my best holiday sweater while a Hallmark movie is playing on TV and the snow softly falls on the treetops ...

Years ago, I had one of those spineless cacti that once a year splash colorful flowers out the ends of their flat, arching stems. Such plants are usually named for when they are supposed to bloom: Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter cactii. I just call them “holiday” cacti because they ...

Long before there were cooking shows such as Cake Boss, The Great British Bake Off and Barefoot Contessa, bakers from across America took an interest in the Pillsbury Bake-off. 2019 marks 70 years since Pillsbury first introduced this baking contest. Pillsbury introduced what they called the ...

Dear Carol: My dad left when I was in middle school and then my mother married a man who abused me, but she stuck by him anyway. Now she’s alone. I’ve had years of counseling and I feel that I’ve forgiven her, mostly because I needed to do that for myself. Now, I’m not certain what ...

Whenever I think of the timeless combo of cherries and almonds, I think of my Grandma Swift. She always kept a pump-bottle of Jergens in her bathroom and, as a tot, I was mesmerized by what I perceived to be such glamorous and feminine packaging: a curvy, ivory-colored bottle with ...

The holidays are upon us and busy schedules often send us into a panic when looking for the perfect gift for those on our list. No matter your budget, there are affordable gift options your friends and family will love. Tools are always a welcome gift. Most gardeners are reluctant to invest ...