Age can have its advantages when you travel. One specifically is Elderhostel Adventures Inc.
If you want learning, adventure and fun all in one package, Elderhostel offers more than 8,000 programs each year in more than 90 countries, including several getaways in Missouri. The non-profit organization offers an all-inclusive price for its programs, which include lodging and food at a lower cost than you would find in traditional travel packages. The only catch is you must be at least 55 years old, or be with someone who is, to participate.

General Mills has come out with a new way to eat its popular Chex Mix — bars. They are being promoted as a “crunchy, chewy, calorie-conscious snack that packs indulgence into every bite, yet has less than 150 calories.” With at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving, combined with pretzels, nuts, chocolate and caramel, it sounds like a great idea. I personally love sweet and salty combinations, and Chex is one of my favorite cereals. But I think General Mills needs to go back to the drawing board.

Farmers' markets for Oct. 1, 2008

A star was born at the Lakes at Oakmont subdivision in Platte City, Mo. An Energy Star, that is.
It’s a home built by Gary Kerns Homebuilders LLC in St. Joseph, and it’s one of the first to receive the Energy Star rating from Platte Clay Electric Coop, a rural electric cooperative that serves a six-county area north of Kansas City.
Although they are rare in this area, homes with this designation are increasing and are expected to approach 1 million nationally by the end of the year, says Sam Rashkin, national director of Energy Star for homes. The program was launched by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1995.

Lara Muse was looking for a hospital table to put by her bed so she could work on her laptop computer during a difficult pregnancy. Steve Allen happened to have one in his basement that he didn’t want.
Even though they both live in St. Joseph, they would never have known about each other’s situation just a few years ago. But thanks to the advent of stjoefreecycle.com, Ms. Mose now has the table, and Mr. Allen has less clutter in his basement at no cost to either of them. Stjoefreecycle.com is a local online community of The Freecycle Network, a nonprofit movement of people all over the world who are giving and getting with no strings attached. The main goal is to keep things out of the landfill by keeping usable things from being thrown away.

As Oprah likes to say, here are a few things I know for sure: We need to eat healthy meals if we want to feel good. And if you are busy working all day, that means planning ahead. But this I also know: stuff happens. So I don’t always plan ahead, my family is starving when I come home, and chips and snacks can be opened in seconds. So I was very anxious to try a new line of time-saving, family-size entrées from Stouffer’s called Easy Express. The claim is that you can take the entrées directly from the freezer, put them into the microwave and they will be done in less than 20 minutes. They also have no preservatives. I tried the cheesy garlic lasagna and cheese manicotti.

Religion in brief for Sept. 27, 2008

So you can’t make it to Munich this year to celebrate their annual Oktoberfest. You can head to the next best thing: Oktoberfest at Crown Center and Washington Square Park in Kansas City.

You could say Galvin’s Dinnerhouse is like the St. Joseph version of Stroud’s in Kansas City. Although there are certainly differences in decor and some menu items, they both pride themselves on tender, pan-fried chicken served up family style in a down-home setting. And they’ve both been around long enough to get pretty good at what they do.

Need a recipe? Literally thousands of them are as close as your fingertips with just a click of the mouse on the Internet. That’s in addition to all of the new cookbooks every year on bookstore shelves, plus different selections every day in magazines and newspapers.
So you might wonder, why anyone would go to the trouble of making their own cookbook?
For Veda Heldenbrand of Gallatin, Mo., the reason is family. You could Google all day and never find Mrs. Heldenbrand’s secret recipe for salmon patties or her mother-in-law’s recipe for scalloped tomatoes.