Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 14, 2015

12

THE GOOD LIFE

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 14, 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

WHO SHOULD BUY LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE?


Dear Savvy Senior,

Is there a good rule of thumb on who should buy a 
long-term care insurance policy? My wife and I have 
a few assets we’d like to protect but we hate the idea 
of paying expensive monthly premiums for a policy 
we may never use.

Planning Ahead

Dear Planning,

There are two key factors – your financial situation 
and health history – you need to mull over that can 
help you decide if buying a long-term care (LTC) 
insurance policy is a wise decision for you and/
or your wife. Currently, only around 8 million 
Americans own a policy. Here’s what you should 
know.

LTC Insurance?

 As the cost of LTC (which includes nursing 
home, assisted living and in-home care) continues 
to skyrocket, it’s important to know that most 
people pay for LTC either from personal savings or 
Medicaid when their savings is depleted, or through 
a LTC insurance policy. National median average 
costs for nursing home care today is over $87,000 per 
year, while assisted living averages $42,000/year.

 While national statistics show that about 70 
percent of Americans 65 and older will need some 
kind of LTC, most people do not need to purchase a 
LTC insurance policy.

 In fact, according to a recent study at the Boston 
College Center for Retirement Research only 19 
percent of men and 31 percent of women should 
actually get one.

 The reasons stem from a range of factors, including 
the fact that relatively few people have enough wealth 
to protect to make purchasing a policy worthwhile. 
Seniors with limited financial resources who need 
LTC turn to Medicaid to pick up the tab after they 
run out of money.

 Another important factor is that most seniors who 
need LTC only need it for a short period of time – for 
example, when they’re recovering from surgery. For 
those people, Medicare covers in-home health care 
and nursing home stays of 100 days or less following 
a hospital stay of more than 3 consecutive days.

So who should consider buying a policy? 

 LTC insurance policies make the most sense for 
people who can afford the monthly premiums, and 
who have assets of at least $150,000 or more that 
they want to protect – not counting their home and 
vehicles.

 Another factor to weigh is your personal health 
and family health history. The two most common 
reasons seniors need extended long-term care is 
because of dementia and/or disability. And, almost 
half of all people who live in nursing homes are 85 
years or older. So, what’s your family history for 
Alzheimer’s, stroke or some other disabling health 
condition, and do you have a family history of 
longevity? The U.S. Surgeon General offers a free 
tool at familyhistory.hhs.gov to help you collect, 
organize and evaluate your genetic risks.

 You also need to factor in gender too. Because 
women live and average of 5 years longer than men, 
they are at greater risk of needing extended LTC.

LTC Policy Shopping

 After evaluating your situation, if you’re leaning 
towards buying a LTC policy, be sure to do your 
homework. The cost of premiums can vary greatly 
(ranging anywhere between $1,200 and $8,000 per 
year for a couple) depending on your age, the insurer, 
and the policy’s provisions. To help you find a policy, 
get a long-term care insurance specialist who works 
with a variety of companies. See aaltci.org to locate 
one. Also shop insurers like Northwestern Mutual 
and New York Life, who work only with their own 
agents.

 If you want to save money, find out if your state 
offers a LTC partnership program (see aaltci.org/
partnership). Under these programs, if you buy 
a long-term care policy approved by your state 
Medicaid agency, you can protect an amount of 
assets from Medicaid equal to the benefits that your 
policy pays out. 

 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

FIBER NUTS - 2014!


UPCOMING EXCURSIONS:

What’s more fun than three 
days of fiber-filled creativity 
and excitement in the San 
Bernardino Natural Forest? 
Why, three days of fiber-filled 
fun in Rancho Cucamonga, of 
course! (This is fiber as in yarn 
and thread, not the kind you eat.)

 You may recall an article I wrote around 
Mother’s Day last year about my mom’s excursion 
to “Studio 66,” a three-day workshop hosted by 
her weaving group. If you do remember this, 
you’re probably one of my mom’s friends with 
whom she’s shared this 
story. For all other 
readers, I’ll refresh 
your memory.

 Last year I was 
lucky enough to 
accompany my mom 
as she and her friends 
spun, dyed, wove, 
knit, and crocheted 
all imaginable fibers at 
the picturesque Forest 
Home retreat center. 
Being unskilled in 
everything but the 
most basic dyeing 
(submerging fabric in 
colored liquid) I got 
a lot of use out of my 
kindle!

 I would’ve loved to 
go with her up there 
again this year, but 
since that retreat is 
somewhat costly and 
requires months of 
planning, it’s only 
offered biannually. 
On the off-years, 
“Studio 66” is more 
locally based, with attendees making the daily 
commute from their home. There’s no cabin in 
the forest or meals crafted by aspiring culinary 
students. Since there isn’t the same wide variety 
of workshops available, the event usually revolves 
around a specific theme. This year the focus was 
spinning. (And no, this doesn’t refer to a bunch of 
ladies pedaling stationary bikes.)

 For three days my mom and her classmates 
worked with cotton (white, brown, and green), 
linen, hemp (to spin, not to smoke), and ramie. 
I knew the first two were used in clothing, and 
the third in industrial-strength items, like sacks, 
ropes, wallets, and shoes. Ramie, however, was 
new to me. (Not that it takes much for something 
to be “new to me!”)

 The first day went fine for my mom, but the second 
was a serious study of cotton’s transformation 
from boll to thread. Now, cotton is very different 
from wool, my mom’s spinning material of choice. 
Wool (from sheep, that I do know!) is composed 
of long fibers that easily wrap around each other 
to form a nice, long strand of uniform thickness.

 Cotton (regardless of its color) is made up of 
short fibers that tend to break apart or clump 
together. At least that’s what my mom’s experience 
was with them. So, my poor mom spent much 
of the second day feeding a hank of cotton onto 
her spinning wheel, only to have it snap in two 
or bunch up. She came home with a few bobbins 
of cotton thread resembling diseased intestines, 
with some sections 
pinched off and others 
bulging. 

 She spent the whole 
day attempting the 
same action over and 
over, knowing that it 
wasn’t working, but 
unable to do anything 
to improve her 
results. The instructor 
came by from time 
to time, smiled 
sympathetically, and 
encouraged my mom 
to keep on trying. It 
was frustrating, to 
say the least. As a 
retired third-grade 
public school teacher, 
my mom discovered 
a new understanding 
of the kids who 
struggled with 
learning disabilities. 
If being the only 
one who couldn’t 
master a seemingly 
simple technique was 
discouraging enough 
for one day, spending an entire elementary 
experience like that must be torture. Coming 
home, she suggested that every educator spend at 
least one day being the only one who doesn’t “get 
it” in order to appreciate what these kids feel on a 
daily basis.

 Happily, the workshop didn’t end on a sour 
note. On the third day, the instructor showed 
my mom how to wrap the hank of hemp around 
her finger to “spin off the fold.” This method was 
much easier for my mom, and she also realized 
that the rest of her classmates were seasoned 
cotton-spinners, not a novice like her.

 So, my mom enjoyed another “Studio 66” retreat. 
Granted, the strip malls of Rancho Cucamonga 
pale in comparison to the pines and lakes of the 
San Bernardino Forest, but it’s all fiber, so it’s all 
good!


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