MY SUN DAY NEWS
âIt is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them,â Mark Twain once said. Sure, easy for him to say: A man known the world over, credited as being Americaâs greatest writer. Thatâs like Sylvester Stallone or The Rock telling us that muscles arenât everything. Swill like that is hard to swallow when youâre one of the huddled masses yearning to be honored for something. Anything.
âIt is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them,â Mark Twain once said.
Sure, easy for him to say: A man known the world over, credited as being Americaâs greatest writer. Thatâs like Sylvester Stallone or The Rock telling us that muscles arenât everything. Swill like that is hard to swallow when youâre one of the huddled masses yearning to be honored for something. Anything.
From prehistoric pottery to ancient Greek amphoras, clay art has always been important to the world, and Sun City is no exception. Residents John Garland and Mary Paul are ceramic artists who create individual and collaborative low-fire, functional, earthenware pottery.
Their pieces are feature bright colors and intricate embellishments inspired by nature.
When answering the phone, you hear an official-sounding voice asking for your Social Security number to ensure that payments continue. Later, a text claims that an Amazon package has been delayed â with a prompt to click a link for more information. Or, maybe someone has rung your doorbell, claiming to be either a tradesperson or a city representative, asking to check plumbing issues.
If situations such as the above happen to you, be very skeptical of any claims, as scammers operate year-round â not just during the December holiday season. Hang up on a suspicious phone call, double-check to verify the identity of a suspicious door-knocker and â above all â constantly educate yourself about scammers and their ever-changing methods. In 2021, reported fraud losses increased more than 70 percent over 2020, to more than $5.8 billion, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The Village of Huntley offers business start-up, location and expansion grants to local small business to help offset the costs of establishing the businessâs first physical location. The grant has a maximum $20,000 amount.
Here we are again, on the precipice of a new season, and I open my closet doors each morning and immediately hate all my clothes. It would be so much easier if I could just decide the night before what I was going to wear the next day, but for some reason, I never get around to it. That means often feeling completely defeated first thing in the morning. Mornings are for coffee and playing happy music to get revved up for the day ahead. Mornings shouldnât be about defeat.
Here we are again, on the precipice of a new season, and I open my closet doors each morning and immediately hate all my clothes.
It would be so much easier if I could just decide the night before what I was going to wear the next day, but for some reason, I never get around to it. That means often feeling completely defeated first thing in the morning.
Mornings are for coffee and playing happy music to get revved up for the day ahead. Mornings shouldnât be about defeat.
With 2023’s winter’s present up and down temperatures, it is hard to calculate this season’s long effect of health on our bodies. The American Heart Association tells us that high blood pressure is a year-round problem, especially for the nearly one in three U.S. adults with known blood pressure problems — a third of them, however, not even aware that they have bp difficulties. Another health stat: “Nearly one in every two U.S. adults has high blood pressure, and only one of every four has it under control.”
There are a lot of misconceptions floating around regarding adding solar to your home equation. I presently receive energy from two different plans. The first, a solar farm, for over a year now, and the second, solar panels, for almost a year. So far, they have been productive and Iâm happy, especially with both electrical and natural gas prices increasing almost daily. According to CUB’s (the Citizens Utility Board), this will continue as both have already applied for additional price increases with the state.
Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY) was the feeling expressed by the more than 100 Hampshire residents in attendance at the February 27 meeting of the Hampshire Planning and Zoning commission. According to Jay Hedges, Village Manager for the Village of Hampshire, âthe members of the Hampshire Planning and Zoning commission voted 6 to 0 against two rezoning requests by Light Properties.â
Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY) was the feeling expressed by the more than 100 Hampshire residents in attendance at the February 27 meeting of the Hampshire Planning and Zoning commission.
According to Jay Hedges, Village Manager for the Village of Hampshire, âthe members of the Hampshire Planning and Zoning commission voted 6 to 0 against two rezoning requests by Light Properties.â
Recently our family grew by 4 paws. Annie, an English Springer Spaniel puppy joined our household. She has taught me just how beautiful the frost is on the ground as the sun is rising, to appreciate the joy in running through 4 inches of freshly fallen snow and to listen, really listen when birds are chirping nearby. She is acutely away of noises, that frankly, I would not really even hear. This has brought a greater appreciation of all of the birds in our area, even during the winter. Birds play a substantial part in keeping our ecosystem healthy. They pollinate plants, disperse seeds, control pests, act as an early warning system for the spread of disease, distribute nutrients, protect wetlands and much more. So much more that they are considered crucial for people and the planet to thrive. Preserving bird diversity helps everyone.
Recently our family grew by 4 paws. Annie, an English Springer Spaniel puppy joined our household. She has taught me just how beautiful the frost is on the ground as the sun is rising, to appreciate the joy in running through 4 inches of freshly fallen snow and to listen, really listen when birds are chirping nearby. She is acutely away of noises, that frankly, I would not really even hear. This has brought a greater appreciation of all of the birds in our area, even during the winter.
Birds play a substantial part in keeping our ecosystem healthy. They pollinate plants, disperse seeds, control pests, act as an early warning system for the spread of disease, distribute nutrients, protect wetlands and much more. So much more that they are considered crucial for people and the planet to thrive. Preserving bird diversity helps everyone.
The Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) is returning to the Village for the 2023 season. The downtown area roughly bordered by Church, Coral, Woodstock and Dwyer streets including all of Main Street and the Village Square is included in DORA.
We are told that itâs wrong to lie, cheat and steal as children. A fact that is drilled into are heads by parents and authority figures. Between every movie on TCM, shorts under the title Crime Doesnât Pay demonstrate ârealâ stories of youngsters being sullied by notorious acts of violence and larceny. You wouldnât think this to be true by the countless films and television shows devoted to criminals and their ability to thwart capture, even thrive. It is the bread and butter that most media companies bank on as entertainment. Upon scrolling I happened onto a couple entries that intrigued me.
For years, and years, and even more years, Panera Bread has teased us with a location supposedly opening in the famed restaurant row on Route 47 in Huntley. The paint on the sign announcing this new location is rapidly fading, but our hopes have not. We just could not wait any longer, the suspense was killing us. If Panera Bread will not come to us, the Dining Duo will go to Panera Bread, and thatâs just what we did. We jumped into the Mini-Mobile and headed out to the Panera Bread in Algonquin.
I am writing to you about a senior in my life who has recently lost her sense of purpose. Annie is a beloved member of our community, but she has been feeling lost and unmotivated lately. Sheâs expressed to me that she doesnât feel like she has a reason to get up in the morning anymore and that she doesnât know what to do with her time. Annie has always been an active person, but lately, she seems more withdrawn. She told me in confidence that she feels extremely lonely and isolated.
The Huntley Area Public Library now offers Kanopy, a streaming movie service. By introducing Kanopy to your devices, you can explore films that matter.
The Sun City Strategic Planning Advisory Committee (SPAC) had sent requests to companies for proposals for engineering and design services to evaluate the usage of the common areas within Sun City. At the February 22 Sun City board meeting, a motion was on the agenda for the board to approve an agreement with Teska Associates for such services. The cost of the Teska agreement for their services was quoted at $40,000. When asked where the money was to pay the $40,000, Board Treasurer Jim Sanecki replied, âItâs not in the budget.â
The Sun City Strategic Planning Advisory Committee (SPAC) had sent requests to companies for proposals for engineering and design services to evaluate the usage of the common areas within Sun City. At the February 22 Sun City board meeting, a motion was on the agenda for the board to approve an agreement with Teska Associates for such services.
The cost of the Teska agreement for their services was quoted at $40,000. When asked where the money was to pay the $40,000, Board Treasurer Jim Sanecki replied, âItâs not in the budget.â
Last June, Russ Becker was featured for his Castle made of pennies. Talking about the project gave Becker the bug to keep building. He took out his stash of pennies and started to build again. He started on August 11, 2022, and completed a scale model of the Lincoln Memorial on September 16, 2022.
With our remaining daily fewer hours of sunlight, comes the chilly and windy gray weather that can bring on “winter blues.” While we appear to have conquered half of our seasonal Midwest winter climate, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) remind us of the usual sad and less energized feelings, accompanied by less interest in activities, that can alter a person’s mood at this time.
Thirty years, three months, fifteen days, and two hours. Thatâs how long Larry Casey served as a Chicago Police officer. Casey moved to Sun City two-and-a-half years ago. Sergeant Casey was the third generation of men in his family to join the Chicago Police Department. Casey said, âHaving had a grandfather and father in the Chicago Police Department, the choice of becoming a police officer was relatively simple.â
Thirty years, three months, fifteen days, and two hours. Thatâs how long Larry Casey served as a Chicago Police officer. Casey moved to Sun City two-and-a-half years ago. Sergeant Casey was the third generation of men in his family to join the Chicago Police Department.
Casey said, âHaving had a grandfather and father in the Chicago Police Department, the choice of becoming a police officer was relatively simple.â
The Sun City Computer Club sent an alert to its members regarding a serious data breach at LastPass, a major software provided of Password Management software. The Computer Club featured password managers at a recent club monthly meeting.
The Village of Huntley has reestablished its tree replacement program for 2023 and beyond. With $50,000 in the FY23 budget the village is anticipating an increase in participation as compared to 2022. There were only nine applications for tree replacements in 2022.
The immediate neighborhood serves as a satisfactory landscape on weekdays for morning and evening walks with the dog, but on the weekend, the forest calls. As soon as I step onto a curved path winding through the trees, my lungs begin to tingle; I gulp the air laced with the perfume of soil and wood and leaves in various stages of birth, life, and decay. I canât get enough of it! Even bare branches teem with life.
Today is February 23 â one of the least-sexy days of the year. Of course, âsexyâ can be defined in different metaphorical ways. If by âsexyâ you mean âimportant or exciting,â then thereâs plenty of sexy to go around on this date in history.
Today is February 23 â one of the least-sexy days of the year.
Of course, âsexyâ can be defined in different metaphorical ways. If by âsexyâ you mean âimportant or exciting,â then thereâs plenty of sexy to go around on this date in history.
Caring for houseplants has always been a bit of a struggle for me. This winter, I have tried to educate myself as to how to care for them properly. Thankfully I found the book Tiny Plants: Discover the joys of growing and collecting itty-bitty houseplants by Leslie Halleck. It is a mix of beautiful pictures, funny observations and wonderful advice. For this column, I am interviewing the author.Â
The Dining Duo is getting old, and like the commercial says, we are starting to become our parents. We must admit, we now eat our main meal at 1:00 in the afternoon and try to be back in the safe confines of our beloved Del Webb before dark.
With a spate of disappointing releases in theaters, nothing displeases me more than to tell you all not to head out. Theaters are hurting for business at this moment and it pains me to say that. Hopefully I will have more choices in the following issue for your next trip. For now, that same cinematic experience can be had on television these days. Whether you peruse cable or streaming those big stars and grand production values havenât been sacrificed.
I am writing to express my concern about my aging parents. They are in their late 80s and continue to live independently in their own home. However, Iâve been noticing some changes to their well-being that have me worried. My mom has some memory issues, as Iâve observed her experiencing increased forgetfulness and mood swings. My dadâs memory is intact, but he seems to struggle with everyday household tasks. I understand that aging can bring about these changes, but I feel that itâs time I address them promptly.
Letters for the week of February 23.
The power of first love. This is a story of reunited high school sweethearts. Cliff and Linda Dungey, Sun City residents, were high school sweethearts. Then, they spent a lifetime apart. Now, theyâve found their way back to each other. Linda said, âWe met in high school. I was in the choir, and he was in the orchestra. I was on stage performing in Annie Get Your Gun and I looked down at the boy playing the cello and thought heâs kind of cute.â
The power of first love. This is a story of reunited high school sweethearts.
Cliff and Linda Dungey, Sun City residents, were high school sweethearts. Then, they spent a lifetime apart. Now, theyâve found their way back to each other.
Linda said, âWe met in high school. I was in the choir, and he was in the orchestra. I was on stage performing in Annie Get Your Gun and I looked down at the boy playing the cello and thought heâs kind of cute.â
When I was in high school, I remember learning about sharecropping and the New Deal. Although, âlearningâ isnât quite right. Whatâs more correct is I remember my history teacher talking about sharecropping and the New Deal, but I wasnât learning much of anything because I wasnât paying attention. To me, he was just yawning on about another boring historical moment. I was a bad student. A very bad student.
Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) January article on “The Real Secret to Lifelong Fulfillment” explains the following historic findings. Begun in 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has tracked its original group number of 724 men and more than 1300 male and female descendants over three generations. During that period of time, thousands of questions and hundreds of measurements have been asked to find out, as individuals age “What really keeps people healthy and happy?”
