Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 2, 2012

12

THE GOOD LIFE

 Mountain Views-News Saturday June 2, 2012 

THE JOY OF YOGA

THE “ME” FACTOR

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

June Birthdays

Pat Fujiwara, Nellie Haynes, Mary Carney, 
Theresa Daley, Ann Disbrow, Ann Durgerian, 
Joan Ellison, Ruth Kirkby, Irene Kudirka, 
Marilyn McKernan, Anne Montgomery, Dollie 
Morant, Trini Ornelas, Martha Spriggs, Pat Starkey.


JUNE ACTIVITIES

Senior Programs have returned to the Hart 
Park House enior Center, 222 W. Sierra 
Madre Blvd. in Memorial Park - Come by and 
see the changes!!

ene
By Rene Quenell, Founder/Owner

Yoga Madre - Sierra Madre 

Meals-On-Wheels


Mondays: City Hall & Lunch Café 

12 noon: Intervale Lunch Café: Come enjoy 
a hot meal with others. Donation for 
seniors (60+) of $2.00; visitors $3.75. Call 
355-0256 to make your daily reservation.

1:00 pm to 1:45 pm: Strength Training 
with Lisa Brandley. FREE class of stretching 
with light hand weights while you sit.

Tuesdays: 

 FREE blood pressure checks by Methodist 
Hospital Nurse; 11 am to 12 noon.

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm: BINGO; cards are 
only 25 cents each so stop by & play

5:15 pm to 6:45 pm: Yoga; $6.00 - 50 
& over. Please call 355-5278 for more 
information

Wednesdays:

11 –11:45 am: Balance Class with Teryl. 
FREE class designed to improve balance 
& refresh the joints

12 noon: Intervale Lunch Café; daily reservations 
needed 355-0256

2nd Wednesday of the month: FREE Legal 
Consultations: 10-11:30 am. Appointments 
call 355-7394

Wii Wednesday - 1:00 pm or call the senior 
desk at 355-7394 to arrange another 
time & day to learn how to play. No previous 
experience or skills required and it is 
great exercise.

Thursdays:

1:00 to 3:30 pm: Game Day. Join us for 
Poker with Bridge on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays; 
so please call for more information.

Fridays: Intervale Lunch Café; daily reservations 
needed 355-0256

Saturdays: 11:30 am: Senior Club brown 
bag lunch and BINGO at 12:30 pm. 

Meals are delivered to home-
bound seniors by volunteer drivers 
through the YWCA Intervale 
Lunch Program M-F (with frozen meals for the 
weekend.) 

Meals are delivered to the home-bound seniors 
by drivers through the YWCA Interval Lunch 
Program M-F (with frozen meals for the 
weekend.) 

 Call the YWCA at (626) 214-9460 for more 
information. 

You hate to think of yourself as selfish. You are a generous, 
caring and loving person, and place the needs of the people you 
love before your own. Even when you’re tired to the breaking 
point, and just want to lie down with a book and a cup of tea 
and forget about everything else, if someone needs you, they 
can count on you. Right? If that sounds like you, keep reading.
It’s time to be selfish. Not a lot, not all the time, not for everything. But still, a little selfish.
You need to give yourself “me” time every single day.


The “me” time is the time you give yourself permission to think of yourself exclusively, guilt 
free. It’s when you say to your loved ones, who have come to rely on you for everything big 
and small, “sorry, not right now.”


The “me” time is when you leave your to-do list and go to a yoga class, meditate or have 
lunch with a friend. It is the thing you do each day to replenish your energy stores. Yoga 
offers many, many ways to do this. If we do this every day – we are full of love and energy 
to give to those we love. If we are spent, we are grouchy and no fun to be around. So taking 
“me” time every day benefits everyone.

The “me” day is the day you no longer postpone, that spa day you’ve been yearning for, that 
trip to the museum on the other side of town, that stroll in the park, that yoga class you’ve been 
meaning to try, whatever it is you’ve been wanting to do for so long and have never found time, 
because there’s always someone who needs you for something and you just don’t have the time.
It’s a lazy, no pressure day. Everything you do today is for your own sake, for your own fun. 
Try it. It feels wonderful, doesn’t it?


Sometimes we need to think of ourselves first in order to keep on giving to others. We need 
to relax, restore and rejuvenate. Because if we are drained and depleted, how can we give 
what we don’t have? 


So go ahead and give yourself permission to be selfish; every once in a while take a “me” day 
- day for you, about you and nothing but you. Enjoy it to its full extent. Don’t feel guilty. 
It’s good for you. It’s healthy. You’ll feel better, energized, renewed. And ready to offer even 
more care and attention to your family and loved ones, who will love you back for it. 


LUNCH & LEARN 

Join the Senior

Community Commission

at the 

HART PARK HOUSE

 for a FREE presentation. Lunch is 
available for a 

$2 donation 

Call (626) 355-0256 by 

12 noon the day before. 


2012 EXCURSIONS

Friday, June 8th - Nethercutt Collection 
& lunch at the Bear Pit BBQ restaurant. 
June’s adventure takes you to the San 
Fernando Valley to see the museum that 
hous-es over 200 classic cars, antique 
furniture and musical instruments. After 
the guide lead walking tour of the 
collection participants will then enjoy 
lunch (please bring additional money for 
lunch). Bus will depart at 8:45 am and 
return around 3:30 pm. Cost per person 
is $12 for transportation & driver’s tip.

Friday, July 13th - Laguna Beach Pageant 
of the Masters. This annual trip will 
be leaving Sierra Madre at 4:30 pm and 
return around 11:30 pm. Tickets are limited 
to the first 40 registered participants 
and the cost per person is $55.

Registration can be done either in person 
or online at www.cityofsierramadre.
com/onlineregistration

DIAL - A - RIDE TICKETS

Tickets can now be purchased at:

Sierra Madre City Hall

Sierra Madre Recreation Center

Sierra Madre Library


BINGO Tuesday - join us every Tuesday at 
the Hart Park House Senior Center at 1:30 pm 
for this traditional social activity. Bingo cards 
are only 25 cents each.

There will be a special intermission dessert 
& prize at the April 24th game provided by 
Angie Chen of Seniors Helping Seniors - In 
home services for seniors by seniors.

TOP SENIOR-FRIENDLY CELLPHONES 

Dear Savvy Senior:

What types of simple cellphones can you recommend to seniors that are easy to use, without 
all the bells and whistles? My 77-year-old mother has had a cell phone for two years but never 
uses it because she finds it too confusing.

Shopping For Mom

Dear Shopping:

While smartphones garner most of the attention 
in the mobile phone world today, there are still 
a number of companies that offer simplified cellphones 
that are specifically designed for boomers 
and seniors who want one for the primary purpose 
of making and receiving calls. Here are some top options to consider. 

Senior-Friendly Phones

Created by GreatCall nearly six years ago, the Jitterbug (greatcall.com, 800-733-6632) continues 
to be the best senior-friendly cellphone on the market. This custom designed Samsung flip-
phone offers a big numerical keypad that lights up, extra-large text on a brightly colored screen, 
and “YES” and “NO” buttons to access the phone’s options versus confusing icons. 

It also offers voice dialing, an ear cushion that cups around your ear to improve sound quality, a 
powerful speakerphone, a 24-hour Jitterbug operator who can place calls for you, and optional 
features like voicemail, texting, medication reminders, 5Star personal security service, a live 
nurse service to answer your health questions any time, night or day, and more. The Jitterbug J 
sells for $99 with a one-time $35 activation fee, no-contract, and calling plans that start at $15 
per month.

If you’re looking for something a little less expensive, the Doro PhoneEasy 410 sold through 
Consumer Cellular (consumercellular.com, 888-345-5509) is also an excellent option. This flip 
phone offers a large separated keypad, with a bright easy-to-read color display screen and huge 
text. Other features include a vibrating ringer, easy text messaging, a two-way speakerphone, 
and a one-touch emergency SOS button on the back of the phone to contact help when needed. 

The Doro 410 sells for $25 with service plans starting at $10 per month, a one-time $35 activation 
fee, and no long-term contract. They even give a 5 percent monthly service discount to 
AARP members. 

Two other senior-friendly phones to check out are the Just 5 (just5.com, 800-709-0509) that 
costs $90, and the new Clarity Pal (clarityproducts.com, 800-426-3738) for $100. Both of these 
cellphones have big buttons, amplified sound, a “talk back” feature that speak the numbers as 
their dialed, an “SOS” button that can automatically call your emergency contacts if needed, and 
they’re both sold as “unlocked” phones, which means they can be used on any GSM network like 
AT&T and T-Mobile.

Shared Plan Options

Another option you might want to consider is to get your mom a simple cellphone through your 
cellphone provider. Most carriers – including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile – still offer 
basic cell phones for people who like things simple. 

This option is also very affordable. An extra line can be added to your family shared plan for 
around $10 per month, and the cost for these phones is very low. Here are some of the best basic 
cellphones that are recommended by the different carriers.

If you’re an AT&T customer, the Pantech Breeze III, which costs $30, is a good choice for seniors. 
It has a big spacious keypad, a bright display screen, large fonts, and offers voice command capabilities, 
and three “one-touch” easy access keys located below the phone’s display screen. It also 
has both an easy and advanced mode to suit customers with different comfort levels. 

For Verizon users, consider the LG Revere. Retailing for $80, this is a basic flip-phone that has a 
bright 2-inch display screen and offers one-touch access to three emergency numbers, voicemail, 
speakerphone and voice commands. 

If you’re a Sprint customer, the M370 by Samsung is recommended, and it’s currently free. And 
T-Mobile users should consider the $30 Samsung t259.