More than 50 villages in a neighbor-helping-neighbor system have sprouted in the past decade from California and Colorado to Nebraska and Massachusetts. They are run largely by volunteers and funded by grants and membership fees to provide services from transportation and grocery delivery to home repairs and dog walking.

A street sign from Edinburgh, Scotland.

Most villages have opened in the past couple of years, an indication that the momentum is growing in the face of a demographic tsunami: The number of Americans 65 and older is expected to more than double to 89 million by 2050, according to the Census Bureau.

Read More at USATODAY.com

Photo Credit – monkeypuzzle

A bundle of intellect and energy, Margaret pursued her goals with firm determination.  During our friendship she started an exotic plant nursery, became a talented ceramicist with a considerable clientele, and remodeled a home—making it what she called a storybook house.  Charles called it paradise.   She did not stop with the inside, but took up landscaping with the same enthusiasm.  Roses were her joy. Margaret and Charles enjoyed them in their home throughout much of the year, early spring to late fall.

Margaret retired from the Veterans Hospital after thirty-five years of service in 1988.  She told Charles to find her a home with a view and she would retire.  He did and she did!  The view was much more than she could have imagined.  From inside or outside they enjoyed Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams and the Silver Star as well as the greenway and valley below.

Margaret was a dear friend to me for over 40 years.  I spent many an evening (late into the night) at her home.  How we could talk!  And every Christmas we would spend hours making gifts for the people that we worked with.

It is very hard to summarize a life so full.  She loved life and had a positive attitude. Even when negative things happened, she never lost her sense of humor. Margaret was a friend and defender to the end, greeting me with joy every day as we visited.

She loved to walk, and spent no less than two hours a day walking in her neighborhood in Salmon Creek. Those of us who knew here appreciated her dry sense of humor, even as she was experiencing Alzheimer’s. She spend her last two months at the Meadows Adult Family Home where she was loved and embraced by all who served her.  We will miss her.

For years I have had the honor of working with elders who experience memory loss. As a caregiver I began to understand that I could communicate more efficiently through touch than with words. It was at this moment of discovery that I chose to serve others through massage therapy.

As a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist I continue to pursue my intention of service through massage therapy and focus on tailoring each treatment to the individuals needs.

For a consultation please call: (360) 619-2003

Cost, finding care you trust and not knowing resources are roadblocks to getting paid help, says nurse practitioner Brigid Reynolds, clinical coordinator at the Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Read the whole story at USATODAY.com…

Guardians are appointed to make sure the best interest of the person is held foremost in the minds of those providing care and services to them.

It was our pleasure to host the Monthly Guardian Support Group Meeting on June 29, 2010. As people arrived they were greeted with live harp music donated by Julie Smith (see bio, picture), massages donated for the day by Nationally Certified Massage

Therapist, Britney Scanlan, (see picture and bio) and a spread of fresh fruit, muffins and refreshments. As guests enjoyed the music and relaxation we began serving lunch with the main entrée being our famous Chicken Salad on a Croissant and an assortment of fruit and beverages.

It was wonderful to be able to make this a special thank you and to give back in a small way to those who, dedicate their lives to serving our elders in need.

An opportunity to be part of the senior care community came my way, so, in 1996, I began this journey into senior care. After seven years working as a marketing manager, I was given the opportunity to do what I love most: advocating for seniors in the role of case manager, providing services to guardians for their clients. Over the next seven years, I have enlarged the scope of my work to include private clients and a singular guardianship.

My role as advocate provides my clients and their families with a hands-on person who will represent the needs and rights of the senior whenever warranted. For example, I am able to accompany the clients to their doctor appointments. Often, I am with the client while they are in the emergency room where I can make certain that the doctors have the most current information in their hands.

As the population ages and dementia becomes a more frequent diagnosis, there’s increasing impetus to determine the causes of the disease, associated risk factors and how to prevent it, explained study co-author Dr. Aron S. Buchman, an associate professor in the department of neurological sciences at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

photo credit: Vitorio Benedetti

“There has been a lot of interest in psychosocial factors and their association with cognitive decline and dementia in later life,” he said.

The study looked at the positive aspects of life and their possible effect on keeping dementia at bay, “looking at happiness, purposefulness in life, well-being and whether those kind of concepts are associated with a decreased risk of dementia,” Buchman explained.

For the study, published in the March issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, Buchman and his colleagues collected data on 951 older people without dementia who participated in the Rush Memory and Aging Project. The participants were asked to respond to statements such as: “I feel good when I think of what I have done in the past and what I hope to do in the future,” and “I have a sense of direction and purpose in life.”

After an average four years of follow-up, 16.3 percent of the people in the study developed Alzheimer’s disease. Taking into account other factors that could account for Alzheimer’s, the researchers found that people who responded most positively to statements about their lives were the least likely to develop the condition. Also, people who said they had more purposeful lives were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment and had a slower rate of cognitive decline.

Read the rest at nih.gov

2 Rotisserie Chicken Breasts, (remove meat from, bone and icky bits while warm)
2 Yellow Delicious Apples
1 sm or 1/2 large Red Onion
1/2 to 1 Cup Walnuts, as you prefer
2 stalks Celery

Pulse all the above ingredients in my food processor fairly fine for Sammi’s, chunkier for Salad.
 
Dressing
1/4 C Best Foods Mayo
1/4 C plain Greek Yogurt (Can use all mayo if you don’t have yogurt)
1 Tblsp Lemon zest
2 Tblsp fresh Lemon juice…..as if I really measure……
2 Tblsp Brown Sugar
1 Tsp ’21 Seasoning Salute’   ( Trader Joe’s – I put this stuff on everything)
Kosher Salt and Fresh ground pepper to taste
Whisk all together
 
Toss Dressing into Dry ingredients, chill.
 
Makes 8 small sammi’s  (for Croissants, slice in 1/2,  fill w/ mixture, top w/ red leaf lettuce and croissant cap, secure w/ frilly pick) or makes 4 main dish salads served on a bed of mixed greens w/ cucumber slices and quartered hard boiled egg, black olives to garnish.

Terrell Kuss
Interior Decorating, Catering & Party Planning/Event Coordinating
Specializing in Theme Parties and Holiday Decor
nutdish51@yahoo.com
503.516.1639