Page 20 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, May 31, 2019 Moms Cancer Fighting Angels to host Touch-a-Truck event by Jim Miller Adaptive Gardening: Tips and Tools for Older Gardeners Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend some good tools and tips for senior gardeners? My 77-year-old mother loves to work in the garden but over the past few years has been plagued by injuries. Concerned Daughter Dear Concerned, Aches, pains and injuries are not uncommon among older gardeners. Because gardening is such a physical activity that often requires a lot of bending and stooping, squatting and kneeling, gripping and lifting, it can be extremely taxing on an aging body. Back pain and knee injuries are most common among older gardeners, along with carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow. To help keep your mom injury-free this summer, here are some tips and gardening equipment ideas that can make gardening a little easier. Warm Up With gardening, good form is very important as well as not overdoing any one activity. A common problem is that gardeners often kneel or squat, putting extra pressure on their knees. Then, to spare their knees, they might stand and bend over for long stretches to weed, dig and plant, straining their back and spine. To help your mom protect her body, she needs to warm up before beginning. Start by stretching, focusing on the legs and lower back. And keep changing positions and activities. Don’t spend hours weeding a fl owerbed. After 15 minutes of weeding, she should stand up, stretch, and switch to another activity like pruning the bushes or just take a break. It’s also important that she recognizes her physical limitations and doesn’t try to do too much all at once. And, when lifting heaver objects, she needs to remember to use her legs to preserve her back. She can do this by keeping the item close to her body and squatting to keep her back as vertical as possible. Laborsaving Tools The right gardening equipment can help too. Kneeling pads can protect knees, and garden seats or stools are both back and knee savers. Lightweight garden carts can make hauling bags of mulch, dirt, plants or other heavy objects much easier. And long-handled gardening tools can help ease the strain on the back by keeping your mom in a standing upright position versus bent over. There are also ergonomic gardening tools with fatter handles and other design features that can make lawn and garden activities a little easier. Easier Watering The chore of carrying water or handling a heavy, awkward hose can also be diffi cult for older gardeners. Some helpful options include lightweight fabric hoses instead of heavy rubber hoses; soaker or drip hoses that can be snaked throughout the garden; thin coil hoses that can be used on the patio or small areas; a hose caddy and reel for easier hose transport around the yard; and a self-winding hose chest that puts the hose up automatically. There are also a variety of ergonomic watering wands that are lightweight, easy to grip, and reach those hard to-get-to plants. To fi nd ergonomic gardening tools and the recommended watering aids, check with local retail stores that sell lawn and garden supplies or try online retailers like Gardeners.com or RadiusGarden.com. Container Gardening If your mom’s backyard garden has become too much for her to handle, she should consider elevated garden beds or container gardening – using big pots, window boxes, hanging baskets, barrels or tub planters. This is a much easier way to garden because it eliminates much of the bend and strain of gardening but still gives her the pleasure of making things grow. Trellises are another nice option that would allow her to garden vertically instead of horizontally. 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. O n Sunday, June 2 from noon to 3 p.m. at Fuddruckers in Saugus, Moms Cancer Fighting Angels relay team will be holding its second annual Touch-aTruck event to benefi t the American Cancer Society. The event will feature trucks from Agganis Construction, McGarvey Towing, Broco Oil, Cross Landscaping, Arbor Tree, the Saugus Police Department, the Saugus Fire Department, Animal Control and the Department of Public Works. One big addition to the lineup this year will be Over Budget Monster Trucks. There will also be face painting from Mazks by Design, a k9 demonstration by the Peabody Police Department, a presentation from the Lynn ROTC, craft making with The Home Depot, raffl es and much more. We ask that you come hungry because Fuddruckers will be generously donating 20 percent of all sales to the American Cancer Society during the event. Also joining us will be Country 102.5 WKLB and 101.7 The Bull. The event is rain or shine. Anyone with questions should contact Guy Moley, the team captain of Moms Cancer Fighting Angels, at 781-640-1310. FAITH NOTES | from page 17 see the days and times listed. St. John’s Episcopal Church, 8 Prospect St., Saugus; 781-2331242. Bagging groceries: fi rst Thursdays at 7 p.m. Cliftondale Church of the Nazarene, 60 Essex St., Saugus; 781-233-2886. Bagging groceries: second Thursdays at 4 p.m. First Baptist Church of Saugus, 105 Main St., Saugus; 781231-1690. Bagging groceries: second Thursdays at 7 p.m. Blessed Sacrament Church, 14 Summer St., Saugus; 781233-2497. Bagging groceries: third Thursdays at 7 p.m. First Congregational Church UCC, 300 Central St., Saugus; 781-233-3028. Bagging groceries: fourth Thursdays at 4 p.m. New Hope Assembly of God, 9 Assembly Dr., Saugus; 781233-6384. Bagging groceries: fifth Thursdays at 7 p.m. The church will also be a backup site in case another church cannot host on their day. Calling all faiths Got a special event at your parish that you would like to tell the community about? Email the information under the subject line Saugus Advocate Faith Notes to mvoge@comcast.net. There is no charge for letting the public know about your event. iin E n Evereretettt, Malden, Revere and Saugus Publishing free every week , Malden, Re ublishing free every week and Saugus Get great deals now on advertising rates: 781-983-6187 et great deals now on advertising r tes: Callall Jim a Jim at 781-983-6187 1. On May 31, 1884, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg applied for what patent? 2. In which U.S. state are the Blue Mountains? 3. What Concord, Mass., transcendentalist author wrote the poem “Boston”? 4. What goddess and namesake of a month had peacocks as a symbol? 5. On June 1, 1961, what kind of U.S. stereo radio broadcasting began in Schenectady, N.Y.? 6. What river has been called “Big Muddy”? (Hint: from Montana to St. Louis.) 7. Which U.S. state was the first to pass a minimum wage law (just for women and children)? (Hint: textile mills.) 8. What composer was known as the “American March King”? 9. What fictional animalloving doctor lived in the English village of Puddleby-on-theMarsh? 10. On June 1, 1928, what kind of Kraft cheese was invented? 11. What band leader was known for “Satin Doll” and “Take the A Train”? 12. What does “June is bustin’ out all over” come from? 13. In 1901 in Lynn, Mass., what U.S. president declared “a square deal for every man, big or small, rich or poor”? 14. On June 4, 1937, what innovation in shopping was introduced at Oklahoma City’s Humpty Dumpty supermarket? 15. What is the secondoldest Major League Baseball park? 16. On June 5, 1977, what first personal computer went on sale? 17. What “June” was a TV hostess for several parades and beauty pageants? 18. What card game has sometimes been called “Klondike” or “Patience”? 19. On June 6, 1880, the first cable railway (funicular) on an active volcano began where in Italy? 20. In 1904 the ice cream cone was popularized at what world’s fair? Answers below, please no cheating! FROM PAGE 20 1. For “fl aked cereal” 2. Maine 3. Ralph Waldo Emerson 4. Juno 5. FM 6. The Missouri River 7. Massachusetts (on June 4, 1912) 8. John Philip Sousa 9. Dr. John Doolittle 10. Kraft’s Velveeta 11. Duke Ellington 12. The musical “Carousel” by Oscar Hammerstein II 13. Teddy Roosevelt 14. Shopping carts 15. Chicago’s Wrigley Field 16. The Apple II 17. June Lockhart 18. Solitaire 19. Mount Vesuvius (inspired the song “Funiculì, Funiculà”) 20. The St. Louis Worlds Fair
21 Publizr Home