Don your tiara for a chance to help the dogs

After all the rich foods of the recent holidays, I like to get back to some basic meals. One of our favorites is a hearty soup with lots of vegetables and legumes.

Poet reads his latest at New Dominion

Donna M. Authers had been doing dishes in the kitchen when her terminally ill mother called to her from the living room and matter-of-factly announced that she thought her death was near.

The 6-year-old boy probably had been told a number of times to stay well back as a massive oak tree was being cut down.

Barren Ridge rings in a first for the winery

Happy New Year.

For many people in Charlottesville the new year couldn’t arrive fast enough.

Virginia Aquarium launches seafood program

Because of the economic downturn we are facing this year, I am hoping that Christmas will prove to be a more traditional affair than one with the focus on commercialism that we have been experiencing. Hopefully, family and the more precious things of life will have a greater meaning this year.

UVa’s Leffler wins prize for ‘Mankind’

There’s a space at Martha Jefferson Hospital where fear and tears have been transformed into hope and smiles countless times.

Christmas long has been a time for gift giving, but the tradition entered a golden era right after World War II.

Urie will add to the Charlottesville Experience

By now most of us have made or are in the middle of making Christmas menu plans. I can remember one year my neighbor saying that she always has to prepare a green bean casserole because it is her daughter Laura’s favorite.

Cookies are in those brown bags

Let the word go forth: Rita Mae Brown’s done it again. She and Sneaky Pie Brown — her feline literary partner — have joined hearts, hands and paws in another collaboration celebrating Christmas in Crozet.

Afton vineyards plans its Winter Open House

No one knows exactly when the first chefs appeared on the world scene or when the preparations of food came to be known as “cuisine.” One of the early mentions of cuisine in the Bible was in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament, when “over a thousand lords were fed.”

Local bakers’ skill at whipping up sweet treats will be music to the ears of soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday officially kicked off the holiday shopping season. But many people are worried that the downturn in the economy will mean fewer offerings under the Christmas tree.

Group, Giving Tree on tap at library

Heart-pounding dread and the numbing cold of the deep, stream-fed pool made it difficult for the young man to stay submerged for any length of time.

Forest Lakes holds Holiday Farmers’ Market

Now is the time to bake that Christmas fruitcake, and there is no time to waste if you want to age it and blend all of the flavors. This is particularly true if you plan on splashing the baked cake with brandy or other spirits.

NPR’s Alan Cheuse will read at New Dominion

During his lifelong love affair with motion pictures, Richard Herskowitz has witnessed some pretty disturbing things in theaters.

Preschoolers offer their expert advice on how to cook the turkey

Paula Deen gives her recipe on Williamsburg

Enjoying and working with art as I often do, certain images come to mind with particular holidays. At Thanksgiving I often think about the Norman Rockwell picture “Freedom from Want.” The painting depicts a family around the dinner table with Mother holding the turkey and Father, standing ready to carve it.