Signs Your Parents Need Help

The elderly population is expected to double by 2025. It’s a fact of life we have to face sooner or later: At some point, one or both of your parents, as independent as they seem to be, are going to need extra help at home. Approach the situation carefully, but keep an eye out for these early signs you may notice when you visit them.  Difficulty getting around. Are they having trouble with the stairs or getting in the shower or bathtub? There are adjustments you can make to their home to make it safer, such as removing small area rugs, installing grab bars in the shower and using nightlights to light the path to the bathroom.  Physical health issues. Are they making their doctor appointments? They may be limiting their social activities because they can’t hear or see as well as they should. Do they keep a list of their medications? Some older people are, in fact, over-medicated. Offer to go with them on one of their next appointments.  Forgetfulness. Do they remember things you talked about? Do you see unpaid bills on the table? Is the house clean and is the dirty laundry under control? Is there food in the refrigerator? Work with them on solutions, such as hiring a cleaning service or considering a meal delivery option. There are many resources available to help you help them. Check out sites such as the National Council on Aging (www.ncoa.org), www.care.com and www.agingcare.com. To engage their minds and keep them (or anyone over 50) up-to-date on aging issues, take a look at www.aarp.org.

Check out the Edgewater!

The Edgewater is located on Pier67 it’s the only over-water hotel in Seattle. Zoning changes will never allow anything like this to be built again! It was built for the opening of the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962. It has hosted famous guests including The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, President Clinton and many more. It allowed guests in the North wing to fish from your room. I was recently invited to share in my friend’s anniversary dinner and really enjoyed the food, service and being right on the water overlooking Elliott Bay and West Seattle. If you want to go out for a special event you should give it a try. Prices are high and in the summer months I was told it is extremely busy and you need to make reservations. Great pick for a Dads and Grads! ENJOY

Friends—The Key To A Longer Life

According to Harvard’s School of Public Health, men who have lots of friends, social contacts, and relatives live longer, more satisfying lives. In a study of 28,000 men in their early 40s to late 70s, researchers found that men who were socially isolated loners were 20 percent more likely to die prematurely. The socially isolated group also was 53 percent more likely to die from heart related diseases and stroke. Unmarried men included in the study had markedly higher death rates than married men with a strong family support system did. It appears that making friends and nurturing social relationships not only will make you healthier, but it could make you a lot happier too! Although it is hard to measure social isolation and loneliness ask yourself if you have fewer activities now than you did before the pandemic. Most people would answer fewer connections and fewer social gatherings are on their schedules. People are generally social by nature, and high-quality relationships should be part of our everyday lives. Finding a fun activity can be the key to adding friends to your life! Pick an activity like going to the gym, find a workshop or a class, volunteer for a non-profit, try a new sport like racquetball, find a church or spiritual group. You are certainly not alone if you are having a hard time making friends as an adult.

Alternatives to Bottled Water

You’ve likely heard that bottled water has major environmental consequences, but how bad is the problem? Here are a few facts from thewaterproject.org that illustrate the severity of the situation: • Approximately 80% of single-use water bottles in the U.S. become “litter,” and one bottle takes more than 1,000 years to bio-degrade. • U.S. landfills have two million tons of discarded water bottles in them. • It takes three liters of water to package one liter of bottled water. In response to the bottled water problem, some cities and businesses have banned it, but what can you do? • Skip the single-use water bottle, and invest in a reusable water bottle. If you forget it, buy multiples to keep in vehicles, the office, and your gym bag. • Drink tap water. Several studies have been done to show municipal tap water is usually just as safe as bottled water. • Refrigerate water. Cooling tap water helps remove the chlorine taste many people feel is in tap water. • Boil water if you are concerned water might be contaminated.

Likeability

You are naturally likable by being genuine and sincere, but here are some simple tips that can give you a psychological advantage and result in people liking you even more: • Like yourself first. Be confident in your strengths. Your likability increases as you increase your ability to like yourself. Smiling and sharing your positivity will bring out the same in others. • Maintain eye contact during conversations but keep it in balance (about 60 percent of the time). Nod your head when you’re speaking and people will be inclined to agree with you. • Demonstrate that you like people. Remember their names and use them. (One trick to remembering names is to say the name to someone else.) If you ask a question, give the person time to respond. Remaining silent and waiting for an answer can be especially useful in negotiations. • Learn active listening. Do this by a) paying attention; b) using body language to show you’re interested; c) giving feedback, such as rephrasing what a person says to you to show that you understood them; d) asking questions, but not interrupting; and e) giving your opinion respectfully. If you disagree with someone, look for ways to find common ground. • Don’t overdo it. You don’t need everyone to like you to be successful. Aim to increase your likability factor to the people who matter to you (and your success) most.

Ways to Improve Curb Appeal

The first impression of your house is from the street. If you want to sell or just add some new style, try these ideas: Focus on your front door with a new color, updated light fixtures and easy-to-read house numbers. For more charm, add window flower boxes or shutters around the windows. Learn to build a window box on YouTube.com. Clean out the clutter, and trim the overgrown bushes and trees (this also makes your home safer). For quick color, add container gardens. You can buy them pre-planted. Add lighting accents to trees or to illuminate the pathway (another safety feature). You can go solar to eliminate wires. Pressure-wash the exterior. If it doesn’t look better, consider new paint or siding. Don’t forget the garage door. Repair it, paint it or replace it to make your house look like new.

Break Bad Habits

Habit: Always looking at your cell phone or tablet. Change: Whether it’s email or Facebook, you may be a little addicted. Best advice is to acknowledge the problem and make an agreement with your spouse or friends to set limits on your online time. You probably already do this with your kids so maybe you can do this together. Habit: Clearing your throat all the time. Change: You may not even know you do this. The problem, however, may be medical (allergies, acid reflux). Try an over-the-counter cough suppressant or talk to your doctor. Habit: Selective listening. Change: Maybe you just tune people out when you’re thinking about something else. Try this: Pick a code word (not “HELLO!” – that’s annoying) for your spouse/kids/friends to use when they really want your attention. Habit: Being a back-seat driver. Change: Focus on something else (a conversation on another subject, something you did that day), not on what the driver is doing. Habit: Interrupting conversations. Change: If you’re interrupting, learn to be more patient and listen. If someone is interrupting you, perhaps you are rambling and should get to the point. Or, just ask the interrupter to let you finish your thought.

Make My Home Attractive to Buyers

When selling your home, look at your home through a potential buyer’s eyes, and follow these steps to make it show well and receive a good offer: • Clean and repair. Your buyer’s first impression is from the street. Clean up the yard, the landscaping and check your exterior paint job. On the inside, shampoo the carpets, scrub the floors and clear off all the counters. Remove old wallpaper and paint the walls a neutral color. Fix things that need fixing, like squeaky doors, broken tiles etc. • De-Clutter. Get rid of all that “stuff” you’ve accumulated in the garage, the backyard and the basement. And don’t forget the closets! • “Stage” it to look like a model home. Put away your personal items and remove large pieces of furniture. Ask your Coldwell Banker Danforth agent for ways to “dress up” your home (candles, new linens etc.) to maximize your selling potential.

Carpinito Brothers

Celibrating 50yrs of fresh this family owned and operated business started with two brothers selling produce from a roadside stand to make extra money. Mike and Dan sparked by their local FFA (Future Farmers of America) decided to turn their hobby into a business. As demand for local fresh produce flourished, they continued to acquire more land to expand their offerings. Mike and Dan along with their sons now manage over 800 acres of farmland in the Kent Valley. We think of Kent as the industrial and shipping center of Puget Sound but before all the concrete the Kent Valley was one of the country’s most fertile and productive per acre farmlands. Whether you need bark / topsoil, nursery / garden, fruits / vegetables, pumpkin patch/ farm fun yard or Christmas Trees support your local owners. www.carpinito.com

Choose to Spend Time Alone

Experts say that if being alone is your choice, you’re much more likely to enjoy the solitude and less likely to succumb to loneliness. But this doesn’t mean you have to become a hermit to be happy alone. It means you’re able to find happiness in solo pursuits of your choosing— exercising, birdwatching, creating art, or even working. If you struggle to do something you love when you’re alone, you may want to try an activity that boosts endorphin levels. After all, if you’re getting a happiness high from the activity, you’re more apt to do it again. Physical activity like gardening or beachcombing can work here (you don’t have to go to the gym to be physical), but you can also do volunteer work. Studies show volunteering makes people feel more fulfilled, and solo volunteer work may even be something you can do from home—think preparing meals for houseless people or making hats for preemie babies. The Japanese practice of “forest bathing” is a poetic term for something research has shown time and again: Spending time in nature is very good for us. Taking a solo hike in the woods is great, but movement isn’t necessary. You could knit in the park on your lunch break or watch flickers dig for ants in the backyard. It can also be a meditative experience, immersing yourself in the natural environment to allow you to take it in with all of your senses. Treat yourself to something special that you usually need company to justify, like dinner at a fancy restaurant or a ticket to the opera. And this doesn’t need to be expensive or even outside the home. You could cook a favorite meal, for instance, served on your good dishes. You don’t have to skimp on things you’d enjoy just because you’re flying solo.

Chose to Spend Time Alone

Experts say that if being alone is your choice, you’re much more likely to enjoy the solitude and less likely to succumb to loneliness. But this doesn’t mean you have to become a hermit to be happy alone. It means you’re able to find happiness in solo pursuits of your choosing— exercising, birdwatching, creating art, or even working. If you struggle to do something you love when you’re alone, you may want to try an activity that boosts endorphin levels. After all, if you’re getting a happiness high from the activity, you’re more apt to do it again. Physical activity like gardening or beachcombing can work here (you don’t have to go to the gym to be physical), but you can also do volunteer work. Studies show volunteering makes people feel more fulfilled, and solo volunteer work may even be something you can do from home—think preparing meals for houseless people or making hats for preemie babies. The Japanese practice of “forest bathing” is a poetic term for something research has shown time and again: Spending time in nature is very good for us. Taking a solo hike in the woods is great, but movement isn’t necessary. You could knit in the park on your lunch break or watch flickers dig for ants in the backyard. It can also be a meditative experience, immersing yourself in the natural environment to allow you to take it in with all of your senses. Treat yourself to something special that you usually need company to justify, like dinner at a fancy restaurant or a ticket to the opera. And this doesn’t need to be expensive or even outside the home. You could cook a favorite meal, for instance, served on your good dishes. You don’t have to skimp on things you’d enjoy just because you’re flying solo.

Whole House A/C

With Summer around the corner many homeowners are thinking about adding a heat pump system to keep their homes cool and comfortable. HVAC systems add higher than average return on investment compared to most other types of remodeling projects. Studies show Western Washington homes recoup between 60-71% when they sell.