Visiting Angels August 2019

Visiting Angels August 2019

August 2019

5274 Scotts Valley Dr., #102 Scotts Valley, CA 95066 831-430-0616 www.VisitingAngels.com/CentralCoast 229 Reindollar Ave., Suite E Marina, CA 93933 831-392-0876

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The Sweetest Heirloom T his past June, one of the women at our office threw a big graduation party for her son who had just graduated from high school. With so many people to feed, she planned a big trip to Costco to grab some bulk sides, but her son had one request: “Mom, will you please make your special potato salad?” It was sweet that he wanted a special family recipe at his graduation party. Hearing this story reminded me of my own mother’s macaroni salad. She used to cut up little bits of cheese and olives and found just the right combination of mayo and mustard. Mom made her famous macaroni salad for every family reunion or picnic, and everyone always came back for seconds. I never got the recipe before she died, and I regret that terribly. Even though we can find recipes for almost any dish or dessert online, there are some recipes that are wholly our own. Some were written down on cherished recipe cards, while others were memorized after learning them in Grandma’s kitchen. Unfortunately, if we’re not careful, those special family recipes that were passed down for generations can disappear because they weren’t shared or recorded while a family member was still alive. When my youngest daughter moved out of the house and into her first apartment, I got out the recipes for her favorite meals and wrote them on 3x5-inch cards. Then I put them in a recipe card box and gave them to her as a gift. She was delighted to be able to cook these recipes for herself after she was on her own. This is what people mean when they talk about comfort food. It’s the food we associate with happy memories and feelings of love. Remembering the Value of Family Recipes

A couple of years ago, I shared the story of my

grandmother’s orange coffee cake. This was a special recipe Grandma only made on Christmas Day. When my

grandmother passed away, I wanted to keep that tradition alive, but I’d never gotten the recipe from her! Heartbroken, I searched her house high and low. When I finally found the recipe, it was like uncovering a family heirloom I thought had been lost forever. Grandma’s orange coffee cake is delicious, but that’s not why I wanted the recipe. I wanted the recipe for the memories. Every year when we walked into her house on Christmas morning, we were greeted by the warm smell of coffee cake and Grandma’s hugs. When I make that coffee cake on Christmas morning, it’s like Grandma is celebrating with us. I’m so glad I can pass this recipe on to my girls so they can make it for their families one day and reminisce about the Christmases we spent together. This is the real importance of family recipes and why we should make a point to save those recipes when we have the chance.

Cindy Saunders, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

831-430-0616 | 1

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A Summer Send-Off for Your Garden

3 Ways to Prepare Your Garden for the Changing Season

Late summer is the perfect time to clean up your garden and prepare it for the coming winter. In the next couple of months, the temperature will start to drop, but by putting in work now, you can ensure your garden is healthy and ready to flourish next spring. You can even turn garden cleanup into a fun activity for the whole family. Here are three ways to get your garden ready for the next season, while sharing some valuable outdoor time with your loved ones. More Mulch, Please While most gardeners know the benefits of summer mulching, winter mulching can help lessen water loss, keep weeds out, and regulate soil temperatures during the colder months. It offers an added layer of protection for your plants’ roots, which can be sensitive to continuous freezing and thawing, by keeping the soil temperature more consistent. Out With the Old If any of your plants didn’t fare so well, take some time to remove them and clear space for future plants. This removal should include any invasive plants or weeds that found their way into the soil. Remember to use gloves, Two of the most common scams are phone scams and robocalls. These calls are incredibly annoying and can trick you out of valuable information if you’re not careful. While it might seem like these scams are inescapable, there are some precautions you can take to avoid their traps. Give them the silent treatment. One thing you can do to avoid these fraudulent, time- wasting calls is to simply hang up. If possible, it is best to not answer at all. It’s always good to have a list of numbers you can reference, so you never have to guess who is calling. Think of it as going one step beyond caller ID. In some cases, answering and then hanging up can actually do more harm than good. Answering the phone gives the scammers confirmation that the number works and that they should try again. Once your number is confirmed as active, it often gets put on an “active number” list that can then be sold to other scammers who market in these types of phone numbers. If you can’t verify who is calling without picking up, don’t answer. Let it go to voicemail. If it’s important, the person will leave a legitimate message and you can respond afterward.

wear long pants and socks, and use caution around thorns or plants that can cause irritation. For daffodils, tulips, crocuses, and any other bulbs that sprang up in the spring, you can now pull them up (if you haven’t already) and

divide any bulblets you find into separate plants. This will help cut down on crowding even more come spring.

Take Cover Cover crops are plants that improve soil health, reduce erosion, and keep your garden healthy, and now is a great time to plant them! Hardy legumes, field peas, certain types of clovers, and warm-season grasses can all work as cover crops, so talk to your landscaper or local nursery to pick out the best choices for your region. While you may not see the fruits of your labors until spring, you can still enjoy preparing your garden for a successful upcoming year and cherish the time you spend with your family outside.

RING, RING — IT’S A ROBOT

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself From Phone Scams and Robocalls

Put up some deterrents. You can even go a step further and block the calls. Many phone service providers offer call-blocking options, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. You can sign up for this service in-store or on your service provider’s website. Each service costs about $4 per month. There are also a number of call-blocking apps available on Android and Apple devices, but if you subscribe to a blocking service through your phone provider, these apps are unnecessary. Finally, you can sign up for the Federal Trade Commission’s “Do Not Call” program (DoNotCall.gov). While the Do Not Call program can help cut back on calls, this list is largely ignored by scammers. If you’re getting a ridiculous number of robocalls every day, signing up can offer you some brief respite. Thankfully, Congress is already attempting to fix this problem by making it harder for scammers to call you. But until they are able to pass tough, effective legislation, it is up to us as consumers to remain vigilant and do what we can to keep our personal and financial >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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