In August

Read a Romance

Novel Month

What Will Be Your

Legacy Month

Farmers Market

Week

August 2–8

Coast Guard Day

August 4

Homemade

Pie Day

August 7

Bowling Day

August 8

Vinyl Record Day August 12

Mail Order Catalog

Day August 18

Massage

Therapy Week

August 19–23

Kiss and Make Up

Day

August 25

Senior Center Without Walls Monthly Newsletter

August 2015

This publication is a resource produced and distributed by the Frederick County Department of Aging.

For additional information about this or other programs and services, visit the website at

www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/Aging or contact the FCDoA at 1440 Taney Avenue, Frederick, MD 21702,

phone 301.600.1605, or email DeptOfAging@FrederickCountyMD.gov.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

August 20 is Lemonade Day. Legend has it that on this date in 1630, lemonade

made its debut in Paris, France. The drink wasn’t merely a mix of lemons,

sugar, and water but was a fashionable concoction of sparkling water, lemon

juice, and honey. Leave it to the French to turn lemons into something elegant.

These days lemonade enjoys seemingly endless variations. Pink lemonade

adds a colorful dash of grenadine or a splash of pink juice from raspberries,

watermelon, red grapefruit, cherries, or strawberries. Such herbs as mint,

thyme, and basil or ginger root can be added to a glass for extra flavor.

Adventurous types even dare to add spicy jalapeño peppers or Thai chilies. On

really hot days, lemonade frozen into a slushy consistency can be eaten with a

spoon like sorbet. And there’s even limeade, which substitutes limes for

lemons. Since August is also Lemonade Stand Month, try selling some of those

flavors as a way to raise funds for something special.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Lucy Ware Webb Hayes, first lady and wife of

U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes, was born on August 28, 1831—during a

month now saturated with references to lemonade. As a supporter of the

temperance movement, Lucy Hayes was dubbed “Lemonade Lucy.” She was a

staunch supporter of her husband’s decision to ban all alcohol from state

functions held at the White House. She was held up as an example of fine

morality by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. She took criticism of

her views on temperance with good humor and was widely considered a

popular and elegant hostess. Some even hailed her as a representative of the

“new woman era” in America. That’s something we can all drink to…with

lemonade of course.

The Day Valentino Died

He was born Rudolfo Alfonzo Raffaelo Piero Filibert Guglielmi di

Valentina D’Antonguolla, but his devoted fans knew him as Rudolf

Valentino. Valentino was one of Hollywood’s earliest stars of the silent

era. He was the prototypical tall, dark, and handsome Italian—a perfect

on-screen hunk. After dancing a tango in The Four Horsemen of the

Apocalypse, he became a national sensation. His sudden death on

August 23, 1926, threw his legions of fans into hysteria. Some even attempted suicide. Tens

of thousands visited his open casket in New York City, where mourners rioted and broke a

plate-glass window at the funeral home in the hopes of getting in for a final glimpse of the star.

And a reported 100,000 mourners lined up outside the church where services were held. By

train, Valentino’s body made its last trip to Hollywood—for a final silent goodbye.

The Future of Shopping

Is the Internet starting to make things too easy for us? August is Shop Online for

Groceries Month. Fruits, vegetables, frozen foods, meats, dairy, the works can

all be delivered right to your door. Some people call this innovation, others call it

convenience, and still others might consider it just plain laziness. One thing is

for certain: online shopping is here.

Adults 50 years old and above represent the Web's largest constituency, comprising one-third

of the total 195.3 million Internet users in the U.S. alone (Jupiter Research). Two-thirds of

Americans 50-plus buy from e-retailers online, while nine out of 10 Baby Boomers say they’ve

purchased something online (eMarketer, 2013).

That’s why companies are creating tools to make shopping easier and more fun. Imagine

walking by a store when your mobile phone suddenly beeps. It’s the store letting you know

that your favorite toothpaste is on sale. Thanks to the call, you enter the store to do some

unplanned shopping. Once inside, our phone will also act like a personal shopper. It can tell

us where to find our favorite styles of clothes at the most reasonable prices. It will also tell us

where we can buy the very sunglasses worn by our favorite movie star. For those of us still

shopping for groceries at actual supermarkets, some phones will even use our shopping lists

to map the fastest route through the aisles.

After you’ve made your selections and are ready to check out, you will not even need to visit

a checkout counter. Simply use your cell phone to scan all your purchases and pay. You’ll be

leaving with full shopping bags, having never waited in a line. Of course, all these innovations

assume you haven’t bought your items from the comfort of your home. With so many online

retailers offering free next-day shipping, it’s a wonder people will leave their homes at all. It’s

then up to brick-and-mortar retailers to come up with creative ways to lure us out of our

homes—and into their stores.

The Dog Days of Summer

The hot and sultry days of summer, known as the “dog days,” stretch from

July 3 to August 11. It was named by the ancient Romans who observed

that the “Dog Star” Sirius was most visible in the night sky during this

steamy season.

It makes perfect sense, then, that August 2–8 is Assistance Dog Week, a

day honoring all those canines that help humans with disabilities. Guide, hearing, and medical

-alert dogs are specially trained to accompany their owners anywhere and everywhere. And

“detection dogs” are now being used to sniff out everything from bedbugs to forest truffles to

cancer.

August 5, too, is Work Like a Dog Day, a day for all those dogs who put in a hard day of work.

Search-and-rescue, police, therapy, herding, hunting, tracking, guard, and sled dogs are not

merely pets but are integral partners in working endeavors. For example, no other dog can

compete with the bloodhound’s sense of smell. This dog’s sense of smell is so reliable it’s

admissable as evidence in a courtroom. Blood-hounds can track a smell more than 300 hours

old and trails more than 160 miles long.

The Doberman pinscher was bred by a German tax collector by the name of Karl Friedrich

Louis Dobermann as a protective companion to assist him on his daily rounds. Not only is the

Doberman a tough guard dog but it’s also one of the smartest dog breeds in the world.

German shepherds are renowned as both Hollywood actors and police and therapy dogs. The

breed’s courage may be rivaled only by their charisma. When Rin Tin Tin debuted on the

silver screen, he received more than 10,000 pieces of fan mail per week.

While we’ve all heard the saying “work like a dog,” these dogs give the phrase new meaning.

Cat Is the New Black

Does a shiver run down your spine when a black cat crosses your path? Do you instantly think

of witches on broomsticks when you see a black cat? Black Cat Appreciation Day on August 17

is your chance to revise your superstitious notions. For example, in Scotland, Great Britain, and

Japan, black cats are considered good luck and signs of prosperity. Some even believe that a

woman who owns a black cat will have many suitors. In olden times, sailors would choose a

black cat as their ship’s cat to protect their ship and bring good fortune. Shelters posting black

cats for adoption offer two more reasons to appreciate black cats: a black-colored cat goes well

with any outfit, and black cats are a slimming color.

A Penny for Your Thoughts

It’s one of those things you don’t appreciate until it’s not there—the Take a Penny/Leave a Penny Tray. What luck when the tray is there, brimming with shiny pennies so you don’t have to pocket a handful of change. Do your part and keep those penny trays filled on August 2—Take a Penny, Leave a Penny Day. There are many who deem the lowly penny a useless denomination of currency. In the United States, it costs 1.7¢ to make one penny. In 2012, Canada decided a penny wasn’t even worth minting. Their lowest denomination of currency is now 5¢. Such a change in currency won’t help the U.S., however, where it costs a whopping 8.09¢ to mint one nickel. Why does it cost so much to make these coins? It all depends on the price of copper, a component in coins. Even when the price of copper fell in 2014—saving the U.S. Mint $29 million in overall production costs—it still lost money minting pennies and nickels. So the next time you leave or take a penny, know it will cost the Mint nearly twice as much if it has to replace it.

On the Other Hand Did you hear the one about the inventor who developed a left-handed hammer? It didn’t sell. He forgot to invent left-handed nails! But if he had, they likely would have been sold by the Left-Handers Club, which celebrates International Left-Handers’ Day on August 13. Left-Handers’ Day is about more than just advocating left-handed products like scissors, pens, and can openers. It’s about creating “Lefty Zones,” where right-handed people attempt tasks using their left hands. For one day, the proverbial shoe will be on the other foot, with righties struggling to use tools unfit for their right-handedness. It’s a day when all lefties will fight for their, um, rights.

Wrap Rage Sometimes opening a bottle of aspirin is so

difficult that you need an aspirin just to relieve

the pain. Equally frustrating is having

something as tiny as a keychain mailed in a

box the size of a small child. If you’ve

encountered such preposterous packaging,

you may be a fan of Particularly Preposterous

Packaging Day on August 7.

Some think marketers purposely make

packaging complicated. Products are artfully

packaged to look larger and more desirable,

sometimes regardless of how difficult the

package is to open. The term “wrap rage” has

even been coined to describe the frustration

many feel when a package is all but impossible

to unwrap. Furthermore, over-packaged

products lead to waste. Studies show that a

third of all household waste comes from

packaging, and this packaging often ends up in

landfills. Some places in Great Britain and

elsewhere have even considered issuing

packaging laws to reduce the amount of trash.

So, the next time you tangle with a package,

keep August 7 in mind.

You may be surprised at who writes, throws, and eats left-handed… Barack Obama | Bill Gates | Caroline Kennedy | Prince William | Tiberius (Roman emperor) | Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rican president) | Hugo Chaves (Venezuelan president) | Tony Abbott (Australian PM) | Michael Bloomberg (NY mayor) | Singers Natalie Cole, Joe Cocker, Paul McCartney, Chrys-tal Gayle | Actors Dan Aykroyd, Richard Pryor, Mi-chael Landon, Peter Fonda, Judy Garland, Tippi Hedren | Entertainers Drew Carey, Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Simmons | Directors Spike Lee, James Cameron | NBA players Larry Bird, LeBron James, Darryl Strawberry | Oscar De La Hoya | Artists Lenardo da Vinci| Vincent Van Gogh | Rembrandt |

Famous Left-Handed Celebrities

Lemon Slice Coaster

Using craft foam and glue, make a coaster that looks like a lemon slice to

hold your summer drinks.

You will need:

Yellow and white craft foam (about 6" X 6" each)

Craft foam glue

4"–5" circle pattern (roll of tape, dish, plastic lid, etc.)

Pen

Scissors

Directions:

1. Use a pen to trace a circle (4"–5" diameter) onto both pieces of craft foam.

Cut out the yellow circle along the traced line. Cut out the white circle about

1/2" inside the traced line as shown in the center photo below.

2. Cut the white circle in half. Stack the halves together and cut out three wedges as shown. You should

have six wedges.

3. Unstack the wedges and glue them onto the yellow circle using craft foam glue. Space each wedge

about 1/4" from the outside edge of the yellow foam. The wedges should be about 1/8" apart as shown

above. Allow the glue to dry overnight, and your coaster will be ready for use by morning.

Découpage Photo Plate Print a copy of your favorite photo. Cut it out and découpage it to the back

of a glass dish. Glue colored tissue paper to the back for an added touch.

You will need:

Color or black-and-white copy of a favorite photo

Clear glass plate

Circle pattern slightly larger than the center of the plate

Pen

Scissors

Mod Podge

Paintbrush

Colored tissue paper (color of your choice)

Fine sandpaper

Directions:

1. Print a color or black-and-white copy of a photo large enough to cover the center of your plate. A 6" X

4" snapshot or larger would work. Use a circle pattern and pen to trace a circle around the portion of the

photo you want glued to the plate as shown in the left-hand photo below. Cut out the image along the

traced line.

2. Turn over the plate and cover the

center with Mod Podge as shown.

3. Turn the photo facedown and place it on top of the

Mod Podge, positioning it in the center of the plate.

4. Apply Mod Podge to the back of the photo. Using

the paintbrush and your finger, press the image down

while working out wrinkles and air bubbles as shown

in the right-hand photo above.

5. Tear tissue paper into small pieces about 2" in size.

Apply Mod Podge to the back of the plate and layer

tissue paper on top. Cover the paper with more Mod

Podge as shown in the left-hand photo above.

6. After all the tissue paper has been applied, prop up the plate to dry while keeping the bottom facing up.

7. After the plate is completely dry, use a little sandpaper to remove rough edges and excess paper along

the edge of the plate.

8. Display the plate on a plate stand. You can even use it as your dinner plate.

Note: Wash by hand and avoid submerging in water.

Discuss & Recall - How Do They Make That? This learning and reminiscence activity takes a close look at some familiar

food items, information about how they came to be, clues for you to guess

the food, and discussion questions to help spark a discussion.

Preparations & How-To’s

• This is a copy of the complete activity for the facilitator to present. Use the Discussion Starters

to help get a conversation going.

• Find as many as possible of the food items mentioned to bring to the activity for show and tell and see

and taste.

How Do They Make That?

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how some of your favorite foods are made? Not just the ingredients that go

into them, but how they are actually created—from start to finish? The manufacturing process for most

food items is a fascinating combination of human ingenuity and innovative technology. With a few

clues to guide you, see if you can figure out the item that’s being made.

Mystery Food Item #1

1. This is a popular breakfast cereal.

2. This was the first mass-produced, nationally distributed, ready-to-eat cereal in the world.

3. It was invented in the 1890s by a man looking for a simple food to soothe his digestive difficulties.

4. The inventor’s original idea was to sell the machinery used to make the cereal, not the cereal itself.

5. To make this cereal, wheat is cooked in boiling water, then cooled and rolled between two metal

rollers—one smooth and one grooved.

6. A metal comb positioned against the grooved roller shreds the wheat into a long ribbon.

7. The ribbons of wheat are caught on a conveyer belt and piled on top of each other in layers.

8. The cereal layers are then cut to the desired size and baked until crisp and golden brown.

And the Answer Is… Henry Perky, the inventor of this product, called it “little whole wheat

mattresses,” but if you guessed shredded wheat, you’re right!

Perky was a lawyer, businessman, and inventor who, along with John Harvey

Kellogg and Charles William Post, pioneered “cookless breakfast cereal,” or what

we know today as cold cereal. Perky and his friend, machinist William H. Ford,

created the first machinery that made shredded wheat. While the machinery has

been updated and computerized through the years, the soak-shred-layer-bake

process has remained essentially unchanged.

Perky intended to sell his machinery to grain mills and cereal makers but instead

ended up making and selling the shredded wheat biscuits himself. He considered

them one of nature’s most delicious and nourishing grain products.

Perky’s Shredded Wheat Company was sold to the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) in 1928,

and the product name was changed to Nabisco Shredded Wheat in 1941. Incidentally, the same

process that makes shredded wheat is used to make Triscuit snack crackers.

Mystery Food Item #2

1. This stackable snack’s claim to fame is that it’s packaged in cans.

2. These snacks were first sold in 1967.

3. They were developed because consumers complained that similar snacks packed in bags were greasy,

broken, or stale.

4. Their characteristic shape is known as a hyperbolic paraboloid.

5. This snack starts as a slurry of rice, wheat, corn, and potato flakes that’s pressed into shape and rolled

super thin, like dough.

6. The snacks are cut out of the dough using a cookie-cutter type machine and pressed into molds that

give them their characteristic stackable curve.

7. They’re cooked briefly in hot oil while still in the mold and then blown dry and sprayed with salt and

powdered flavors.

8. Finally, they’re stacked in cans.

And the Answer Is… What’s the snack in the can? Why it’s Pringles, of course.

Manufactured by Proctor & Gamble until it was sold to the Kellogg Company in 2012, Pringles was

originally marketed as “Pringles Newfangled Potato Chips.” When the United States Food and Drug

Administration ruled that the snack could only be called a “chip” if the phrase “potato chips made from

dried potatoes” was also added, the name was changed to Pringles Potato Crisps.

No one seems to know exactly where the Pringles part of the name comes from. Some suggest that it was

an homage to Mark Pringle, who filed a patent in 1937 titled Method and Apparatus for Processing

Potatoes.

Others say that two Proctor & Gamble employees who worked on the advertising and marketing

campaign when the product was first developed lived on Pringle Drive in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, and

decided to use their street name. Still a third theory says that the name was picked at random from the

Cincinnati phone book.

Whatever the source of its name, it was the packaging more than anything else that set Pringles

apart from its bagged competition. In fact, Fredric J. Baur, the chemist and food storage technician

at Proctor & Gamble who developed the iconic cardboard can with a foil lining and resealable

plastic top, was so proud of his invention that he wanted to be buried in it. His children honored his

request by interring some of his cremated remains in a Pringles can in his grave.

Discussion Starters

• What did you eat more of as a child—cold cereal or hot cereal? How about now?

• Do you like shredded wheat? What’s your favorite cold cereal?

• Do you remember when Pringles first became available? When did you try them for

the first time? Are you still a fan?

Does finding out how a food item is made make you more or less likely to eat it?

Why?

Mystery Food Item #3

1. This fascinating candy was first introduced in 1975 and became an instant hit.

2. The inventor of this candy wrote a book about it in 2008.

3. Because of its carbon dioxide ingredient, this candy was the subject of a unique urban legend.

4. Sugar, corn syrup, water, and flavoring are heated together to make a syrup.

5. The syrup is boiled to evaporate all the water.

6. Then carbon dioxide at 600 pounds per square inch (psi) is mixed into the hot sugar mixture.

7. When the mixture cools, the pressure is released, and the candy shatters into small pieces. Each small

piece still contains carbon dioxide.

8. When the candy is eaten, the carbon dioxide is released with a loud POP, and your mouth and tongue

tingle.

And the Answer Is… If you were a candy eater in the 1970s, you know that we’re talking about

Pop Rocks, made by General Foods.

People either loved or hated this candy, not because of the flavor—nondescript at

best—but because of the weird popping feeling on the tongue as the gravely crystals

melted. Much like the characteristic popping sound, the urban myth was generated by

carbon dioxide in the candy.

According to the rumor, if you ate Pop Rocks and drank carbonated soda, the mixture

would cause your stomach to explode. The fear of this catastrophic result was based

on the incorrect assumption that Pop Rocks contained an acid/base mixture—like

baking soda and vinegar—that would produce a lot of gas when mixed together by

chewing.

An offshoot of the exploding stomach myth was the false report that John Gilchrist,

the child actor who played Mikey in Life cereal commercials, died after eating six

pouches of Pop Rocks and drinking a six-pack of Coca Cola. Even though the United States Food and

Drug Administration set up a hotline to assure parents that Pop Rocks would not kill their children, and

General Foods sent letters to school principals and paid for ads in major magazines, the myth persisted.

In fact, you may remember that the pilot episode of the television series MythBusters explored the

exploding stomach legend and concluded that it was just a myth. Today, Pop Rocks candy is licensed to a

Spanish company, Zeta Espacial S. A., and distributed by Pop Rocks, Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mystery Food Item #4

1. This product was invented in 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

2. The first batch was pink because that was the only food color the inventor had on hand at the time.

3. To start, gum base, sweeteners, softeners, and food colors are blended together in a huge vat.

4. Flavoring is added last, and the blending continues very slowly.

5. When the blending is complete, the product is passed through an extruder and emerges in a solid,

rope-like form.

6. The rope is moved through a conditioning tunnel to cool it and develop the correct texture.

7. Finally, it’s cut into one-inch chunks that are individually wrapped and packaged.

8. It’s not candy—it’s not really even food—but you probably had a wad of it in your mouth for most

your childhood. And you probably swallowed more than your share.

And the Answer Is…. Don’t chew on this one for too long—if you

haven’t already guessed, it’s bubble gum.

First developed by Walter E. Diemer for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company

in 1928, the original pink bubble gum used chicle, a natural rubber, as a

base. These days, synthetic gum base materials are used because they

provide longer-lasting flavor, better texture, and less stickiness.

Today’s bubble gum makers can choose from many complex fruit flavors,

mints of all kinds, cinnamon, vanilla, almond, even bacon and popcorn.

Interestingly, children seem to prefer less that more complex flavors make

them want to swallow rather than chew the gum.

When Diemer was developing bubble gum, he was attracted by the

stretchiness he could create by adding extra chicle to his basic chewing

gum mixture. Modern bubble gum is even stretchier and less sticky, so

when a bubble pops, it’s less likely to stick to the blower’s face and hair. A

26-inch bubble blown by Susan Montgomery Williams of Fresno,

California, in 1996, holds the Guinness World Record for the biggest

bubble gum bubble.

The popularity of bubble gum has declined over the past 80 years, probably due to more alternatives for

breath fresheners, gum’s general messiness, and lack of effective advertising.

Discussion Starters

• Did you ever try Pop Rocks candy? Did you like them? What did you think of the weird feeling on your

tongue?

• Have you ever heard of the urban myth about Pop Rocks and carbonated beverages making your

stomach explode? How do you think things like this get started?

• Were you a fan of bubble gum as a child? Did you blow bubbles? Did you ever have one pop and stick

on your face or in your hair? How did you get it out?

• Do you remember Bazooka Joe? How about flat sheets of bubble gum packed with Topps baseball

cards? Share your memories.

Mystery Food Item #5

1. This sweet treat is first seen at Halloween and usually stays through Thanksgiving.

2. This candy was invented more than 100 years ago.

3. As you might imagine, it was originally popular with farmers.

4. First, sugar, corn syrup, carnauba wax, water, and binders are mixed in large vats to create the creamy

syrup base for this candy.

5. Each vat is tinted with food coloring—white, orange, or yellow.

6. A machine fills a tray of kernel-shaped holes with cornstarch, which absorbs some of the moisture and

helps the candy hold its shape.

7. Then each hole is filled with all three colors of the creamy syrup—first white, then orange, and yellow

last.

8. The candy cools and hardens for about 24 hours before it’s unmolded, sprayed with a shiny glaze, and

packaged.

And the Answer Is… Hmm… It’s candy that’s white, orange, and yellow, in the

shape of a kernel, and usually sold at Halloween. What is it? If you guessed candy

corn, you’re right!

Invented in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company, this

confection is so popular now that nearly 25 million pounds of it are sold each year. There’s even a

National Candy Corn Day on October 30, the day before Halloween. Considered a “mellow cream” by

the confection industry, candy corn has a sweet, rich taste and soft texture, but it’s fat-free.

In the early 1900s, the Goelitz Company, now the Jelly Belly Candy Company, started making candy

corn. They called their product “chicken feed” and sold it year-round. In an effort to capitalize on the

popularity of this classic sweet, candy makers have added color variations to match holidays other than

Halloween.

Today, you can find candy corn with a chocolate brown end, orange middle, and white tip sold at

Thanksgiving. Reindeer corn, sold at Christmas, is red, green, and white; Cupid’s corn for Valentine’s

Day is red, pink, and white. Try freedom corn in red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July. Bunny corn

in pastel shades is for Easter, as is carrot corn in orange and green with the flavor of carrot cake.

Mystery Food Item #6

1. This bite-size candy was invented by famous confectioner William Schrafft in 1861.

2. Almost everyone likes these, and they were a special favorite of President Ronald Reagan.

3. This sweet treat is made in three layers, starting with a jelly center of sugar, cornstarch, corn

syrup, flavoring, and coloring that’s heated in large boilers to form a thick syrup.

4. The syrup is poured into cornstarch-coated molds and allowed to cool and set for at least a day to give

this candy its characteristic chewiness.

5. When the centers are set, they’re unmolded, steamed, and coated with more liquid sugar.

6. The sugared candies are placed in a spinning machine where more flavoring and coloring are added.

7. The final layer—a hard outer shell—is created by spinning the candies again with super-fine sugar.

8. A last spray of syrup and beeswax gives them their shiny look.

And the Answer Is… The clue about President Ronald Reagan should have given this one away

—it’s jelly beans!

Jelly beans made their first appearance during the American Civil War, when candy maker William

Schrafft created them to send as a gift to Union soldiers. But the first advertisement selling these sweet

beans didn’t appear until 1905, when an ad in the Chicago Daily News offered them for nine cents a

pound.

Because of their egg-like shape, jelly beans are often associated with the celebration of Easter. But

filling baskets with jelly beans in pastel colors didn’t begin in the United Sates until the 1930s. Most

jelly beans are now packaged in an assortment of about eight fruit-based flavors plus licorice. Gourmet

flavors from makers like the Jelly Belly Candy Company and the Jelly Bean Factory

include the exotic tastes of berry, coconut, tropical fruit, popcorn, spice, and even bacon. And fans

of the Harry Potter series will recognize the earwax, dirt, pepper, and vomit flavored jelly beans

produced by a specialty candy manufacturer.

Discussion Starters

• Some people wait all year for candy corn to become available. Are you one of them? Do you call it

candy corn or chicken feed?

• Do you like jelly beans? What’s your favorite flavor? Did you, or someone you know, like to

eat all the licorice ones out of the bag?

• Have you tried any jelly beans with “weird” flavors, such as black pepper, dirt, rotten egg,

Using Your Noodle A pool noodle is a cylindrical piece of foam used by people of all ages while

swimming. However, more and more people are using them for exercise

programs out of the water.

Equipment

You will need at least one of each of the following for each participant.

Full-size noodle, approximately 5 feet long (Noodles come in different

diameters, and some are hollow in the center. The thicker noodles and the

solid noodles will provide more resistance.)

Demi-noodle (full-size noodle cut in half)

Foot-long noodle (noodle cut into 12-inch pieces)

Noodlette (2 to 3 inches)

Arrange seating so that there is plenty of room for the noodles.

Depending on which exercises you plan to do, you might need a large embroidery hoop, a Hula-Hoop,

some masking tape, balloons, a basket, some rope, and a small rubber ball.

Noodle Exercises

All of the exercises can be done from a seated position. Repeat all the exercises 10 times or as many

times as is comfortable.

Using a Full Noodle

1. Hold the noodle in a “U” shape. Spread your arms so that the noodle is horizontal and then bring the

noodle back up into a “U” shape.

2. Hold the noodle in an upside-down “U.” Bring your arms down and out to the sides until the noodle is

horizontal. Repeat.

3. Try to bend the noodle into a circle so that the ends meet. Release and repeat.

4. Hold the noodle in an upside-down “U” shape. Drop the noodle behind your head and try to touch the

noodle as low as possible on your back.

5. Hold the noodle in an upside-down “U” shape with arms straight up above your head. Drop the noodle

down and touch the top of your head.

6. Hold one end of the noodle in your right hand. Wave it up and down out in front of your body. Switch

to your left hand.

7. Repeat #6 but this time make a figure eight with the noodle.

8. Use the noodle as a jump rope. Hold the noodle on each end and place the middle on the floor. Step

over the noodle and then back. Don’t really jump.

9. Place the noodle under one thigh. Lift the leg up and down. Repeat with the other leg.

10. Bend the noodle to form some letters: C, J, L, O, P, S, U.

Demi-Noodle Exercises

1. Fence with your neighbor and get everyone laughing.

2. Hit a balloon and see how long you can keep it up in the air.

3. Place a balloon or small ball on the floor and hit it with the noodle to move it from one person to the

next.

4. Play noodle hockey. Use masking tape to mark off an area at one end of the room for the goal. Use the

demi-noodle to hit a small rubber ball into the goal. One person could be the goalie and try to block the

shot.

5. Play noodle baseball. Use the demi-noodle as a bat. Toss a small foam ball or noodlette up in the air

and try to hit it before it hits the floor.

6. Sitting in a chair, place the noodle on the floor under your feet (preferably with shoes off). Roll the

noodle back and forth with your feet.

7. Sitting in a chair, place the noodle across the top of your feet. Lift your feet up and down trying not to

let the noodle fall.

Foot-Long Noodle Exercises

1. Play noodle darts. Hang a large embroidery hoop or small Hula-Hoop from the ceiling. Try to throw

the noodle through the loop like a dart.

2. Toss the noodle up in the air and try to catch it.

3. Sitting in a circle, everyone tosses their noodle to the person on their right.

Keep going around the circle.

Noodlette Exercises

1. Squeeze the noodlettes to exercise your hands and release some stress.

2. Play noodle basketball. Try tossing the noodlettes into a large basket.

3. To exercise small motor skills, stack the noodlettes or, if they are hollow, string them on a rope.

August IQ There’s more to August than the dog days of summer. Test your August IQ.

1. Which of the following occurs in August? A. peak of the Perseid meteor shower

B. Halloween

C. Wimbledon tennis tournament D. St. Patrick’s Day

2. August has two syllables. What other months have

two syllables?

3. Which is a true statement about August? A. It is one of seven months with a length of 31 days.

B. It is the beginning of the dog days of summer.

C. It is the eleventh month. D. It is the seasonal equivalent of December in the northern hemisphere.

4. What are the two zodiac signs for August?

A. Scorpio and Capricorn B. Aries and Taurus

C. Leo and Sagittarius

D. Leo and Virgo

5. The song lyric “I’m as corny as Kansas in August” is from “I’m in Love with a

Wonderful Guy.” What Rodgers and Hammerstein musical features the song? A. Oklahoma!

B. The Sound of Music

C. The King and I

D. South Pacific

6. Musician Charlie Parker and entertainer Michael Jackson were both born in August. Who was born first?

7. True or false? The August full moon is called the harvest moon.

8. The word august is not only a noun meaning a month in the calendar, but it’s

also an adjective. What is the other meaning of august?

A. creative

B. friendly

C. dignified D. poor

9. Who became the first woman to swim the English Channel on August 6, 1926? A. Gertrude Ederle

B. Babe Didrikson Zaharias

C. Esther Williams D. Helen Wills Moody

10. Director Alfred Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899. Which actress did

NOT appear in any of his films?

A. Janet Leigh

B. Grace Kelly C. Tippi Hedren

D. Jamie Lee Curtis

11. The Panama Canal opened to traffic on August 15, 1914. What article of clothing is associated with the area?

12. The Lincoln penny was first issued on August 2, 1909. Which weighs more: a Lincoln penny or a Roosevelt dime?

13. Explorers Lewis and Clark were both born during August. What are their

first names? A. Jerry and Dick

B. Meriwether and William

C. Marshall and Clyde D. Alexander and James

14. The gladiolus is the birth flower for August. Is it an annual or perennial

flower? 15. True or false? The name of the first child born in America (on August 18,

1587) was Lucy Stone.

Answers 1. (A) Peak of the Perseid meteor shower. The shower is visible dur-

ing the middle of July but peaks August 9–14.

2. April and July have two syllables.

3. (A) It is one of seven months with a length of 31 days. January, March, May, July, August, October, and December all have 31

days.

4. (D) Leo and Virgo. Leo is July 23 to August 22. Virgo is August 23 to September 22. 5. (D) South Pacific. The character Nellie Furbush performs this song

after following in love with Emile.

6. Charlie Parker. He was born in 1920. Michael Jackson was born in

1958. 7. False. The August full moon is called the sturgeon moon. The

harvest moon occurs in September.

8. (C) dignified. 9. (A) Gertrude Ederle. The first person to swim the English Channel was Matthew Webb.

He did it on August 25, 1875. 10. (D) Jamie Lee Curtis. She is the daughter of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. Hitchcock’s

last film was released in 1976, before Jamie Lee Curtis’ film career began.

11. Panama hat. The hat first originated in Ecuador. It became very popular when Presi-

dent Roosevelt visited the construction site of the Panama Canal in 1904 and was photo-graphed wearing the hat.

12. Lincoln penny. The Roosevelt dime weighs 2.27 grams. The Lincoln penny weighs 2.5

grams. 13. (B) Meriwether and William. Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774. William

Clark was born on August 1, 1770. 14. Perennial. Flowers that bloom every spring and summer, and die back in the fall are

perennials. Annual flowers are short-lived, lasting only one season.

15. False. The first child born in America was Virginia Dare. Lucy Stone was an abolitionist and a suffragist born on August 13, 1818.

Bargain

Elimination (solution) Secret message:

Don’t bargain for

fish that are still in the water. ~

Indian Proverb

Family Fun (solution)

Famous August

Birthdays (solution)

Bonus: Match the person to the correct clue. 1. Novelist – H 2. Movie actor – J 3. Football player – C 4. Entrepreneur – K

5. Jazz singer – B 6. U.S. president – I 1. TV actress – A 2. Painter – L 3. R&B singer – F 4. Wrestler – E 5. Director – D 6. Basketball player – G

Old or New (solution)

Cathy’s Corner

August is Lemonade Month-”When life gives you lemons”, well you know what

to do. Try making some lemonade with fresh lemons, it is guaranteed to

make you smile.

I was very excited to find the exercise routine using the swimming noodles.

They are fairly inexpensive to purchase and with all the various ways they can

be used seems like endless fun., not to mention how much fun that they are in

the swimming pool.

The Discuss & Recall—”How do they make that?”, please share this activity

with your group, sure to get a conversation going.

The pasta recipe IS very tasty, I made this and shared with my family for

the recent holiday.