Jim Redfield, SRES

11/17/2021

Lord Stanly the. Lobster chowing down on a crab in the St Louis. Aquarium.

11/16/2021

You can enter too for your chance to win!

06/04/2021

Facts.

11/25/2018

http://files.constantcontact.com/9f955cbc401/5d0fd907-bc55-4f63-833a-8d3483d667bc.jpg

06/30/2018

Please spread the word! Karmen was LOST on June 28, 2018 in St. Peters, MO 63376 Near Saint Paul Drive, St. Peters, MO, USA

Message from Owner: Please help us find our baby!!! We are lost without her and very worried!!!

Description: Boxer with longer nose and has small bump on top of her head

For more info or to contact Karmen's owner, click here: https://www.pawboost.com/p/5072855

Lost or found a pet? Report it to PawBoost here: http://pbrs.io/l/rpl

03/20/2018

Add Fire Safety to Your Family’s Routine

Many assume that because they have smoke alarms in their homes, they're protected in the event of a fire. In reality, smoke alarms need to be installed, maintained and tested regularly to ensure they're working properly. That effort includes knowing how old smoke alarms and their batteries are, as neither lasts forever. While smoke alarm lifespan and sensing technology have improved in recent years, the fact remains that all smoke alarms - even hardwired and sealed battery models - expire after 10 years.

"According to the National Fire Protection Association (www.nfpa.org), three out of five home fire deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms or from missing or dead batteries," said Tarsila Wey, director of marketing for First Alert. "Just like other household duties, it's important to make sure alarm maintenance and replacement and escape planning and practice become a regular, ongoing part of your family's routine."

First Alert offers the following advice to ensure your family is best protected from fire.

Count the alarms - In most cases, one alarm isn't enough. In fact, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), recommends smoke alarms be installed inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement, as well as one carbon monoxide (CO) alarm on each level and in each sleeping area. A quick and easy way to remember is one on every level and in every bedroom.

Install them properly - Does your alarm ever sound when cooking? Chances are, you've installed the alarm too close to your appliances. An easy way to reduce false alarms and maximize coverage is to take a moment to review manufacturer guidelines and install alarms in the proper locations. Smoke alarms should generally be installed at least 10 feet from a cooking appliance to minimize false alarms. It's also recommended to install smoke alarms high on walls or ceilings. Remember, smoke rises, so high placement provides a direct path for detection. Lastly, don't install smoke alarms near windows, doors or ducts, where drafts might interfere with their operation.

Get complete coverage - In general, there are two types of fires - quick flaming and smoldering. Today's smoke alarms are effective at detecting both but use unique technologies that make them better suited for particular locations within the home. The NFPA and other safety advocates recommend installing dual-sensor alarms like the First Alert 10-Year Battery Dual Sensor Alarm because they provide the best potential for early detection of all types of common household fires while helping to reduce the number of non-emergency alarms - all while providing a decade of protection without the need for costly and ongoing battery replacement.

Install and maintain - Having smoke alarms is only one part of the story. In order to function properly, all alarms must be regularly inspected and maintained. Make sure to test the alarm, by simply holding down the test button, at least once a month. Also, when testing, it's important to clean the alarm to remove any dust or debris. This advice holds true even for newer alarms, which feature 10-year batteries, as well as hardwired alarms that feature a battery back-up. Check or replace the battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall.

Plan your escape - Maintaining alarms is essential to every household, but what about your escape route? Unfortunately, recent research indicates that just 25 percent of families have an escape plan that they practice regularly. To develop an effective plan, walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. Identify two ways out of each room, including windows and doors. Practice your home fire escape plan at least twice a year and make sure to plan a meeting spot.

For more fire safety tips, visit www.firstalert.com.

12/06/2017

Be Careful Driving This Holiday Season

If you are like many people, you will be traveling for the holidays, and most of them will be driving their cars. Unemployment is low and gas is affordable, which means more people are driving more miles. And more drivers means an increased risk of getting into an accident which could ruin your season.

There is some good news, however, because vehicle technology has advanced significantly in the past decade, with features like backup cameras, active braking and pedestrian detection, which employ radar, camera, lidar and other sensors to detect and track vehicles, pedestrians or objects around the vehicle. Many of these enhancements are designed to help prevent collisions and make driving safer, but that doesn't mean you should let your guard down. When you're driving, the road should get your full and complete attention, because as great as all of this new technology is, it's not perfect and collisions can still occur.

"Rear-end collisions are the most common claims we see nationwide. We had nearly 60,000 customers report they were involved in rear-end collisions last year," said Vice President of Claims at Mercury Insurance Kevin Quinn. "People are surprised to find out they're at fault if they hit the vehicle ahead of them, even if the other driver brakes suddenly. This is why active braking technology, which can slow down your vehicle while using cruise control or even stop it completely if someone walks in front of your car or you aren't able to react quickly enough to hit your brakes, is a great development. But, even if you have this technology, you still need to focus on the road to avoid getting into collisions."

"Most of these collisions are avoidable if people pay attention to their surroundings. Cars are safer, but drivers are more distracted than ever, especially by phone apps, texting and taking calls. And it's not just drivers who are distracted, we're also seeing more pedestrian accidents, because they have their heads buried in their phones and aren't paying attention while they're walking," said Quinn. "No message, photo or phone call is more important than your safety and the safety of others, so please drive - and walk - responsibly."

12/01/2017

11/29/2017

I found this and thought all seniors should see it.

As older adults are less likely to want family heirlooms and furniture, here is advice for navigating conversations about downsizing the family home.

11/25/2017

Study says going hungry in AM can harden arteries
by Austin O'Connor, AARP, October 4, 2017

A new study says that eating a healthy breakfast could help you avoid heart trouble down the road.

The old adage just might be true after all: Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day — for your heart, at least.

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that people who skip breakfast entirely or who eat poorly to start the day are at double the risk of developing hardened arteries, which can lead to heart disease. The study included 4,000 middle-aged office workers in Spain and followed their morning dietary habits for six years.

About 28 percent reported consistently eating a hearty or high-energy breakfast — defined as 20 percent or more of their recommended daily calorie intake. The vast majority of people — 69 percent — said they regularly eat a light or low-energy breakfast (between 5 and 20 percent of daily calorie intake), and the remaining 3 percent admitted to skipping breakfast.

Those missing breakfast "tended to have more generally unhealthy eating habits and a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors," according to the study, which also found that people who ate less than 5 percent of their daily calorie intake at breakfast weighed more and had higher body mass index, blood pressure and lipid levels, as well as increased fasting glucose levels.

Most alarmingly, people who skipped the meal or ate an insufficient breakfast showed double the amount of fatty buildup in their arteries compared with those who ate a high-energy meal to start the day. The increased risk of hardened arteries in those who skipped breakfast appeared independently of other risk factors, including smoking, high cholesterol and physical inactivity.

It’s just the latest study to reinforce the importance of a healthy breakfast, which previous research has linked to lower body weight, healthier diet and decreased risk of cholesterol and blood pressure problems.

"Although breakfast skippers are generally attempting to lose weight, they often end up eating more and unhealthy foods later in the day,” Prakash Deedwania, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, wrote in an accompanying editorial in the journal. “Skipping breakfast can cause hormonal imbalances and alter circadian rhythms."

In addition to adding a healthy breakfast to your daily regimen, you may want to add a little quiet time to start your morning. A separate report from the American Heart Association (AHA) indicates that meditation may be an effective tool against heart disease when it is practiced in conjunction with proven approaches like lifestyle changes or medications.
The new AHA guidelines point out that studies to date have been too small to clearly establish the benefits of meditation against heart disease, but Glenn Levine, M.D., said there is reason to believe that meditation has heart health benefits beyond just stress reduction.

“Meditation can be considered as an adjunctive lifestyle intervention,” said Levine, chair of the AHA task force on clinical practice guidelines and a researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “We do not believe meditation should be undertaken as a substitute for well-established and recommended lifestyle and medicinal interventions.”