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There are not many places where one can text an order to a baker and arrive a few hours later to pick up a steaming loaf of fresh bread.

Over the years, I’ve believed my biggest Thanksgiving challenge, short of buying a second fridge, was finding a water-tight vessel large enough to hold a brining turkey the size of a Shetland pony within its confines for two entire days prior to Thanksgiving.

Bolado Park Golf Club's president recently sent a letter to members saying it would take a "miracle" to save the financially troubled course, according to the letter submitted to the Free Lance on Friday.

When it comes to the Thanksgiving meal, I always encourage that whenever possible, it be made completely from scratch. This is a philosophy I have attempted to instill in the readers of my column going as far back as my "Mixed Grill" days. It should come as no surprise that once again this year, I will champion another side dish you should be making yourself instead of purchasing. This week, I feature two of my own cranberry sauces, which are sure to become a new family tradition.

Well, I did it. Anyone who reads my column regularly knows I’ve been considering letting go of my little, red SUV. As much as I loved “Tara,” after nearly 13 years, she was a bit nerve-racking to drive.

Recently I discovered that I have thumbs. Wait. I mean I always knew I had thumbs, obviously, but I recently discovered that my thumbs were terrible at texting. I think it’s because my thumbs aren’t 17. They haven’t spent their entire existence clicking away on a phone. So when I text, I use a painstaking method called “hunt and peck” with one finger.

Last weekend, South Valley was bustling with wine lovers as visitors to the Wineries of the Santa Clara Valley Passport Weekend made their way to the area for the two-day event. Wine tasters arrived and ventured along the trail as they got to visit and taste at any of the 18 participating local wineries, and got their passports stamped to denote those they visited.

After years of writing this column, I sometimes feel a little cocky thinking I know virtually all the nearby parks and preserves. A couple weekends ago, I led a trip into the remote east side of Henry W. Coe State Park. A woman who was on the trip told me about a preserve I had never heard of in Watsonville that she loves and hikes regularly. So much for my comprehensive knowledge.

As the skies begin to open up and bless us with some rain, the reality is that our water supplies are so depleted that even a normal rain year would not be enough to end our local drought conditions. So we will all need to continue the water saving practices we have started. If it’s another dry year, we will need to save even more.

Despite the injection of more than $35,000 in the coffers of the campaign in favor of Measure F—mainly from developers and car dealers—Gilroy voters spoke and the half-cent sales tax increase fell short by more than 550 votes, based on unofficial semi-final results from the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.