November 2019 Issue

A Joyful Tradition | Crafting a Community

Aiken Crafters have formed a community of supportive people with a passion to create and socialize with one another. ~ Kathy Klein Amy Moore was going through the motions of dealing with the grief that followed her like a dark shadow after the death of her husband in 2016. Never forming any close friendships, she felt loneliness envelope her even as she drove to her son’s soccer tryouts at the church in Midland Valley. She decided to talk to a couple of moms about making crafts and sensed a strange lifting of her sadness. Amy felt a glimmer of joy in that moment. It was August of 2019, and it

Ginger’s Food Rules

Rules, rules, rules. People are confused about what to eat. There is a lot of information about healthy eating available on-line and in books. Unfortunately, much of it is conflicting. It is difficult for the average person to figure out which sources are most reliable. There are a couple of successful and reliable books published with the title Food Rules. Food Rules, by Catherine Shanahan, provides a guide to healthy eating with a real food, Paleo-diet slant. Shanahan gives a lot of great advice, but there are 97 rules related to food and another 20 related to general health and lifestyle. This is likely to be overwhelming for most people.

How to Bring an End to Family Tradition$ (Or Keep Them Going)

The laughter of children playing with siblings and cousins at a family gathering while the turkey and dressing is placed on the table is a wonderful memory. The young mother has put the baby down for a nap, and now we all enjoy a wonderful meal and a great time of fellowship. The parents and grandparents are so proud to see the family together and you can see their happiness in sharing this memory together. I am probably not the only one that was able to share some special times like this when our children were young and we look back on those memories. A few years have passed and

Hormonal IMBALANCE + MIGRAINES

Do you find yourself suffering from a headache every time you turn around, whether it’s right before a child’s baseball game, or on a big day at work where you’re expected to deliver a presentation for your group, or on vacation with your family at the beach? Many women come to me asking how to manage these debilitating headaches that disrupt their life. There are different types of headaches, but migraines take the cake for shutting a person down from his or her normal functioning. Migraines can be managed, and the key is to take control of how you manage your body. Definition and Symptoms A migraine is a complex

A Tradition of Serving Children | What Is Kiwanis?

Those of us who are members of Kiwanis are often asked just what we do and who we are. The official description from Kiwanis International is: Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one at a time. However, a more succinct explanation is that Kiwanis is creating tomorrow’s leaders today. The true mission of Kiwanis is to empower communities to improve the world by making lasting differences in the lives of children. “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” ~ Frederick Douglass Today, we stand with more than 550,000 members from K-Kids to Key Club to Kiwanis,

A Family Tradition | Far-Flung Family Keeps Holiday Traditions

There’s a Christmas quote I like that goes, “In the eyes of children we find the joy of Christmas; in their hearts we find the meaning.” Holidays are fun and exciting and it’s a special time of year to share traditions and create lasting memories with our children and loved ones who live near or far. I claim my two nephews,Thomas and William, as my “adopted” children. As the first grandchildren, they often visited Aiken during Christmas with my sister Nancy and her husband Jeff. Nothing brought me more joy than to have the kids for the holidays. When my two nieces were born a couple of years later, it

THANKSGIVING MORN

On the porch, the quiet hush of an autumn morning, Cup of tea warming chilled hands, Pale sunlight bathing the deserted fairway. Our travelers slumber amid the reassuring drone of home. Soon the house will be alive with the melody of family Nestled together for another Thanksgiving Day. Yet, in my mind, the comforting spirits of other holidays linger; Overlapping images of our own children, of teens home from college, and toddling grand-babies now on the brink of adulthood. I reflect on the wonder of each And realize that some things are given to us for just a season, Living on in our minds, etched as golden scenes and shared

Photo of the Month: Rhett Walker

It is amazing what can bring people together. Like a hat! The opportunity to take this photo came from a simple interaction between two creatives about a hat. Mr. Rhett Walker, singer-songwriter, and Ladonna of Aiken Hattery, had come together to customize his hat. After adjusting the hat, she wanted Rhett to meet with a few of us to do some collaboration. We met over coffee and hit it off immediately, throwing ideas around and coming up with some amazing event ideas for the future. And I had the privilege of taking the photos. We were able to set up the photo shoot around the very hat that brought us

Thanksgiving All Year Long

This year instead of simply celebrating a Day of Thanksgiving, consider living a life of thanksgiving. Research shows that those who live a thankful life every day enjoy powerful and lasting benefits to their emotional, physical, and cognitive health. In fact, people who practice gratitude daily are shown to have better relationships, less stress, and healthier brains and bodies. The Science of Gratitude When gratitude is expressed or received, neurotransmitters called serotonin and dopamine are released in the brain. These mood enhancing chemicals immediately produce feelings of happiness. When gratitude occurs daily, these positive neural pathways are strengthened, resulting not only in an increase in mood but also in a