As winter dampness settles in, the changing season alters the way people take care of their skin. Indoor heat can be drying, as furnaces and heaters take humidity from the air. Indoor air can be stuffy too, and the cold dampness chills to the bone. Go back to the garden with herbal remedies to help […]
winter
Posted inThe Outdoors
How to Work Out in Cold Weather
As the weather gets colder outside, do you debate heading out for that run or recreation? Are cold-weather workouts good for your health or should you avoid them? Women’s Health magazine claims that exercising out in the cold has health benefits over warm-weather workouts. One argument is that cold weather makes you work harder, which […]
Posted inAt Home
5 Tips from Local Responders to Prepare for Severe Weather
Weather can change quickly in our region, often taking people by surprise. And even though a snowstorm can hit any winter, many local residents are unprepared for a long, severe event. Last winter season was a good example. Were you able to leave your driveway? Many of our neighbors were stranded for a week or […]
Posted inAt Home
3 Best Home Improvement Projects for Winter
During the winter months, the best home improvement projects are those that involve indoor upgrades and focus on small details, which can make a big difference in how a room looks and feels. Winter is a particularly good time for kitchen, bathroom and laundry room remodeling because of the greater seasonal availability of both materials […]
Posted inAt Home
Prepping Your Home for Cold Weather
As the days get shorter and temperatures begin to cool, it’s time to start thinking about performing seasonal maintenance on your home. Homeowners caught unaware by the quickly changing weather and sudden frigid temperatures (particularly in cooler climates) might face unexpected repairs and aggravation. Get your head in the gutter. With the wet season, clean […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
How to Overwinter Your Dahlias in Five Easy Steps
Gardening chores may be over, but if you haven’t dug out your dahlia tubers yet, there’s one more job to do. The dahlias, which are native to Mexico, don’t survive a hard freeze (24 degrees or below), so you may want to do it soon. Here are tips for how to dig up the tubers […]
Posted inGarden
The Varied Thrush Provides a Respite from the Winter Doldrums
Some people look forward to winter because they enjoy snow sports. Fans of NFL football love the playoffs. Others appreciate a reason to wear flannel and sip hot chocolate by a cozy fire. Birders see winter as the time to bundle up and grab the binoculars. For birds that breed in the Arctic, a West […]
Posted inFood & Entertainment
Scrabble Party
From Thelma Higbee’s 1959 dictionary to CJ’s Evergreen General Store rhubarb strawberry pies — it was a wild Scrabble game. This isn’t my first rodeo, I mean Scrabble party. Over the years, I have had a few of the giddy, giggly get-together events. One Scrabble gig was a yard party with some 20 folks and […]
Posted inAt Home
Tips for Keeping Your Pipes Safe this Winter
Burst water pipes due to freezing can leave you, your family and your home in a state of crisis. When water freezes in your pipes, they expand, and that expansion can cause a rupture. Typically, the rupture doesn’t occur at the point in the pipe where it’s frozen but between the freeze and the faucet, […]