Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday. Thought you might find the following facts from the US Census Bureau on the 4th of July interesting:

The Fourth of July: On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.
2.5 million; In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation. Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970

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According to a recent survey done  by the Pew Institute, “Baby Boomers: The Gloomiest Generation”. Who knew? Pew states: Members of the large generation born from 1946 to 1964 are more downbeat about their lives than are adults who are younger or older. Read the rest of this entry »

Blueberry scones remind me of summer morning sunrises, outdoor breakfasts, rays of sunshine streaming through leaves and landing on my face.

But despite this lovely aura surrounding England’s version of the breakfast biscuit, a certain speculation arises for me when it comes to their texture. Should they be dry and crumbly, light and flaky, or moist and fluffy?

I found my favorite texture combination at Read the rest of this entry »

The fresh Greek feta I bought to make hummus didn’t crumble dryly in my hand. It was wet and rubbery and felt soft but dense against my tongue. It’s saltiness first stung my taste buds, then melted into my palate, smoky and smooth.

I roughly crumbled half of the white feta slab into my food processor, where I had already pureed a hummus base of chick peas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, and olive oil. My kitchen smelled divinely Mediterranean. I pulsed the processor a few times to incorporate the cheese, then loaded in a handful or two of cheap, canned black olives.

Pulse, pulse, pulse. Taste.

Smoky, salty, velvety, and spiked with the zest of garlic and a hint of lemon. The olives and feta complimented each other and rounded out a more robust hummus than my usual attempts.

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 Medicare is proposing cuts in reimbursements in the area of rehabilitation: physical, occupational, and speech therapies. Again, in my humble opinion, this is because Medicare deals with illness, disease, not prevention. I hate to belabor the point, but if done correctly, health care services geared to the over 65 crowd (reported as the highest health cost center) can actually reduce costs and improve outcomes. Read the rest of this entry »

I was researching article ideas for September and stumbled across some fantastic news in New Jersey’s Star-Ledger: Winemakers are bottling their spirits in single-serving alternative packaging!

One winery, Boisset Family Estates out of California, calls them “Juice boxes for adults” and uses them to package their French Rabbit wines in three varieties: a pinot noir, a merlot/cabernet sauvignon blend, and a chardonnay/sauvignon blanc blend.

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For as long as I can remember, my mom and I have ventured to the local strawberry patch each June to pick berries for homemade jam.

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From time to time, I will include an abbreviated version of our monthly consumer health education newsletters. These are free and you can request to receive them  here or through the Erickson Tribune.

For the month of June, I will feature our May issue on Sex and the senior: Keeping Intimacy as part of your relationships. Why is this important? Because you are alive and hopefully living your life to its fullest. You have questions, and we have answers. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m becoming a member of the Technorati community to help get some more traffic to my blog:

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I am back from a great 3 days off though really did spend some time reflecting on the holiday. Now, trying to get back to speed at work, amazing how a day gets one off tilter. At any rate found some great resources online at Docuticker that I thought you might find useful. Read the rest of this entry »