1504 W. Van Buren Street • Chicago, IL 60607 • (312) 733-6187

August 2015

Happy

BirthdayCELEBRATE

8/5 Woodrow Hughes8/7 Willie Denson8/8 Velma Wallace8/11 Augustine Blake8/15 Irena Zubilina-Valaitis8/20 Ronald Madison8/24 Irena Milkalauskiene8/26 Carlos Ceron8/30 Willie Horton

Remember to HydrateStaying hydrated through your summer

workout is essential to fitness success. Losingtoo much water from your body through sweatstresses your cardiovascular system and impairsperformance and mental acuity. In the twohours before a workout, drink at least 16 ouncesof water. During your workout, refresh with 5 to10 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes.Continue to take in fluids after you’re doneexercising.

VAN BUREN PLACEManager Dolores AspeitiaMaintenance Oscar CancholaOffice/Emergency (312) 733-6187Fax (312) 733-9381

The Power of FlowersYou’ve probably heard the old saying “Stop and

smell the roses.” Researchers confirm that takenliterally, it’s good advice. The scent of fresh flowers orfloral scents in general can boost your mood, lowerstress and even encourage friendliness. If you don’tfavor these fragrances, simply taking in the color offlowers can kindle positive emotions. Pastel-coloredvarieties tend to make people feel more relaxed, whilebold colors are energizing.

Quick Getaway“Laughter is an instant vacation.” —Milton Berle

Fresher LongerTo extend the life of bananas, cover the stems with

plastic wrap. This can keep the fruit from turningbrown an extra three or four days.

Generous GenerationPeople can make a difference at any age. If you were

born between 1946 and 1964, this month is your turn!August is Boomers Making a Difference Month.

A Home Fit for a KingThe name Graceland is

almost as famous as the estate’sowner, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,Elvis Presley. Each August, tensof thousands of fans gather inMemphis, Tenn., to celebrateElvis Week and take part inevents at Graceland. Here aresome details about the placeElvis called home.

Presley’s purchase. At age 22,Elvis bought the estate in 1957for $102,500, which would beabout $870,000 today. Amonghis first additions to the10,000-square-foot house werethe famous music-themediron gates.

Relatives in residence. Themansion was also home to Elvis’parents, Vernon and Gladys, aswell as his paternalgrandmother, Minnie Mae.Later, wife Priscilla moved in,and their daughter, Lisa Marie,grew up at Graceland.

Hawaiian hangout. Elvis’ loveof Hawaii influenced thelegendary Jungle Room, whichwas decorated with Polynesian-style wood-carved furniture,green shag carpet on the floorand ceiling, exotic plants and anindoor waterfall.

Television trio. Like today’s“man caves,” Elvis’ TV roomfeatured comfortable furnitureand what was an extravagance atthe time—three side-by-side TVsets so he could watch multiplesporting events or programsat once.

Summertime Sweet EatsNothing is more satisfying

on a hot summer day than arefreshing frozen snack.Here’s the scoop on somepopular options:

Ice cream. The classic frozentreat, ice cream is made ofcream, sugar and added flavorschurned quickly together tocreate a sweet, light texture. Inthe U.S., ice cream must have atleast 10 percent milk fat and beno more than 50 percent air.

Gelato. This Italian dessert ismade with whole milk withoutadditional cream, resulting inless milk fat than regular icecream. It’s also churned moreslowly, so it’s denser and has amore intense flavor.

Frozen custard. The extra-richtaste of custard comes from eggyolks, which help this treat staycolder longer. Like gelato, frozencustard is churned more slowly,so it’s very thick and creamy.

Frozen yogurt. Made withcultured milk, “fro-yo” is usuallylower in fat and calories than icecream. Its flavor is oftendescribed as tart, and it has auniquely thick texture thanks toyogurt cultures.

Sherbet. With more of an icytexture than ice cream, sherbet isa low-fat dessert option. It’sfound in tart, fruity flavors likeorange and lime.

Winning WordsEach summer, word games

turn to heated competition atthe North American ScrabbleChampionship. Here are somestrategies from top players thatmay help you turn the tiles inyour favor at your next game.

Top tiles. Scrabble uses100 letter tiles. The highest-point tiles are the letters J, Q andZ, each worth 10 points, and theX at 8 points. Learn words thatuse those letters, and you’ll bearmed for victory.

Hit hot spots. Wheneverpossible, play your tiles on theboard’s marked bonus squares,known as “hot spots.” A doubleletter or triple word square caneasily add to your score.

Add an S. While the letter S isonly worth 1 point, it’sconsidered a power tile. Use it tomake a word already on theboard a plural as well as play anew word.

Before and after. Groupingyour tiles by prefixes such as“in-,” “re-” and “un-” andsuffixes like “-ed,” “-ing” and“-less” can help you seepossible plays.

Two-letter words. Combine ahigh-point tile with just oneother letter, and you can scorebig. Try the words “qi,” “za”and “jo.”

The Karaoke CrazeKaraoke is the worldwide

craze that gives everyone thechance to be singingsuperstars—even if you can’tcarry a tune. While it’s fun tograb a mic and belt out afavorite song, karaoke also offersa score of health benefits.

Invented in the 1970s inJapan, karaoke translates to“empty orchestra” and beganas an after-hours activityfor businessmen.

Studies show that karaoke

provides some of the samephysical rewards as exercise.Singing out loud involves morethan 100 muscles in the chest,neck, jaw and face, and likeother aerobic activities, requiresdeep breathing. This increasesoxygen levels in thebloodstream, which is good forthe body and brain.

Karaoke also providesnoteworthy benefits to mentalhealth. Singing releasesendorphins that improve moodand relieve stress. Becausekaraoke is usually done as agroup activity, it builds socialconnections and offers a positiveway to express feelings andshare memories.

Step by StepWalking is one of the best

exercises for you: It’s low-impact, so it’s easy on yourjoints, and it can be done almostanywhere. Many people use apedometer, a device that countssteps, to motivate them to walkmore. Here are some ways apedometer can help you:

Easy to use. The simplest, leastexpensive pedometers onlycount steps, which is all youneed to know to begin trackingyour activity. Just clip thepedometer on your waistband orbelt and go about your day.

Increases awareness. Manypeople have no idea howoften—or little—they moveduring the day. A pedometer lets

you know how many steps youtake on a typical day and howactive you are. The daily averagefor older adults ranges from2,000 to 9,000 steps.

Reminds you to move. Now thatyou know your numbers, set agoal. Start by walking just 500 or1,000 extra steps per day. Lookfor small opportunities to walkmore. By instantly showing youhow much you are walking, apedometer can motivate you tokeep moving.

Wit & Wisdom“The sea, once it casts its spell,

holds one in its net ofwonder forever.”

—Jacques Cousteau

“A drop of water, if it couldwrite out its own history, would

explain the universe to us.”—Lucy Larcom

“A lake is the landscape’s mostbeautiful and expressive feature.

It is Earth’s eye; looking intowhich the beholder measuresthe depth of his own nature.”

—Henry David Thoreau

“Rivers are roads which move,and which carry us whither we

desire to go.”—Blaise Pascal

“The sea folds away from youlike a mystery. You can look and

look at it and mystery neverleaves it.”

—Carl Sandburg

“A river seems a magic thing.A magic, moving, living part of

the very Earth itself.”—Laura Gilpin

“You can’t cross the sea merelyby standing and staring at

the water.”—Rabindranath Tagore

“No water, no life.No blue, no green.”

—Sylvia Earle

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