FOR YOUR HEALTH: Holiday Stress-Management Tips for Young Adults

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The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy, celebration, and togetherness. But for most people, the holiday season is definitely not the jolliest time of the year. Young people in particular find the holidays stressful: A Healthline survey found that 65 percent of Gen Z were stressed out by the holiday season, a higher number than either millennials or Boomers.

What makes this season so difficult? “Family drama” was one of the top reasons cited in the survey, along with finances and struggles with eating and exercise. Grief and loss can also feel particularly intense during the holidays. For young people who are dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression, substance use disorder, or another mental health issue, the challenges of the holidays can make symptoms worse. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, two-thirds of those with mental health concerns report that the holidays make their condition worse.

Real life is a lot messier and more complicated than a Hallmark holiday movie. In addition, mental health during the holidays often takes a nosedive because we’re thrown off our usual self-care schedules. However, committing to simple yet effective holiday stress-management strategies can help young adults navigate the season without falling prey to the holiday blues.

Because family is traditionally at the center of holiday activities, family relationships—or the lack of these relationships—are one of the biggest factors contributing to the holiday blues.

This season can be especially hard for those who have troubled relationships with other family members. The same is true for those who are no longer in contact with family due to childhood trauma or other issues, such as a parent’s mental health or substance abuse struggles. The imagery of loving families that is everywhere at this time of year can bring up feelings of loneliness, grief, anger, and disappointment.

But even families who have strong and caring relationships can hit snags at this time of year. Spending lots of time together in close quarters often brings up old conflicts and disagreements. It can even trigger age regression, when young adults who are returning home after living on their own can fall back into the rebellious behaviors they had as teens. That’s particularly true if their parents haven’t adjusted yet to treating them as fellow adults rather than children.

Seven Tips to Reduce Holiday Stress

1. Create healthy boundaries

Boundaries can apply to relationships as well as self-care. For example, you may need to create boundaries around how much time you will spend with certain family members who can be emotionally triggering. Or you may need to set limits on your alcohol consumption if you’ll be going to lots of holiday parties with friends and family.

2. Get enough sleep

A recent study found that sleep is one of the top three pillars of mental health and well-being for young adults.

3. Remember that you’re not the only one feeling the holiday blues

You are not alone – struggles with mental health during the holidays are very common. The recognition that “it’s okay to not be okay” is just as true during the holiday season. Practice mindfulness and self-compassion, and reach out to loved ones who will understand and empathize with the emotions you’re experiencing.

4. Maintain your regular exercise schedule

Exercise is proven to increase stress resilience and reduce stress hormones.

5. Do something for others

Research shows that volunteering offers mental and physical health benefits, and there are lots of opportunities to do so during the holiday season.

6. Set realistic expectations

If the holidays tend to be a challenging time for you and your family, don’t expect that everything will change this year – even if you’ve changed and grown. Rather than striving for a picture-perfect holiday season, recognize and prepare for the moments that might be hard.

7. Focus on what’s meaningful for you about the holiday season

Whether or not you relate to the religious significance of the winter holidays, you can find a sense of meaning and authentic connection during this season – connection with yourself, others, and your greater community.

As we’ve seen, it’s not unusual to experience stress and holiday blues during this time of year. But if depressive symptoms are severe, or if they last longer than a week or two, the next step is to get a comprehensive mental health assessment and explore treatment options.

THE BEST VIEW: The pumpkin factor

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by Norma Best Boucher

Fall isn’t a date on my calendar, the lowering of the outside temperature, nor the coloring of leaves.

Fall is the day I buy my heirloom pale blue Jarrahdale pumpkin.

I didn’t start out being highfalutin.

On the contrary, I started out modestly years ago with a garden next to our house in Waterville where I grew green beans, yellow waxed beans, stunted carrots, ears and ears of too small yellow corn which I never ate because every year the raccoons raided all of the corn the night before we harvested (phew), a multitude of cucumbers, dozens of zucchinis, and hundreds of tomatoes.

No one warned me about how many tomatoes grew from 24 tomato plants fertilized with decades old cow manure.

Although I enjoyed eating all of the vegetables I grew, my favorite plants to grow were the gigantic sunflowers and the many orange pumpkins.

The sunflowers offered hours of enjoyment. Blue jays landed on the large flowers growing in the garden and heatedly pecked at the individual seeds causing the long, thick sunflower stems to sway back and forth with the weight of the birds.

Once I put sunflower heads on our front door for decoration and heard the loud “tap, tap, tap” on the wooden door. Two and three blue jays at a time pecking to dislodge the large flower seeds sounded more like a woodpecker drumming out his territorial dominance.

My favorite plant was the pumpkin.

At first, I grew the ordinary pumpkins which matured in a variety of shapes. My young son repositioned them daily to prevent any really oddly shaped pumpkins. We didn’t want any flat spots formed from where the pumpkin settled on the ground.

Later, I added the New England Pie Pumpkins, which were smaller, heavy, quite tasty, and perfectly pumpkin shaped. These always perfectly shaped pumpkins certainly gave their part of the garden a very regimented appearance.

As the garden leaves withered and browned, the lively orange toned pumpkins kept the dying garden alive with color.

My quest for the perfect pumpkin in Florida wasn’t an easy task. I first bought a very large, beautiful orange pumpkin for my fall display of “one pumpkin.” Within two weeks, the sun had literally cooked the inside of the vegetable giving my patio a very distinctive pumpkin pie aroma. The large pumpkin sunk from within.

I borrowed a neighbor’s cart to haul it away to the dumpster.

I thought about displaying a ceramic pumpkin or even a lightweight plastic pumpkin, but I was leery that ceramic would break or that plastic would fly away into someone else’s yard.

I reluctantly settled on a wooden stake with a painted pumpkin, but as realistic as it looked from a distance, up close and personal was a different story.

Then, one day while in the grocery store, I fell in love. Among the many differently colored pumpkins, I saw the one I wanted – a large, slightly flattened, round, almost perfectly vertically grooved BLUE pumpkin.

I had to have it. Who cared if it cooked from the inside? I was going to enjoy this pumpkin for as long as possible if for no other reason than my favorite color is BLUE.

From the grocery store bagger’s lifting and placing the pumpkin onto my car seat to my husband’s carrying and placing the pumpkin onto its place of honor, a multicolored earth toned upside down flowerpot, that globular BLUE fruit was MINE.

At first neighbors marveled:

“Wow!”

“Never saw anything like it.”

“A blue what?”

As time passed, people stopped less often. Then, as not just the weeks went by, but as the months flew by, neighbors questioned:

“That thing hasn’t rotted yet?”

“It must be full of ants.”

“Are you sure it’s real?”

Even I grew tired of the blue pumpkin. I had bought the amazing blue wonder in mid-September. The date was now May 15. I was eight months older, but the blue pumpkin hadn’t aged one bit. The blue had faded a little, but the skin was taut, and the flesh was still solid to the tap.

There was only one thing to do. I borrowed my neighbor’s cart and hauled the formerly loved pumpkin to the dumpster.

I went on with my life for the next four months and forgot about this experience. That is until yesterday when I was shopping at the grocery store. I turned the corner, and there they were…a multitude of pumpkins in varying shapes and colors.

I perused the display. Behind three white pumpkins was another of my beloved perfectly shaped large BLUE pumpkins…calling my name. The lure was just too much.

I moved the white pumpkins aside and somehow lifted the heavy BLUE sphere onto the bottom shelf of my grocery cart. Furtively, I checked out, lifted the pumpkin onto the car seat and then finally placed the beautiful BLUE orb onto its place of honor atop the flowerpot which had remained empty for the last four months.

I discovered – through the internet, no less – that the BLUE Jarrahdale pumpkin may last for up to 12 months. Something has to be done.

In the garden, pumpkins and sunflowers are companion plants. Although this new pumpkin is no longer growing, maybe sunflowers could benefit from being planted nearby.

I am going to plant two, four, maybe even six giant sunflower plants in my small sandy area surrounding my “one pumpkin” display. In 12 sunny Florida months I might even be able to get two plantings of sunflowers.

Let the Florida blue jays work for their winter seeds while they swing and sway on the flower heads, and, once again, I may smile as I watch them from my window.

This year I will not chuck the pumpkin when I tire of its beauty. I will, instead, harvest the seeds, dry them, and send them off to Maine gardening friends so they may enjoy a regimented area of their garden with nearly perfectly shaped BLUE pumpkins.

Any takers?

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Movies, TV and Christmas carols

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Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Killing Them Softly

I recently viewed a 2012 movie, Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt as a gangland enforcer, James Gandolfini as a Mafia hitman and Ray Liotta as the host for a mob protected high stakes polka game, with a very good supporting cast.

The plot features a businessman in need of extra funds who hires two inept hoods to rob the polka game. They initially get away but then one of them brags about the heist to the wrong individual and the repercussions rear their ugly head.

Despite the constant foul mouthed dialog and jokes, and the super hideous violence (maybe because of it), the movie was a box office success, which doesn’t reflect well on cinematic tastes. Ever since the emergence of such directors as Martin Scorcese, Quentin Tarantino etc., audiences relish the stylized combos of bloodshed and comedy displayed in Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, the Sopranos series etc., while the craft of the old Hollywood classics such as Citizen Kane, The Best Years of Our Lives, Vertigo and In the Heat of the Night – to name a few examples – is tossed aside.

To their credit, Pitt, Gandolfini and Liotta delivered superb performances but the movie still left a bad taste.

CSI

A certain amount of graphic realism was seen in the CSI series, which ran from 2000 to 2015 and, after a six-year hiatus, came back as CSI: Vegas. The difference lies in the episodes being more edifying on the gathering and analysis of evidence found at crime scene and less of violence and foul language for its own sake.

I am more than halfway through the first season and particularly enjoy the acting of William Petersen, Jorja Fox, Marg Helgensberger and Paul Guilfoyle as the investigative team.

Especially interesting is the use of facial reconstruction as part of the forensics. One episode that stood out involves a woman’s skull found inside the crawl space underneath the basement of a house by the plumber repairing a leaky pipe and the reconstruction of her face using computer graphics, the recognition of the missing woman and the resulting arrest of her murderer.

Christmas Carols

A mid-’50s lp, Epic LC 3074, and entitled simply Christmas Carols, features very expressive a capella performances of a mixture of well-known and rarely heard season selections by the Royal Male Choir of Holland, a group that was founded in 1883 and numbers 170 men.

Bing Crosby

On June 22, 1950, Bing Crosby recorded a ten-inch Decca 78 featuring renditions of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Teddy Bear’s Picnic that were captivatingly arranged, as was so consistently typical of Crosby’s sessions for Decca. In terms of quantity and quality, this singer with his over 4,000 recordings achieved a rare standard and sold more records than Sinatra, Presley and the Beatles combined.

Also Sinatra, Presley and the Beatles were among Crosby’s most loyal fans.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The mighty house mouse

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Common house mouse

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s, we used to watch Saturday morning cartoons, after we finally got a TV in 1958. We also saw them at the State Theater during Saturday kids’ shows. One of my favorite characters was Mighty Mouse, and how he would always get the better of Sylvester, the cat. Well, for some reason, this year, for the first time in the 47 years my wife and I have lived in our current home, we are experiencing a showdown with house mice.

I have managed to get one, but like the old saying goes, “If there’s one, there’s more.”

Well, another one has made its presence known. And I call it, Mighty House Mouse. Why? I have laid out two TomCat traps where I have seen signs of their presence. Both have been tripped, without the bait being touched. But the reason I call this mouse Mighty House Mouse is because both of the traps have been broken. The housing where the spring attaches is completely, and cleanly, broken off. What kind of mouse does this?

After all, the adult body length is about three inches and they weigh approximately 1-5/8 ounces.

The house mouse has been domesticated as the pet or fancy mouse, and as the laboratory mouse, which is one of the most important model organisms in biology and medicine.

A recent study revealed that the modern day house mouse emerged from an ancestral population in Indian subcontinent sometimes around 700,000 years ago. From there, this ancestral population migrated to Iran around 360,000 years ago and then to Afghanistan around 260,000 years ago.

House mice usually run, walk, or stand on all fours, but when eating, fighting, or orienting themselves, they rear up on their hind legs with additional support from the tail – a behavior known as “tripoding”. Mice are good jumpers, climbers, and swimmers, and are generally considered to be thigmotactic, i.e. usually attempt to maintain contact with vertical surfaces.

Mice are mostly nocturnal; they are averse to bright lights. The average sleep time of a captive house mouse is reported to be 12.5 hours per day. They live in a wide variety of hidden places near food sources, and construct nests from various soft materials. Mice are territorial, and one dominant male usually lives together with several females and young. Dominant males respect each other’s territories and normally enter another’s territory only if it is vacant. If two or more males are housed together in a cage, they often become aggressive unless they have been raised together from birth.

House mice primarily feed on plant matter, but are omnivorous. Mine seem to like bread, crackers, and, of all things, popping corn. I have seen an area where they hoard the corn. They eat their own faeces to acquire nutrients produced by bacteria in their intestines. House mice, like most other rodents, do not vomit.

The social behavior of the house mouse is not rigidly fixed into species-specific patterns but is instead adaptable to the environmental conditions, such as the availability of food and space. This adaptability allows house mice to inhabit diverse areas ranging from sandy dunes to apartment buildings.

In open areas such as shrubs and fields, the house mouse population is known as noncommensal. These populations are often limited by water or food supply and have large territories. Female-female aggression in the noncommensal house mouse populations is much higher, reaching a level generally attributed to free-ranging species. Male aggression is also higher in noncommensal populations. In commensal populations, males come into contact with other males quite frequently due to high population densities and aggression must be mediated or the risk of injury becomes too great.

In both agricultural and urban environments house mice are often preyed upon by the domestic cat. House mice usually live less than one year in the wild, due to a high level of predation and exposure to harsh environments. In protected environments, however, they often live two to three years.

House mice usually live in proximity to humans, in or around houses or fields. The house mouse first arrived in the Americas in the early 16th century. It was carried aboard on the ships of Spanish explorers and Conquistadors. About one hundred years later, it arrived in North America with French fur traders and English colonists. They have since been spread to all parts of the globe by humans.

Mice are widespread pest organisms, and one of the most common rodents to infest human buildings. They commonly forage outdoors during the spring and summer, but retreat into buildings through the autumn and winter to seek warmth and food. They typically feed on unattended food, leftovers and garden produce. Their foraging risks the contamination and degradation of food supplies, and can also spread other pests such as fleas, ticks and lice.

When infesting homes, house mice may pose a risk of damaging and compromising the structure of furniture and the building itself. They gnaw various materials to file down their growing teeth and keep the length under control. Common damage includes gnawed electrical wires, marks on wooden furniture and construction supporting elements, and textile damage.

House mice can sometimes transmit diseases, contaminate food, and damage food packaging. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a list with diseases transmitted by rodents, only a few of the diseases are transmitted through the house mouse.

In folk culture the importance of mice as a house and agricultural pest resulted in a development of a variety of mouse-related rituals and stories in world’s cultures. The Ancient Egyptians had a story about “The mouse as vizier”.

Many South Slavs had a traditional annual “Mouse Day” celebration. In the eastern Balkans (most of Bulgaria, North Macedonia, the Torlak districts of Serbia), the “Mouse Day” (Bulgarian: Миши ден, Мишин ден) was celebrated on October 9 of the Julian calendar (corresponds to October 27 of the Gregorian calendar in the 20th and 21st centuries), the next day after the feast of Saint Demetrius. In the western Balkans (Bosnia, Croatia), the Mouse Day would usually be celebrated in the spring, during the Maslenitsa week or early in the Lent.

Since I replaced the broken traps, I have seen no signs of the little rodents. By securing their food source, and placing some repellants, along with the traps, we seem to have driven them away.

That remains to be seen.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

On the Boston Celtics’ logo, what does the leprechaun have in his left hand?

Answer
A cane.

CRITTER CHATTER: The dangers of glue traps

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Red squirrel

by Jayne Winters

I knew immediately what I wanted to write about this month after seeing a young red squirrel recently admitted to Duck Pond Wildlife Rehab – he was the sole survivor of his litter mates who had come in contact with a glue trap. Although typically used to control or eliminate insects, mice, and rats, these horrible traps are advertised as, “a smart alternative to poisonous bait…non-toxic, easy to use and cost effective.” In reality, they are an ineffective, cruel and dangerous way to rid your home of pests.

Also known as glue board traps or trays, they are simply flat pieces of cardboard or plastic covered with a specially designed sticky adhesive, either scented (such as peanut butter) or unscented. They are placed on floors flush against the wall where rodents often travel. Because it appears to be part of the floor, a mouse will walk across it and immediately become stuck, unable to free itself until it eventually dies: an often agonizingly slow death by starvation or suffocation. The Humane Society states, “…they are responsible for more suffering than virtually any other wildlife control product on the market.” PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, notes it is “one of the cruelest methods of killing animals in existence today.”

Although their popularity is in part due to claims of being safe to use, there are concerns. If an animal is still alive while glue-trapped, people often try to beat it to death. This is inhumane and carries the risk of being bitten or scratched by the terrified victim.

Manufacturers suggest boards be thrown in the trash even if live animals are stuck to the surface, but they fail to mention the animals are left to struggle and die exhausted or injured days later. As observed with other trapped animals, “they have been known to bite through their limbs in an attempt to free themselves.” These traps are also dangerous to household pets, no matter their size. Removal may require surgery by a veterinarian, but even if a cat or dog manages to pull the trap or tray off, it likely will lose fur and/or skin. In addition, the US Centers for Disease Control advise against using glue traps because they increase people’s exposure to a variety of pathogens transmitted by animal feces and urine.

Despite bans in several countries and territories, the US has placed no regulations on their use and has provided very little consumer education about their potential dangers. Hundreds of companies, however, prohibit their sale, including Target, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens.

Other animals unintentionally trapped on these glue boards include chipmunks, opossums, birds, lizards, snakes, frogs, turtles – pretty much anything that lands on their surface. If you find an animal or bird caught on one of these traps, please consider it an emergency and contact either a vet or wildlife rehabber. Trying to release it yourself could cause further injury to the animal or possibly to you or anyone else attempting to help. Even if the animal doesn’t display injury, it is scared and in a stressful situation.

Killing wildlife is not a long-term solution for population control because survivors breed faster and more will move in to take the place of their deceased friends. Control of rodent populations should focus on removal of the cause and source, i.e., access and food. Plug entry holes with foam sealant, steel wool, hardware cloth, ammonia-scented rags/cotton balls or moth balls; store food items (especially pet food) in metal or airtight containers with lids, rather than in bags or boxes that can be chewed; remove clutter, grass clippings and weeds that might be used for nest building; pick up fallen fruit and veggies; store grills, outdoor furniture and wood piles away from buildings; and don’t feed wildlife, as grains and seeds will attract unwanted visitors. There are a variety of humane traps that catch critters alive for release away from your home, but free them in their natural territory so they can find shelter, food and water. If lethal methods for rodent control are recommended, at least be sure they die quickly.

The red squirrel at Duck Pond was carefully removed from the glue trap, but unfortunately left fur behind and its tail gunked up with glue. Don had been advised by another rehabber to apply PAM Cooking Spray to the fur, followed after 15-20 minutes by gentle cleaning with Dawn detergent (yes, just like in the duckling commercial!). Three weeks later, Little Red is thriving and the fur is slowly growing back on his stumpy tail. Don asked that I mention if anyone has questions about removing glue or any adhesive from an animal, to please give him a call.

Regarding the chipmunk and grey squirrel that were hit by vehicles in October, we had a totally different outcome than expected. The chipmunk, which was barely moving and just beginning to eat on its own, has survived and is very active, with a good appetite and normal grooming habits. The squirrel, although by outward appearances seemingly to have suffered only minor injuries, did not survive. He apparently succumbed to severe internal organ damage or failure.

Don and his volunteers greatly appreciate other rehabbers who continue to generously provide assistance to help keep critter care at Duck Pond manageable. Please check the following web sites to see if there is one near you: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/index.html – Donald Cote operates Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center on Rte. 3 in Vassalboro. It is a non-profit state permitted rehab facility which is supported by his own resources and outside donations. Mailing address: 1787 North Belfast Ave., Vassalboro ME 04989 TEL: (207) 445-4326. Please note the previous e-mail address is no longer monitored.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: How to Keep Your Mental Health in Check This Year

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For many people, the gifts, gatherings, eating and drinking at this time of year take a toll on their mental health. Mental health experts share some things you can do to help avoid holiday-related challenges.

(NAPSI)—While the joy and busyness of the holiday season can take a toll on some people’s mental health, that doesn’t have to be. There are ways to avoid holiday-related challenges.
People may feel stressed, sad or anxious during the holiday season for a variety of reasons. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, extra stress, unrealistic expectations, sentimental memories and other factors during the season may set some people up for temporary bouts of depression or anxiety.

Help Yourself to a More Jolly Season

However, mental health experts say there are things you can do to help avoid holiday-related challenges.

“Please remember, this is your holiday!” says Dr. Benjamin Yu, a psychiatrist in Roseville, California. “While there are many expectations and obligations from multiple sources (such as family, occupational, religious, social), this is still your time and you have the right to say yes or no. Chances are, what you would like to do is likely what others really want to do, and most of the time when you relay your desires and dislikes, this will lead to a more cohesive celebration.”

Many experts advise, among the holiday events and merry making, to try to keep up your normal daily routines as much as possible. That includes eating and drinking in moderation, avoiding alcohol if you’re feeling down and getting enough sleep. If you find yourself in a stressful situation at a family gathering, they say it’s OK to take a break.

“I often tell [patients] that when I used paper prescriptions, I would write a prescription to ‘have a migraine’ so they could say ‘my head hurts…I have to leave.’ It allows the person to exit without having their self-image damaged or their PTSD triggered,” says Dr. Nan Nelson, a psychiatrist in Beachwood, Ohio.

Taking part in other activities, such as breathing exercises, meditation and moving your body physically – even if it’s just off the couch – can also be helpful, according to the experts. Planning ahead may also be worthwhile.

“The winter holidays can bring on positive and negative emotions and memories. Keeping your emotional equilibrium during this time requires a delicate balance between body, mind and spirit. Before the holidays move into high gear, take a look at how you are feeling and make a plan that will keep you on an even keel this season,” says Dr. Paul B. Hill, a psychiatrist in Memphis, Tennessee.

Dr. Hill says it’s important to continue your current mental health therapies throughout the season.

Learn More

For more information on how to improve your mental health this year, ask your clinician or visit GeneSight.com/holidaymentalhealth.

THE BEST VIEW: White potato, blue potato…

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by Norma Best Boucher

I am writing a cookbook. No, really, I am. Everyone else has written a cookbook – a pioneer woman, a Barefoot Contessa, Frankie Avalon. Yes, even teen idol Frankie Avalon has written a cookbook. What to write about? That is the question.

Most chefs promote recipes that are their favorites but with a personal “twist.” I am tired of the favorites and need an alternative. I am talking about the potato.

I have loved the potato for decades, seven decades to be exact. My mother boiled them with little onions. I have mashed them, smashed them, and smothered them with butter, herbs, and sour cream. I have steamed them, baked them, roasted them, and even scalloped them, but I have run out of personal “twists” that make me say, “More potatoes, please.”

No one is more disappointed than I. Just when we have a cornucopia of “wonder food” potatoes filled with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, I, not the potato, have failed the potato test.

Oh, I may eat macaroni and cheese, but that is not my comfort food and will not sustain me through the cold winter. I cannot eat mac and cheese every day for six months, as I can the potato.

What to do? Oh, what to do?

Then, it hit me – rice. Rice sustains the other half of the world’s population. Rice is filled with all of the nutrients I need, and I have so many choices: white, brown, Arborio, jasmine, basmati, wild and even forbidden rice. My quest began.

First, I tried the white – short, medium and long grain. I progressed to the brown, a nutty experience. I made risotto with the Arborio and continued with the fragrant jasmine and the non-clumping basmati. I went to my wild side with the wild rice and then finally to the forbidden rice that only the emperor could eat.

I tried. I really did, but they just didn’t make it. I cooked the rice in chicken broth, fruit juices and even wine. I added toppings – roasted vegetables, marscarpone cheese, dates, cherries, apples, pecans, cashews, and even pistachio nuts. I added everything but chocolate. I loved the toppings, but the rice was still just rice. I missed my beloved potato.

“I love the toppings,” I thought.

“I love potatoes,” I thought.

The white potato, the blue potato, the red potato, the gold potato, the sweet potato, the fingerlings, and the baby potatoes all took on a new meaning to my life. I started adding the cheese, the dates, the cherries, the apples, and all of the nuts.

Once again, I was at one with the potato.

A cookbook was born.

If a pioneer woman, a Barefoot Contessa, and a teen idol can publish a cookbook, so can I.

Watch out, Amazon.com, here I come: Potatoes – Everything but Chocolate, by a Twisted Potato Lover.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Christmas music

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Peter Knight

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Christmas music

Reader’s Digest released a number of record sets devoted to Christmas music, one being a 1985, two LP set Joy to the World. It contains two sides of 15 famous carols performed with decent professionalism by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Peter Knight (1917-1985); Knight’s name might be familiar to fans of the Moody Blues as he scored the strings for the group’s album Days of Future Passed.

Side 3 is devoted to a lushly overdone Christmas Suite for Orchestra consisting of the tried and true seasonal pop songs – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, etc., with Waldtaufel’s classical Skater’s Waltz tacked on the end.

Side 4 has organ and bells instrumentals of The First Noel, Schubert’s Ave Maria, Good King Wenceslas and a couple of others. Nice arrangements in very small doses.

Caribbean Calypsos

A 1956 Capitol album (T 10071) Caribbean Calypsos features three vocalists – Tony Johnson and a singer simply known as the Torpedo, both men natives of Jamaica; and the older Lord Beginner (1904-1981) who came from Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The selections have such titles as I Will Die a Bachelor, Wheel and Turn Me, Don’t Fence Her In, Lazy Janie and Queen Elizabeth Calypso. And the lyrics evoked the peaceful contentment of life then in both islands while downplaying its difficulties.

The birth names of Lord Beginner and the Torpedo, respectively, were the good old-fashioned English names of Egbert Moore and Nevil Cameron and were zealously kept a secret from their fans in the island. Lord Beginner sold more records than any other Calypso singer, save for Harry Belafonte who surpassed him by a narrow margin.

Interestingly, as of the mid-50s, all three singers were residing in England.

Wienerwalzer Paprika

Wienerwalzer Paprika (Mercury MG50190) is an LP recorded during the summer of 1958 at the Vienna Konzerthaus Grosse Saal, one of the grand buildings erected during the reign of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph to function as a concert hall and still in use, most famously as the location of the Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Eve concerts broadcast worldwide.

The album doesn’t contain a single waltz by Vienna’s immortal Waltz King Johann Strauss Junior (1825-1899), instead focusing on six waltzes by as many composers:

1. Josef Lanner (1801-1835) – Die Schonbrunner Waltz; btw, Lanner, who was a self-taught violinist, formed a quartet to earn money performing at social gatherings and his second violinist was Johann Strauss Senior (1800-1849).

2. Josef Strauss (1827-1870) – Village Swallows Waltz; Josef was the younger brother of the Waltz King.

3. Emil Waldtaufel (1837-1915) – The Skater’s Waltz. This classic was conducted with more musicality than the above-mentioned rendition in the Reader’s Digest set.

4. Franz Lehar (1870-1948) – Merry Widow Waltz. I own numerous recordings of Lehar’s perpetually charming music for his Viennese operettas, the Merry Widow being quite rightfully his most famous.

5. Erno Dohnanyi (1877-1960) – Wedding Waltz. Dohnanyi was also a noted pianist, conductor and teacher in Budapest and, during his last ten years, at the University of Florida in Tallahassee.

During the Nazi occupation of Hungary, Dohnanyi’s personal intervention saved the lives of several dozen Jewish musicians. His son Hans was an admiral in the German navy but took an active role in the anti-Nazi resistance, as did his daughter’s husband, the renowned theologian Dietrich Bonhoffer; both men were arrested by the Gestapo and later executed.

Hans’s son Christoph Dohnanyi became Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1984 to 2002 and is still active at the age of 94.

6. Emmerich Kalman (1882-1953) – The Gypsy Princess Waltz. Kalman was completing the Gypsy Princess in Budapest in 1915, while World War I was raging around him and, since its premiere in Vienna, the Operetta has been produced over 8,000 times worldwide.

Antal Dorati (1906-1988) conducted performances of vivid distinction while Mercury’s then-revolutionary technique of using one microphone placed strategically in the hall captured a full range of sound with tremendous clarity.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The Maine coon cat

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Maine Coon Cat

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

I don’t usually do a column on domestic house pets, but I think this one is worth the exception. I have this Maine coon cat that hangs around my house. It belongs to the next door neighbors, but it seems to have claimed my yard as part of its territory.

The Maine coon cat is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, and is recognized as the official state cat.

Although the Maine coon’s origins and date of introduction to the United States are unknown, there are many theories. The breed was popular in cat shows in the late 19th century, but its existence became threatened when long-haired breeds from overseas were introduced in the early 20th century. The breed has made a recovery, and is second only to the Persians in popularity throughout the world.

There are only theories and folklore as to their origin. One involves Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, who was executed in 1793. The story goes that before her death, Antoinette attempted to escape France with the help of Capt. Sam­uel Clough. She loaded Clough’s ship with her most prized possessions, including six of her favorite Turkish Angora cats. Although she did not make it to the United States, her pets safely reached the shores of Wiscasset, where they bred with other short-haired breeds and evolved into the modern breed of Maine coon.

Another folk story involves Capt. Charles Coon, an English seafarer who kept long-haired cats aboard his ships. Whenever Coon’s ship would anchor in New England ports, the felines would exit the ship and mate with the local feral population. When long-haired kittens began appearing in the litters of the local cat population, they were referred to as one of “Coon’s cats.”

A myth which is trait-based, though genetically impossible, is the idea that the modern Maine coon descended from ancestors of semi-feral domestic cats and raccoons. This myth would account for the common color of the breed (brown tabby) and its bushy tail. Another idea is that the Maine coon originated between the matings of domestic cats and wild bobcats, which could explain the tufts of hairs that are so commonly seen on the tips of the ears.

The generally-accepted theory among breeders is the possibility that the short-haired domestic cats and long-haired breeds brought from overseas, were responsible, especially the 11th century Vikings. The Maine coon bears strong resemblance to the Norwegian Forest Cat.

The first mention of Maine coons in a literary work was in 1861, when a black and white Maine coon by the name of Captain Jenks of the Horse Marines, was written about by co-owner F. R. Pierce, who wrote a chapter in Frances Simpson’s The Book of Cats in 1903.

In 1895, a dozen Maine coons were entered in a show in Boston. On May 8, 1895, the first North American cat show was hosted at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. A female Maine coon brown tabby, named Cosey, won the silver collar and medal, and was named best in show.

In the early 20th century, the Maine coon’s popularity began to decline with the introduction of other long-haired breeds, such as Persians. The last recorded win by a Maine coon in a national cat show was in 1911 in Portland, Oregon. The breed was rarely seen after that. The decline was so severe that is was prematurely declared extinct in the 1950s.

Maine coons are known as “gentle giants” and possess above-average intelligence, making them easy to train. They are known for being loyal to their families and cautious, but not mean, around strangers, but are independent and not clingy. It is not generally known as a lap cat, but their gentle disposition makes the breed relaxed around dogs, other cats and children. They are playful throughout their lives, the male more so than the female.

Maine coons have a fascination with water, and some theorize that this trait comes from their ancestors, who were aboard ships for much of their lives.

Maine coons are generally a healthy and hardy breed, and have adapted to survive the New Eng­land climate. Their most severe threat is a heart disease most commonly found in cats, whether pure bred or not. Another potential health problem is spinal muscular atrophy, a disease which causes the loss of the neurons in the spinal cord that activate the skeletal muscles of the trunk and limbs.

They have several physical adaptations for survival in harsh winter climates. Their dense fur is water resistant and the shaggier hair on their underside and rear protect them when walking or sitting on top of wet surfaces of snow and ice. Their long and bush raccoon-like tail is resistant to sinking in snow, and can be curled around their face and shoulders for warmth and protection from wind and blowing snow.

My wife and I have had our share of cats over the years, and choose not to have any more. But if I were to have another cat, it would be a Maine coon. There seems to be a mystique about them.

IMPROVEMENT?

Well, Patriots fans, what do you take away from Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants, 10-7?

I think it’s an improvement. After losing, 10-6, to Indianapolis two weeks ago, they only lost by three points instead of four. It is a sad affair when your defense gives up only 10 points in each of those games, and they still lose. It can only get better, right? Can you say, 2-15?

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

The New England Patriots were the first NFL team to achieve what record during the regular season?

Answer
Three.

FOR YOUR HEALTH – Be A Holiday Hero: Get Vaccinated This Season

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CVS Pharmacy can help you and your family fight the flu this season.

(NAPSI)—With respiratory virus season in full swing, you may think it’s too late for you and your family to get vaccinated against the flu. The good news: it’s not.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there’s still time to get your flu shot because flu typically peaks in February and can continue into May. Since it takes up to two weeks to build protection against the flu, getting vaccinated now will help protect yourself, your friends and your family from the flu as you gather during the holidays.

Like Thanksgiving, getting your flu shot is an annual event

It’s important to get a flu shot every year because the body’s protection from the vaccine declines over time. Also, flu viruses vary from year to year, so receiving the latest vaccine formulation provides optimal protection. It’s especially important to protect at-risk populations—such as adults 65 and older – from severe illness.

One-stop shop for immunization and illness prevention needs

There are more than 9,000 CVS Pharmacy locations that also offer COVID-19, RSV and more than 15 other preventive vaccines, providing the protection needed as multiple viruses circulate at the same time. CVS Pharmacy is convenient­—85% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of one. This makes it easy for people to get vaccinated and find items such as over-the-counter cold and flu symptom relief products, immune support supplements and disinfectant cleaning products, and take all the steps necessary to help protect against illness this winter. CVS Pharmacy also carries antiviral medications, which require prescriptions and provide treatment if you do get sick with the flu.

Advanced scheduling for vaccine appointments

At CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic, you can conveniently schedule vaccines for yourself and your family in the same appointment via digital scheduling (through CVS.com, MinuteClinic.com or the CVS Pharmacy app), and the pharmacy offers walk-in appointments for people of all ages, seven days per week. As an added bonus, anyone who receives a CDC-recommended vaccine through the end of the year at CVS Pharmacy will get a $5 off $20 in-store coupon.

Learn More

Visit www.cvs.com or www.minuteclinic.com for more information on the vaccines offered. Certain immunizations have age and location restrictions.