Opinion

I used to love the first weekend of autumn. Now I loathe it.

While I’m a bit sad that summer has ended, I’m looking forward to fall and the schedule getting into a more regular routine. However, I also know life will continue to be busy with fall activities. Last week I was at a conference, and one of the topics was cook once and eat twice, or freezing food for later use. I enjoy cooking and freezing food to use later, so I spent some time in my kitchen a couple of weeks ago preparing some meals for the freezer.

Dear Neil: We have what we are told are ragweed and goldenrod that bloom along the creek near our house in falls when there is rain. These are photos from prior years. Will both of these cause allergies? Is there any way to get cities to control them?

The boys of summer are gearing up for the home stretch, and it is time for those gridiron warriors to take center stage. And what better way to cheer on your favorite team than with hearty food. Football soup is as much a warrior for your table as those boys on the field. It will tackle your tastebuds as if it were fourth and goal, but will cheer you on to make a comeback. Football soup is not just a soup, but is chock full of my favorite food. This creamy concoction is all about the cheese, but we throw in a little beer for good measure. And to top it off, we have bacon! The duct tape of the kitchen just makes this soup even better. Fitting in with our Southwest fare, this recipe calls for a jalapeno too. So, we get the best of everything in one bowl - cheese, bacon, spiciness - what more could you ask for.

“No problem.” That is how I used to reply to people who thanked me for holding the door open for them or for offering some other small gesture. I don’t know where I got into the habit of saying this to people, but I do not say it anymore.

The National Football League has started its second century as the gridiron world’s highest achievable professional level. Formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, it rebranded itself in 1922 as the NFL.

Growing up in West Texas, I once had the most beautiful night of my life. Or, if it wasn’t the most beautiful night, it surely was one of them. My father taught me about the stars in the sky when I was pretty young, and as grew older I became fascinated with the stars. When I was a teenager, I joined an astronomy club, and a friend of mine and I would stay up most of the night in my back yard with our telescopes, and look at the moon, the planets, and what we could see of the fuzzy things called galaxies and nebulas. Back then in my back yard, you could see the Milky Way, our galaxy. Then, as I got a little older, I learned that there was a really important place for astronomy in West Texas. It was in the heart of the Davis Mountains, and it was called McDonald Observatory. I learned that at McDonald Observatory there was a really big telescope. Its glass mirror was 14 times bigger than the one in my little telescope, and astronomers there could see things farther out in space than I ever dreamed you could see. We went there, and I was amazed by the astronomers.

Dear Neil: I have planted several Esperanza plants in various places around our yard. All they have done is grow quite tall. I have tried cutting them down to three to four feet, but it didn’t help to get them to bloom. Still no flowers at all, even though they’re in full sun. What can I do?

The week of Sept. 23-28 is Eating Together Week with your children and family. Parents and children have busy schedules, going in different directions, and eating at different times. Why is eating together so important?