I’ll never forget my first baby-sitting job. I was 13 years old and it was four days a week for two months over the summer.

For a time, it seemed like eating a meal in China was a little like playing a game of Russian roulette with food.

Please join me in a gigantic cheers to all the volunteers who helped with our Christmas in July event. It was wonderful because of the work of tons of volunteers.

“OK, guys,” I announce to everybody, projecting my voice up past the cube walls. “What should I get for dinner tonight?”

The first day of school can be anxiety-producing: new teachers, new subjects, even new classmates in some cases. Joyce Russell Terrell’s first day at Gar-Field Senior High School in September 1961 was like that — only times a thousand.

On the weekend of Aug. 1, Tom and Peggy Purnell, longtime, almost lifetime, residents of the Occoquan/Woodbridge area, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at Virginia Beach.

Julia Child didn't think much of American-style rolling pins, also called bakers' rolling pins.

From the timesaving tools and French techniques she loved to a famously dropped dinner, Julia Child left a lasting impression on a generation of cooks.

When Julia Child first started teaching Americans the fundamentals of French cooking, they tended to use electric beaters for basic blending and mixing.

Hollandaise can be notoriously tricky to make, especially for inexperienced cooks, for whom the sauce can curdle.

Mary Ann Kauchak shares her easy-to-make recipes in her weekly column, “Shortcuts.“

Child extolled the virtues of crepes in both sweet and savory recipes, suggesting them as dessert as well as a fitting wrap for leftovers.

One's socks really stand out in a fencing match. And for Woodbridge resident Sara Moore, the socks she's wearing depends on her mood.

Summer brings an abundance of berries that scream out to be turned into pie.

Lean ground bison gets added moisture from feta cheese and spinach in this Greek-style burger.

Pa Nuang restaurant inspired by food cart experience.

Mary Ann Kauchak shares easy-to-make recipes in her weekly column, “Shortcuts.“

For kids, two of the most dreaded words you can utter are "healthy snack." But this doesn't have to be the case if you take advantage of the magic of dipping.

It was deliberately planned, but really, it might not have been the best decision for me to attempt to install DSL Internet service by myself this past week. My whole family was out of town — husband, teenage daughter, teenage son — all of whom were much more likely to do it successfully.

Those fabulous folks at Transitional Housing BARN are gearing up for their big event in November called Festival of Trees.

Girls and boys ages 11 to 15 years old can learn safer sitter skills, help families and communities and increase their earning potential when they attend the Prince William American Red Cross Babysitter Boot Camp on July 30 and 31 at the First AME Church in Manassas from 9:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. The cost is $100 and campers can register at http://www.pwarc.org.

Jason Collier went to Pamplona, Spain last week expecting to get up close and personal with the bulls.

Alex Huppert, 17-year-old rising senior of Battlefield High School in Haymarket, was presented a Red Cross “Extraordinary Action” award by Prince William American Red Cross CEO Karen Wayne at a Live! At Evergreen concert at the Evergreen Manor House in Haymarket.

May 29
Christina Corrigan and Dean Strevel of Locust Grove, a boy, Aiden Dean Strevel

June 1
Nicole and Jonathan Bolton of Catlett, a boy, Carson Andrew Bolton
Kimberly and Johnathan Childress Sr. of Bealeton, a girl, Mia Nicola Childress

My nearly 5-year-old son already eats like a teenager. Which is to say, if his mouth is open he’s usually shoveling something into it.

Surely I’m not the only person who has spent the past 20 years trying to recreate that one perfect ice cream moment from my youth.

Quick, what’s America’s biggest wine region? If you answered California’s Napa Valley, you’re way, way off thanks to a federal ruling that creates a new one starting Wednesday.

Impromptu visits to Old Rag Mountain will eventually be a thing of the past.

After so many decades of insomnia, I know full well that brilliant ideas and clear-as-bell insights hatched in the middle of the night are generally neither. The morning sun virtually always exposes deeply flawed thinking.

Those fabulous folks at Matthew’s Center are planning a fun field trip to the National Zoo on July 29. Volunteers are needed to help chaperon the camp kids on what promises to be a super trip. They also have an ongoing need for van drivers in the afternoons on Monday, Wednesday Friday from just 2:30 to 6 p.m.