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Family Living Focus: The Big Chill – Winter Safety

Winter weather can be a real challenge as the temperatures drop. Plan now for your health and safety during the remainder of this winter season. Here are a few tips to consider. Have you had your flu shot? It is not too late to get a flu shot. The shot may not prevent the flu, but it will make the illness far less serious should it strike. Check with your local clinic or public health office to make arrangements to get your flu shot. Do you drive? Put the winter survival kit in the trunk. Fill a box with boots, mittens, heavy coat and cap, blanket, flashlight, shovel, jumper cables, ...

Public Health Corner: Common warning signs of mental illness

Trying to tell the difference between what expected behaviors are and what might be the signs of a mental illness isn’t always easy. There’s no easy test that can let someone know if there is mental illness or if actions and thoughts might be typical behaviors of a person or the result of a physical illness. Each illness has its own symptoms, but common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following: • Excessive worrying or fear • Feeling excessively sad or low • Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning • Extreme mood ...

Family Living Focus: Checklist Helps Older Adults Select Age-Friendly Fitness Facilities

Although mature adults are joining health and wellness facilities faster than any other age group today. Some facilities may not be prepared or equipped to serve older members. Following is a checklist to help mature adults rate and compare their local fitness facilities and choose one that meets their needs. 1. Is the facility’s atmosphere one you feel comfortable in? 2. Are the locker rooms clean, accessible and monitored by staff? 3. Are the membership contracts and marketing materials available in large print? 4. Are signs visible and easy to understand? 5. Is the music ...

Antiques & Collecting: Hooked rugs grew in popularity from cottage industry

No one is sure who made the first hooked rugs, but most historians think it was the Vikings. We do know that in the early 19th century, floormats were made in the United States from 9-inch-long pieces of yarn left over from machines that made rugs. The first rugs to interest U.S. collectors were made at Grenfell Mission, a philanthropic organization founded in 1892 to help residents of Labrador and Newfoundland, Canada. In the 1920s and ‘30s, they developed a cottage industry to make and sell handicrafts. Items included knitted goods and hooked rugs from donated dyed silk stockings, ...

Off the Shelf: Winter entertainment at the library

Happy New Year! I’m excited to start the new year by sharing some of the great things we have happening at New Ulm Public Library in January. We hope you’ll join us for one of these activities or stop by to pick up some books, movies, music, magazines, puzzles, and more to keep you busy during another chilly Minnesota winter. Storytime resumes in January, with two great options for children and their parents or caregivers. Monday morning storytimes begin at 10:30 a.m. and feature stories, songs, and more. We’ve also added a Pajama Party storytime on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. ...

Family Living Focus: Setting realistic New Year resolutions

Part of the American tradition of celebrating the New Year seems to be making resolutions that are doomed to failure. It is estimated that 25 percent of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned within the first 15 weeks of the year. Not only that, but individuals tend to make the same New Year’s resolution an average of ten times, and those who manage to make a resolution last for six months or longer have often tried five or six times before finally succeeding. The lack of success in carrying out New Year s resolutions can be demoralizing and can lead to an attitude of “I give up! Why ...