By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Sunday I went to the Thurston County Fair to take photos of the animals, exhibits, and carnival.

It reminded me of growing up on a farm. We had our own apple ranch for about four years, and then, after tough times, my dad was the field manager for a large company that grew apples.

Prior to the 20th century, the typical American family lived on a small farm. They raised hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens, and planted corn, fruits, garden vegetables, hay, and wheat.

This began to change during the last half of the 1800s, and life was very different in the next century.

With the development laborsaving machinery and fertilizers and pesticides, farmers could grow more on each acre. Not as many farmers were needed. Many people left the farms and went to work in the cities.

Corporate farming, with government subsidies, took over a large part of the food market and gobbled up farmland.

We now have more city dwellers than people living in rural areas.

When I was growing up, I didn’t appreciate living in the country. I didn’t want to be a farmer. I wanted to be a professional and not work from dawn to dusk in food production like my parents did.

So I went to college and studied journalism, consumer economics, and public administration. I’ve enjoyed careers in these fields.

But now, I have a different opinion about farming. I think people can learn a lot from the agricultural environment and being involved in growing food.

Today, there are almost two million farms in the United States. About 80 percent of those are small farms, and a large percentage are family owned.

More and more of these farmers are now selling their products directly to the public. And the sales of organic food are climbing steadily.

I appreciate young people who are taking an interest in organic farming. I talk to them at our local farmers’ market.

They’re excited and proud to be working in organic farming. Many of them grew up in the city.

I hope that you have access to fresh, organic food in your area. I think this trend is positive in helping Americans get healthier food. We’ve gotten so far off track with the highly processed food grown by big agriculture and marketed by corporate America.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Throughout America, thousands of community festivals and events take place every year.

Community celebrations commemorate important historical or cultural events, regional developments, national leaders, the harvest, and the seasons. These events also can be organized as a time of thanksgiving or to honor the dead.

Community festivals draw tourists and may offer a way for cities and towns to make money.

In Olympia, Wash., where I live, Capital Lakefair is one of our biggest community festivals. This year was the 52nd celebration.

In 1957, to beat the heat and summer boredom, several Olympia businessmen sponsored a small carnival on the shores of Capitol Lake. Local non-profit service clubs ran food concession booths. Events during the carnival included a diving show, a hydroplane race, and fireworks.

A parade was added in 1959, and an arts and crafts show was added in 1986.

Today, the festival offers a way for local service organizations to raise money for their community projects.

Having not attended a Lakefair parade in years, I decided to go this year to take photos since I’m adding to my photo library for my blog.

A community custom is to begin putting folding chairs out along Capitol Way about three days in advance, often tied together with a rope so they aren’t stolen, to hold a place to watch the parade.

On Friday, I placed my chair on Capitol Way. Saturday I headed to it about 45 minutes before the parade. However, I couldn’t get near it. The road was already blocked because floats, bands, and other participants were lining up on Capitol Way.

I hiked about a half mile to reach my spot. I arrived just as the parade was beginning.

I had fun taking photos. And seeing the teenagers marching in bands and drill teams and riding on floats reminded me of my high school years.

I also took photos of fireworks on Sunday, which ended the five-day Lakefair celebration.

What festivals or events does your community offer? Do you attend? Why is it an enjoyable experience for you?

If you’re thinking of taking a trip or have one planned, here are articles and Web sites about community festivals and events to help you learn about them so you can attend one or more during your vacation.

Festivals.com

Festival Network Online

Festivals and Events

“Top 10 Festival Vacations – North America” – iExplore.com

“Festivals of Food” – Oprah.com

“Apple Festivals in the U.S., Canada, Britain, and Australia” – PickYourOwn.org

“Jazz” – Top Events USA

“Film Festivals” – filmfestivals.com

“What’s on in United States of America” – worldtravels

“World’s Wackiest Festivals” – Fodor’s

“Top 10 Bizarre Food Festivals” – Listverse

“Small Town Festivals” – National Scenic Byways Program

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Strawberries

My strawberry crop is waning now. I was great this year.

The amazing thing is that I didn’t plant a strawberry patch. Last year, somehow, a nice thicket of strawberries appeared in my front yard. They must have come from the container of strawberries I had in the backyard.

The strawberries are right next to a patch of wild strawberries I’ve had for years. It was amazing to gaze down at the plants and see plump strawberries instead of the cone-shaped wild strawberry shape.

It’s been a treat to eat handfuls of strawberries daily before I set out to do gardening and yard work.

Raspberries

I’m still harvesting bowls of raspberries from my raspberry patch.

About five years ago, I bought a single raspberry plant at the Olympia Food Coop. Since then, it’s turned into a raspberry patch.

I’ve frozen two quarts and nine pints of raspberries. Since I’m making it a priority this year to grow food, I’m freezing any raspberries that I don’t eat off the plants.

Mulberries

After several days of rain last week, I went out into my yard and was surprised to see my mulberry tree in full production.

Unfortunately, most of the berries this year are up high, requiring climbing a ladder to pick them. I’ve picked one colander full, and they’re freezing on trays right now. Tomorrow, I’ll put them in jars.

What do you do with mulberries? See my article “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Tree.”

I think I’ll try a mulberry pie made with stevia, a natural sweetener.

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and other berries are good for your health. See my article “Blueberries, Raspberries, Other Berries Enhance Health” for details.

I’m having such joy in my yard with the sunshine, which is often lacking in the rainy Pacific Northwest, and wonderful, delicious berries. It’s especially enjoyable after working hard planting a garden this year to grow more of my own food.

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By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and thrive Boomer Guide

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is fining nine children’s product manufacturers, importers, and sellers who have agreed to pay more than $500,000 in civil penalties for violating the federal lead paint ban.

The penalties settle charges that the firms knowingly manufactured, imported, or sold toys and other children’s articles with paint or other surface coatings that contained lead levels in violation of federal law. The commission has provisionally accepted the settlements.

Michael’s Store writing pens

These products were recalled in 2007 and 2008, and include items such as toys, children’s metal jewelry, children’s pens, metal water bottles, pencil pouches, sunglasses, and children’s Halloween pails and baskets.

Tests showed that paint or surface coatings on these children’s products contained lead in excess of 600 ppm, or 0.06 percent, by weight.

One firm’s testing revealed that its products contained surface coatings with nearly 60 percent lead.

In 1978, a federal ban was put in place that prohibited toys and other children’s articles from having more than 0.06 percent lead by weight in paints or surface coatings.

Lead can be toxic if ingested by young children and can cause health problems.

The commission has ordered the following firms to pay civil penalties to the federal government:

• Cardinal Distributing Co. Inc., of Baltimore, Md., $100,000, Recall No. 07-157

• Dollar General Corp., of Goodlettsville, Tenn., $100,000, Recalls No. 08-007, No. 08-068, and No. 08-080

• Family Dollar Stores Inc., of Matthews, N.C., $75,000, Recall No. 08-051

• Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., of Oklahoma City, Okla., $50,000, Recalls No. 08-084 and No. 08-229

• First Learning Co. Ltd., of Hong Kong, $50,000, Recalls No. 08-141 and No. 08-174

• Michaels Stores Inc., of Irving, Texas, $45,000, Recall No. 08-248

• A&A Global Industries Inc., of Cockeysville, Md., $40,000, Recall No. 07-144

• Raymond Geddes & Co., of Baltimore, Md., $40,000, Recall No. 08-096

• Downeast Concepts Inc., of Yarmouth, Maine, $30,000, Recall No. 08-231

Downeast Concepts metal water bottles

In agreeing to settle the matters, the firms deny the commission’s allegations that they knowingly violated the law.

The commission is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to thse product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell the agency about it by visiting www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Currently, seven federal regulatory agencies are charged with protecting consumers in the financial services marketplace. Five of these agencies also oversee the soundness of financial institutions.

President Obama is proposing that a new federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency be created to ensure the safety and fairness of credit.

The agency would have the authority to ensure that credit and payment products don’t have predatory or deceptive features that can harm consumers or lock them into unaffordable loans.

The president’s proposal would consolidate most federal financial consumer protection efforts into a single agency.

The new agency would oversee all credit and payment products, no matter what kind of financial institution offers them. It would be charged with setting high federal minimum standards, which would allow the states to impose tougher requirements if warranted.

Consumer groups support the creation of the agency and made these statements about its value:

Travis Plunkett, legislative director, Consumer Federation of America. The international economic crisis was triggered by the failure of federal regulators to stop abusive lending, particularly in the housing sector. If the president’s proposal had been in place five years ago, this agency would have been able to better protect consumers, financial institutions, and the entire economy.

Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director, U.S. PIRG. Too often, captive federal banking regulators have treated consumer protection as less important or even in conflict with their supposed primary mission to ensure the safety and soundness of financial institutions. The president’s proposal would streamline and dramatically improve the current splintered, ineffective federal financial regulatory system because the new agency would be required to make consumer credit protection its top priority.

Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel, Consumers Union. The days of allowing financial institutions to shop around for the weakest form of regulation are over. Under the president’s proposal, the only regulatory competition that would exist would be to increase consumer protections.

Linda Sherry, Consumer Action. The economic crisis has caused a painful loss of confidence in financial products and institutions. It appears that no one was minding the store. We support the creation of a new agency with powers to cut through the web of financial regulations and strengthen consumer protections. We need a watchdog to restore consumer confidence and increase the availability of innovative financial products to promote wealth building and access to capital for all communities.

Lauren K. Saunders, managing attorney, National Consumer Law Center. We need to get back to old-fashioned values like safe, affordable products that the good old Main Street banker used to offer. Consumers should not have to fear that the fine print of their mortgage or credit card is loaded with hidden tricks and traps that will explode on them.

Kathleen Keest, Center for Responsible Lending. This plan represents a leap forward in addressing regulatory failures that led to today’s financial crisis. By having a strong agency with the explicit mission of preventing abusive lending, we’ll ultimately build a stronger economy and restore confidence in the credit markets.

David Arkush, director, Public Citizen’s Congress Watchdivision. We urge Congress to act quickly on the president’s proposal so a strong, independent agency is in place to protect consumers in the financial services marketplace by next year.

Urge your members of Congress in the House and Senate to support this worthwhile consumer protection proposal today.

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