Emery Law Office - December 2020

Emery Law Office - December 2020

DECEMBER 2020

FROM MR. MCGREGOR’S GARDEN TO HITLER’S GERMANY

BOOKS HAVE HELPED ME TRAVEL THE WORLD!

s a little girl, I used to hate naps. I never wanted to close my eyes in the middle of the day and miss out on everything. Luckily, on

childhood, too, and dives into a lot of personal details about Nicholas Sparks’ life that I never would have guessed. It was fascinating to see him as a person, not just a famous author. ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ by Heather Morris As you can probably guess from the title, this book was hard to read. It’s based on the true story of Lale Sokolov, who was a prisoner at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. His job was to tattoo all of the new prisoners coming into the camp. The context is really sad, of course, but it’s also a beautiful love story. I don’t want to give too much away here, but if you pick up a copy, I promise you won’t regret it. A book is a great gift for yourself, but books can also be great Christmas presents. If you’re not sure what to get your friends and family for Christmas, consider starting your own book club, just like the one I’m in with my church friends! You can give everyone a copy of the same book as a Christmas gift, make a Facebook group together, and meet up in person or over Zoom to chat after you read it. After all, books don’t just connect us to far away places — they also connect us to each other.

‘Still Alice’ by Lisa Genova Lisa Genova is one of my favorite authors. I think everything she’s done is fantastic, but “Still Alice” is something really special. It tells the story of Dr. Alice Howland, a big-time linguistics professor who ends up getting early-onset Alzheimer’s. This is the first book I’ve ever read about Alzheimer’s written from the perspective of the patient. The story was devastating in a lot of ways, but it was also really powerful because Lisa is a real-life neuroscientist who has studied the disease. The story is so good that it was made into a movie in 2014!

Sunday afternoons, my grandma was happy to be my accomplice. I’d climb up into her lap and instead of sleeping, we’d read a book together. During those lazy Sundays, my grandma introduced me to the works of Beatrix Potter, an English storyteller from the 1800s. She wrote dozens of children’s stories including “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” and “The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck.” I thought they were magical! In fact, I loved them so much that when I was pregnant with my daughter Katie, I bought “The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter” to read with her and even decorated her nursery in a Beatrix Potter theme. (You can read more about that, and how Katie is passing on her love of those books, on Pg. 2). I still love reading just as much as I did when I was a little girl. These days, I probably go through a hardcover book every two weeks and listen to even more in audiobook form. I’m also in a book club with some of the ladies from my church. Before the pandemic, we’d meet up to discuss a particular book once a month, and it was a great way for me to balance reading for work and for pleasure. Since December is National Read a New Book Month, this seems like the perfect time to share my reading list! If you’re looking for a new book to escape into, you can’t go wrong with these three.

‘Three Weeks with My Brother’ by Nicholas Sparks and Michael Earl Sparks I’ve read a lot of Nicholas Sparks romances and liked them, but that isn’t what you’ll find in this book. It’s an autobiography, not chick-lit, and it’s written with his brother Michael, so it’s not in his usual style. The book is a bit slow-moving at first, but I ended up totally absorbed by the story of the Sparks brothers’ travels around the world. “Three Weeks With my Brother” covers their whole

From my family, my bookshelf, and me, happy holidays!

-Melissa Emery

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SNOW SHOVELING HACKS

How to Spend Less Time Clearing Your Driveway Every Winter

Everyone loves the snow — at least until it settles on the driveway, a barrier between your car and the open road. Shoveling snow off your driveway and walkway can be so tedious that you might be tempted to just hope and pray that the sun melts it all before you have to shovel it — which, of course, almost never happens. However, a few tools and methods you can use to clear the snow away are faster than shoveling for hours on end. Check them out below. Create a nonstick shovel. Wet, partially melted snow might work well for packing snowballs, but it’s a pain to shovel. It has a tendency to stick to the scoop and not let go — unless you spray it with some common household cooking spray. This will make it a lot easier for the snow to slide off your shovel. Just remember to wipe your shovel down afterward! Make your own salt alternative. Sometimes you start shoveling, only to find that the snow concealed a layer of ice that you can’t scoop up with your shovel. However, if you combine 1 teaspoon of dish soap, 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol, and 1/2 gallon of water

in a bucket, you can spread the mixture over the ice and melt it away, much like the salt you see on major roadways.

Be preemptive with some tarps. Did you see on the weather forecast that your area is about to get some major snowfall? Throw down some tarps on your walkways and driveway. Then, after the snow stops falling, lift the snow off to the side, and your walkways will be as clear as if it hadn’t snowed at all. Blow the snow away. If you’re lucky enough to be clearing your driveway while the snow is still powdery, rev up your leaf blower instead of breaking out your shovel. You’ll be able to clear your driveway in a fraction of the time it would take to shovel and dump it off to the sides of your driveway.

With one (or a few) of these methods, you can clear your driveway and enjoy the fun side of snowfall in no time!

SHARE YOUR FAVORITE STORIES WITH MELISSA’S SOON-TO-BE GRANDCHILD WHAT WAS ON YOUR CHILDHOOD BOOKSHELF?

When Melissa was a little girl, she and her grandmother would curl up together on Sunday afternoons to read “The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter.” There were 23 tales, and as you read on Pg. 1, the book meant so much to Melissa that she decorated her daughter Katie’s nursery in a Beatrix Potter theme. Now, Katie is doing the same for her baby! She’s even using the original mobile from her childhood nursery. Of course, Melissa isn’t the only one with a favorite childhood book. To give you a window into the stories that shaped their lives, we asked our team to share their favorite nostalgic tales with you. Have you read them all?

Lorie Fullerton Paralegal

Maddie McCutcheon Legal Assistant My favorite book as a child was “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett!

My favorite book when I was a child (and my children’s favorite book) was “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak.

Libby Thorngate Operations Manager

Kristen Hawthorne Paralegal

My mom read the “Little House on the Prairie” series to me and my siblings when we were kids, and I would secretly read ahead because I loved the stories so much. We’d love to hear what was on your childhood bookshelf. Melissa is collecting titles right now to put together a basket of

As a kid, my favorite book was a tie between “Prince Cinders” by Babette Cole and “The Clown-Arounds Go on Vacation” by Joanna Cole.

Joel Franklin Attorney

My favorite book series was the “Berenstain Bears” by Stan and Jan Berenstain. There are at least 100 of them. I don’t remember any book in particular now, but I really enjoyed reading them all as a child.

books for her first grandchild, who’s coming into the world this month. If you share the name of your favorite book on our Facebook page, Facebook.com/EmeryLawOffice/, it just might find its way to the baby!

Audra Seng Senior Paralegal

My favorite book as a child was “The Pearl,” written by John Steinbeck. This was a book we were given in middle school to read and write an essay on. I really enjoyed the book, and every once in a while, I think about it and the story.

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BARKS FROM BELLA

HOLIDAY PET FOOD GRAVY

Am I Stuck on the Naughty List, Santa Paws?

No holiday feast is complete without gravy to pour on just about everything — including your dog or cat’s food! Get your pets excited about their dry food by revamping it with this quick and easy holiday gravy recipe. INGREDIENTS

It’s almost Christmas! Can you believe it? Last Christmas was one of the best days ever. My friend, Sadie, came over with my very first Christmas present: a rope toy! If you’ve never had a rope toy, then you’re really missing out. You can chew on it, shake it, or fetch it. Sometimes I can even convince Melissa to play tug-of- war with me if I whine loud enough. Sadie also told me the story of Santa Paws, the big red dog with white spots whose reindeer friends pull him around the sky in a sleigh on Christmas night. Santa Paws delivers bones and chew toys to all of the good puppies and baths to all of the naughty ones. How cool is that?! At first, I was really excited for Santa Paws to come visit. I’ve tried really hard to be good. I’ve been holding in my barks even when I really want to let them out, and I’ve tried to keep my dirty paws off the carpet. Sometimes I forget, but I’m doing my best! It was all going great until I found a deer leg in the forest. I brought it back for Melissa, but now I’m worried that it wasn’t just a deer leg — maybe it was a reindeer leg! What if Santa Paws puts me on the naughty list for stealing a leg from one of his reindeer? Or what if the sleigh is extra slow because three-legged reindeer can’t fly as fast? I don’t want to be stuck with a bath for a present! I’ve been worried about this for weeks and weeks. I paced and whined so much that Melissa came to pet me. The pets made me feel better, and then something amazing happened — Melissa read my mind! She told me that Santa Paws didn’t appreciate me snatching the leg from one of his reindeer, but he was going to forgive me as long as I promised to leave them alone from now on. I wagged my tail really hard, and Melissa said Santa Paws would have something special for me this year. She has it on good authority that my present is an elk antler! Those fall off all by themselves, so no other animal will get hurt for my gift.

•

2 cups low-sodium or homemade chicken or turkey broth

• •

1 lb low-fat ground turkey

2 tbsp cornstarch or tapioca flour

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a simmer. 2. In a skillet, brown ground turkey, breaking it up into small pieces. 3. When turkey is cooked thoroughly, strain off any remaining fat. 4. Sprinkle cornstarch or tapioca flour over meat and stir well to coat evenly. 5. Pour broth over meat mixture and bring it to a low boil until it thickens. 6. Let cool slightly but serve warm over your dog or cat’s favorite dry food. 7. Enjoy the holiday feasting together!

Inspired by Rover.com

WE WANT YOU TO THINK OF US AS YOUR LAW FIRM. If you have a legal matter that needs attention, let us know. If we can’t handle the matter, we will refer you to a firm that can. Please feel free to refer us to your friends and family for their legal needs. We welcome the opportunity to help.

Whew! Now that I know I’m on the nice list, I can’t wait for Christmas morning. Happy holidays, friends!

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INSIDE

MELISSA’S TOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL READ A NEW BOOK MONTH 1

HATE SHOVELING SNOW? TRY THESE HACKS

OUR TEAM’S FAVORITE CHILDHOOD READS 2 BELLA’S REINDEER ADVENTURES

HOLIDAY PET FOOD GRAVY 3

WINTER ROAD TRIP ESSENTIALS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU NEEDED 4

A DRIVER’S GUIDE TO SAFE HOLIDAY TRAVELS

WINTER ROAD TRIP ESSENTIALS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU NEEDED

On Sept. 24, 2019, more than 2.5 million people passed through TSA checkpoints at airports across America. On the same date this year, those terminals saw just 826,316 travelers — a nearly 70% drop. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Americans have been thinking twice about air travel, and this holiday, millions of would-be flyers will set out on road trips instead. Road tripping is a great way to avoid contact with a lot of people, but it can also be dangerous, especially in winter weather. Fortunately, you can take several steps to keep your family safe. Getting your car checked before you go, for example, can save you a lot of hassle on the road, as can investing in a set of snow tires. It’s also smart to take precautions such as letting a friend or family

member know your route, predicted arrival time, and where you plan to stop for gas along the way.

Apart from that, one of the best things you can do is pack an emergency kit. AAA sells premade kits through outlets like Amazon, and you can find a basic kit with things like jumper cables, ponchos, rope, batteries, pliers, zip ties, and a first-aid kit at pretty much any Walmart or sporting goods store. You could even save a life by adding a few more essentials to your kit, like a blanket, snacks, and an extra cellphone charger. At this point, you’re almost a safety black belt. But to take your kit to the next level for winter driving, there are three more little-known items you should stash in your trunk: a shovel, a bag of sand or cat

litter, and an extra bottle of windshield wiper fluid. If you get stuck in a snowbank, the shovel will help you dig your way out without risking frostbitten fingers. The sand or cat litter will boost your traction if you sprinkle it around your wheels in an icy spot, and the extra wiper fluid will make all the difference if you run out during a snowstorm.

Once you’re prepared, crank up the Christmas carols and get driving!

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