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I was 15 years old. I walked into the rural library. My father was freshly dead. I was a middle-school dropout. We were poor. It was Christmastime.

“Backyarding” – the act of taking activities typically associated with the indoors outside into the green space around us – will continue taking root in 2024, according to the TurfMutt Foundation, which advocates for the care and use of green space, including our own backyards, community parks, green space, and school yards. But next year, the TurfMutt Foundation expects the practice of “backyarding” to evolve into an ongoing sustainability practice.

Mistletoe may be a welcome holiday sight when hung over a doorway if a loved one is near, but, it can be an unwelcome intruder when found in your trees, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist.

The Forney Food Pantry is an asset to the Forney community and has been for decades. Throughout the many economic highs and lows over the last twentyplus years, this organization has had the opportunity to ensure one of life’s most basic needs – access to nourishing food – for countless men, women, and children.

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Forney’s First Presbyterian Church recently dedicated the church’s new Community Center, which opened this fall. The 6618 square foot building is adjacent to the main sanctuary building, which was completed in 2006. Fivecoat Construction, based in Kaufman, was the general contractor for the designbuild project.

Christmas carols can be heard far and wide from Thanksgiving weekend through Christmas Day. “The 12 Days of Christmas” is one of the most recognizable carols, and for good reason, as the popular song can trace its history back several centuries. Researchers have traced the earliest printed version of the poem on which the song is based all the way back to 1780. That’s three years before the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the American Revolutionary War. The song has long been suspected to have been a way for Catholics in Britain to teach their children the catechism, as the 1700s was a controversial period for Catholicism in the country. However, no documentary evidence exists in support of that theory, and many historians feel it is inaccurate. Others indicate that, while 1780 is likely the first time the poem was printed, the poem is likely much older than that, with origins potentially in France or Scotland. What is known is that the version many people recognize today, namely in song form, can be traced to the early twentieth century, when English singer and composer Frederic Austin first popularized the melody for the song. Austin performed that version of the song beginning in 1905, and it was first published in 1909.

There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to calorie consumption, and that can contribute to some confusion as adults try to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Dietary guidelines established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services promote nutrient-dense foods and beverages, but many people prefer to know how many calories they should consume each day. Though that’s understandable, the quality of the calories consumed goes a long way toward determining how nutritious a diet is. The Cleveland Clinic notes that the DHHS guidelines have historically recommended adults 21 and over consume between 1,600 and 3,000 calories per day. However, staying within those parameters does not necessarily mean a person’s diet is healthy. Though individuals should keep total calorie consumption in mind when planning their diets, it’s equally important to recognize what else the DHHS has to say about diet, particularly foods to avoid. The DHHS recommends limiting consumption of foods and beverages that are high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium. Limiting consumption of alcoholic beverages is another way to ensure your diet is working for you and not against you.

More than four million real Christmas trees are sold annually in Texas, supporting farms and agriculture businesses throughout the state. As the holiday season nears, Texas A&M Forest Service encourages purchasing real Christmas trees to help boost the Texas economy.

Credit card debt could be compromising the financial security and well-being of millions of individuals. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans’ total credit card balance in the second quarter of 2023 was more than $1 trillion, and Lending-Tree reports that the average credit card balances among U.S. cardholders in December 2022 was $7,279. Average balances are lower but still a concern in Canada, where data from TransUnion indicates the average cardholder had an outstanding balance of $3,909 as of the first quarter of 2023.

In My Grief Is Not Like Yours: Learning to Live After Unimaginable Loss, A Daughter’s Journey (Forefront Books; May 2023; ISBN: 978-1637631560; Hardcover; Click Here for Book Trailer), Theo Boyd writes with honesty and raw emotion about the day that started the contagion of devastating events that would leave her “without hope, without purpose, without direction.” After the terrible shock and pain of losing her Momma, losing her father and losing her marriage, Boyd began writing.

“I think a baby is a sign of love,” says Casey, age 9. “God sent our Savior as a baby because when babies are born, everybody thinks they are special,” says Buck, age unknown.

It’s time for Texans to brace for cedar fever season once again, complete with runny noses, itchy eyes and general misery. Cedar fever is an allergic reaction to the pollen released by mountain cedar trees, and unfortunately, you don’t have to be allergic to the pollen for it to affect you.