editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
June 2011
Serving the Lafayette Community The Gift Grows On
By Jody Morgan
Photo by Rita Bohling
Students Raise Money for Clean Safe Drinking Water
St. Perpetua School second graders raised over $550 for UNICEF’s Tap Project. Second grade students spoke to other classes, and the Student Council wrote articles for the weekly school bulletin and made posters to inform the school community about Tap Project and the need for clean safe water in developing countries. The message the students delivered was a reminder that $1 equals 40 days of clean water for a child in a developing country, $5 is worth 200 days with clean water, and $10 is worth 400 days of clean water. “It’s important to do a project that will help all kids have clean water because they need clean water to keep them healthy and make their lives better,” said Rita Bowling, 2nd grade teacher at St. Perpetua School. Since 1990, UNICEF has helped 1.6 billion people gain access to clean water and sanitation. Donations raised through the UNICEF Tap Project campaign have funded a variety of lifesaving projects including water access improvements in Cote d’Ivoire, sanitation improvement in Nicaragua, emergency response and water in Iraq, and school sanitation and clean water projects in Belize. Donations can be sent to UNICEF, Lauren Savage, 125 Maiden Lane, 11th floor, New York, NY 10038.
Diablo Valley Quilters By Fran Miller
In today’s society, where instant gratification is the desired norm and ‘faster is always better’ is the reigning philosophy, can a genteel activity requiring skill, patience, and artistic creativity survive? If that activity happens to be quilting, the answer appears to be ‘yes.’
“Besides being an artistic expression, quilting also answers the basic human need for comfort and warmth,” says Dianne Barnett, past president and current parliamentarian of Diablo Valley Quilters. “I don’t think quilting is merely a passing fad like macrame,
See Quilters continued on page 24 PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit 21 Lafayette CA
Imagine a gift that’s growing across 2 ½ acres with living branches brushing the sky. Would you deed it to a stranger? Fortunately for the generations of visitors benefiting from her generosity, Ruth Bancroft’s aptitude for assessing an appropriate preservation opportunity matched her ability to envision harmonious horticultural compositions. Many visitors to the Ruth Bancroft Garden still ask: “Will this all be housing?” In 1988, Frank Cabot expressed a similar concern. Friends claiming Ruth’s th Ruth Bancroft celebrating her 100 birthday. Photo by Jane Rotermund. dry garden was a sight he shouldn’t miss dragged Frank to Walnut Creek. Arriving with no expectation that a collection of drought tolerant plants would interest him, Cabot was overwhelmed by Ruth’s ingenious combination of colorful succulent carpets with statuesque trees and flowering plants from around the world. Tactfully phrasing the question to his octogenarian hostess, Frank asked what would happen to the garden when she could no longer tend it. Having already addressed the issue with her offspring, Ruth replied, “When I go, the garden goes.” Appalled, Cabot promised he would not let that happen. Over the course of the next few years, he set up the Garden Conservancy. Giving her work of the past two decades to the public as the first property in Cabot’s non-profit organization permitted Ruth to preserve it. Ruth’s interest in succulents began in the early 1950’s when she set out to buy furniture at a yard sale and spotted a potted plant she craved. The lady of the house, Mrs. Glenn Davidson, happily sold Ruth an Aeonium that she’d
See Bancroft continued on page 17
Research Before Donating By Alisa Corstorphine
Friends of the Lafayette Library and Learning Center, entirely with the help of volunteers, manage and run the Friends Corner Book Shop which helps support the Lafayette Library and Learning Center with additional library hours, library materials, and special programs. The Friends are projecting to raise $100,000 this year to help support these projects and are dependent on the contributions of used books, DVDs, and CDs from the community to meet their goals. However, the Friends are facing a new challenge. A national corporation has started putting used book blue bins in many supermarket parking lots (the Safeway parking lot in Lafayette) Volume V - Number 6 as a convenient way for people to PO Box 1335 get rid of old media which in turn Lafayette, CA 94549 has diverted donations away from Telephone (925) 405-NEWS, 405-6397 Fax (925) 406-0547 local charities and libraries. editor@yourmonthlypaper.com The bins are marked for Reading Tree, a charity, but in Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher fact there appears to be a murky The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Lafayette Today. Lafayette Today is line between the nonprofit and not responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein,
See Donate cont. on page 13
nor does publication imply endorsement.
Page 2 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
Boulevard View
By Alisa Corstorphine, Editor
As my youngest child finishes up her senior year of high school, I know diplomas will soon be presented and the ceremonies and parties soon over. My daughter is preparing to continue her education at UC Davis. Done are the days of SATs, ACTs, and college applications... So as she and her friends and the rest of the class of 2011 are proceeding into the next chapter of their lives, I will share some thoughts I wish to impart. As noted in the number one graduation book Oh! The Places You Will Go by Dr. Suess: “You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!”
www.yourmonthlypaper.com Wherever the road takes you it is your opportunity to meet new people, perhaps learn about a new town, undertake a new activity, or join a new group. Use this time to explore anything and everything that interests you. As a graduate, if college isn’t in your sights for the upcoming year, hopefully there will be opportunities for a job, travel, reading, or time with friends. Recharge your batteries, save some money, volunteer. Be open to new things. Although you may have been sure you have wanted to be a fashion designer, or a firefighter, or a professional singer since your were six, college and experiences may open your eyes to new opportunities. Explore the offerings that are open to you. Hopefully you’ll find something you love to do, something that becomes your passion. That way even though it may become a job or career, it will never seem like work. Although my daughter is thinking of following a pre-med track with the possibility of becoming an emergency room doctor, she is looking forward to taking the “Field Equipment Operation” (aka Tractor Driving) class that Davis offers. The course offers experience in driving machines from rustic John Deere’s to modern marvels with air conditioning. It is not necessarily the actual tractor operation skills that she will most likely rely on in the future, but it is a chance to do something completely different and also an opportunity to learn more about agriculture and what it takes to produce the food we consume. Who knows? She may discover a new passion, interest, or career option. Find balance. Plan for the future, but keep in touch with old friends. Don’t spend endless hours playing video games or watching TV. Write down the things that are most important to YOU. Put them in a place where they can be seen and reflected upon. Prioritize your goals. Follow your dreams. No one was born a movie star or a famous scientist. They had to create that reality for themselves, and, in most cases, that involved a lot of hard work. Anything is possible if you want it badly enough. Go out and make it happen. Work towards your goals. When you prioritize, the difficult decisions become very simple. A story told by an unknown author tells of a professor giving a lecture to his class. The professor began class with a large jar that he proceeded to fill with big rocks. When he asked the students if the jar was full, and they agreed it was, the professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them in the jar. He lightly shook the jar so the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the big rocks. The students once again thought the jar was full. Then the professor proceeded to pour sand into the jar, and of course the sand filled the remaining space. When asking the students they unanimously agreed the jar was now completely full. The professor then produced two cups of coffee and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand and the students laughed. The professor proceeded saying, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The large rocks are the important things - your family, your education, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else were lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first,” the professor continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the large rocks. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.” Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Try your best at school. Take time for yourself. Exercise. Read. There will always be time to worry about life’s little intricacies. Take care of the large rocks first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities, the rest is just sand. At then end of the demonstration a student asked what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and responded, “It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a cup of coffee with a friend.” Don’t underestimate what you are capable of. Jobs may not be plentiful upon graduation, and you may need to create your own opportunities. Believe in yourself. Don’t fear failure, and don’t forget to call home!
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 3
Summer Outdoor Movie Series
The City of Lafayette and the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce jointly announce the inaugural Summer Outdoor Movie Series to be held the third Thursday of the month through August, starting at 8PM at the Lafayette Plaza. This summer, as part of our ongoing effort to enliven downtown, the City of Lafayette and the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce are planning, once again, to screen outdoor movies in the Lafayette Plaza. Below is the summer line-up: • June 16 ~ How to Train Your Dragon ~ PG • July 21 ~ Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark ~ PG • August 18 ~ Finding Nemo ~ G Residents can shop for their local produce at the Farmer’s Market and stay for the family-friendly film! So invite your friends, family, and neighbors, bring a blanket or two, shop at the farmers market for a fresh and delicious picnic or pick-up a meal to go at the nearby restaurants, and stake out your spot on the Lafayette Plaza greens for the free family entertainment. The movies will follow the Farmer’s Market at sundown. Sweets and drinks will be available for purchase. A raffle with prizes awarded each evening will be held. Donations will also be collected at each event. All proceeds will go towards maintaining this event as a recurring summer series next year and beyond. We’re also looking for volunteers to help coordinate, manage, and raise funds for this event. If you are interested, please contact Michael Cass at (925) 299-3219.
Orinda’s Annual 4th of July Celebration
Colorful floats, classic cars, marching bands, lots of musical groups, and even trained dogs will delight youngsters of all ages at Orinda’s annual 4th of July parade. The parade begins at 10AM and will travel from the south side of Orinda (near the Orinda Theater), under the freeway, and over to the north side, ending at the Orinda Community Center Park at approximately 11:30AM. Sponsored by the Orinda Association in partnership with the Orinda Community Foundation, the day’s festivities begin at 7:30AM with the Roadrunners’ Pancake breakfast followed by the Roadrunners’ Fun Run and Haley’s Run for a Reason. Participants can choose between a 2-mile run/walk or a 5-mile run through scenic parts of Orinda and EBMUD watershed. Saint John’s Immediately following the parade, a host of fun activities will take place in the Orinda Community Park. The popular petting zoo, Orinda Motors’ Hot Wheels booth, and Miramonte High School’s Anglican Mission football toss return along with Twistyman’s balloon creations and Jerome the Juggler. New this year Member World-wide Anglican Communion will be a fun laser tag game for all ages. The Bob Claire Orchestra brings its bluesy beat to the park Sunday Worship 11am concert as revelers enjoy one of the many food and beverage booths. at Chapel of Santa Maria Church, Orinda For the complete schedule of activities, the parade route, and road closures, go to www. Visitors Welcome orindaassociation.org or call 925-254-0800.
925.386.6393
Motorama!
If you like classic and other interesting cars, motorcycles, or bicycles, downtown Lafayette is the place to be on Fathers Day, June 19th. That’s because the Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Club is presenting the second annual “Motorama – World of Wheels” in the parking lot shared by Postino restaurant and the Clocktower on Mount Diablo Boulevard. Dads (and everyone else) are invited. Gates open at 9AM, and admission is free! Motorama strives to be big enough to have plenty to see, small enough to make it easy to see it all, and diverse enough to have something for a wide range of tastes. “This is a fun, low-key, family-friendly display of many different types of cars, motorcycles, and bicycles, ones that bring smiles to the faces of both enthusiasts and the general public,” said event chair Krysten Laine. You can also treat dad to the VIP Tent where, for a modest fee, massages, Scotch tastings, and Photo by Tom Black special surprises await. Food and beverages will be available for all. “This event is a real hit with all ages,” said Laine. “Rotary is a 106-year-old service organization,” said club president Thomas Peeks. “Among the many local community service projects we sponsor is our popular HOME Team, started a year ago. Club members volunteer their time in performing minor, but important, home repair and maintenance chores for seniors who can no longer do them themselves.” Peeks stressed that all net proceeds help to fund service projects. “Not one cent goes to overhead or administrative costs.” For additional information or to register a vehicle, visit www.motorama.us.
Jazz in July
The Lafayette United Methodist Church, located at 955 Moraga Rd. in Lafayette, is having Jazz in July on Sunday, June 26 at 10AM. The service, in the fellowship hall, will feature the Joyful Noise Jazz Band and will be followed by a chicken picnic lunch. All are welcome. If there are questions, please contact the church by phone at (925)284-4765 or by email at lumc@pacbell.net.
info@saintjohnsanglican.org www.saintjohnsanglican.org • http://anglicanchurch.net
Our mission is to provide personalized care, help maintain independence and enhance our client’s quality of life on a daily basis.
Heartfelt & Supportive At All Times... www.excellentcareathome.com
• Free in-home assessments • Regular home visits ensure the right care plan • Hourly care for you • Live-in care • Fully bonded and insured • Geriatric care mgmt. • Elder referral and placement 3645 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite D Lafayette, CA 94549 (beside Trader Joe’s)
925-284-1213
Page 4 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
Summer Solstice Labyrinth Walk
The Summer Solstice Labyrinth Walk will take place on Friday, June 17 at the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church located at 49 Knox Drive in Lafayette. This come-and-go event is available between 7 and 8PM. Labyrinths are an ancient tool which are undergoing a revival of interest and use. Guides for walking the labyrinth will be available. The chapel will be open for prayers and occasional readings, and a flutist will be playing. Labyrinth walkers are encouraged to celebrate the coming summer and reflect on past ones. Join us for this quiet evening walk in preparation of summer. Everyone is welcome. For more information, call (925) 283-8722 or (925) 820-4332.
Lamorinda Peace and Justice
The Lamorinda Peace and Justice Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 7 – 9PM in the fireside room of Lafayette Methodist Church, 955 Moraga Road, Lafayette. Our group is committed to working to support a healthy planet, a thriving local community, and a safe, equitable world for all. For more information, call 925-946-0563.
Dog Days of Summer
A fundraiser for the White Kitty Foundation will be held on the patio at Pyramid Brewery located at 1410 Locust St in Walnut Creek on Saturday, July 23 from 3-7pm. The afternoon will feature music by Tone Pony and will include appetizers and custom ales from Pyramid Brewery. There will also be a silent auction with items donated by local merchants. The White Kitty Foundation (www.whitekittyfoundation.org) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the care, nurture, and quality of life of the domestic animals in our community. Through donations and fundraising, the Foundation shelters, rehabilitates and cares for animals, regardless of condition, to ultimately find them a home where they can flourish. Advanced ticket purchase prices are $20 for adults and $10 for children. For tickets, call (925)837-2411 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com.
www.yourmonthlypaper.com
Contra Costa County Library Launches Discover & Go
Looking for something fun, educational, and free to do with the family? Have guests coming into town and want to show off the area’s cultural highlights? The Contra Costa County Library announces Discover & Go, an exciting new service providing library cardholders residing in Contra Costa County with free passes to local museums and cultural institutions. A first of its kind, Discover & Go provides access to passes that can be printed online rather than traditional physical passes that must be picked up and returned to the Library. Each Discover & Go pass expires immediately after the reservation date – no returns required and no possibility for overdue fines! This unique program allows library users to make reservations online by date or by venue and immediately print out a pass or print later for free at any Library. Customers without Internet access can reserve a pass by telephone or in person. Library cardholders can reserve up to two passes at one time from the following list of destinations: •Asian Art Museum • The Marine Mammal Center • Bay Area Discovery Museum • Museum of Craft and Folk Art • Beat Museum • Museum of the African Diaspora • Bedford Gallery • Oakland Aviation Museum • Blackhawk Museum • Oakland Museum of California • California Academy of Sciences • Pacific Pinball Museum • California Historical Society • San Jose Museum of Art • California Shakespeare Theater • San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles • Cartoon Art Museum • The Tech Museum • Charles M. Schulz Museum • Town Hall Theatre • Contemporary Jewish Museum • UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive • Exploratorium • USS Hornet Museum • Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse • Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum • Habitot Children's Museum • Yerba Buena Center for the Arts • Lindsay Wildlife Museum • Zeum: San Francisco's Children's Museum Exhibit-related recommended reading lists hand-selected by library staff will be available from the Discover & Go website at discover.ccclib.org. To learn more about Contra Costa County Library, visit ccclib.org or call 800-984-4636.
Town Hall Theatre
Town Hall Theatre brings laughter and drama to your summer with two fantastic productions. The final show of our 2010-2011 Main Stage season, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night runs through June 25th. This outlandish comedy brings a boat-full of laughs. July 29-31 heralds the return of our Teen Actors Guild featuring some of the greatest young talent in Lamorinda. Shellie Award-winner, Joel Roster, directs a teen cast as they present Thornton Wilder's classic Our Town. This haunting play takes its audience to the fictional town Grovers Corners, New Hampshire is this Pulitzer Prize-winning love letter to theatre and America. Tickets and information on these and other shows and events can be found at www.TownHallTheatre.com.
Assistance League Way Side Inn Thrift Shop Lic# 1100014354; Bay Area Entertainment
Lost Dog!
$50 REWARD If you find him and your name is drawn!
He is very small, so you will have to look hard if you want to find him.
Lafayette Luther is Missing He has become lost in this paper.
To be eligible send a letter telling us where you found him, along with your name and address to: Lost Dog! Lafayette Today, PO Box 1335 • Lafayette, CA 94549
Eleanor Grakauskas is our winner! Luther was hiding on page 10 last month.
When you visit Assistance League® Way Side Inn Thrift Shop, located at 3521 Golden Gate Way in Lafayette, the week of June 14th, you will see red! That’s right--red, white and blue. Many of you have celebrated the Fourth of July in previous years with purchases made at the thrift shop. This year's observance should be no different; in fact, it can be virtually “over the top”! Be the first to drop by to see all of the Fourth of July Merchandise - tee shirts, caps, decorations; it’s all about one-stop shopping. The week of June 21st will launch “Disneymania” at the thrift shop. Again, volunteer members have worked especially hard to rekindle this great American pasttime by sorting and storing memorabilia for an entire year. Relive magical moments from childhood, or collect items that would enhance any “Mickey Collection” at recession-proof prices. Assistance League of Diablo Valley thanks you for your donations and purchases. Thinking of others who are in need and at risk enriches our lives and remains a pervasive part of our heritage. To learn more about Assistance League of Diablo Valley and the Way Side Inn Thrift Shop, visit www. diablovalley.assistanceleague.org.
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Elks Lodge Honors Students
Elks Lodge 1811 of Walnut Creek honored local students with scholarship awards at their recent youth awards night. For outstanding academic achievement and community service, each student was given a $700 award. Emelyn Erickson competed in district competition and reached State competition to receive an $8,000 scholarship. The Elks community, family, and friends congratulate our future leaders.
Lafayette Reservoir to Add a Permanent Stage
Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 5
After years of planning, the Lafayette Rotary Club has reached an agreement with the East Bay Municipal Utility District to build a small permanent stage at the Lafayette Reservoir! The location will be in a natural amphitheater on the east side of the dam. Because of the beautiful setting, much care will be taken to nestle the stage into the young trees near the reservoir’s edge, with as little disturbance as possible of the habitat. See Stage continued on page 18
Award recipients left to right: Adrienne Moore and Clay Sanders from Campolindo High School, Kyle Williams from De La Salle High School, Lauren Boag from California High School in San Ramon, and Emelyn Erickson from Los Lomas High School
LCF Grants
Since 2000, Lafayette Community Foundation (LCF) has given over $250,000 in grants to a variety of local organizations, making a significant impact on their projects. These grants are possible due to generous contributions by the donors of the community of Lafayette. A total of $10,000, parceled into multiple grants, was given to area organizations this spring in order to further the Foundation’s mission of “Investing in programs and projects that promote and enhance the civic, cultural, educational and environmental health of Lafayette and beyond.” Two of the grant recipients for the Spring 2011 grants included WomenSing and The Lamorinda Adult Respite Center (LARC).
See Grants continued on page 19
In recognition of her outstanding volunteer work in the community, Jan Coe received the Distinguished Woman Award of 2011 from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) at their recent luncheon. Pictured above, Mary Stephens Smith (left) presents the “annual album” to Jane Coe.
An American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry survey reveals that 92% of adult respondents say an attractive smile is an important social asset. 74% believe an unattractive smile can hurt a person’s chances for a successful career. More than any other facial feature, a smile can reflect trust, comfort, confidence and the shortest path to reflecting your personality. Dr Rader is a graduate of the prestigious Las Vegas Institute (LVI), a renowned center for cosmetic,TMJ, and Neuromuscular dentistry. He is one of a few dentists nationwide to complete Full Mouth Reconstruction curriculum at LVI.
925.932.1855 Alex Rader DDS
General, Cosmetic, and Neuromuscular Dentistry 1855 San Miguel Dr, Suite 12 • Walnut Creek, CA
www.alexraderdds.com
Actual patient, smile design by Alex Rader, DDS
Page 6 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
The Bookworm By Joan Stevenson
“In the Good Old Summertime, when school is over, and Moraga Road at 8:00 is navigable…” Those are not the words that Judy Garland used in 1949, but she did not live in Lafayette. For the kids, “no more pencils, no more books...”, well, not quite. Actually it is the time when you can choose your own book, and we have just the places to go to do that. Come and see what the library has planned for you, and check out the Corner Book Shop for affordable treasures. Come and meet Yvonne Prinz, winner of this year’s the Beatty Award by the California Library Association on Tuesday, June 21st from 7:30PM 9PM at the Community Hall. Teen girls, get a hip and fun jump to your summer reading with Yvonne Prinz, author of the acclaimed young adult novels, All You Get is Me and Vinyl Princess. Her latest, All You Get is Me, is the story of 16-year old Roar, a city girl who is transplanted into the middle of nowhere on an organic farm. Believe it or not, everything happens in the middle of nowhere -- love, loss, justice...and chickens. The Lafayette Library celebrates reading and adventure all summer long during the 2011 Summer Reading Festival, “One World, Many Stories.” Reading programs are available for babies, kids, teens, and adults. Special events will be held throughout the summer, so pick up your reading record today! Here is some important news: Waldo is hiding in the library! Join the search by coming to the library on Mondays. Can you find him? Here is a clue. He’s hiding somewhere in the Children’s Area. Every Monday during the summer he’ll find a new hiding spot for the week. If you find him at least six different weeks during the course of the summer, you’ll win a prize! And you can take Waldo with you. Just grab a cut-out from our friendly librarians, and take him along on your own adventures--to the park, to
www.yourmonthlypaper.com Grandma’s, or to somewhere in our library. Then submit a picture text message from your mobile phone, or turn in a paper copy of your picture. Waldo pictures will be posted online or on library computer screen-savers. Have you ever heard of “letterboxing”? Well here is the scoop. Letterboxing is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming “treasure hunt” style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages, particularly teens and middle schoolers. We will be exploring letterboxing on June 29th from 2-3PM. For more information, check this website: www.letterboxing.org/. On July 9th from 2-4PM, Rachel-Anne Palacios is coming to teach teens and middle schoolers how to create temporary skin designs using all-natural henna dye! It is a two hour program, and you may find out what she could do with a book worm. You must be registered, and registration ends July 7th at 9PM. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) returns on Thursday, June th 16 from 1:30-3PM at the Community Hall with another intriguing program called Women in Saudi Arabia, 2011: A Personal Story of Two Worlds Meeting. What is daily life like for Arab women of today? How does a Western woman run workshops on leadership for university women who are not permitted to create their own course materials or even to show their faces in public? The speaker, Philippa Kelly, has published 35 articles and seven books, and she teaches regularly in Australia, North America, and the Middle East. Find out more about OLLI at www.olli.berkeley.edu. Do YOU believe in magic? We do! On Saturday, September 10 (9.10.11!), join neighbors and friends for a festive, celebratory fundraising Gala hosted by the Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation. Local caterer, Spring Loaf, who wowed a sold-out crowd at the Library’s Opening Gala, will provide the night’s delicious food fare. Local Bay Area band, Martini Straight Up, will provide dancing tunes, and we’ll all enjoy the sparkle of magic and other secret surprises throughout. This is the Library Foundation’s largest fundraising effort, so what we need is YOU. Stay tuned because reservation information is coming soon.
LAFAYETTE LIBRARY AND LEARNING CENTER HOME OF THE GLENN SEABORG LEARNING CONSORTIUM (GSLC)
LAFAYETTE LIBRARY AND
Cost
Date–Time–Location
JUNE PROGRAMS
JUNE 14th…Tuesday
Lafayette Historical Society: Caldecott Fourth Bore... Tunneling Through Time........ $10 mbrs, $15 nonmbrs Learn all about the history, the geology and the
3–4pm
CH
14th…Tuesday 7–8pm CH Doors open–6:30pm
SH c
15th…Wednesday 8–9:30am A&S 15th…Wednesday 7–9pm CH 16th…Thursday 1:30–3pm
CH
21st…Tuesday 7:30–9pm
CH
28th...Tuesday 7-8:30pm
CH
SH c
Design…John Otto
ICON LEGEND:
GLENN SEABORG
Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation – Information at LLLCF.org or 925-283-6513
LEARNING CENTER
F O U N D A T I O N
Art
engineering feats. To reserve, call 283.1848
Science Cafe: The Science & Art of Wine...............$5 A panel discussion on the science of fine wine making; enjoy an optional tasting for $10. Additional details on LLLCF.org. reserve@LLLCF.org Why Blog - How to Leverage Social Media to Find More Readers.........................................................FREE Learn to blog and other social media techniques. Reservations at: workshops@lafayettechamber.org Writers’ Series.....................................................FREE A Conversation with Senior Film Writer Ruthe Stein, S.F.Chronicle, on writing and reviewing films. reserve@LLLCF.org Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)............$10 Women in Saudi Arabia, 2011: A Personal Story of Two Worlds Meeting. Cal Shakes dramaturg Philippa Kelly explores Arab women’s daily life. olli.berkeley.edu Special Sweet Thurs. Program for Teens!.........FREE Teen Girls, get a hip jump to your summer reading with Yvonne Prinz, author of the acclaimed novels, All You Get is Me and Vinyl Princess. No reservations necessary. Sustainable Lafayette Film series...suggested donation $5 “The Economics of Happiness” - global voices tell of the need to localize, to re-build more human scale, ecological economies. 7/12 - “Gasland,” 7/26 TBD
Club
C
Commonwealth Club
Lecture
LEARNING CONSORTIUM
Cost
Date–Time–Location
JULY PROGRAMS
JULY 10th…Sunday
Summer Concert Series Presents: Ramana Vieira....FREE Often referred to as the “New Voice of Portuguese World Music,” Vieira sings soulful Portuguese Fado. No reservations necessary Oh, My Aching Joints!........................................FREE Are sore joints keeping you from enjoying life? Learn about options for treating pain in hip and knee joints and the latest surgical techniques. To reserve, call (510) 869-6737
1–2pm
CH
14th…Thursday 6:30–8pm
CH
Summer Reading Program June 11–August 20
Kids from 0 to 90 years old… map your way to thrilling prizes by picking up a reading record. Summer Storytimes: June 13–July 28 ++++
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S AV E THIS D AT E ++++
Literature
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Find him weekly hiding in a new spot of the Children’s Area
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e+ +Ce+l+e+b+ +rate the Magic + o+m C ++ + + +++ +++ ++ +++
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9.10.11
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Where’s Waldo hiding in the Library?
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Music
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A gala celebration ++ at the Library and Learning Center A magical evening not to be missed.
Watch LLLCF.org for more details
SH c
y ..
Science and Health
Youth
Check for Updates at LLLCF.org
LEGEND: CH=Community Hall, A&S=Arts & Science Discovery Center, HC=Homework Center, VM=Veterans Memorial, GSLC=Glenn Seaborg Learning Consortium Program
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Sustainable Lafayette
Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 7
Conserve Water with Smart Irrigation Schedules
It’s time again to think about water conservation in Lafayette, and the best place to start is in the yard. Believe it or not, lawn watering uses more than half of all the water used by most California households, and the average irrigated home lawn consumes more than 10,000 gallons of water each summer. The good news is that by spending just a few minutes to tune up your irrigation schedule, you can typically reduce water use by 10% or more and start saving money immediately! The goal is to water to the depth of plant roots—about 6” for lawns, 9” for ground covers, 12” for shrubs, and 18-24” for trees. For clay soil, a ½” of water will moisten the soil about 6” deep. This is perfect for lawns, but only half of what’s needed to reach the root depth of most shrubs. A typical spray head sprinkler will apply ½” of water in about 15-20 minutes. Rotor sprinklers apply water at a lower rate and require more minutes per start. You can check the output of your sprinklers by placing one or more catch cans and timing how long it takes to reach ½”. Knowing the basics helps the following irrigation tips make sense: Setup Different Programs for Different Watering Needs – Because shrubs need to be watered about twice as long and 1/3rd as often as lawns, it’s best to create two different programs on your irrigation controller. With a typical spray head, your lawn needs a total of just 45-60 minutes of water per week during the summer (three watering days), and shrubs need about 24-30 minutes per week during the summer (one watering day). See example below. Use the “Five-Minute” Rule - Set spray head sprinklers to run for 5 minutes per cycle to avoid run-off and water waste. The mostly clay soils in Lafayette can only absorb about 4-6 minutes of irrigation water at a time. After that, the soils become saturated, and water will begin to run-off and be wasted. After applying water for 5 minutes, wait one hour and then reapply water for 5 more minutes, and so on. Water Between 6pm – 10am – Watering early in the morning or late in the evening gives water time to soak in before being exposed to the mid-day heat and wind, which cause evaporation. Turn Irrigation Off When it Rains – Don’t water if it has just rained or if rain is expected. Turn your controller off temporarily, and then turn it back on when it’s needed. Or if that’s too much of a pain, consider a new automatic self-adjusting controller. Inspect Your System – Inspect all sprinkler valves and drip irrigation heads that may have cracked during the winter. Make sure there are no leaks or no overspray, and trim plants when necessary to prevent interference. Adjust When Fall Arrives – Change your watering schedule when summer is over. Plants need half as much water in spring and fall as in midsummer. Reduce the number of watering days. Design Smart Landscaping – For future landscaping, consider reducing grass areas, choosing native and drought-tolerant plants and grasses that don’t require much water, and using drip irrigation and rotator sprinkler heads which are more expensive but use 65% less water than conventional spray heads. EXAMPLE: Program A – Lawns • For each LAWN station, set three watering days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), and program five minutes of watering time at 5am, 6am, and 7am—for a total of 15 minutes. Program B – Shrubs • For each SHRUB station, set one watering day (Thursday), and program 8 minutes of watering time at 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm – for a total of 24 minutes For more detailed information and examples, please consult the EBMUD Watering Guide at www.ebmud.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/ WateringGuide_0.pdf. To read real-world success stories about how residents in Lafayette are conserving water and living more sustainably, please visit www. sustainablelafayette.org.
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Lafayette Community Center
Summer is here at the Lafayette Community Center! Visit our beautiful parks and miles of trails, or choose to participate in one of over 100 summer camps. This summer we have many adventures waiting for you. Take a stroll along one of our volunteer-maintained neighborhood trails. Our city has trails to suit all levels of abilities for you and your family. The newest addition to our trails includes a stroller and wheelchair-friendly path along Murray Lane. Come explore a neighborhood trail-maps can be picked up at the Community Center office. Have a picnic at our parks! Lafayette has parks for all ages and abilities. Brook Street Park is perfect for a rest during a downtown stroll with the kids. Lafayette Community Park is vast, it borders creeks, has a wonderful playground and sports fields, plus has picnic tables for rent. Adjacent to our Community Park in a quaint pear orchard are Petanque courts where you can enjoy this fun French game. Leigh Creekside Park is a lovely place to enjoy nature. There is a centennial oak to rest under and a creek to listen to during a lazy summer afternoon. The Lafayette Community Center has more than just classes to peak your interest. We have weekly Friday shows at 11:00AM for only $3 all summer long for the young at heart. Some performers include Capt’n Jack Spare Ribs and Karen Quest and her Cowgirl Tricks. After the show, have a rousing game of bocce ball, or take the tyke to the tot lot located behind the Community Center. Of course we have many camps for kids and classes for all ages. Plus don’t forget our senior programs, lectures, and events that are sure to entertain. Find out about these great adventures and more with the Lafayette Community Center at www.LafayetteRec.org or call us at 925-284-2232.
To advertise contact Lafayette Today at 925.405.6397 or email editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
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Page 8 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
Cinema Classics By Peggy Horn Shane
In a contemporary book I’m reading, a citizen of an Asian country asks an American if cowboys are still important in American society today. The American responds that few cowboys remain and apparently draws no conclusion either way. Admittedly, the number of cowboys has diminished, but their importance in our culture has not passed away. Cowboys and their philosophy and culture still form a part of our foundation and our strength and, from time to time, are still portrayed in ever-popular western movies that typically garner excellent reviews. As a tribute to the continuing importance of our cowboy heritage, my husband and I have often reminded our boys to approach an issue ‘the cowboy way,’ which to us signifies a stoic, non whining, non wimpy attitude, an outlook that is latent but nonetheless imbedded in our American personality. A movie that superbly illustrates the cowboy way is Shane, (1953) starring Alan Ladd. Shane (Mr. Ladd), a gunslinger, comes to the aid of a farming family trying to settle in a western town at a time when the west was still being formed. This family, the Starretts, played by Jean Arthur as Marian, Van Heflin as Joe, and Brandon de Wilde as their son, Joey, is under constant threat by a neighboring rancher, Mr. Ryker, who seeks to run every single sodbuster out of town to once again free up the range for his cattle operations. Although the farmers have rightfully homesteaded their land and are entitled to all the pertinent legal rights associated therewith, the ranchers have a sentimental, if not legal, right to claim the land – after all it used to be theirs exclusively to handle as they chose. Mr. Ryker points out that it was the ranchers who fought for and subdued the wild lands, and the farmers are undeserving interlopers who don’t deserve to take those lands away. But times change, and the need for farmers to settle and raise families, rather than cattle, comes to life, and so the battle in this movie is fought to the finish
with the winner vanquishing the previous way of life. Shane won an Oscar Award for its splendid cinematography, was nominated for numerous additional awards, and is regularly seen on lists of the best western movies of all time. Reserve a Saturday afternoon to view or review this great movie that is available for purchase online or for rent at select DVD rental establishments.
Lafayette Hiking Group
FRIDAY, June 24 - Castle Rock
***Meet at 8:30am in the City parking lot on the west side of Moraga Road*** We form carpools to the trailhead. With leader George Denny we will follow the Stage Trail, 5+ miles along bubbling Little Pine Creek, with Nature Walk field guides, to Pine Pond (part of Mt. Diablo State Park - no dogs), and loop back via the Falcon Road trail. There will be a quiz and prize at the end of the hike. The hike is somewhat strenuous with hills.
July 9 - Oursan Trail, Briones
Meet in the parking lot out from Lafayette BART’s main entrance at 8:30am. Carpools to the trailhead will be formed. From the Bear Creek Staging area with leader George Denny we will follow the Oursan Trail through the woods with beautiful views of the Briones Reservoir. This is a somewhat strenous 5+ mile, “there and back” hike with hills. There will be a quiz and a prize. For each hike bring lunch, water, layered clothing, good walking shoes, sun protection and $3-5 to contribute toward gas, bridge tolls, and parking. For questions email LafayetteHiking@comcast.net.
Charity Auction Gala
June 18th, 6pm • Lafayette Veterans Memorial Building Dinner • Dancing • Entertainment • Live Auction • Cocktail Auction Tickets $100 each
Motorama World of Wheels Main Event
Father’s Day, June 19th, 9am - 4pm VIP tent, Generations in Jazz, Papa's Garage Clock Tower & Postino parking lots, Mt. Diablo Blvd.
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Dining, Dancing, and – Yes – Even Gambling Enlivened Lafayette’s Tunnel Strip By Julie Sullivan, Lafayette Historical Society (LHS)
Considering the understated, sophisticated restaurants of Lafayette today, it may come as a surprise that the eating establishments of Lafayette’s recent past were almost racy by comparison. Yes, racy! In the 1930’s and 40’s when Mount Diablo Boulevard was still old Tunnel Road, Lafayette’s restaurant row was known as the Tunnel Strip. People drove from Oakland and even San Francisco to dance at the El Nido Rancho on the west side of town or eat at the Curve (today Celia’s) and Planter’s Dock perched high on the hill (now the Jewish Community Center). Alsam’s (today site of Citibank) was named for owners Al and Sam Morterra, and Jay Bedsworth, owner of the Tunnel Inn (today Pet Food Express) flipped dollar bills with thumbtacks onto the ceiling. And of course, Lou’s Roundup restaurant and bar has been on the south side of Mount Diablo Boulevard since 1935. “Alsam’s was a continental restaurant and night club that had entertainment in the evenings and great bands,” according to Ted Murphey, who ran one of Lafayette’s early drug stores. “Lafayette restaurants had good orchestras even up to the late 1950’s. I remember hearing Bob Scobie and his band here.” (If anyone remembers Bob Scobie, please call LHS and tell us about him!) Three hot spots, Rose Lee Night Club, Danny Van Allen’s, and the El Molino, were located in the vicinity of the intersection of Mount Diablo Boulevard and Oak Hill Road (near the site of today’s Uncle Yu’s). Nick Trujillo, long time Lafayette barber, recalled, “Where Citibank is today there was a dance hall that had slot machines and gambling in back. It was originally called Alsam then later renamed Acapulco.” Lou Repetto, another long time Lafayette resident added, “The most important place to eat in town was El Nido Rancho continental restaurant, which was demolished with the coming of the freeway. There was a tropical restaurant called Planter’s Dock that moved here from Oakland that was also pretty fancy.” (Lou, who passed away, is remembered fondly.) Tom Courtright of Orchard Nursery recalled, “As you look up toward the Jewish Temple you can still see a little of the waterfall that was on the grounds of Planter’s Dock. The restaurant had tiki god statues lining the drive all the way from Mount Diablo Boulevard up to the parking lot.” Many old timers remember the original Petar’s (then in a wooden building on the north side of Mount Diablo Boulevard). Ned Robinson, retired attorney and Tiki god statues lined the driveway from Mount Diablo Boulevard former mayor, up to Planter’s Dock, on a hill near today’s Jewish Temple. summed it up, “Petar’s was popular because the food was good, and he always had very attractive blonde, buxom hostesses.” (Ned is also remembered fondly. He passed away, in 2009.) Tom Whitten, property developer and retired engineer, added, “Petar
Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 9
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was quite a character in the old European style. He’d kiss all the ladies’ hands. He was very charming and always well dressed. He was the former maitre d’ at Bimbo’s on Columbus Avenue in San Francisco. When I was a kid, Bimbo’s was famous for what they called the nude in the fish bowl. Somehow they projected a rather fuzzy image of a supposedly naked mermaid swimming around in this giant fish bowl.” And, of course, in the 1930’s and 40’s, everybody who was anybody – including Boston Red Sox’s all-star slugger Ted Williams (whose father lived in Walnut Creek) – ate at Bill’s Place. Edward and Marie Bill’s restaurant was located behind the Flying A service station (today the site of Wachovia Bank) from 1934 until 1950. There were family style restaurants too. In the 1950’s local teens’ favorite hangout was Chaps Drive-In, next to the Chevron station at the intersection of Mount Diablo Boulevard and Happy Valley Road. “They had this big neon sign with a cowboy wearing chaps,” former mayor Anne Grodin remembered. “We loved Freddie’s Pizza, which was originally in the brick building where Pizza Antica is today,” Miler Magrath of Diamond K Supply added. “When I was a little older I used to love the Refectory, a great steak house, behind where Citibank is now.” Scotty Loucks, insurance broker, saved a menu from the Whirlybird Inn, perhaps the singularly most unusual restaurant in Lafayette’s colorful recent history. It was located on the hill near the Lafayette heliport, which was across from Sunset Village (above today’s Veterans Building). For a few years from the late 1960’s to early 1970’s, a helicopter service ferried passenger to and from SFO and Oakland airports, before noise complaints from nearby residents plus economic necessity led to the service’s demise. (This article is excerpted from Voices of Lafayette by Julie Sullivan, which is on sale at the Lafayette History Room.) Want to discover more about Lafayette’s recent and not so recent past? Go to www.lafayettehistory.org, stop by the History Room, or call 925-2831848. The History Room on the ground floor of the Library and Learning Center is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 10am– 2pm.
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Page 10 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
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Backyard Bounty 1009074-TSO-ALToday-5x6.25.indd 1
9/15/10 11:07:47 AM
Is your garden about to “take off”? Are your fruit trees about to bear a bonanza of excess fruit? Have you planted so many zucchini, tomatoes, and other vegetables that you may find yourself with more than you can eat? For the fourth year, Lafayette Today invites you to participate in our Backyard Bounty program. Last year over 3,000 pounds of fresh produce was collected by our readers and passed on to those in need. The need for food, especially fresh produce, is great. Our goal is to gather over 4,000 pounds of produce this year. We wish to provide produce at its optimum ripeness so nothing goes to waste. A call a week before your produce will be ripe will help us provide the fruits and vegetables at their prime. To coordinate picking or pick-up of food for donation to local food banks, contact Greg or Lise Danner at 925-552-7103 or email thedanners@aol.com. Please share your bounty with those who are less fortunate.
Backyard Bounty
Biking Berlin
By Daniel A Barnes, CFA
I’m in Berlin. It came together. After four months of negotiations with my ex-wife, I organized my life to spend the summer in Berlin. The birds have just started singing at 3:38am. I was here last year, but this time I get to explore the city as well as have some time to reflect and think. Biking, I’m biking. Okay, this is distinctly not Lafayette, and really not California, but, I’m getting around everywhere, by bike, and hundreds of thousands of others do here too. In fact, sometimes on the bike lanes, at rush hour, it’s a little bit like the Indy 500 from Breaking Away, that great movie from 1979. Anyway, the summer weather is just perfect for biking, day or night. Yesterday I visited a friend who lives on Arsch der Welt, a sweet German term for the end of the world, or in Lichterfelde, which is about 20km away (12 miles). The ride took almost an hour. Had I taken public transportation, it would have been an hour trip, door to door, too. Berlin’s flat and perfect for cycling. There are bike paths on about 1/2 of the main streets, plenty enough to get everywhere using bike paths 90% of the time. It feels so good to move and get to places without using a car. But that’s not just a practical thing, it’s cultural. My 15-year-old daughter refuses to ride a bike around Lafayette or Walnut Creek. But she did say she would use a bike here in Berlin when she arrives. I asked her why she would use a bike here and not at home, and she gave me one of those blank looks, before saying, “because everyone does Dad!” And I thought... that’s it! Our surroundings dictate our behavior, don’t they? And it’s not just 15-year-old girls. Isn’t it all of us? I live less than a mile from my office in Lafayette, but I only ride my bike to work a handful of times each month. But here in Berlin, I think nothing of riding five miles wherever I’m going. What gives? I think this cultural expectations thing is a big deal.
German Strategy
So here’s another thing I’m thinking about. Why the heck did the German politicians decide to close their nuclear plants in the next decade? Are they nuts? Germany has few natural resources other than coal. More than 20% of their energy consumption comes from nuclear power. Is it safety or is it public opinion? I don’t know, but I’m going to try and get a better sense of this in the next weeks. Here’s my guess: While this decision to get out of nuclear power seems like an overreaction to the disaster in Japan, I don’t think that this is actually a political decision. I’m suspecting it is actually an economic bet. It’s going to take 10 years to close those plants, maybe longer. I think that Germany is betting that they can develop alternative energy technologies in the next 10 years which will, by 2021, be competitive alternatives to other current sources of nonrenewable energy, possibly even competitive with nuclear. Now that’s a bet that’s highly dependent on rising energy prices, but perhaps it’s a bet worth making. If Germany removes the nuclear option, then this guarantees, much like a “federal subsidy,” that there will be industrial and consumer demand for renewable energy sources, which guarantee a much bigger revenue acceleration than might otherwise be the case. I’m willing to wager that by placing this bet, the Germans think that they can develop first-mover advantages in renewable energy technologies. I was here from 1990 to 1997. I saw Germany swallow East Germany whole. For more than a decade, it seemed a terrible decision. But that strategy has proven itself in the last five years. Germany had the foresight, and the dedication to a longterm strategy, to invest trillions into former East Germany. Might not developing renewable energy be another long-term strategy of merit? Might we not have something to learn in this regard? And if that’s the case, how can we provide our Washington politicians with political cover to make long-term decisions which won’t cost them their reelection campaigns? That’s something else to ponder isn’t it? If you have any thoughts, please drop me a line. Barnes Capital LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor located in downtown Lafayette in the Bay Area. We manage trusts and retirement income portfolios. Financial planning is an integral part of our process. We protect client capital using municipal bonds, high-quality dividend-increasing companies and precious metals, which have protected wealth in every epoch spanning five millennia of bankruptcies, inflation and other forms of attrition. Call 925-284-3503 and visit www.barnescapital.com. Advertorial
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Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 11
Portable Printing
By Evan Corstorphine, Portable CIO
Every now and then, a product comes out that catches my eye. Such is the case with a printer we recently purchased for a family event. It all started when my wife and her four sisters began planning a huge Mother’s Day tea party for her ninety-three year old grandmother and thirty of her best friends. The event warranted “party favors.” We didn’t want to pass out another knick-knack or dust collector. What we wanted to do was strike a thoughtful balance, showing care and respect and love, without burdening them with more junk to carry around. I’m uncertain where she got the inspiration, but my wife thought it would be a nice idea to send each of these lovely ladies home with a memory from the party. She thought if we could take cameo pictures of everyone at the party, hopefully with her grandmother in the picture, and process them quickly, she could send framed 4x6 pictures home with everyone as party favors. Of course, her idea presented the problem of how to process and print all of these pictures quickly. She researched small printers and came up with two to choose from: the Canon Selphy CP800 ($80/Amazon), and the Epson PictureMate Charm PM225 ($145/Amazon). After looking at both of them thoroughly, she determined the Selphy had every feature she needed, the ink was cheaper, and it cost almost half as much as the Epson. So she bought it. We received the printer a few days in advance of the party and set it up on my system. The software installed perfectly and quickly on my computer. I was impressed by how modular and easy to setup the printer is. There are four components: printer, paper tray, ink cartridge, and power supply. It comes with a trial pack of paper and an ink cartridge that will let you print five pictures. The printer has a slot for a compact flash memory card and also a USB port for inserting a thumb drive. There’s also a little screen on which you can see the pictures you want to print. We tried printing directly from a memory card, from a USB thumb drive, and also from the PC as a normal printer. In all modes, it worked perfectly and without any special tricks. It was unusually easy to use. On the day of the party we had three people taking pictures. I sat in a corner of the room and downloaded pictures off of the cameras every so often to find the good ones, adjust them as necessary, and print them. Everything went fine until I began processing a large quantity of pictures from the only real photographer in the group. He was taking pictures using a high-end SLR camera at very high density, and each of his pictures was over 35mb. When I queued up over ten of these huge pictures to print, something in the print queue on my laptop said “I quit,” and I ended up with a big traffic jam with nothing more coming out of the printer. To remedy the situation, we switched to plugging the memory card directly into the printer while we rebooted the computer to clear the print queue problem. Luckily, this feature of printing directly from the printer’s USB and memory card slot worked perfectly, and the production line resumed after only a short delay. Because there were so many pictures to print, and the tea party was only for an hour and a half, we fell short of having all the prints completed in time. Many guests took their picture souvenirs home with them, and the rest we finished up and delivered after we got home. All of the guests loved their special visual remembrances of the day. In the end, we were very impressed by this little printer, and we have subsequently used it for another quick-photo-print project for my daughter. It ends up being about $.34 a print, which isn’t cheap, but it isn’t overly expensive either. Because the printer is so cheap to buy, so easy to use, and prints in such brilliant and correct color, I give the printer two thumbs up, and I heartily recommend it for anyone needing a convenient photo printer. What devices do you have lying around that you’d like to get working? Have you purchased a product and procrastinated setting it up? Just give your friends at Portable CIO a call, and we’ll help you get productive with your technology. Call us at 925-552-7953, or email us at helpdesk@theportablecio.com. Advertorial
Wines with Sparkle By Monica Chappell
June is wedding month, and love and sparkling wine have been natural partners since anyone can remember. No wonder this effervescent bit of heaven is an essential part of so many wedding festivities. Couples naturally want their wedding to be perfect, from the fit of the dress to the awe factor of the cake. Nevertheless, tasting and choosing the wine for a wedding is an important and challenging job. Many of today's brides and grooms seek more sophistication in the beverages they serve at their reception with wine playing an increasingly large role. When buying champagne for a crowd, the last thing you want to do is break the bank. Yet navigating between the budget sparklers that are drinkable, and those that are not, can be a hard task. Here are some helpful hints for demystifying the bubbly.
Sparkling Wine 101
Sparkling wines can cost less than $10 a bottle and as much as hundreds of dollars for premium Champagne. Champagne styles can vary greatly; the sweetest are doux, for a less sweet taste look for demi-sec (drier), sec (dry), extra sec (extra dry), or brut (bone dry). These food friendly wines aren't just for sipping on their own; most sparkling wines are a fine match throughout a meal and especially when served with shellfish, or with salty or spicy dishes.
Serving Tips
• A bottle (750 ml) of sparkling wine will serve 5-6 glasses. • The best glasses for sparkling wine are flutes or tulips. Specify either type when ordering wedding glassware.
• Sparkling wine should be served well chilled--overnight in a refrigerator or one hour in ice. • Sparkling wine should be poured only as guests are ready to drink it. Pre-pouring will cause the wine to warm up too much. • Allow 1-1/2 to two glasses per person for an hour reception--more if the guests love wine.
Consider All Sparklers
• French Champagne—that is, real Champagne—is produced only in the Champagne region of France. It’s effervescent and lively, and at the same time it offers tremendous complexity. Different producers, or “houses,” have different styles ranging from light and delicate to rich and full-flavored. • Italian Prosecco -Italy’s Prosecco is affordable and popular for its engaging foaminess and hint of sweetness on the finish. Produced from a late-ripening white grape of the same name, Prosecco is light, crisp and totally without pretension. It's one sparkling wine that doesn't require a special occasion. • Spanish Cava - Produced primarily in the Penedes region of Spain, Cavas are reasonably priced with refreshing flavor and fizz. The wine is fermented by the Champagne method, so it boasts similar complex flavors and tiny bubbles. • American Sparklers - Aficionados of French Champagne may be surprised to discover the tremendous break-through in quality made by top American producers. Some are creating sparkling wines that could be mistaken for their French counterparts, while others are making more generously fruity New World versions. Wine has been served at weddings since the beginning of time, so go ahead and let your love shine. Open a bottle of nature’s poetry and toast to the day. Monica Chappell is a wine writer and educator. To see a full list of wine appreciation classes in Lafayette, Walnut Creek, and Danville, visit us at www.wineappreciation101.blogspot.com.
Page 12 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
Planning for the Transaction
By Art Lehman, Village Associates Realtors
Whether you are buying or selling a home preparation is the name of the game. It use to be very easy for a buyer to “slowly get around” to filling out the loan paperwork to get preapproved for a loan. That was then! It is no longer a certainty for lenders to say to even the most qualified buyers, “Just go ahead and make the offer and then we will get the paperwork going to get you approved.” This is especially true when you have timelines you need to keep for a transaction. Lender guidelines have become very tight. Complicate that with the whole appraisal process, and nothing is a slam dunk anymore. That is why pre-planning is key. Get pre-approved and talk with your lender and realtor as early as possible, and also discuss backup plans should you have a glitch going forward. Just the other day I encountered a great property appraising for less than the sales price. The lender requested the borrower put in X amount more money to make the transaction go. It is best to have a contingency plan for that. It’s not that lenders aren’t lending, they are. Just be very cautious as the “rubber band” has now moved to the other extreme. Each of us will pay dearly with uncertainty literally right up to the day of funding. A good real estate agent will counsel the buyer and seller that
Boy Scout Troop 233 Announces Six New Eagle Scouts
Boy Scout Troop 233 is proud to announce that six new Eagle Scouts have joined the troop’s Eagle family. Alex Hoff, Matthew Lai, Sean Larner, Connor Nitsos, Camron Stevens, and Ian Woods were honored at Troop 233’s Eagle Court of Honor on June 4th at LafayetteOrinda Presbyterian Church. Alex Hoff, a junior at Miramonte High School, planted redwood trees at the Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church in Orinda. These will replace some Monterey Pines which the City of Orinda and the Orinda-Moraga Fire department have both requested Front (l–r): Alex Hoff, Ian Woods, Matthew to be taken out due to fire hazard. He Lai Back (l–r): Sean Larner, Connor Nitsos, also removed 2,000 square feet of Camron Stevens Juniper bushes and set up irrigation for the new trees. Matthew Lai, a junior at Acalanes High School, constructed and installed a six foot by three foot cross at the Main Hall for the Contra Costa Gospel Church at Walnut Creek California. He also built three wooden benches for the church to enhance outdoor activities. Sean Larner, a senior at Miramonte High School, developed a project protecting the native Bay Oak from being overcrowded by invasive non-native weeds and trampling by cows. He protected fifty Oak’s that were deemed by the Briones ranger to be weak with wraparound chicken wire enclosures. Connor Nitsos, a junior at Acalanes High School, installed numbered disks to existing trail markers over 23 miles of trail in Briones Regional Park, benefiting people unfamiliar with using a trail map, giving them numbered references to follow. Camron Stevens, a senior at Miramonte High School, honored family friend and longtime Glorietta teacher’s aide, Toni Russell, by constructing a memorial bench and redwood trellis feature at Glorietta Elementary School. The project involved site demolition, excavation, subgrade preparation, brick paver placement, trellis construction, and bench assembly and installation. Ian Woods, a senior at Miramonte High School, created a hexagonal bench around the tree near the 4th and 5th grade playground at Wagner Ranch Elementary School. He chose Wagner Ranch as it was his own elementary school, and he wanted to give back to his own school.
www.yourmonthlypaper.com challenges are likely to happen and to stay calm and relaxed if and when they appear. The average number of days from application to approval will vary from lender to lender, however 7-10 business days is typical. Depending on your credit history, down payment or equity in your home, and the loan program selected, some lenders may be able to approve your mortgage in less time. If you applied through a “pre-approval” program and were approved, some lenders can close within three weeks after a purchase contract has been signed. In most cases, 45-60 days from application to closing is typical. Each lender’s timeframe will vary, and the transaction itself may cause the timeframes to vary. It’s best that pre-approval letters are prepared even before you’ve picked out your home. They remove some of the uncertainty in the home-buying process. In the current housing market, real estate agents and sellers won’t want to work with buyers unless they have one. With a letter in hand, buyers can know exactly how much they can borrow – and therefore how much house they can afford. A pre-approval letter shows the seller and the seller’s agent that the buyer is capable of buying their house. Now you’re ready to go! If you have any questions on selling or buying a home in the area, please contact me at 925 200-2591 or by email at art@artlehman.com. If you’d like a free automatic email update of current listings and sales, visit my website to sign up www.artlehman.com or call! Also if you have any topics for future articles, please let me know! Advertorial
Boy Scout Troop 241 Celebrates Three New Eagle Scouts
Three members of Lafayette’s Troop 241 became Eagle Scouts at a special Eagle Court of Honor held at the Lafayette United Methodist Church. Ted Kessler, Harrison Kim, and Ian Lundgren achieved the highest rank in Scouting and were added to the Troop’s roster of 144 Eagle Scouts since 1964. All three boys are seniors at Acalanes High School. Troop 241’s new Eagles accomplished the following projects towards their Eagle rank: Ted Kessler designed a curved fence to protect hikers and bikers from an eroding cliff above Las Trampas Creek in the Lafayette Community Park. He gained approval from city committees and installed the fence with a team of troop members and friends. Harrison Kim replaced a retaining wall at the Lafayette United Methodist Church, installing a supporting post and 72 feet of top boards. He directed a team of troop members and friends to accomplish the task. Ian Lundgren worked with the Lafayette Parks and Recreation Department to create a new picnic area on the Silver Springs trail in Lafayette. He and his team flattened the top of the hill, installed a new picnic table on the site, and created a path to connect it to the main trail. The three boys participated together in the Philmont Scout Ranch high adventure camp in New Mexico during the summer of 2009, covering more than 70 miles. Eagle Scouts, left to right, Harrison Kim, Ian Lundgren, Ted Kessler
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Shop Talk from Urban Suburban Motorama is Back! By René Aguirré
Motorama World of Wheels is back for a second year in a row! Celebrate Fathers’ Day with US at Motorama! The green cow brigade will be out in full force celebrating this fantastic event, enjoying the vehicles, tasting wine, and enjoying the music. This year, those crazy Rotarians have added on another piece to the event – a charity auction gala! René Aguirré This fun and exciting event is geared to enlighten the community about Rotary in your community.
Motorama World of Wheels Charity Auction Gala
To launch the community awareness effort, the Rotary Club of Lamorinda Sunrise is holding a Motorama World of Wheels Charity Auction Gala on June 18th, at 6pm at the Lafayette Veterans Memorial Building. We will be highlighting a new partnership with the Buena Vista Auxiliary to help expand their tutoring program. The Buena Vista Tutorial Program has helped over 3,300 elementary school children in Contra Costa County improve their reading skills by pairing credentialed teachers with local elementary school children who read below grade level. After participating in the program, 95% of the children show significant improvement in their reading skills, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Your tax deductible donation will not only fund the tutoring program, it will buy needed books and supplies that are in such high demand due to the California budget crisis. Additionally, we will highlight our Rotary Home Team program. The Rotary Home Team - HOme Maintenance for the Elderly is a year old initiative started by the Rotary Club of Lamorinda Sunrise. Team members visit homes across the East Bay to assist the elderly with simple home repairs such as light bulbs in hard to reach areas, mending screens, repairing squeaky doors, and more. For more information on the program and how to request assistance, please visit http://rotaryhometeam.com. The Gala Auction is shaping up to be an evening like no other. Featured chef David Isenberg of the California Culinary Institute will prepare a fantastic dinner for everyone to enjoy. Entertainment will be provided by local blues and rock band Juice, wine tasting exclusively hosted by the Wine Thieves will be available, a wine toss to try to win a great bottle of wine will take place, and many other highlights will happen throughout the evening. The featured auction item is a dinner for eight at Ruth Chris Steak house in Walnut Creek with special guests Blake Marggraff and Matthew Feddersen, winners of the 2011 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Seated in an exclusive special event room, diners will have the opportunity to hear about their project, Simulated Treatment of Cancer with Photoelectric Effect-Produced Secondary Radiation, and their experience. This package would not be possible without the hard work of the auction coordinator Nancy Baglietto, the generosity of Brian Walsh, GM at Ruth Chris, and of course the generosity of Blake and Matthew and their families. This is an amazing opportunity for the community! Other items of interest in the auction include: African Safari Trip for two with Range Rover Tours, guitar signed by the Rolling Stones, International Wine Tasting for eight with the Wine Thieves, San Francisco Giants package with four tickets, hotel evening and dinner, plus many, many more items!
Motorama World of Wheels Main Event
The weekend wraps up with an amazing Fathers’ Day car show in downtown Lafayette. Dads’ can enjoy a VIP experience with massages, Scotch tasting sponsored by Jackson liquors, catered lunch, and games of the day being shown. This event has something for the whole family- wine tasting, snow cones, vendors, and grilling! Thanks to the folks at Evergood for making our grill possible! Entertainment for the day is kicked off with Generations in Jazz and closed with Papa’s Garage. Exhibitors and VIPs enter from 7 - 8:30am, and spectators enter at 9am. Car exhibitors have a VIP pass included in their registration price. The event features unique cars, motorcycles, and bicycles, everything from a rat rod to a garage queen. For more information on both events, please visit our website www.motorama.us. All fees and donations are 100% tax deductible. If you have any questions about this or any other Shop Talk issues, call US
Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 13 today at 925-283-5212 or visit our website www.urbansuburban.com. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 7:30am - 5pm. Urban Suburban is your dealership alternative for All German, All Japanese, and All Domestic vehicles. We provide free shuttle service to the local area. If you have any questions about this or any other Shop Talk issues, call US today at 925-283-5212 or visit our website www.urbansuburban.com. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 7:30am - 5pm. Urban Suburban is your dealership alternative for All German, All Japanese, and All Domestic vehicles. We provide free shuttle service Advertorial to the local area.
Donate continued from front page
for-profit businesses that have placed the bins. According to an article titled ‘Books for charity’ bins, around Oregon reveal blurry relationship between nonprofit and for-profit business in the May 8, 2011 Oregonian they note Reading Tree bins are placed and owned by Thrift Recycling Management (TRM) a for-profit corporation. TRM relies on a network of contracts with charities, and it obtains books through donation bins carrying those nonprofits’ names. The parent company TRM is the largest used book seller on Amazon, selling up to 25% of the donated books. A sign on the blue bins notes, “Reading Tree accepts all types of books, dvds and cds! With your help we have donated over 2.3 million books to children and their families in need since 2007. We will use most books suitable for donation to supply in-classrom lending libraries for needy schools in this area. Some books will support literacy efforts in developing countries. Unusable books will be recycled to keep books from saturating our nation’s landfills, or sold by our recycling partners in part to help pay for our programs, and in part to pay for services in connection with our book collection efforts.” Reportedly the blue bin donations to charity are from 10-25% of the books received. Last year TRM sold more than 4 million books, accounting for $27 million in revenue. Half, or more, of the donations received are pulped and sold to paper mills for use in newsprint or recycled cardboard products. At the Lafayette Friends Corner Book Shop, books they know they cannot sell are donated to Pacific Rim Recycling, a company located in Benicia. About 5% of the books go to East Bay Depot, a non-profit organization in Berkeley. Pacific Rim Recycling then donates 90% of the books to the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s distribution center in Oregon; from there, they are distributed to local St. Vincent de Paul Shops. The remaining 5% of books are recycled as paper due to their poor condition. After half-price sales, the Friends give books to other, less affluen communities within the Contra Costa Library system for their libraries, schools, and books sales. If you wonder where your donations go (like books, clothes, or item donated at your curb), you are encouraged to do your homework and learn more about the organizations your donations support. A websearch using the charity name and then further search words such as “charity or scam” leads to more information on the blue bins and other organizations collecting donations. For information on the Friends Corner Book Shop please visit them at the corner of First Street and Golden Gate Way in Lafayette. A reserved parking spot allocated for donations to the Friends Corner Book Shop is located in the parking garage, under the library.
Page 14 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
How Much are Your Trees Really Worth?
By Blaine Brende & Joe Lamb
With the world in economic and ecological turmoil, it pays to take a deep breath and consider the real value of your assets. It’s best to start this exercise close to home because, for most Americans, their largest asset is their home. A surprisingly large contribution— between 8 and 19%1 — to the value of your home comes from your trees, shrubs, and other landscape plants. If your house is worth $500,000, that places the value of your plants at between $40,000 and $90,0000. Your trees deserve care commensurate with the value they add to your home’s portfolio. Trees, of course, have value far beyond real estate. Here’s a quick tour of values economists give for urban trees: Trees add to home values and thereby form part of the tax base. In so doing trees help fund schools, fire protection services, and police. Trees work to clean the air. In the process of photosynthesis, trees absorb pollutants, and even convert harmful chemicals, like nitrogen oxides and airborne ammonia, into benign forms. Trees act to reduce local tax rates by reducing infrastructure costs. Trees absorb rain and slow the speed at which storm water accumulates, thereby helping to prevent flooding and the need to install larger storm drains. Trees not only filter pollution, they help prevent it. Shade from trees can reduce air conditioning needs by as much as 30%, and trees planted to intercept prevailing winds can reduce heating needs significantly. “Projections suggest that 100 million additional mature trees in US cities (3 trees for every unshaded single family home) could save over $2 billion in energy costs per year.”2 Trees also help prevent car pollution. In the Sacramento area, an astounding 16% of air pollution comes from cars parked in the sun. Shade from trees greatly reduces the loss of gas, thereby reducing air pollution. Trees aid healing. When hospital rooms have views of trees, patients heal at a measurably faster rate. Trees help us fulfill Dorothy Day’s maxim, “Create a world
Gardening with Kate By Kathleen Guillaume
I keep telling myself that we are going to have a summer. This positive thinking does not seem to be working. My tomatoes are spindly and very slow growing. Typically by now I have clusters of little green globes all over my garden with a guarantee of that first luscious tomato sandwich by mid-June. My Swiss chard, however, is doing just fine. I think this year is a winter crop year...the chard usually has bolted and been pulled out by now, but it keeps making fresh sweet leaves. The fact that deer have circumvented all of my deer-proof fencing by finding a way through a small opening between houses to invade my garden is of little help. Normally they gravitate toward my roses, pruning them ahead of their blooms opening. Rosebuds must be a true delicacy. This year, however, they are munching on my dwarf fruit trees, stripping them of leaves and pruning my spindly tomatoes nightly so that they look like flowerless tomato shrubs. This is not lining up to be a good tomato year for the second year in a row. I have used Deer Fence and assorted other deer sprays to no avail. It seems the deer are no longer frightened of the predators whose scent overwhelms my yard. Who can blame them? There are no mountain lions in downtown Martinez...perhaps if I lived by the open space of Briones the spray would have more impact, as predators do roam that wild open space. It is time to find someone to build a 10 foot lattice to block that small opening. I had gotten away with not having it there for years. Sometimes you get a more curious generation of deer rebelling against the lessons their mothers have taught them and they decide to check out everything and try different food sources. That generation has arrived. My early summer peonies are blooming, and my clematis have hung webs of flowers connecting their support and the tips of my peach trees. The cool nights and days are prolonging their first bloom. My roses are more spectacular than usual, the cool days adding to their ability to stay
www.yourmonthlypaper.com in which it is easier to be nice to each other.” Studies find that trees in public housing neighborhoods reduce levels of fear and decrease aggressive behavior; and students with ADHD develop more self-discipline when they play in natural settings. Berkeley calculates that for every $1.00 the city spends on planting and pruning city trees, its citizens reap $1.40 in measurable benefits. For Sacramento the return is $1.80, and for New York City an astounding $5.00 return is gained for every dollar spent. The value added to pruning and planting trees on your own property is higher than that for street trees because trees have a real effect on real estate prices. Overestimating the value of trees to the entire planet is impossible. How can you put a price on the continuation of human life? If too many trees are stripped from the planet, then tipping points in the carbon cycle are crossed making global warming spin out of control… and making the world too hot for human life. Our Earth is small, and global warming makes it ever smaller. The easy division between what is global and what is local no longer holds. A ton of carbon dioxide from burning rainforests in Borneo heats the air as much as a ton of carbon dioxide from the tail pipes of commuter traffic on I580. We are all part of the problem. We are all part of the solution. Trees play a role in all three strategies to fight global warming. Trees help reduce energy use and may someday become a source of renewable biofuels. We can protect and restore rainforests and other carbon sinks. Through its work in the Borneo Project, Brende and Lamb works hard to leverage local support for the protection of rainforests. Closer to home we can all help with strategic planting of urban trees to sequester carbon, to reduce heat island effects, and to lower energy consumption. The dividends far outstrip the costs of caring for trees as a necessary part of the ‘green economy.’ Like other living beings, trees do require care. With people it costs less to avoid getting sick than to pay for a cure. The same is true with trees. Quality care improves the health of your trees, extends their lifespan and increases their beauty. Quality tree work pays dividends to you, and to the planet. 1. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090119210532.htm 2. http://www.treefolks.org/store_biglist.asp
If your trees and shrubs need a little TLC - call us at 510-486-TREE (8733) or email bl@brendelamb.com to schedule a free estimate. For more information visit our website at www.brendelamb.com. Advertorial wonderfully petalled. This year my “Black Tartan Cherry” is so laden with fruit that I cannot keep up with harvesting. All I can manage is removing three or four quarts a day. Usually the birds get to them as fast as I do. The President of Lafayette Garden Club was noting that her garden is light on birds this year, as though they, like summer, have been temporarily postponed. I will have a gigantic peach crop this year, but my apricot tree has not even one fruit (it rained hard when the blossoms should have been getting pollinated). My pears and apples bloomed later and managed to set some fruit, not tons but a healthy bounty. We can’t always get what we want, that’s the way of nature. But, I am sure going to miss my tomatoes. I even planted six extra this year. I just have to take a deep breath. A reminder to all gardeners: Most adults have not kept up with their Tetanus vaccine booster, which you should have every 10 years, especially if you are a gardener. We are always susceptible to tetnus, even if we wear gloves. Small scratch wounds on our hands, knees, or feet can lead to problems when we work in soils that have been amended with manures. Even soils can be a problem by themselves. I learned my lesson the hard way eons ago, having let my booster lapse. I scratched my little finger on a pyracantha thorn. It was such a little scratch that it wasn’t worth a BandAid. Yet there I was with a very swollen finger and these red trail marks following the paths of my veins up my arms. It was live tetanus time. Let me tell you, you never want to have to do that. It is the consistency of honey, and it is delivered in a large horse needle. So all you gardeners and other outdoors people, check on your last vaccination date, and make sure your Tetanus booster is up to date. Happy Gardening, take a deep breath, and enjoy whatever the climate deigns to give us this year. ~Kate
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Life in the Lafayette Garden
Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 15
Design and Budget By John Montgomery, ASLA, Landscape Architect #4059
First, I want to personally thank you all so much for your participation in our 2nd Annual Garden Tour Fundraiser “Life in the Lafayette Garden.” I am very proud to announce we generated more than $16,000 in donations for the six charities that participated. The rain held off and we had a great time. It exceeded our expectations! I look forward to talking to you at our 3rd Annual Garden Tour next year! This year I had the delightful opportunity to greet and chat with folks about the five gardens on the tour. People commented on how distinctly different each garden was. While a lot of the questions were specific like “What kind of plant is this?”, some were about the design process. I found it intriguing
that many questions were about Design and Budget, so it inspired me to write about it. I want to dispel the myth that good creative design is expensive! First, expensive is relative to each family’s budget. Every project and client are different, therefore everybody’s design goals and budget are different. Budgets are purely client driven by their wants and scope of the project. Everyone has a list of what they want and desire. Some clients have BIG want lists and are willing to “invest” in the budget to HAVE what they want while others only want some simple advice to do it themselves. I work with my clientele hand-in-hand with Design and Budget. I am well aware that while design options are limitless, most budgets are not. Good creative design need not be expensive; good creative design needs to be executed within the budget parameters. I require my clients to make tough decisions about their wants and budget so as to meet their expectations. The last thing I want is to create a beautiful garden on paper that isn’t affordable; I am committed to having my clients living in them! When a client interviews me to do their project, they basically want to know two things, “How much are your fees going to be?” and “How much is my project going to cost?” To answer the first question, which is easier to answer, everyone, whether or not it is a small project or a big one are charged my fees which are by-the-hour, based on the scope of services I provide. I love working on all aspects of a garden. I have three basic services: consulting, design, and construction assistance. I have a two hour minimum for consulting on items like garden spruce ups, flower pots, and annual color borders, etc. My design services include conceptual master plans, construction documents and planting plans. Construction assistance includes helping you with contractor selection, bids, on-site decisions, and project observation. Project costs are driven by my client’s wants. People know what they want, but often times don’t know what it costs. The specific way I work gives you control of the budget because my fees aren’t based on how much your project costs. I am interested in identifying how much you are willing to “invest” into your home and what’s appropriate to the home and your family budget. Before I design anything, I evaluate your wants and desires and weigh it against your budget. Once these parameters are
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understood, I begin the design, and at every step of the process I provide a line-item budget so choices and decisions can be made regarding the design and budget. I love what I do! With more than 35 years in the garden, clients’ and my own, I understand the enjoyment we receive from our gardens, whether small or large. Not only am I a licensed landscape architect, but I am a passionate gardener! I am dedicated to designing garden environments that produce the feelings you wish to have when you are in them; inspiration, rejuvenation, relaxation, playful, peaceful… Good creative design doesn’t have to be expensive; it has to be good creative design within your budget! A hot tip from your local Landscape Architect: Over the years I have observed that good design can save you money in the long run by doing it right the first time! Gardening Quote of the Month: “How much the making of a garden, no matter how small, adds to the joy of living, only those who practice the arts and the science can know.” - E. H. Wilson If you would like me to write on any particular subject, email your ideas to jmontgomery@jm-la.com, or for design ideas visit www.jm-la.com. Advertorial
Page 16 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
Ask Dr. Happy Dear Dr. Happy,
My wife and I are both in our 80’s and have been married for 52 years. We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, but I would say that overall we’ve had a good marriage. Now, however, she has recently been diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. She is devastated and has been asking, no, begging me to promise that if she gets worse, as is likely, and she can’t recognize me or our six adult children anymore, for me to help her commit suicide. The Alzheimer’s diagnosis is bad enough, but suicide? What do you have to say about that, Dr. Happy? ~Unsure
Dear Unsure,
I’ve never cottoned to the idea of suicide; it just feels to me like that gets us into a rather murky spiritual area. I understand that assisted suicide can be justified as a way of relieving severe, unremitting pain in cases where there is really no hope. There is also a legality issue in many states, even for doctor-assisted cases. Also, we’ve made such good progress in pain management that suicide is not often considered except for the most severe, unremitting cases. So, ‘Unsure,’ if it were me, I would let my wife know that should her disease progress, I would be sure she were well cared for but could not promise to assist in her suicide. You will need to look into the legality of assisted suicide in your state as well as examine your own moral and ethical concerns.
Happiness Tip
Most of us have difficulty dealing with end of life issues whether for ourselves or our loved ones. In deciding what to do, I feel it is important to balance your values and ethics with compassion, especially, as in this case, where you and your spouse may have different outlooks. Also, discussion this early in the game, before physical or mental deterioration has become advanced, will allow for more options. But, I want to emphasize that if you are the primary caregiver for your ill husband or wife, never come up short on compassion no matter what you decide should be done. Please send questions/comments for Dr. Happy to Pollyannan@aol.com.
Brainwaves by Betsy Streeter
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The Big Taboo – Talking to Your Parents About Estate Planning By Robert J. Silverman, Esq.
Reportedly, about 70% of Americans have no estate plan at all. For whatever reason - procrastination, denial of mortality, or otherwise - most people fail to establish a comprehensive estate plan (e.g. Wills, Trust, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives), even when they are in their 50’s and older. But why don’t more children discuss this with their parents and encourage their parents to do so? Based on nearly 20 years of discussions with clients about estate planning, I know very well how difficult it is for many people, across various ages and cultures, to plan for their death and/or incapacity. People who are “old school” tend to be very tight-lipped with their children about financial and estate planning issues. The reasons are many and varied, rational and irrational. Among others, it may be that they believe that it’s just not an appropriate subject for discussion with their children, fear that their children may make unwise choices if they learn about a significant prospective inheritance, are embarrassed that they don’t have more assets saved, or perhaps they believe that “as soon as I talk about dying, it will happen.” I have also listened to well meaning adult children express frustration that their parents have failed to put an estate plan in place (and/or have failed to have it reviewed and updated in many years, if not decades). Yet, many are hesitant to broach the subject with their parents. Interestingly, financial and estate planning are frequently as taboo in our society as the classic taboo topics such as sex, religion, and politics! Unfortunately, however, failure to visit periodically with a trust and estates lawyer can cause many unnecessary results such as extra costs, delay, inconvenience, additional tax, loss of family privacy, and court intervention. At worst, it can cause unintended consequences, including, but not limited to, distribution of assets in a manner that’s inconsistent with one’s wishes and intentions. Typically, neither children nor parents are anxious to think about the parents’ mortality. So, if you are a child, how do you get past the taboo and bring up the subject in a sensitive and appropriate manner? Usually, the best way is to convey directly that you have your parents’ best interest at heart. Explain that planning is a means of taking control of the assets they have worked so hard to acquire and save, and that by exercising such control, the government, courts and the IRS won’t control the administration of their estate by default. You may disarm them by telling them that you do not need to know any details about their estate plan until or unless they choose to share such details with you. If you have an estate plan in place yourself, and so inform your parents, sometimes that will resonate. Your parents might think that if their kids are old enough (and wise enough) to have an estate plan, they should too! A huge percentage of parents I meet, regardless of their age, say that their primary estate planning objective is to streamline things so as to minimize the burden on their children when they die. You can assure your parents that estate planning is sort of the ultimate protection of their children, grandchildren, and/or other loved ones. Just because your parents are older doesn’t mean that they’ve lost their parental instincts. Once the subject has been brought out into the open, you might refer them to an attorney in whom you have confidence to relate well and look out for their best interests. An experienced estate planning attorney will empower them with many useful alternative ways to provide for their legacy in precisely the manner they wish. Remarkably, no matter how difficult it is for people to initiate the process, they almost universally feel a great sense of relief and peace of mind when they take control by establishing a comprehensive estate plan. Mr. Silverman is an attorney with Shapiro Buchman Provine Brothers Smith LLP, 1333 N. California Street, Suite 350, Walnut Creek, CA 94596; (925) 944-9700; rsilverman@sbllp.com. His practice emphasizes Estate Planning, Trust Administration & Probate, Real Estate, and Business. Please call for a free introductory consultation. This article is intended to provide information of a general nature, and should not be relied upon as legal, tax, financial and/ or business advice. Readers should obtain and rely upon specific advice only from their own qualified professional advisors. This communication is not intended or written to be used, for the purpose of: i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code; or ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any matters addressed herein. Advertorial
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Your Personal Nutritionist By Linda Michaelis, RD
Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 17
Maintaining Weight Loss Forever
I have received numerous requests from readers to address how to maintain their weight after they have tried one of the faddish quick weight loss diets where they rapidly lost a lot of pounds in a short period of time. As a case study, let me tell you about my client Lisa who is an avid exerciser, mom of two teenagers, and who is constantly struggling with weight loss. Lisa frequently starts a new diet where she often sees fantastic results quickly. Her problem has always been maintaining the weight loss. Most of the diets she puts herself through are drastic and boring. She came to my office with a journal of her recent food intake. I could see that her intense workouts left her ravenous, and she struggled to maintain the 1,200 calories prescribed by her diet and then gorged on healthy foods. She often succumbed to cravings which would set off a binge attack. I observed that Lisa was ignoring her hunger signs completely, and she would eat on a preset schedule where hunger and fullness were not considered. During our discussion I could tell Lisa had very little knowledge about nutrition and what are considered balanced meals of protein, fiber, low fat, and low sugar. I taught her how to read food labels for important nutrition facts such as the percentage of fat per serving, grams of fiber per serving, and how to calculate grams of protein into ounces. Lisa did not realize that her food choices were high in fat and low in protein and fiber. Afterwards Lisa and I went on a supermarket tour where she discovered many of the great convenience foods available for a family of four. I set up a tasty meal plan for her based on her favorite foods, and I told her that her new friends are protein and fiber, which must be eaten at every meal and snack. I introduced Lisa to Greek yogurt, turkey jerky, fat free cottage cheese, homemade hummus, hard-boiled eggs, peanut butter with celery or an apple, oatmeal, and Kashi Go Lean cereal with a sprinkle of Craisins for snacks which could be easily taken with her during her outings. I thought long and hard about how to help her read her body better. I decided to probe a little more about her eating habits and responses. Was she always hungry when she was eating? Did she get too full after a meal? Did she taste the food or inhale it? Was she overeating at times because she was upset or very happy? I asked Lisa to keep a log where she recorded her level of hunger based on a scale from 1-10. After analyzing the log, we established a goal to eat when her hunger levels were a 6 to 7 and to stop when she was at 8 to 9. It took her a while to learn to listen to her body and begin to appreciate hunger signals. We also focused on her desire to be “perfect” everyday and making herself feel miserable when she wasn’t. I was adamant that she must begin treating herself more kindly, like she treated her children. Lisa learned that she could enjoy rich food at times as long as it was in small portions. Now Lisa delights in going to a restaurant and ordering two appetizers as her main dish like crab cakes and a delicious salad or an entrée like lamb chops with double veggies and a slice of bread. She was happy to learn that she can have choices that would never have been on her previous diet list where she typically ordered a small salad and simply grilled fish which wasn’t filling and left her feeling unsatisfied. After eating a meal like that, she would come home hungry and raid the refrigerator. I also introduced Lisa to fresh Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, as well as other local eateries that I believe offer great food for those who want to eat healthy. Lisa finished my eight week “Royal Treatment Program,” and she is a new woman. She has maintained a 15 lb weight loss and is confident about making great food choices each day. We still have scheduled meetings for support and discussion of family events that bring lots of food to the table to keep her on track. If you are interested in a topic that you would like me to discuss, please e-mail me and let me know. Linda’s office is located in Alamo. She welcomes your call to discuss your needs and personal diet challenges. Please visit www.LindaRD.com for more information, helpful tips, recipes, and Linda’s blog or call (925) 855-0150. Advertorial
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hybridized herself. Having acquired one rosette shaped specimen reminiscent of a child’s sketch of a rose, Ruth wanted more. She had thousands of succulents by the time her husband, Philip, offered her space from which he was removing a grove of blighted walnut trees for her dry garden. Lester Hawkins of Western Hills Nursery was hired to design the layout for the winding paths. In 1972, Ruth dug her plants into the new beds and lost 90% to a freeze. Never daunted by disaster, Ruth devised covers to protect tender plants from winter wet and extreme cold and re-planted. Land containing Ruth’s collections of roses, irises, and herbs as well as her home remained family property when Bancroft transferred the three acres including her xeroscopic garden to the Conservancy. Angela Lansbury, accepting the role of honorary chair, attended the official opening of the Ruth Bancroft Garden in April 1992, extending the fame of the venture way beyond horticultural circles. For Ruth, the transition from private to public garden was simultaneously thrilling and chilling. Used to spending up to 12 hours a day working hatless and gloveless amongst her plants, Ruth found being spotted weeding by complete strangers a bit shocking. “Mom never wanted to be a tourist attraction,” comments her daughter Nina Dickerson. Always glad to share her horticultural haven with knowledgeable guests, Ruth enjoyed witnessing the impact her garden was having on visitors with diverse interests. Yet she was saddened by the sense that the garden was no longer her personal space. Initially the garden was open only for reserved docent tours on Friday and Saturday. Groups could arrange for tours on other days, but on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday the garden was closed to allow Ruth to re-mound beds, weed, and plant as she always had, never even breaking for lunch. Until she was no longer physically able to keep up the pace a few years prior to her 100th birthday, Ruth made all the decisions. Asked whether she knew where each plant would go before acquiring it, Ruth responded, “Oh, no! I fell in love first and then gave it home.” “Collecting drove the design,” notes Brian Kemble, Curator of the RBG, who began working for Ruth in 1980. Ruth had her own concept of what should go in each bed. When one became full, she added another. As Ruth
turned more frequently to ordering from catalogues, Brian continued to bring plants and seeds back from his travels. He further augmented the collection by creating tens of thousands of hybrids to test grow in the garden. Only those with the most desirable characteristics were retained and named. Tom Bassett, President of the Board of Directors of the RBG, began visiting Ruth’s garden when he first moved to Walnut Creek in 1979 to teach as a visiting lecturer at UC Berkeley’s School of Landscape Architecture. Delighted by the depth of Tom’s interest, Ruth invited him to wander the garden whenever he liked. “To Ruth, the garden was a series of stories,” he remembers, telling, “Where each Curator Brian Kemble shares his knowledge. plant came from, how she had found it, how it had done in the garden.” Ruth allowed her plants to overgrow their borders so that the paths became ways leading through the wilderness rather than formal walkways. Ruth recognized that gardens change. Plants outgrow their space, succumb to natural causes, or reseed themselves in unexpected places. Ruth continues to meet weekly with Garden Manager Charlotte Blome, but she has had to cede the daily work to staff members and volunteers. Hired in 1993 as the garden’s first Executive Director, Richard Turner met Ruth when he and a colleague dropped by unannounced in 1979. Dick recalls: “Ruth rolled out the welcome mat.” Over the next several years, Dick made Ruth’s garden the culminating destination field trip for students
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Page 18 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
Bedbugs - Good, Bad, and Ugly By Dr. Shanny Baughman
Bedbugs- they aren’t just in nursery rhymes. More people are being bitten, and it’s happening in more cities, towns, and colleges than a mere five years ago. This resurgence is due to the ban on DDT, close living conditions, and more frequent travel. The following information is for advice and prevention, not to provoke alarm. Think of this article as equivalent to a “disaster preparedness kit” in case you find bedbugs. THE GOOD - Bedbugs (Cimex lectularias) won’t Dr. Shanny Baughman, Alamo kill you. Bedbugs are a nuisance, but unlike fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes, they are not known to transmit disease such as Lyme Disease, Malaria, Hepatitis, or HIV. Bedbugs aren’t an indication of poor housekeeping. They are an indication of close living conditions. They are adept at escaping detection, and by sneaking into laundry or suitcases where they can be transported far away. They have been found in hotels, apartments, houses, cruise ships, theater seats, and, most recently, college dormitories. THE BAD - Bedbug bites itch. Bites are often in clusters of three, think ‘breakfast, lunch, and dinner,’ or are in a line. If you are allergic to the bites, expect a stronger reaction. Some people have no symptoms. Bedbug bites are a nuisance. In addition to itching, bacterial infections can develop in open wounds. Bedbugs hitchhike in suitcases and clothing and can turn up after guests spend the night or kids come home from college. They crawl and do not jump, fly, or swim. THE UGLY - They are ugly. Really ugly. Adult bedbugs measure around ¼ inch, so they are visible to the eye. Smaller larvae are visible but are nearly translucent when young and darken as they molt and grow. They become brownish red, shield shaped, and have tiny vestigial wings. They dine in the dark, enjoying a blood meal at night, finding their victims by detection of carbon dioxide and warmth. Bedbugs are tough to get rid of. They can live for over a year without a meal. A cursory survey of a room may not show evidence of bedbugs. One needs to look carefully in crevices, along the seams of mattresses, behind headboards, in dresser drawers and closets, behind light plate covers, in drapery, and behind pictures. IF YOU SEE BEDBUG EVIDENCE IN YOUR HOTEL ROOM INSPECT your room before unpacking- remember to look in all the places mentioned above. Even if you don’t see an actual bedbug but find tell-tale signs such as dark specks (fecal droppings) or molted exoskeletons, don’t unpack.
www.yourmonthlypaper.com Leave that room promptly, and request a different room. Better yet, request a different hotel. Even if you don’t find bedbugs, it is wise to avoid use of dresser drawers. If you choose to keep clothing in your suitcase, keep it closed at all times. A large garbage bag enclosing your suitcase will prevent bedbug transport if you are particularly concerned. Not all bites are caused by bedbugs as other insects, and spiders can attack you in the night. Avoid false alarms by searching for a live insect specimen. Bring it for identification if possible. IF YOUR CHILDREN BRING BEDBUGS Dr. Kelly Hood, Lafayette HOME FROM COLLEGE - Imagine a crowed dorm room, with clothes scattered around, an assortment of friends staying the night, and trips for Spring Break or job interviews involving stays in hotels or other dorms. This is the perfect environment for bedbugs to travel, invade that locale, and then hitchhike to the next destination. If you think your children brought home bedbugs in the dirty laundry, all clothes should be washed in hot water and dried at the highest setting of the dryer. If hot water will damage the clothes, you can dry them on the highest heat. If the bedbugs are already in your home, deep cleaning may be adequate to remove them. Scrubbing infested surfaces with a stiff brush will remove eggs. Sealing cracks in walls and floors will prevent reentry, and enclosing your mattress in a dust-mite proof bag may be enough. Think twice about hauling a mattress out for trash pickup. The mattress could leave a trail of eggs through your house and an unwise “dumpster diver” could get more than a free mattress. AVOID BRINGING HOME USED FURNITURE - Couches, mattresses, and upholstered chairs can contain bedbugs. Vacuuming can help reduce the pests, but cleaning needs to be repeated as eggs could hatch later. It’s safer to avoid these castoffs. LET THE EXPERTS EXTERMINATE - There are numerous reports of bedbugs resistant to readily available sprays and bug bombs. Exterminators use chemicals which are specifically targeted for bedbugs. Avoid the temptation to do-it-yourself and call the pros. For more information, take the Bedbug Quiz at www.medicinenet.com/ bed_bugs/article.htm. You can also meet Roscoe the Bed Bug Dog at www. roscoethebedbugdog.com/pages/tips.php. To schedule a consultation with one of us, contact Dr. Shanny Baughman at Alamo Oaks Dermatology, 3189 Danville Blvd, suite 130, Alamo, 925-362-0992, shanny.derm@gmail.com, or Dr. Kelly Hood, 970 Dewing, Suite 301, Lafayette, 925-283-5500, khoodderm@yahoo.com . Advertorial
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Stage continued from page 5
in the plant identification classes he was teaching at UC Berkeley. When he left his post at the RBG to become editor of Pacific Horticulture, he retained close ties with the garden. He currently serves on the Horticultural Advisory Committee formed five years ago to maintain Ruth’s criteria for design in a dynamic environment. “Gardens don’t just happen. They require attention, management, vision,” Turner explains. Sculptural is a word often applied to Ruth’s dry garden. “Anyone who worked in artistic fields was bowled over by the garden,” remarks Ruth’s daughter Kathy Hidalgo. The 17th annual Sculpture in the garden show opening on June 17th will include some 250 pieces by 49 artists. Staging art in the garden benefits everyone. Joe Bologna, Artist Coordinator for this invitational show, says, “This is a happy story.” Sculptors from all over Northern California consider exhibiting in the garden an exceptional opportunity and enthusiastically donate a substantial portion of their proceeds from sales to the RBG. “Quality attracts quality,” Bologna insists. The backdrop of dramatic foliage highlights the art. New artists are discovered by collectors coming to view pieces by familiar sculptors. David Mudgett, who has participated in the show for many years and currently coordinates the placement of art in the garden, explains the symbiotic relationship: “It’s all about aesthetics, the ultimate goal is to create a relationship between the garden and the art the public can both recognize and appreciate.” Executive Director Becky Rice Harrington notes that when she first came to the garden in 2002 it was still a very quiet place. “Now there is a buzz.” As Ruth nears her 103rd birthday in September, volunteers, staff members, and visitors enthusiastically support Ruth’s on-growing gift. To participate in events or review plant profiles and photographs, visit www.ruthbancroftgarden.org.
The dream of having a permanent stage at the reservoir came from the Lafayette Rotary Club’s years of presenting the annual Concert at the Res that features local students and professional musicians. Money raised at these concerts has gone to provide new instruments for the local schools music programs and other projects the Rotary Club has been involved with. The Lafayette Community Foundation (LCF) is assisting Rotary in raising funds to support music in the schools and the stage project. We are asking for help to create this permanent community enhancement and to enable the continued success of the Concert at the Res. By partnering with LCF, all donations received will be tax deductible! There are several levels of sponsorship available, and recognition of your gift will be included in the design of the stage. Of course, all donors are invited to the opening concert! This year due to California’s budget crisis, our community's award-winning school music programs will be negatively affected unless we support them. Credit card donations can be made via LCF’s website at www.lafayettecf.org. Checks should be made payable to the “Lafayette Community Foundation.” Please reference “Concert at the Res” on your check, and mail by July 15th to Lafayette Community Foundation, PO Box 221, Lafayette, CA 94549. The Lafayette Rotary Club and the Lafayette Community Foundation have already raised over $60,000 for the project. Another $50,000 will be needed for completion.
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Exercise Therapy: From Pain to Performance By Jeffrey Johnson, D.C.
At Johnson Chiropractic Group our therapeutic approach is not simply about pain relief and adjusting spinal fixations to restore spinal health. Our mission is to educate and transition our patients into an active, healthy lifestyle. We look to optimize our patients health by including them in our systematic program of care ranging from pain relief and rehabilitation to corrective exercise therapy. The transition from rehabilitation to physical fitness can be difficult when you are not familiar with the underlying principles of corrective exercise therapy. Ultimately our goal is to ensure that our patients can move correctly without pain, while maintaining proper mobility and stability before they take on more rigorous activity. Without optimal muscle balance and symmetry, patients suffer from a degree of compensation in their movements which only leads to further injury over time. I am often surprised by how few health care professionals actually use corrective exercise therapy in their practices. Many structural conditions currently treated with singular approaches by their doctors would greatly benefit from the inclusion of exercise therapy, as thousands of traumatic low back pain cases are successfully treated annually by exercises alone.
What is Exercise Therapy?
Exercise Therapy is a form of exercise that strives to bring the body back into perfect postural position. As you know, the body is designed to perform at its most efficient level when it is in a position of ideal posture and bilat-
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Lamorinda Adult Respite Center (LARC) is a non-profit, state licensed, social Adult Day Program for those with Alzheimer’s or other related dementias, offering respite for caregivers by providing exemplary care and stimulating activities for their loved ones. Open Monday through Friday 11M – 3PM, they provide interesting and engaging activities such as games, crafts, exercise, friendships, and daily live musical entertainment.The center’s paid staff and caring trained volunteers foster dignity and self-worth in the participants. The grant from LCF will allow the LARC program to continue to meet the needs of the community by expanding and improving their services. The funds will be used to create a Caregiver Resource Library with relevant books and DVDs to lend on dementia and related topics, to purchase colorful flowers for participants to plant in the patio garden pots, and for special intergenerational activities with the neighboring preschoolers. LARC is 100% privately funded and neither solicits nor accepts government funding. The LCF grant enables LARC LARC members from left to right: Beth Hofinga, Program Director of to continue their LARC, Cookie Bedford, Activities Leader, and Betty Zingale, volunteer mission and enrich the lives of many. LARC is located at Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church located at 433 Moraga Way in Orinda. For more information about LARC, call (925) 254-3465, e-mail larc@holyshepherd.org, or go to www.holyshepherd.org. WomenSing began 45 years ago and devotes itself to the study and performance of choral music. WomenSing, with its 50 auditioned members, delights audiences with its beautifully blended sound not only in the Bay Area but across the world. This local, non-profit organization has an exciting musical outreach program named “Youth Inspiring Youth” that partners with “River of Words” collection of poetry. Young composers and poets are chosen, and their works are mentored by nationally recognized composer Libby Larsen. This treasure trove of inspiring works is given voice by WomenSing. The group regularly holds their workshops at Veterans Memorial Hall in Lafayette in front of interested large audiences. WomenSing will use this year’s grant from Lafayette Community Foundation to help expand the Youth Inspiring Youth project. For additional information on LCF and to find out how you can become involved, please visit www.LafayetteCF.org.
Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 19 eral symmetry. Exercise Therapy is designed to restore muscle balance and symmetry, thus guiding the body to work efficiently without pain. Through exercise therapy, you will be working toward re-educating the body to move as it was designed so it can function at its best, pain free. Specific movements are used to improve body mechanics and remove negative movement patterns which have led to dysfunction. Exercise Therapy reintroduces proper function, which restores correct posture. When the body stops compensating for imbalances, patients are able to move freely without restrictions and the pain eventually disappears. It all comes down to moving correctly! All muscle function is interconnected. One area of dysfunction will cause compensation and a myriad of symptoms somewhere else. Exercise Therapy effectively corrects the cumulative stress of life. Even small structural changes (i.e. long hours at your desk, commuting or exercising through pain) will alter the muscles’ and joints’ ability to perform properly. This is because no muscle works alone; each is connected to another part of the body. Because exercise therapy focuses on fixing the cause of pain, instead of just addressing the symptoms, it works where many other approaches fall short. So, even if you’ve tried everything else to feel better, now is the time to try our effective exercise therapy strategies for relief.
Have You Tried Other Therapies?
You may have already tried to stretch and strengthen some weak, injured areas of your body with little to no success. The majority of muscle and joint pain syndromes are the result of repeated faulty movement patterns which leads to cumulative stress and pain. Over time, the body develops incorrect movement patterns as a way to compensate for tight, weak muscles and also as a way to avoid pain. Without exercise therapy protocols designed to teach the correct way of moving, patients continue from one approach to another, never improving, because they continue to move incorrectly. An example of this would be when a patient complains of chronic knee pain, most professionals are quick to incorporate a therapeutic approach which focuses on stretching and strengthening the knee. However, our approach utilizing exercise therapy would be to address movement in the entire kinetic chain from the ankle to the knee, hip, and spine. This more inclusive approach is what is required to effectively restore function and prevent future re-injury. Many of you reading this article are currently suffering from an injury which is preventing you from fully enjoying spring. Too often I hear people say they’d love to run, swim, lift weights, or play their favorite sport again, but they can’t because they’ve got a chronic injury that is preventing them from enjoying one of their favorite activities. Don’t settle for mediocrity and the lackluster results that come from antiquated, singular approaches. Challenge yourself and the staff at Johnson Chiropractic Group to find a way to get you back participating in the activities you love this summer! We are ready to help you Move Past Your Pain and return to performing at your peak potential. For more info go to www.movepastyourpain.com, visit us on Facebook, or contact Dr. Johnson at Johnson Chiropractic Group, 115 Town & Country Dr., Suite E in Danville. (925) 743-8210. Advertorial
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Page 20 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
Who Suffers with Dementia? By Dr. Michael Nelson
You may be wondering why I would ask such a question. Think of all the diseases out there. There are very few that affect others more than the patient. Last year, my wife ruptured her Achilles tendon. Sure, I had to do more duties around the house for a few weeks, but I would not really consider that suffering. She was the one hobbling around in a boot or “foot jail” as she called it. Instead, think about what it would be like if she was showing signs of Alzheimer’s. These situations occur every day. From my perspective as the physician, the patient is always the patient. This is true even if I have known the patient for years. Imagine though how difficult it is when you have been married to the same person for 30 years and they begin changing. It is easy to get used to some mild memory loss. This memory loss is beyond forgetting conversations you may have had which, by the way, is more of a listening trouble than a true memory trouble. The forgetfulness may lead to arguments and blame. Worse memory trouble can lead into paranoia, such as believing that you stole their reading glasses. More extreme examples can be the belief that you are cheating on them. Interestingly, it may be the “normal” spouse who is convinced that the patient is cheating on them because they can’t believe it would take hours for them to drive to the store and back home. But some dementias do not start with memory troubles. Poor judgment may be the first sign. Your spouse may decide to change the will to reward their favorite child. Or worse, they may call a gathering to tell the entire family who their favorite child is. These patients are also at risk of coercion by telemarketers or email scams. There are also individuals, who I consider elder predators, who will befriend the patient with hopes of financial gain. The cruelest part of this whole situation is that the patient is completely unaware that they have any trouble. Even physicians may not recognize the trouble as the patient may have excellent short term memory and language skills. The future will help explain the past in this situation because eventually the patient will worsen and the diagnosis will be made. The transition into recognizing your loved one has a disease is a mixed blessing. On one hand, you now have an explanation for their behaviors over the last few years. But on the other hand, you become aware that this is a progressively worsening issue and a difficult road lies ahead. The normal spouse will slowly take on more and more responsibilities. They will hopefully recognize the need to be in charge of finances and driving. One day they will not feel comfortable leaving their spouse alone. Ever. This may be due to serious mistakes like leaving a burner on or, more commonly, the patient becomes very anxious when alone. Even with a pleasantly demented spouse, constant companionship will eventually cause severe stress. There are adult day care programs that are excellent at helping with this situation. As the disease worsens, then financial burdens worsen. Eventually, you need more help at home. This becomes twenty-four hour care at home. Keeping this level of care may be sustainable
www.yourmonthlypaper.com assuming there are not significant behavior issues. Behavior issues lead to removing the patient from their home, such as an admission to an assisted living memory unit or a board and care home. These facilities cost thousands of dollars a month. Unless you have long term care insurance, you will be financially responsible for payment as Medicare does not cover this care until you reach a skilled nursing facility. Now that you have a flavor of these situations, keep in mind that the patient with moderate to severe dementia is completely unaware of their situation. At this point, all of your motivation comes from trying to do the best for your loved one. I wrote this article from a spouse’s perspective, but I am well aware that this applies to daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, grandchildren, distant relatives, and friends. Your suffering is not unnoticed. For further information regarding caregiver support in dementia, please contact your local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Dr. Michael Nelson is a board certified adult neurologist who has been serving general neurology patients in the East Bay for the past nine years. His office is located at 970 Dewing Ave, Suite #300 in Lafayette, CA. He can be reached at 925-299-9022 to schedule an appointment and can also be found Advertorial on the web at www.michaelnelsonmd.com.
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Shoulder Impingement Syndrome A Physical Therapy Prospective By Steven Marcinkowski, PT, DPT
Impingement as defined in the Funk and Wagnalls dictionary is “to come into contact; strike; collide; especially sharply.” This definition is brought to life with a shoulder condition referred to as “impingement syndrome.” The repetitive movements of pruning a hedge, swimming, and reaching often result in shoulder pain. The pain can be quite sharp in nature, located in the front or side of the shoulder, may be accompanied by weakness, and is produced by the abnormal colliding of structures within the shoulder. A brief explanation of the shoulder composition will better assist with understanding the causes of shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS). The shoulder is a ball and socket joint made up of two bones. The scapula, commonly referred to as the shoulder blade, forms the socket and the humerus, also known as the upper arm bone, forms the ball. This type of joint allows for the tremendous shoulder ranges of motion required in our daily activities. Between the ball and socket is the bursa, a fluid-filled sac, which acts as a cushion to prevent wearing of the two bones as they move on each other. The final component of anatomy consists of the muscles and their tendons that are the movers of the shoulder complex. Shoulder impingement may be due to an inflamed bursa (bursitis), swelling of the tendons in close proximity to the shoulder joint (tendonitis), or joint socket wearing (arthritis) and can be subdivided by age into three distinct stages. Stage 1 most often occurs in individuals younger than 25 years. The shoulder pain is usually the result of a sporting activity whereupon repetitive over head shoulder movements (throwing, tennis, and swimming) causes irritation and swelling of the tendons that pass near the shoulder joint, bursa, or possibly both. The entrapment of the irritated structures in the shoulder joint during the activity is the culprit of the pain.
Rhinoplasty
By Barbara Persons, MD, Persons Plastic Surgery, Inc.
Magnificent, My nose!...You pug, you knob, you button-head, Know that I glory in this nose of mine, For a great nose indicates a great man – Genial, courteous, intellectual, virile, courageous – as I am – and such As you – poor wretch – will never dare to be Even in imagination. (I. 336-342) Cyrano de Bergerac Rhinoplasty is the operation designed to improve the shape and function of the nose and generally to bring the nose into balance with the face. Cyrano de Bergerac was both proud of his infamous nose and terribly self-conscious about it. Should Cyrano have consulted a plastic surgeon about his options for rhinoplasty, his story may have turned out differently! Like most procedures performed by a plastic surgeon, patients seek a rhinoplasty for many different reasons. Patients seek this operation to repair a nose that is crooked from birth or due to injury, to repair asymmetries, to reduce or make more delicate certain nasal features, or to create a nose that is more harmonious with their face. Some patients know exactly what it is that they do not like about their nose, and some know only that they don’t like their nose. In almost all instances, it is my experience that surgical changes, where appropriate, can enhance the beauty of the face and make the patient happy to have sought the change. Rhinoplasty is often combined with the repair of the nasal septum, also known as septoplasty. The septum is the structure which should sit in the middle of the nose, separating one side from the other. Twists and deflections may obstruct breathing through the nose. A septoplasty can improve this problem and is sometimes covered by insurance. Resculpting the nose requires a careful analysis of the patient’s facial features. Forehead height, strength of the chin, and length of the lips
Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 21 Stage 2 commonly involves the ages between 25 and 40 years and is generally a worsening of Stage 1. The deficiency in healing may be secondary to such factors as weakness, tightness, or poor form. Progression of Stage 2 SIS is particularly troublesome as the irritated tendons and bursa may become chronically enlarged and in the case of the tendons, frayed with the potential of leading to a tear. The pain is often severe and may not allow the individual to properly perform the desired activity. Stage 3 SIS is frequently the destiny of those older than 40. Arthritic changes, such as spur formation, in the shoulder joint along with the worn down tendons may result in tearing and potential rupturing of the rotator cuff or biceps tendons. As an aside, a common complaint of the Stage 3 individuals is pain at night. Proper diagnosis and understanding of the causes of shoulder impingement syndrome is the cornerstone of physical therapy treatment. Common patient scenarios that apply to any of the above stages consist of shoulder pain with various sporting, work, or day to day activities. Initial questioning may reveal that the shoulder pain is the result of the athlete performing extra time in the pool in preparation for a big meet, or the executive spending hours in a faulty position behind the desk, or the home gardener intensely pruning a prize winning rose garden. Observation notes that the patient is sitting somewhat flexed in their torso with an associated forward slumping of the shoulders. Further assessment reveals both weakness and tightness of opposing muscles surrounding the shoulder. Finally, the bursa and tendons may be sore to the touch. Collecting all of the evaluation information, along with any imaging or other testing data that may have been performed, allows for the creation of a physical therapy program designed to address and correct the shoulder impingement symptoms. For assistance with shoulder impingement, other orthopedic injuries, postsurgical rehabilitation, or injury prevention methods, please contact Steven Marcinkowski, DPT at 925 284 4486 or sjm.dpt@gmail.com. Steven Marcinkowski has been located in Lafayette since 1991. His physical therapy office is located at 3730 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Ste. 100, Lafayette. He can be reached at 925 284 4486 or lamorindaorthopt.com. Advertorial all influence the appearance of the nose. The nose, in turn, influences the appearance of the whole face. It is sometimes necessary to create a stronger chin (mentoplasty) to correct what appears to be an excessively large nose or to shorten the lip. In short, the nose sits in the center of the face and is a focal spot for the beauty of the face. It cannot be viewed alone. My goal is to sculpt a nose that is in harmony with the rest of the face and, when viewed separately, gives the face a balanced appearance. I usually perform a closed rhinoplasty. This type of “nose job” requires no external incision and, therefore, creates no external scars. All the work is done from the inside of the nose. It seems amazing to be able to work inside such a small space, but it is often the appropriate approach. In certain instances an open rhinoplasty is appropriate and performed through an incision on the columella of the nose (the vertical portion between the nostrils). This incision can be practically invisible. Rhinoplasty is performed under Light Sleep Anesthesia. Surgery generally lasts about one and a half hours. The septum is straightened, the airway improved, the base of the nose narrowed, the dorsum or top of the nose is shaped to smooth the dip or hump and the tip is adjusted to be synchronous with the patient’s face. Rhinoplasty, when performed on a young adult or older person, may be beneficial to their social development and self-confidence. The aging process is reflected in many ways in the nose, and correcting the balance of the face can add freshness and youth to a patient’s appearance. The final result of a rhinoplasty takes a period of time to achieve. The healing process determines the final result. One can generally get a good idea of what the nose will look like when the nasal splint is removed a week after surgery. Patience is required though, because your nose will continue to improve over the next few months. Whether you are a “closet Cyrano” or just seeking a minor change, I would be happy to consult with you regarding the most prominent feature of your face, your nose. Barbara Persons MD owns Persons Plastic Surgery, Inc. located at 911 Moraga Rd in Lafayette. Please call 925-283-8811 or email at drbarb@personsplasticsurgery.com. Advertorial
Page 22 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
Events for Lafayette Seniors
All classes are held at the Lafayette Senior Center located at 500 Saint Mary’s Rd in Lafayette unless otherwise noted. Space is limited. Please call 925-284-5050 to reserve a spot. Annual Membership fee: $10 per person. General Event fee: Members $1; Non-Member $3. Special Concerts fee: Members $3; Non-Members $5. Ongoing Caregiver Support Group: Members: no charge; Non-members $1.
The Wonderful World of (Golf) Putting – a Special Program for Seniors Thursday 6/23 • 10:30-Noon • Elderberry Room,
Lafayette Community Center The American Golf Program for Seniors is a non-profit organization which is dedicated to bringing the wonderful world of golf to Baby Boomers and Seniors. Supported entirely by volunteers who are passionate about the sport, these experts will take you “from Green to Tee,” through putting lessons based on videos and hands-on instruction with on-the-spot putting greens and putters (all provided), and more. You’re bound to have a great time. There will be fun prizes and light refreshments. Thoughts on Pots: Container Gardening Wisdom Tuesday 6/21 • 10:30-Noon • Elderberry Room, Lafayette Community Center While potted gardens often accommodate limited space restrictions, they also offer unlimited artistic expression. Learn the techniques from Susanne Frey, Owner/Designer of Season’s Landscape Design and OnStaff Designer, Mt. Diablo Nursery and Garden. From delightful design to dazzling display with all the how-to’s you need. The workshop will include a lively discussion and demonstration and an assortment of container plants to marvel at (and purchase if you wish). Nutritional Secrets and The Effect on Mental Health Tuesday 6/28 • 10:30-Noon • Sequoia Room, Lafayette Community Center What you eat and what you don’t eat will affect how you feel and respond to life’s joys and challenges. Anxiety, anger, depression – these are negative outcomes that can well be muted by diet along with other healing paths. Protein, for example, can mediate depression. Carbs? What about them? With Vivian Torres, RN, LCSW, CMC, Eldercare Services, learn how to lose weight and keep it off without starving and even achieve a level of mental clarity and energy you haven’t felt in decades. Making Friends with Your Digital Camera Workshop I: 7/12, Workshop II: 7/26 • 10:30 – Noon • Sequoia Room, Lafayette Community Center Contemplating the purchase of a digital camera? Or, as a present owner of one, do you finally want to grapple with the mysteries of those other functions on that dial? Writer, photographer and graphic designer Rajshree has been teaching photography for many years. In her first workshop, she will cover which functions on your camera are the most useful and, frankly, easy to comprehend, how to upload and download photos, and how to organize them logically and easily into folders on your computer. For anyone about to take that first lunge, she will also lightly cover how to shop for a camera. In the second workshop, she will present simple strategies for creating wonderful portraits and even sports shots (your grandson’s tennis game? A friend finishing the Bay to Breakers in record time). Aperture settings? You’ll be a pro. Bi-Monthly Caregiver Support Group Mondays 6/20, 7/11, 7/25, 8/8, 8/22 • 1:30–2:30PM Sequoia Room, Lafayette Community Center Caring for frail older adults in the home often creates great stress and emotional anguish for spouses and family members. Licensed Geriatric Care Manager Carol Shenson, M.A.,CMC, offers a bi-monthly support group for family members who will be or are involved with the direct care of an older relative. To sign up, call 284-5050. Drop-ins welcome. Ballroom Dancing Every Wednesday (**except NO dance on 6/22, 7/13, 8/3**) • 12:30 – 3:00PM • LCC: Live Oak Room Enjoy afternoon dancing every Wednesday, and learn some great new dance moves. On the first Wednesday monthly, professional dancers Karen and Michael will provide a dance lesson and live DJ services, playing your favorites and taking requests. $2 Members/ $4 non-members
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Life is a Cabernet!
By Jewel Johl, MD Medical Oncologist and Hematologist
Resveratrol is a substance that is produced by plants in response to stress. It is a phytoalexin, a major constituent of red wine, and abundant in the grape skin. The cardioprotective and chemopreventive activities have brought resveratrol to public and scientific attention. Several animal studies performed in the lab have shown that resveratrol prevents development of cancers of the skin, breast, esophagus, intestine, colon and prostate. Not only does red wine has properties that help prevent cancer, in moderation it has long been thought of as heart healthy. The alcohol and antioxidants in red wine may help prevent heart disease by increasing levels of “good” cholesterol and protecting against artery damage. Research has shown that resveratrol might also help protect against obesity and diabetes, both of which are strong risk factors for heart disease. However, those findings were reported only in mice, not in people. In addition, to get the same dose of resveratrol used in the mice studies, a person would have to drink over 60 liters of red wine every day, not recommended.
Resveratrol Content in Different Beverages and Foods
Food and Beverage Serving Size Total Resveratrol (mg) Muscadine wine 5 ounce glass 2.12-6 Red wine -Global 5 ounce glass 0.30-1.07 -Spanish 5 ounce glass 0.29-1.89 Red grape juice 5 ounce glass 0.17-1.30 Rose wine 5 ounce glass 0.06-0.53 Pinot noir 5 ounce glass 0.06-0.30 White wine 5 ounce glass 0.01-0.27 Peanuts -Raw 146 g 0.01-0.26 -Boiled 180 g 0.32-1.28 Peanut butter 258 g 0.04-0.13 Red grapes 160 g 0.24-1.25 While the news about red wine might sound great if you enjoy a glass of red wine with your evening meal, doctors are wary of encouraging anyone to start drinking alcohol. That's because too much alcohol can have many harmful effects on your body. Resveratrol supplements are currently widely available at health food stores, pharmacies, and online, however, the tablet doses are not standardized, side effects are unknown, and these supplements are not regulated by the FDA. For this reason, the supplements are not generally recommended. It is not known whether high intakes of resveratrol can help prevent cancer in humans. Clinical trials are currently underway to address this question and to also determine whether resveratrol might be beneficial in cancer treatment. Until more data is available, moderate red wine consumption is reasonable in terms of its health benefits. Advertorial Diablo Valley Oncology founded the California Cancer and Research Institute. Located in Pleasant Hill, the cancer center is the largest freestanding, non-hospital based facility in Contra Costa County. The center brings together medical oncology, hematology, radiation, chemotherapy, diagnostic imaging, laboratory, pharmacy, clinical trials, and supportive care services – all in one convenient location. The facility provides the latest in technology and therapies – to better serve patients in the community. 925-677-5041 www.DiabloValleyOncology.md
Positive Living Forum (a.k.a “Happiness Club”) - Positive Living
Forum features eminent speakers on a wide range of topics that will stimulate and guide participants towards a more ideal and positive life experience. Drop-ins are welcome. Next meetings 7/14, 8/11 • 10:30 – noon. Moderated by Dr. Bob Nozik, MD. Lafayette Senior Services Commission - The Commission meets on the 4th Thursday of the month at 3:30 – 5:30PM at the Lafayette Senior Services Center. View agendas at the City of Lafayette office or at www.ci.lafayette.ca.us.
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Lafayette Today ~ June 2011 - Page 23 the intention to resolve your “Overwhelming A” project and take a tiny step in moving forward. As is often quoted, “A journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Getting On Top of Clutter
By Mary Bruns, Program Coordinator, Lamorinda Senior Transportation, An Alliance of Transportation Providers
The other day I took on the long put-off project of sorting through paperwork in my home office, hoping to create a more enjoyable and organized space. This project is made more difficult by Kiki and Midnight, my two inquisitive cats who love to be in the middle of any new project and especially love to sprawl on top of any papers they find laying on the table. Unfortunately, the first stack of papers I worked on included many that I wanted to keep, and the project quickly became bigger than I had hoped. After sorting for awhile, I had a box of papers to discard and a box of papers to shred. So, I pulled out the shredder and realized that it only takes five sheets at a time. Clearly this was not a short-term project! I found myself remembering a minister who referenced having to move a pile of wood from one place on her property to another. She suggested dealing with this “overwhelming” project by simply not trying to do it all at once, but rather breaking this task down into smaller pieces by choosing to move a couple of logs at a time. Alan Lakein in his book, How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, calls this the “Swiss Cheese” approach to time and life management. He suggests that each time you have a few minutes, do something on your “Overwhelming Priority A” project instead of doing a small “Priority C” task which is easier and therefore more tempting. By poking enough holes in the “Overwhelming A” project, it gradually becomes more manageable, and the energy arises to then focus a considerable amount of concentrated time to complete the job. Many seniors (as well as non-seniors) accumulate piles of papers, newspapers, old clothes, and mementoes that take over the home, blocking walk-ways and becoming a tripping hazard especially for people who live in apartments and don’t have much storage area. Sorting through this accumulation of “life stuff” becomes overwhelming because there is so much of it. The “Swiss Cheese” technique is marvelous in that you really don’t have to take on the whole project at once. You can set aside a place where you can work on this project for 10-30 minutes and then walk away from it, leaving it in an incomplete state until the next time you have a few minutes. (Of course, if you have cats – who can get anywhere – it’s better if you can close a door on the temporary mess.) It is often motivating to have someone help you with this work – a friend, a relative, or a professional. There are people who specialize in helping folks get organized. I’ve noticed that when we decide we want to take something on, life usually presents us with a way to get it done. So, hold
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MOMS’ GROUPS BABYTALK MOMS’ GROUPS Facilitated support/social groups for first-time mothers of the SF East Bay. Each group meets weekly, mid-morning for six weeks in the Lamorinda area. Enroll in an upcoming group! www.babytalk4mothers. com, (925) 360-3511, or babytalk@mail.com.
PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIED AD HERE!
Trip to UC Botanical Garden
Lamorinda Senior Transportation An Alliance of Transportation Providers
The driving force and joy behind Lamorinda Senior Transportation, An Alliance of Transportation Providers, is to help seniors improve the quality of life and maintain their independence by making transportation available to essential activities of daily living: social outings, grocery shopping, errands, and medical appointments. Call each program for information, opportunities to volunteer, or to donate.
Lamorinda Spirit Van
283-3534
Serving Lamorinda Seniors with transportation to medical appointments, special events, grocery shopping and lunch at the C.C. Café. $10 round trip; rides to lunch are free. Reserve your seat two business days ahead of time by 1PM. On Saturday, June 18, we are planning an outing to lunch and a movie, and on Saturday, July 9, we are returning to the UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley. Call for more information.
Contra Costa Yellow Cab and DeSoto Company 284-1234 20% discount for Lamorinda seniors.
Volunteer Driver Program
Volunteers driving their own cars provide free rides for seniors.
Orinda Seniors Around Town
402-4506
Senior Helpline Services Rides for Seniors
284-6161
Serving Orinda seniors with rides for appointments and errands.
Serving Contra Costa County seniors with rides to doctors’ appointments during the week, grocery shopping on Saturdays.
ARCHITECT JOHN ROLF HATTAM - ARCHITECT Specializes in modest budget, new and remodeled residences. Over 200 completed projects. AUTHOR: Houses on Hills and Other Irregular Places. Also, National Parks from an Architect’s Sketchbook Call for a brochure: 510-841-5933. 737 Dwight Way, Berkeley.
LESSONS MUSIC INSTRUCTION with Robbie Dunbar. Bach to Beatles and beyond. Piano, guitar, other instruments. All ages and levels welcome! I travel to your home. Decades of experience, including Masters of Music Composition. Also PIANO TUNING. (925) 323-9706, robbiednbr@gmail.com
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Page 24 - June 2011 ~ Lafayette Today
Quilters continued from front page
for example. It is a huge multi-million dollar business that does not seem to be waning. Although there may not be many young people making their own clothing these days, I think there will always be some who like to work with their hands to create something truly individual and unique.” Diablo Valley Quilters (DVQ) was founded in 1983 with the goal of preserving and continuing the traditions, culture, and history of quilting. Through their sponsorship and support of quilting activities, DVQ promotes friendship among those interested in quilting and contributes to the knowledge and appreciation of quilts. There are currently 273 active members, ranging in age from 12 to 90. Barnett has been an active member for the past 25 years, since she moved to Danville in 1986. “For me, the guild has become my major social network,” says Barnett. “Most of the friends I’ve made since moving here are fellow guild members.” DVQ was initially formed as a group of about 30 women and several of these members are still active. Guild members are entitled to attend the monthly programs, receive the monthly newsletter and annual member directory, enroll in the discounted workshops, check-out quilt books from the extended library, attend the annual retreat and holiday party, and participate in any other organized events. “But I think the most important aspect of guild membership is the camaraderie of those who share a common interest in quilting.” says Barnett. Because the guild is so large, DVQ has encouraged the formation of smaller, less
Velda Newman workshop
formalized groups of about a dozen or so members who live near each other which enables members to more easily get together to work on projects and learn from each other. In its efforts to promote the art of quilting, DVQ contracts with nationally known quilt artists to present programs to the general membership each month. These guest speakers also conduct hands-on workshops where they can teach their innovative techniques to members for a nominal fee. “We have some truly accomplished quilters in the guild,” says Barnett, “and we all get together to showcase about 200 quilts in a big quilt show, which we hold every other year. This year we are very excited to be moving to a new venue, the Tice Valley Gym in Walnut Creek. Look for us there on the third weekend in September this year.” Probably the most popular DVQ activity is their annual quilting retreat at Sonoma State University in early summer where members stay in dorm rooms and gather together to work on their own projects and enjoy the company of other quilters. Barnett has noticed that, due to the easily accessible abundance of quilt shops in the Bay Area, with excellent teachers available to demonstrate the latest techniques, there has been a move away from bigger, utilitarian quilts to smaller, more intricate and detailed quilts. “There are so many more beautiful fabrics available now in every color from soft and subtle to bold and bright,” says Barnett, who notes that one of the top publishers of quilt books, C&T Publishing, is right here in the East Bay. When asked what she likes most about quilting, Barnett cites a philanthropic aspect. “I personally like to make simple quilts to give away to bring comfort to someone or to make someone happy, especially children,” says Barnett. “DVQ has a Community Outreach group that makes quilts for various organizations in the community. Our Outreach Cochairmen, Linda Patridge and Maryann Maiorana, have done an amazing job in the past few years, making up kits for our members to work on at home. We have given hundreds of quilts to Rotaplast, an organization of plastic surgeons sponsored by Rotary International, who provide surgery for children with cleft palates. Recently we gave several quilts to The Down Syndrome Connection in Danville. We have also made many hundreds of colorful pillowcases for Conkerr Cancer, which distributes them to local pediatric oncology wards. I have found quilters to be among the most generous, caring people there are quick to comfort a friend or provide help.” DVQ annual dues are $30 per year and $20 for Seniors (65 and older). DVQ offers free junior membership for those in grades 6 -12 in an effort to promote an appreciation of quilting among area youth. Junior members must be sponsored by a paid member. Meetings are held at 7pm on the third Wednesday of each month at the Danville Congregational Church located at 989 San Ramon Valley Blvd in Danville. For more information about Diablo Valley Quilters, visit www.diablovalleyquilters.org.