With the spring season underway, we’re sure many of us are itching to get outside and enjoy the long-awaited bright, sunny days. And there are plenty of ways for you to enjoy the outdoors this spring – walking in the park or around the neighborhood, playing golf, visiting the local zoo. But there’s another springtime activity that you can do right in your own backyard: gardening! Tending to Your Garden AND Your Health
Did you know that just 30 to 45 minutes of gardening activity, such as mowing the lawn, weeding and planting flowers, burns up to 200 calories? As an added bonus, gardening can also improve your strength, mobility and endurance. Even though gardening is a great way to tend to your health, it’s important to be aware of the following garden safety tips for seniors so you can stay safe and benefit your health.
Safety First!
When it comes to staying safe in your garden, it’s important to go back to the basics. Before you even begin gardening, take a look at any safety hazards that may be hiding in your yard, such as broken steps, roots, etc. To prevent trips and falls, wear properly-fitted clothing that isn’t too long or baggy along with gloves and sturdy shoes with good traction. And don’t forget about insect repellant to keep those pesky bugs away!
Inspect Your Gardening Tools
Along with checking your lawn and garden for any safety hazards, inspecting your gardening tools is another thing you should do before you start gardening. Make sure all of your tools and equipment is working properly, and if needed, carefully sharpen tools before use. To avoid other accidents, use lightweight tools that are easy to handle.
Fun in the Sun
Gardening is certainly a fun way to get some exercise, but while you’re having fun in the sun, it’s important to remember some sun safety tips. To prevent sunburn and skin cancer, wear long sleeves, long pants, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed hat. Remember to reapply sunscreen (with SPF 15 or higher) and drink plenty of water if you’re in the sun for long periods of time.
Keep your Medical Alert Device with You
It can be easy to forget that accidents can happen anywhere – even in your own backyard. All of Medical Guardian’s medical alert systems provide guaranteed, round-the-clock protection both inside and around your home, so you know that you can still get help should you fall or experience another emergency in your garden.
Make it Fun!
Gardening may be a form of exercise, but that certainly doesn’t mean you can’t have fun doing it! Be sure to vary your daily gardening activities to keep it fun and to get the most health benefits. Enlist the help of family, friends or even neighbors to add a social component to gardening – this is also a great way to pass on your gardening wisdom to the next generation!
Above all, listen to your body. Know your limitations, and do what is reasonable and safe for you. Just keep these garden safety tips for seniors in mind, and both your garden and your health will bloom in no time!
-Meghan Orner
Medical Guardian
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Links:
http://www.cdc.gov/family/gardening/
https://www.medicalguardian.com/medical-alert-blog/health-wellness/summer-sun-protection-checking-for-skin-cancer-
Home & Family
Owning a pet can be a wonderful and rewarding experience. When you adopt a dog or a cat you have the opportunity to offer them a loving future. There is nothing like walking in your front door and being greeted by a happy, slobbering puppy. Few things are more comforting than sitting on the couch and having your cat quietly crawl up into your lap. Beneficial Pet Medications
Animals get sick just like people do, but the problem is they can’t tell you their symptoms. That is why it is important to take your dog or cat straight to the vet whenever anything seems out of the ordinary. Here are a few beneficial pet medications that you might encounter the next time your special friend is feeling under the weather.
Novox (carpofen) Caplets
There are several different occasions when your veterinarian might prescribe your dog Novox caplets. For one, they might help to reduce pain after your dog has had orthopedic or soft tissue surgery. More commonly, however, your vet will recommend Novox for dogs that suffer from osteoarthritis.
Arthritis in dogs is becoming almost as common as it is in humans. Part of this is due to over-breeding, but the main reason is that because of advances in veterinary technology, dogs are simply living to an older age these days. This medication will help to reduce inflammation in the joints and can also help to reduce pain.
In many instances, your vet will recommend a glucosamine product in addition to anti-inflammatory medicine. The Novox will help to reduce pain at the moment, but the glucosamine will help prevent it from getting worse.
Cosequin Soft Chews
Human beings will often use a glucosamine and chondroitin supplement to help maintain full functionality in their joints. Veterinarians have now developed similar supplements designed specifically for dogs.
Cosequin is administered to provide cartilage support to pets who suffer from arthritis. Even if your dog doesn’t have arthritis, you can talk to your vet and see if a glucosamine and chondroitin supplement like Cosequin can help to prevent it from developing in the future.
Cosequin is convenient because you can administer the chewable tablet with food. The best way to get your pet to swallow it is to wrap it up in a piece of cheese and pretend you are giving them a special treat. Just make sure they swallow the medicine and don’t just eat the good stuff and spit out the pill.
Amitriptyline Tablets
It can be frightening when your cat starts exhibiting erratic behavior. Grooming is normal, but sometimes cats do it so excessively that they can hurt themselves. Other times you might catch them spraying urine around the house. And sometimes you can just tell that they are going through separation anxiety every time you walk out the door.
Cats go through mental problems just like human beings do. Amitriptyline is a drug that can treat many of these behavioral problems in your cat. Not only can it help to curb behavior issues, but your vet may also prescribe it to reduce chronic pain from a nerve injury or to treat inflammation from a urinary tract infection. As with any medication regiment, be sure to talk to your veterinarian first to see if these tablets are right for your cat.
Gabapentin Capsules and Tablets
The first time you see your pet go through a seizure can be a frightening experience. Living with an epileptic pet can also make you nervous all the time. What if you are at the dog park and your pup suffers a seizure? Will it freak out the other dogs and lead them to attack your pet?
Gabapentin is a medication that is designed to help control seizures in cats or dogs. Sometimes your vet may also prescribe this drug to reduce chronic pain from a recent surgery or due to arthritis. For seizure control, your vet will normally recommend that you administer the drug three times every day. However, if you are only using it for a pain reducer, then you might only have to give it to your dog or cat once or twice a day.
The responsibilities that come with having a pet are well worth the rewards. When you do everything in your power to keep your dog or cat happy and healthy, they will be sure to repay you with unconditional love for years to come.
Do you remember when you were raising that houseful of kids? It seemed that there was never a moment’s peace for you. Of course, as a parent you like being with your children. But when you got home from a long days work, sometimes a little peace and quiet was what you were hoping for rather than a chorus of needs, demands, complaints and requirements for litigation of their petty squabbles. But that’s what you got and you were dad so you took care of business for your family. Change of Life Seasons
In our senior years, we have the opposite problem from getting too much of the kids. The challenge you have which is a universal problem seniors go through, is how to get more of the kids not less. There are plenty of enticements to make you want to see them more. They are grown up now so when you see them, it’s like visiting with a friend rather than mentoring a youth. They are the adults now so they might even pick up the tab at the restaurant from time to time. And of course, there is that one magical world that draws to you want to see your children all the time– grandchildren.
So how do you go about enticing those kids to invite you over? You don’t want it to be something they do out of guilt. You want winning not whining when it comes to finding ways to make them want to see you as much as you want to see them.
Whining is universally ineffective. Nonetheless, if you poll other seniors, the guilt and whining and guilt method of trying to get their kids attention seems to be the mode of the day. A better way to create that same desire in your kids to see you is to be to them who they want you to be – wise old granddad and sweet loving grandma.
If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, that principle certainly applies when it comes to your children and grandchildren. And your kids, no matter how great their married life is, have warm memories of your apple pie or that special smell of cinnamon roles that only mom can make. So bake for them often and let them know the kitchen is always open at grandma’s house and moochers are honored guests here.
Sometimes it gets overlooked in the hubbub of raising a family but your children will always need their mommy and daddy. If the door is open for them to call you or drop by for a glass of wine and some sage counsel, they will come through that door. Don’t be pushy and don’t be whiney about it. But if you gently check in with them and when you hear that special tone in your offspring’s voice that is quietly saying, “Daddy I need help”, you have a special coded phrase you can use to bring them to you.
For me, whenever my kids needed me but were too proud or too much a “teenager” to ask, I just said softly and lovingly, “What’s eating you, Sweetpea?” That phrase said it all. It said that the court of wise counsel was open for business and that this was an ear that would listen before it spoke and never judge you no matter what a mess you may have gotten yourself into.
Then there is that magic word we spoke of earlier – grandchildren. Those little bundles of energy love to see grandpa and grandma. So by keeping the door open to them, your kids will find ways to get their little ones over to see you. Whether its for the cookies or the counsel or the chance for the little ones to hear grandpa’s jokes or for your daughter in law to learn your secret for growing prize winning tomatoes, you have some bait to lure those kids to come see you. So use that bait to entice them to see you. And the more they find grandmas house is a place of fun and love, the more they will love to come over. Change of Life Seasons
The question of whether to resurface or repave your asphalt driveway may be difficult to answer when you don’t know exactly when to do either of this. Contacting an Atlanta asphalt paving company would be beneficial for they can provide you with appropriate answers to questions. However, for those who want to develop a keen eye in identifying the right time to resurface or repave their asphalt driveway, read on: When To Resurface Your Driveway
Maintenance is not a guarantee
This is not to say that maintenance is not essential because the fact remains that it is. It plays a significant role in prolonging the life and integrity of your driveway. However, heat, ultra-violet rays and other factors (oil, gas and grease) have a cunning way of damaging your driveway, despite vigilant maintenance efforts. Thus, creating cracks that allows water to penetrate the base of the driveway.
A corroded, worn-out and cracked driveway will warrant you to contact an Atlanta asphalt paving company to do the resurfacing job on your driveway, much more if the condition is severe enough.
Understanding Driveway Cracks
Asphalt is naturally hard and brittle and is thus prone to developing cracks over time. Cracks, no matter how small are generous enough to let water in. Cracks and water work hand in hand to wreck havoc on the once smooth asphalt driveway.
Be vigilant about asphalt driveway damage especially after winter season since water that seeps into the cracks expand as it turns into ice. And In the process, it damages your driveway more.
The larger the crack, the soonest you need to fix it if you don’t want to see your driveway deteriorate 100%. Once the latter happens, you will have to ask an Atlanta asphalt paving contractor to repave instead of resurface you driveway.
When do you need a new driveway?
Typically, it all depends on the existing condition of the base layers or foundation of the driveway. As a general rule, if 3/4 of the driveway is plagued with cracks, resurfacing won’t do the trick. An Atlanta asphalt paving contractor would tell you that the root of the problem is in the base of the asphalt and it would need a complete overhaul.
Other signs that suggest the need to install a new driveway include the following:
- If it keeps on deteriorating prematurely despite your effort to resurface it will hot mix asphalt. This is indicative of a damaged driveway foundation.
- Presence of depressions or mounds warrants complete reconstruction from the base.
If you ask any Atlanta asphalt paving contactor, they would tell you that an asphalt driveway typically lasts for 15-20 years, 25 even if properly maintained. However, be aware that extreme weather conditions, regular exposure to extra-heavy loads and improper installation (shortcuts during construction) can lead to premature wear and failure of an asphalt driveway. So, once cracks and other effects of wear and tear start to manifest themselves, call an asphalt paving contractor to fix things as soon as possible.
As more people turn to online purchases to access a world of diversified products, shoppers gain enhanced value from the items they buy. Such shopping versatility can create a form of information overload, prompting some shoppers to abandon items in their virtual shopping carts while they consider their options. To encourage customers to finalize their purchases, some online stores have simplified the process by offering a single click buying option, and scammers have taken notice. Single click purchases cost more than you think
Single click scammers prey on those who don’t examine the details of an item by lowering the cost of their wares significantly below the competition. A scammer will then increase shipping costs far above what it would take to transport the item, hoping an enthusiastic shopper won’t notice. When shoppers see the surprisingly low prices for the items they’re seeking, they might choose to quickly grab the deals before they’re gone without reading all of the details on the listing. The single button purchase option helps speed up this process. Later on, when shoppers receive their monthly banking statements, they’re shocked to see the dramatically higher costs of the items they ordered. That’s because they failed to see the inflated cost of shipping for the items before pressing the single click purchase button.
A virtual shopping cart allows a person to see the details of a purchase before finalizing a transaction. The price of the item, shipping expense, and taxes are calculated to form a bottom line cost that a shopper can evaluate before agreeing to a purchase. Think of a shopping cart as a “Are you sure you want to do this” button. It helps create a sort of cooling off period that gives a person extra time to think twice about whether or not making the purchase is the right decision. It also allows a person to see if the costs on screen are what that individual expects. Single click purchases cost more than you think
An additional benefit of using a shopping cart instead of a single click purchasing options is the reduced number of “I want it” purchases from kids and grandkids. If you lend a child your smartphone, tablet PC or other computing device, and the single click purchasing option is switched on, a child who sees an amazing item or app for sale could tap the purchase button to instantly make that desire a reality. Keeping the option switched off will make the purchase more difficult to execute and could prevent unexpected charges on your credit card statement.
Always take the extra time to evaluate a purchase before finalizing a deal. Never sign up for the single click purchasing option and always evaluate the details of a purchase, including shipping costs, before committing yourself to it.
By Rod Spurgeon
ownyourdefense.net
Single click purchases cost more than you think
Are you someone who likes to continually learn new things for professional and personal growth? If you answered “yes,” then you are likely a lifelong learner. Fitting this positive attribute into today’s busy lifestyles can be challenging. Distance learning through online classes provides a flexible, affordable and economical way to achieve your educational goals. Online Classes for the Lifelong Learner
Simply put, learning that takes place outside the confines of a typical classroom environment – where you and the source of the information are separated by time, distance or both – can be defined as distance learning. For working adults it provides flexibility that makes possible the expansion of your knowledge base regardless of income, disability or age.
Online courses offered by colleges and universities cover the same subject matter taught in traditional classrooms, often by the same professors, and are growing in popularity. Online courses can provide you with energizing, interactive discussions with fellow students and instructors. Like those in classroom-based courses, you pay tuition and appropriate fees and may submit written assignments and take tests in order to receive grades and college credit.
Credit-by-examination programs offer motivated, independent learners the ability to study a specific subject matter at their own pace and then demonstrate mastery of the topic by taking an exam to earn college credit. You can prepare for exams using a variety of sources including standard textbooks, on-the-job training, and “open courseware” or college-level course material made available online for free by some of the nation’s top education providers. Regardless of the source, once confident in your preparation, you take an examination at one of the hundreds of secure facilities available around the country. To earn college credit for the successful completion of exams, it is important to make sure the exams have been recognized by the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT). Examples of these include, Excelsior College Examinations (ECE’s), UExcel Exams, CLEP and DSST.
Portfolio assessments offer you the ability to complete a formal process called Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). The PLA approach offers you the opportunity to have your knowledge, regardless of where or how it was learned, evaluated by faculty members who will determine an equivalent level of college credit that could be awarded for knowledge demonstrated in the portfolio. One recent study conducted by the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL), found that 56 percent of students utilizing PLA continued on to earn their associate or bachelor’s degree, compared to 21 percent for their non-PLA peers.
Most adult learners combine two or more of these avenues to achieve their educational goals. Most important is that distance learning offers options that are flexible and academically challenging to meet the needs of any committed adult learner, especially those with some college but no degree.
Provided by: ARA
Seniors: What is your Aim in Life?
We know that if we don’t take care of our health we could become ill and have to deal with various medical conditions. We know that if we don’t treat people well they are not going to want to be around us. We also know that if we don’t have things to do we will become bored and boring. We are aware that if we don’t look after our relationships they will eventually fall apart. These are all things that we do have control over and can do something about.
With all the information that’s readily available we really don’t have an excuse to say we don’t know how to take care of our health. Eating healthy regular meals and having adequate exercise is important as well as getting regular medical checkups. We need to make ourselves and our needs a priority so that we are able to enjoy the fruits of our labor and are able to enjoy whatever we decide we want to do during our retirement years, no matter whether they are existing hobbies or new interests.
Is your aim in life to help others by volunteering in some capacity or teaching something you excel at to others, will you help a neighbor that maybe can’t get out and about by helping keeping their garden tidy or picking up groceries for them? Will you do more for you?
Twenty years ago if you asked what people will do in their retirement you would have been told by most, gardening, do it yourself projects, reading, and looking after the grandchildren. Today’s seniors are much more adventurous they want to do things like starting their own business, the over 50 singles want to date, others drive their motor cycles, or a sporty convertible, and traveling to exotic places for adventure vacations.
Seniors also have a thirst for knowledge and want to learn new things. They are choosing to learn the internet, play a musical instrument like learn and master guitar, or play piano keyboard, they want to learn to dance and many decide to learn how to paint or learn a new language.
Your health, fitness level, financial situation and personal preferences will be a good indicator as to what you can actually do; from there you need to make your own choices. You can take your camper to local fishing spots to find some rest and relaxation there, or, you maybe you’ve decided you’ll learn to snorkel and explore the coral reefs and colorful fish in some exotic location, or maybe surfing lessons at a surfers Paradise. You may choose to tour and play some of the world’s most popular golf courses or you can practice to get a the proper golf swing using a medicus trainer and then play at local golf courses. On the other hand just have many seniors have done for ever, you can garden, read, or babysit your grandkids and that’s good too. Whatever your heart desires, but please do something fun that you enjoy for your health and sanity.
Author Bio: Shirley is a grandmother that enjoys travel, dancing, golf, learning new things as well as spending time with her grandchildren. She has written a number of articles for the over 50s group. She has developed and presented a program on planning a life in Retirement. Shirley is the publisher of www.lifebydesignover50.com a website for the over 50s.
Everyone goes through times in their life where they end up feeling emotional. Sometimes, there’s a clear reason for the emotions you’re feeling, while other times there doesn’t seem to be a cause. Even though it may seem like there isn’t a reason, there is one. You just need to figure out what it is, and then find a way to solve whatever it is that is bothering you. Why You’re Feeling Emotional
How to Identify the Reasons for Feeling Emotional
Often times, when men think of “feeling emotional” they think of it as crying, but it can be any emotion.
For women, loss can be a factor in emotions as well. All of the reasons men might feel sad, mad, etc. can be the same for women. An additional reason can be hormones, though. Hormone fluctuations can cause women to feel emotional throughout the month, especially right before their menstrual cycle. This doesn’t mean women don’t have a reason for feeling the way they do – it just means they may more sensitive to what is going on around them.
Besides hormones, there are other reasons women feel more emotional than men, sometimes. Women feel differently about things than men. Women can be affected by news stories, television programs, and stories they hear from friends and family. All of this information they receive can spark emotions inside of them that can be overwhelming. This is what can cause them to feel emotion overload.
How to Feel Better Emotionally
You can do a lot to feel better emotionally. The first thing is to be specific about what is bothering you. Take a step back from your life to see what isn’t right about it. When you can identify what you’re displeased with, you can start to consider what you can do about it. Problem solving the situation can take some effort and when you’re dealing with an abundance of emotions, it can be difficult to come to solutions.
Personal consulting can help you with that. By discussing the problems or situations that are causing you to feel emotional, you can start to see things in a different way. A personal consultant can point out things that you may not have considered that could help you come up with solutions for whatever is bothering you right now.
Personal consulting sessions are available throughout the week. Simply reach out to Kendall Van Blarcom – an experienced personal consultant – for more information on getting help for how you’re feeling. This can be one of the best methods for emotional healing.
Finding a Good Hobby
The purpose of a hobby is to allow you to explore an interest and even build an expertise in an facet of life that you follow for the sheer joy of learning and engaging in that activity. You have no interest in making your living at that hobby and for most of us that do build up a hobby life, to earn money at it would ruin the fun of it. You want to be able to go after that hobby at your own pace and “do it your way” without the nuisance of a boss or someone telling you that you are doing it wrong.
Many hobbies are recreational activities. Golf, bowling, pool or playing poker are such hobbies. And each of these are the kind of pastimes that require dedication to get good at them. And once you have your expertise up, you get a real gratification from competing in that sport and demonstrating that your years of devotion and the time you put into that hobby were wroth the effort.
There is just a certain satisfaction to becoming so completely lost in a hobby that time disappears and before you know it, a day can go by and you didn’t even know it. That kind of mental absorption keeps your mind sharp and functioning which is good for your health in many ways. And many hobbies are just that time consuming and just that fascinating.
If you have a flair for the technical and mechanical, Ham Radio is a hobby that seems to become a passion for those who become enthusiasts. The joy of Ham Radio is being able to communicate around the world through this private network that anyone can join. And Ham Radio operators have at times proven valuable in communications during time of national crisis when perhaps other forms of communications were not available.
To find that perfect hobby, look within at areas of fascination that you never got a chance to express and explore. If you cannot get enough of history, the civil war or the renaissance, reenactment and renaissance fairs give you the chance to all but travel back in time and enjoy the feel of being part of that era in history. If theater is your passion, dozens of local theater groups will take all the time you can give even if you don’t have an acting bone in your body. And enjoying even a simple level of involvement in the theater like putting together posters or painting sets can be just as exciting as getting out in front of an audience.
The key is to find something you love and find others who love it too. This is the great thing about hobbies. There is almost always someone out there who is just as fascinated by this field of interest and probably a whole society who are just as able to see a day or a weekend disappear becoming absorbed in their hobby. So throwing yourself into your passion also opens doors of social interaction with others who may not be senior citizens and that is refreshing.
The benefits of getting involved in a time consuming hobby are many. You do need to use some common sense and balance so you take care of your health and spend time with family and friends. But that leaves plenty of time to be obsessed with your hobby and have all the fun that this kind of pastime can bring to you.