Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 7, 2015

12

THE GOOD LIFE

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 7, 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! … February Birthdays

Hilda Pittman, Anne-Marie Stockdale, Ann Luke, Susan Henderson, Jan Reed, Peter 
Lippincott, Georgia Lippincott, Allie Attay, Ursula El-Tawansy, Gladys Moser, Sylvia 
Lorhan, Jan O’Day, Ana Ptanski, Winifred Swanson , Marian DeMars, Vickie Vernon, 
Mary Beth Knox, Sharon Lefler, Gordon Caldwell. * To add your name to this 
distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required but you must 
be over 60.

..................................................................

ACTIVITIES: Unless listed differently, all activities are at the Hart Park 
House (Senior Center) 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre

 

 YMCA San Gabriel Valley Intervale Senior Café: Monday-Friday at 12:00 Noon 

(Participants are urged to arrive no later than 11:45 A.M.) 

All seniors 60 and up can take part in the lunch program. There is a suggested donation of $2.00 
for those 60 and over and $3.75 for non-senior guests. Daily reservations are necessary as space is 
limited. Please call 24 hours in advance...626.355.0256

Free Balance Class: Every 3rd Monday, from 11:00 to 11:45 am with Shannon. All ability levels are 
encouraged and welcomed.

Hawaiian and Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday morning from 10:00am to 11:00am. Join 
instructor Barbara Dempsey as she instructs you in the art of hula.

Bingo: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00pm. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome to join. 
May be canceled if less than 5 people. Canceled on August 5th and 12th.

Free Blood Pressure Testing: Held 2nd Tuesday of the month from 11:00am to 12:00pm. No 
appointment is necessary.

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, August 27th from 10:00am to Noon. Attorney Lem 
Makupson is available for legal consultation. He specializes in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates, 
and Injury. For an appointment call 626-355-7394.

Chair Yoga: Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 11:45 am, except on the third Monday of the 
month when the balance class is held. A suggested donation of $5 at one of the classes is requested, 
but is not required.

Birthday Celebrations: Every second Thursday of the month the Hart Park House Senior Center 
celebrates birthdays of our patrons. The free birthday cake is provided by the Sierra Madre Civic 
Club.

Game Day: Every Thursday starting at 12:45pm. A regular group of seniors play poker. Other 
games available for use.

Free Strength Training Class: Every Friday from 12:45pm to 1:30pm with Lisa Brandley. The class 
utilizes light weights for low impact resistance training. All materials for the class are provided.

LUNCH & LEARN PRESENTATION – HEART HEALTH

Wednesday, February 18th, 2015 beginning at 12:00 pm

February is American Heart Month, a time to show yourself the love. Learn about your risks for 
heart disease and stay “heart healthy” for yourself and your loved ones. 

 A representative from The Kensington will teach us about nutrition on how to eat a healthy diet 
and also activities that can help us maintain a healthy weight and lower cholesterol and blood 
pressure.

 If you would like to have lunch during the talk, please make a lunch reservation with the Senior 
Lunch Café at 626-355-0256 or you may bring your own.

SEASONAL FUN AT THE SENIOR CENTER

Valentine’s Day Craft: Give flowers on Valentine’s Day that won’t need water or trigger pollen 
allergies. Come and join us on Thursday, February 12th, in making tissue paper carnations. Craft 
making will begin at 11:00 am. All supplies will be provided.

HISTORIC RESIDENCE OF SAM MALOOF AND THE MALOOF 
DISCOVERY GARDENS (ALTA LOMA)

Date: Friday, February 27, 2014 Time: 9:30am - 3;30pm

Meeting Location: Hart Park House Senior Center Cost: $20 (Does not include lunch)

 Guided tour of the home of American woodworker Sam Maloof and furnished with his signature 
furniture. The house is also a showcase of 20th century studio craft and fine art. Following the tour, 
take a selfguided tour of the Maloof Discovery Garden and then visit the Museum shop stocked with 
crafts and Maloof publications. Please note there are 12 steps up to a mezzanine level in the historic 
home. Not able to accommodate wheelchairs in the historic home, but can accommodate walkers. 
Patrons are required to leave their handbags and other large belongings in a locked coat check room 
prior to touring the home. Lunch is scheduled for a restaurant 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

HOW TO MAKE YOUR BATHROOM SAFER


Dear Savvy Senior,

What tips do you recommend for making a 
bathroom safer and more functional for seniors. My 
79-year-old mother slipped and fell getting out of 
the shower last month, and I’d like to modify her 
bathroom a bit with some safety features that can 
help protect her. 

Searching Daughter

Dear Searching, 

Because more accidents and injuries happen in the 
bathroom than any other room in the house, this 
is a very important room to modify for aging in 
place. Depending on your mom’s needs, here are 
some tips for each part of the bathroom that can 
make it safer and easier to use.

 Flooring: To avoid slipping, a simple fix is to get 
non-skid bath rugs for the floors. Or if you want to 
put in a new floor get slip-resistant tiles, rubber or 
vinyl flooring, or install wall-to-wall carpeting.

Lighting: Good lighting is also very important, 
so install the highest wattage bulbs allowed for 
your mom’s bathroom fixtures, and get a plug-in 
nightlight that automatically turns on when the 
room gets dark.

 Bathtub/shower: To make bathing safer, 
purchase a rubber suction-grip mat, or put down 
adhesive nonskid tape on the tub/shower floor. 
And have a carpenter install grab bars in and 
around the tub/shower for support.

 If your mom uses a shower curtain, install 
a screw or bolt-mounted curtain rod, versus a 
tension-mounted rod, so that if she loses her 
balance and grabs the shower curtain the rod 
won’t spring loose.

 If your mom has mobility issues or balance 
problems, get her a shower or bathtub seat so she 
can bathe from a seated position. In addition, you 
may also want to get a handheld, adjustable-height 
showerhead installed that will make washing 
while sitting down easier.

 Another, pricier option is to install a walk-in-
bathtub or a prefabricated curbless shower. Walk-
in tubs have a door in front that provides a much 
lower threshold to step over than a standard tub. 
They also typically have a built-in seat, handrails 
and a slip resistant bottom, and some have 
therapeutic spa features with whirlpool water jets 
and/or bubble massage air jets.

 Curbless showers have no threshold to step over, 
and typically come with a built-in seat, grab bars, 
slip resistant floors and an adjustable handheld 
showerhead. Prefabricated curbless showers and 
walk-in-tubs typically cost anywhere between 
$2,500 and $10,000 installed. 

 Toilet: Most toilets are about 14 to 16 inches 
high which can be an issue for many people with 
arthritis, back, hip or knee problems. To raise the 
toilet height, which can make sitting down and 
getting back up a little easier, you can purchase 
a raised toilet seat that clamps to the toilet bowl, 
and/or purchase toilet safety rails that sit on each 
side of the seat for support. Or, you can install an 
ADA compliant toilet that ranges between 17 and 
19 inches high.

 Faucets: If your mom has twist handles on the 
sink, bathtub or shower faucets, replace them with 
lever handle faucets. They’re easier to operate, 
especially for seniors with arthritis or limited hand 
strength. Also note that it only takes 130-degree 
water to scald someone, so turn her hot water 
heater down to 120 degrees.

 Entrance: If your mom needs a wider bathroom 
entrance to accommodate a walker or wheelchair, 
install some “swing clear” offset hinges on the 
door which will widen the doorway an additional 
two inches.

 Emergency assistance: As a safety precaution, 
purchase a waterproof phone for the bathroom 
or get a medical alert device (SOS emergency call 
button) that your mom could wear in case she falls 
and needs to call for help.

 You can find all of the products suggested 
in this column at either medical supply stores, 
pharmacies, big-box stores, home improvement 
stores, hardware and plumbing supply stores as 
well as online.

 Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. 
Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.
org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today 
show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.


KATIE Tse..........This and That

IF YOU GIVE A CAT A STEROID...


UPCOMING EXCURSIONS:

It was summer, 1982. Regan was 
President, the longest baseball 
game at Wrigley Field lasted 22 
innings, and the lowest August 
temperature in Cleveland was 
a cool 38°F. But such was not 
the case in 
southern California. Rather 
than being remembered for this 
trivia, the summer of 1982 was 
remembered as a particularly 
bad flea season. However, the 
fleas didn’t bother me. I was six 
months away from being born, 
so I was well insulated.

 My grandma went to visit 
family in Michigan, and she left 
my mom in charge of watching 
Boots, her cat. Being pregnant 
and having other distractions, 
my mom did not immediately 
realize that my grandma’s house 
had become infested with fleas! 
They had taken up residence in 
the long shag carpet (the was 
the 80’s, remember). One day 
when she went to feed Boot’s, 
my mom found him languished 
on the carpet, his bloodless 
body nearly dry to the bone. 
(Think Terry Thomas in “The 
Abominable Dr. Phibes.”)

 She and my dad took quick 
action and brought Boots 
to his vet in Arcadia. He 
prescribed steroid treatments 
that were administered in a 
series of shots. Boots gradually 
recovered, and by the time Gran 
returned from her trip with a 
small kitten named Squeaky, 
he had filled out to his pre-drained plumpness. 
But unbeknownst to everyone, “The Madness of 
Boots” had begun.

 Squeaky was, as the name implies, a small, timid 
female cat. Boots took an instant over protective 
attitude toward her, and was often thrown into fits 
of jealous rage. My grandma’s living room had a 
large floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over 
the quiet street she lived on. If Boots happened to 
see another cat outside he hurled himself against 
the window, practically frothing at the mouth. 
But, not being able to fight off his “invader,” Boots 
lashed out at the closest living 
thing, which was typically 
Gran’s legs.

 It was around this time that 
Boots also developed small 
bony protrusions circling 
the top of his head, like little 
horns. Gran tried to keep his 
anger at bay, but it was not 
always possible. I was about 
four by this time, and Gran 
would often watch me while my 
mom worked. It was on one of 
these days that Boots went into 
a particularly violent fit, and 
sank his fangs deep into Gran’s 
ankle. With Gran down, I was 
left in his pathway. But seconds 
before he lunged at me, Gran 
dove between us and quickly 
pulled me into the safety of the 
closet.

 When my mom arrived that 
afternoon, she found “what 
looked like a crime scene!” 
The white carpet was streaked 
with bloody footprints leading 
toward the front door. She 
heard a muffled sound coming 
from the closet, “Mary! We’re in 
here!” By now Boots’ bloodlust 
had ended, and he was placidly 
munching Kibbles & Bits.

 The life and times of Boots 
ended a few years later when my 
mom and dad found him stiff behind the loveseat. 
We never learned what, exactly, caused his mania. 
Did his near brush with death push him over the 
edge? Was he given hormones? Whatever was to 
blame, the lesson of the story is to be very careful 
if you give a cat a steroid... 


626-355-5700245 West Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre, CA 91024 • www.TheKensingtonSierraMadre.comRCFELicensePendingThe Kensington promises to love and care for yourfamily as we do our own, and we’re opening soon