It’s the stuff of nightmares for every child of an elderly parent – the phone call in the middle of the night or the middle of your work day: “Your father fell. Your mother’s just not quite right. We think there’s something wrong.” And suddenly, there you are, with a parent who needs a new […]
Special Issues
Posted inSpecial Issues
Finding the best home for Mom and Dad
There are many factors that must be taken into consideration when helping one’s aging parents find an appropriate place to live. A growing number of retirement communities and assisted living apartment complexes have sprouted up in the Springfield area, offering a variety of non-nursing home options with a variety of services, atmospheres and price ranges. […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Start new family holiday traditions
My 19-year-old niece informed me of my responsibility for her belief for several years since she was six years old that people got pregnant by eating pickles. Why, I asked? Because when she was six years old and I was seven months pregnant, I ate a pickle in front of her. Kids remember the darnedest […]
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Teaching a generation to be generous
Recently 12-year-old Alexia Blakeman made headlines with Courageous Kaydie, a paper doll she created to honor a friend of her grandmother’s who was stricken with breast cancer. Over the last year she has raised more than $800 for breast cancer research by encouraging people to pay $1 to have their picture taken with her paper […]
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The best gifts you can give the kids
As the weather turns colder, we begin to realize that the holidays are soon approaching. Christmas items are already on display and a few people have even started their holiday shopping. Many people are asking, “Where did the year go? I can’t believe the holidays are here again already.” Often, the holidays become hectic, […]
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There’s more to know about breastfeeding
We’ve all heard that “breast is best.” Yet despite vast amounts of data on the benefits of breastmilk to infants, only 47 percent of babies are still breastfed at age six months, and only 25 percent are breastfed at one year. Why are these numbers so low, especially in light of the fact that […]
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Financing a home improvement project
After years of funny financing and few limitations on loans, banks and other lenders have tightened up their lending policies. As a result, homeowners considering a home improvement project might need to look elsewhere to secure financing. There are no certainties in the real estate markets. Though statistics suggest marked improvement in home sales over […]
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Fall gardening activites
Although summer may be drawing to a close, gardening time is far from over, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “Fall is the ideal time for some kinds of planting and for preparing for next year’s garden,” explained Candice Miller. She suggests several fall activities that can be done to lengthen the summer […]
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Conserve water with rain barrels
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, lawn and garden watering makes up nearly 40 percent of total household water use during the summer. One way to reduce outdoor water usage and conserve water is to collect rainwater. A rain barrel is a system that collects and stores rainwater. A typical half-inch rainfall will […]
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Be energywise and economize. Winterize.
A good place to start reducing your carbon footprint is at home. If you make a few tracks around the house in areas you rarely tread, you might be surprised at what you find and how much you can save on your heating bill this winter. Hidden openings could be bleeding warm air from your […]
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Backyard biodiversity
Early in the 20th century, Jens Jensen, the landscape designer of Springfield’s Lincoln Memorial Garden, and groups such as the Friends of Our Native Landscape and The Prairie Club, began extolling the aesthetic appeal of local plant species, the beauty they exhibit when flourishing in their native surroundings. “To me no plant is more refined […]
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Cool color from cabbages and kales
The summer growing season has not been kind to gardens, noted a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “Hot temperatures, dry soils, pots that needed watering two or three times a day, and flowers that just did not look their best,” said Greg Stack. “Would you look your best if you had to put up […]
