Most of us want to uphold our family traditions, serving a similar Thanksgiving menu, year after year. That’s not to say we don’t enjoy adding something a little different to the table, occasionally.

In this seventh in the columns on great hotels, the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco comes to mind as an unforgettable place. It’s still rated a 5-star hotel, as it was back then. A year ago, I wrote about a working trip to San Francisco and briefly mentioned staying at the Fairmont Hotel, but this grand hotel deserves more than just a mention. I was there in about 2000 working a trade show. In my column on San Francisco last year, I wrote it was the NAFEM (North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturing) show but in researching, I found the NAFEM show is held every other year in odd-number years. It was in Dallas in 1999 and in Orlando in 2001, so it was some other show at the Moscone Convention Center in 2000 that took me there. I don’t recall which show, I was just glad to be there as I had never been to San Francisco before.

Enjoying the different foods in other countries is one of the best things about travel. Connected to different foods, there are also different ways to eat. Besides d i f f e rent c u s to m s like eating with chopsticks or eating with the fingers, there’s also the differences of sitting at a table or sitting on the floor.

Reading a funny book that makes you laugh out loud is good for the soul. People often say “Laughter is the best medicine.” That being said, there are a lot of different kinds of humor that people find funny.

KNOX COUNTY – Dustin Wiggans at the James E. “Bud” Smith Plant Materials Center northwest of Knox City reports rainfall received this October was significantly more than last year. This October 5.54 inches was recorded as compared to only 2.25 inches in 2022. In 2021, only 0.81 inches was received for the month. This October also surpassed the average rainfall of 2.50 inches.

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I often write about family recipes, the ones handed down on 3-by-5 recipe cards or written on the back of a napkin. And the special family recipes taught to us bygrandmasandaunts,and of course, the ones from our moms and dads.

With Halloween just a few days ago, I would have liked to had this printed last week, but already had a different column for last week and time has run out on me this week - as time tends to do - so I hope you’ll enjoy this re-run about the old mansion house I stayed in for a month in upstate New York. It still makes me look over my shoulder just remembering it.

This week I wanted to write about an amazing place in Asia named a World Heritage Site in 1987 – The Forbidden City in Beijing, China. I was fortunate enough to go through the Forbidden City four or five times when I was in Beijing over about an eight-year period. First visit there was for myself, then later visits when I was with someone that hadn’t seen it before. The Forbidden City, also known as the Imperial Palace, is a magnificent historical complex located in the heart of Beijing, China. Built during the Ming Dynasty in the early 15th century, it took 14 years to build, from 1406 to 1420 and took over 1 million workers to build. It was the Imperial Palace and the winter residence of the Emperor of China.