Health

So, I thought my Christmas shopping was done, and then I realized that I had forgotten to buy a present for our dog, Nutmeg. Wanting to stick close to home, I decided to take a “quick” trip to our local K-mart, whose parking lot has been woefully empty since the Giant Eagle moved out a few months…

Recently I was contacted by Julissa Arangure, community-outreach professional at Shari’s Berries. She had seen that I completed the 100 Happy Days challenge. Julissa wanted to share a blog post on that ran on their site called, “50 Ways to Cheer Someone Up When They Need a Smile.” She thought I might like to share the post with my…

Recently, I fell while running in my basement and broke my right wrist. Yes, you read that right. I run [ran] 5K in an oval in my basement three times a week, because I’m afraid of falling off a treadmill or tripping in a pothole outside. . . That morning, I caught my toe on…

Last weekend, we watched the latest Netflix DVD.com arrival, Gleason. This documentary, about retired New Orleans Saints defensive back, Steve Gleason, is a love letter to his son, and so much more. It’s a story of courage, hope, and grit. Diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in 2011, Gleason began a video diary for his then unborn child, and…

If you’re like many folks, there’s a point in winter where you hit a wall. The holidays are over, the Super Bowl has been won, and the sun is playing hard to get. Spring seems so very far away. We all know the traditional ways to stay healthy during winter, take your vitamins, get a…

My husband is quite the genealogist. He’s always following hints on Ancestry.com, scrolling through old, imaged documents, and updating his Italian family tree. We even traveled to Italy a few years ago to walk the same narrow streets his grandparents did at the beginning of the 20thcentury. Recently, a distant relative from Cranston, RI, contacted…

I’m a worrier. I always have been, but over the years, I’ve gotten much better. I’m not sure if it’s just my becoming more mature, or reading books like Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now, that have eased my anxiety, but I definitely spend less time worrying these days and more time enjoying life. If you’re…

Considering castor-oil packs? If you’ve ever heard of castor oil itself, you might think of an old-time remedy having something to do with digestion. If you’re of a certain age, you might remember children enduring occasional doses of castor oil, to keep them “regular” or even as a punishment. While some people still ingest castor…

At least seven celebrities have vowed to leave the USA, if a Republican is elected president. This type of attitude can destroy America. The degree of division in the United States makes it unlikely that our country will be able to prevail over the long term. Republicans against Democrats. Liberals against conservatives. America is in…

Here are seven bits of inspiration from the documentary, Martha of Lattimore, about Martha Mason, paralyzed by polio, who lived in an iron lung for more than six decades. Why am I sharing this list with you? I recently saw a post on Facebook about the iron lung, a massive mechanism invented to breathe for people who had become…