The Columbia Press
December 4, 2020
Senior
Moments
with Emma Edwards
7
Here’s to Your Health
by Mari Montesano and Kelley Crusius
Changing seasons prompts Safe ways to celebrate the holidays
This is our first -- and hope- great way to pass down secret when eating and drinking;
the wonder of snowflakes fully
last -- holiday season family recipes and to share and wear masks when you’re
Ah, December. Earlier this
week, I was thinking it was
almost cold enough for us to
be blessed with a few snow-
flakes. Instead it turned into
a cold, dry day.
Speaking of snowflakes,
have any of you seen “The
North Pole,” one of the Hall-
mark movies from a few
years back? Back then, I had
skipped over it thinking it
was “just another kids mov-
ie.”
But it seems, nowadays, I
catch myself snuggling into
my recliner and watching a
few more movies than usual.
Maybe what got me in the
mood for a snow movie was
that I chose last weekend to
take down part of my lady-
bug collection, which sits on
five shelves above my printer.
I traded the ladybugs in for
my joyful snowman collec-
tion, which I plan to keep up
throughout winter. So I guess
I had snowmen on my brain.
“The North Pole” has lots of
snow scenes, of course. I even
wrote down a line from the
young girl Clementine about
snow. “Even the smallest
snowflake can turn into the
biggest snowball,” she said.
A lot has been said and writ-
ten about the snowflake.
Another well-known quote:
“Snowflakes are one of na-
ture’s most fragile things, but
just look what they can do
when they stick together,” --
Vista M. Kelly.
A fun grandma project is
to teach the little ones how
to fold white paper, cut out
snowflake patterns and paste
them on the window.
I’m sure we’ve all heard the
expression “no two alike”
in reference to snowflakes.
Wikipedia tells us that “Ini-
tial attempts to find identical
snowflakes by photograph-
ing thousands of them with
a microscope began in 1885
onward by Wilson Alwyn
Bentley (an American me-
teorologist and photogra-
pher).”
He gave names to many
of the patterns and detailed
their amazing colors as they
journeyed to earth. By the
way, reading further on we
find that Bentley lived until
1931 and never did find any
two snowflakes that were
alike.
Another thing I learned is
that snow is always white by
the time it reaches earth even
though it is made of clear
crystal. As it passes through
the atmosphere, things hap-
pen. I wonder if our astro-
nauts currently in outer
space see snowflakes differ-
ently than on earth.
And, yes, I am dreaming
of a white Christmas, as I do
every year. Having lived in
Michigan and Minnesota, we
had many a white Christmas.
C.S. Lewis once said, “You
are never too old to set an-
other goal or to dream a new
dream.”
Having lived in snow coun-
try, I even know where snow-
men keep their money. Don’t
tell anyone, but it’s in a snow-
bank.
We can be thankful and
dream of making a snowman
soon. So, let it snow! Let it
snow! Let it snow!
during the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
It’s also a critically import-
ant time for each of us to con-
tinue making the sacrifices
necessary to keep ourselves
and our loved ones healthy
through the winter.
With some creativity and
planning, you can make the
holidays special this year.
And perhaps you’ll even start
a new holiday tradition with
your family.
Here are some ideas to get
you in the holiday spirit:
• Recipe Exchange: Start a
chain-mail recipe swap with
neighbors, family or friends.
Send three people one of your
favorite recipes. Ask them to
send you one back, and to pass
it on to three more people.
• Play Secret Santa: Sur-
prise someone you care about
with a delicious dinner on
their doorstep. You could
cook yourself, or order take-
out from one of our great lo-
cal restaurants. Your gift will
bring you and the person you
surprise a warm, holiday feel-
ing.
• Cookie Muncher’s Delight:
Call up some friends or fami-
ly and set a cookie date. Make
enough cookies to share and
send or deliver them to each
other on your chosen day.
• Celebrating together: When
the big day rolls around, be
sure that you’re celebrating
safely. Virtual gatherings are
the safest way to be with your
loved ones.
Perhaps you could start the
morning with a cooking les-
son from the elders in your
family. You don’t have to be
Julia Childs to put on your
own cooking show. This is a
the holidays together. You can
finish the day with a toast and
a special holiday drink or des-
sert.
If you decide to have an
in-person gathering, consid-
er holding your celebration
outside around a fire pit. Or
have a tailgate party with each
household bringing their own
food.
Remember, gathering with
another household is a high-
er-risk activity. To make it as
safe as possible, limit other
in-person activities before and
after your gathering. When
gathering, don’t share silver-
ware or dishes; be vigilant
about washing your hands be-
fore eating and after using the
restroom; maintain a social
distance between households
not eating or drinking.
You can have your Christ-
mas cake and eat it too. Plan
ahead and have those conver-
sations early so that everyone
you love can enjoy the holi-
days.
This is a hard time, but it will
pass. When the next holiday
season rolls around, we want
everyone to be able to gather
and celebrate. But to do that,
we need to celebrate a bit dif-
ferently this year.
Here’s to Your Health is
sponsored by Columbia Me-
morial Hospital. Kelley Cru-
sius is a physician assistant
and Mari Montesano is a li-
censed clinical social worker
at the CMH-OHSU Knight
Cancer Collaborative.
Groups receive cultural grants
Six local cultural groups re-
ceived grants from the Clat-
sop County Cultural Coalition
for projects planned in 2021.
The recipients are:
•North Coast Chorale:
$2000 to hire instrumental-
ists for a performance of “The
Healer,” composed by Karl
Jenkins.
•Little
Ballet
Theatre:
$2,000 to acquisition a new,
safe performance floor for
annual “Nutcracker” produc-
tions.
•Tillicum
Foundation:
$2,000 for virtual access to
performances of music, the-
ater and dance.
•Coaster Theatre Play-
house: $1,100 to produce and
film two shows.
•Trail’s End Art Associa-
tion: $1,200 for a work table
to expand programs to artists
with disabilities.
•Partners for the PAC:
$1,200 for a string musician
workshop and artist-in-resi-
dence program.
Special columns in The Columbia Press
Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards
Week 1: Here’s to Your Health from CMH
Week 2: Financial Focus with Adam Miller
Week 3: Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen
Final week: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer