The Good Life - June 24, 2018

Sunday, June 24, 2018

The Good Life!

A New Zealand adventure Summer soirees Aging in place

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SUNDAY, JUNE 24 2018

Photographer unites veteran's widow with Korean War-vintage photos farm, stretch out on the living room floor and tell the kids about the war. They loved hearing about his days in the Army. He talked about the Korean culture and things he saw and experienced. He was a great dad, and it was a big help for me, too,” she said.

As they went through the memoir and photos Justin had scanned on his computer, they discovered several more photos of Rudy, as well as duplicate or similar images. There’s also one of Rudy and Henry together, slouching in the cab of a military ambulance truck.

“It’s one of those photos where you can imagine someone coming by and saying, ‘Hey, you guys,

let me snap your photo,’ and they’re trying to look too cool for school,” Justin explained.

Helen is thrilled to have shared Rudy’s stories with Justin. “It makes me feel closer to Rudy, as if he were here.”

They were recently interviewed on video by the Grout Museum.

“This generation has a wealth of stories to tell and once they’re gone, the stories are gone too.

I hope to inspire other families to go through their photos and family histories and save them, preserve them for future generations,” Justin said.

He also plans to give copies of his grandfather’s photos to as many families as he can find.

MATTHEW PUTNEY/COURIER PHOTO EDITOR

Justin Scott found photos of Korean War soldiers in his late grandfather belongings and is working to reunite them with the soldiers’ families.

MELODY PARKER melody.parker@wcfcourier.com

TAMA – Numerous old blackand-white photos and photo albums, including a couple of lacquered and heavily embellished albums, were scattered across Helen Brezina’s dining room table. Helen and Justin Scott, a professional photographer from Denver, had their heads together, studying photos of solemn-faced young men in uniform and reading the captions.

“Rudy would have loved to see these photos,” Helen said. “He was proud of his military service, like a lot of other guys, but he was happy to come home, too.”

Rudolph “Rudy” Brezina served as a medic during the Korean War, aiding wounded soldiers and recovering the dead along the 38th Parallel between South and North Korea. He died in 2014 at age 84. Scott’s grandfather, Henry, drove ambulances in the same area during the conflict and, it turns out, Rudy and

Henry were buddies.

If Justin hadn’t gotten tired of stumbling over totes filled with his grandfather’s photos, it would never have been known that the men shared some history. When his grandpa died several years ago, Justin made it a point to rescue old photos and documents to preserve as part of the Scott family history.

“I took four or five totes filled with stuff, and every time my wife and I moved, the totes went with us. Finally I got tired of stumbling over them and decided to do something about it,” Justin recalled.

That’s when Justin discovered the photos his grandfather had snapped in Korea. “This is the camera Grandpa used to take the photos. It did a good job – the images are well-exposed,” he said, showing Helen the boxy Kodak Brownie camera. It still looked in good enough shape to take pictures.

His grandfather also took care to carefully label each photo with

a name or write a funny caption, such as the one for the 1950s-style selfie he took of his own uniformed reflection in a mirror: “Do I look like a soldier?”

Justin decided he would try to unite the nearly 70-yearold photos with the veterans or MATTHEW PUTNEY/COURIER PHOTO EDITOR their families and began with the Helen Brezina looks at photos of Brezina’s late husband Rudy Brezina first photo he came across. He from the Korean War. Googled Rudy Brezina’s name and found his obituary, and then contacted the Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home.

“I received a phone call from a woman at the funeral home who said a young man from Denver had a photo of my husband he’d like me to have,” Helen explained.

Justin arrived at her front door with the idea of handing over the photo, exchanging pleasantries and leaving. “But she’d made cookies,” he said, smiling.

She has been happy to share the stories Rudy had told about his service, including the memoir he wrote, “My Time in Korea.”

“We had five kids, and he’d In this photo found by Justin Scott in his late grandfather’s belongings, come home after working on the Rudy Brezina and Henry Scott sit on a truck during the Korean War.

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Suprising conclusion about marathon runners and arthritis

Cedar Valley’s Premier Retirement Community COURTESY PHOTO

AMBY BURFOOT Special to the Washington Post

A new study comes to the somewhat counterintuitive conclusion that marathon runners have less arthritis than non-runners.

Most people would assume that serious runners face a high risk for arthritis of the hip and knees. Yet prior research has generally failed to uncover such a connection. The most recent study, published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, actually found that veteran American marathoners had only half as much arthritis as non-runners.

According to alarming new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, arthritis now represents a $300 billion annual burden.

Researchers from the orthopedic department at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University compared arthritis rates between 430 U.S. marathoners and a matched sample of non-runners in the National Center for Health Statistics database.

The marathoners (average age 46, and 51 percent women) had been running for an average of 19 years, logging 35 miles a week, and finishing 48 marathons.

Despite this, they had an arthritis prevalence of 8.8 percent vs.

17.9 percent for non-runners.

Aging past 65 did increase the marathoners’ arthritis rate - to 24.5 percent. But this was still roughly half the 49.6 percent of non-runners older than 65.

The team from Thomas Jefferson believes marathoners and other runners may gain arthritis

protection from muscle development, body weight control, decreased levels of inflammatory agents and the well-known bone strengthening that follows moderate-impact sports.

If you’re running healthy, stay the course, advises Thomas Jefferson orthopedist Danielle Ponzio. If you’re thinking about beginning a running program but are concerned about arthritis, don’t worry. Just begin slowly and progress moderately. “Running is not harmful to healthy hips and knees,” Ponzio says. “In fact, it promotes joint and general health.” Those runners who do develop arthritis often get it after earlier injury or surgery, or from family genetics.

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Must-have recipes for summer soirees 1 cup Baker’s Corner Granulated Sugar 1 cup water 2 bottles (750 milliliters each) Trestoria Rosé, chilled 5 cans (12 ounces each) Alternating chicken and PurAqua Belle Vie Grapepineapple, pierce onto fruit Sparkling Water, skewers. chilled Grill skewers 8 minutes 2 cans (12 ounces each) each side, or until chicken is PurAqua Belle Vie Lemon cooked thoroughly.

Sparkling Water, chilled To make Lemon-Cucumber In small pot, combine Salsa: In medium bowl, combine lemon, cucumber, ginger, sugar and water to make simple syrup. Bring to onion, honey and pepper. boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely in Serve lemon-cucumber refrigerator. salsa over cooked chicken skewers.

Strain simple syrup and In small bowl, combine oil, salt and pepper. Add chicken and pineapple; toss to coat.

Summer is all about enjoying the warm weather with family and friends, but even with the longer summer days, the season can feel short for many. That’s why it’s important to make the most of summer by maximizing your fun in the sun with some of the best memorie being made while entertaining al fresco.

For a fun-filled, yet relaxing summer, it’s important to keep the essentials on-hand for easy entertaining. From bright decor to refreshing drinks and fresh ingredients, party prep ensures you save time and money, and are always ready to wine and dine your guests.

No matter the occasion, a store like ALDI can be your guide to summer entertaining with everything you need to celebrate the season, including high-quality and

affordable ingredients for this summer’s must-have recipes.

A fresh and easy recipe to try this summer is Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Skewers with Lemon-Cucumber Salsa. This entree pairs perfectly with a crisp, fruit-forward wine like Exquisite Collection Sauvignon Blanc or Trestoria Rosé from ALDI. When there’s a crowd to serve, consider mixing up a pitcher of Citrus Ginger Rosé Punch.

1 pineapple 2 tablespoons Carlini Vegetable Oil 1/2 teaspoon Stonemill Iodized Salt 1 teaspoon Stonemill Ground Black Pepper 1 3/4 pounds Never Any! Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, diced into 1-inch pieces

Tip: Supreme citrus fruit by cutting off top and bottom of fruit then cut away peel and pith, leaving no white on outside of fruit. Slice each segment into wedges by cutting toward center of fruit along membrane.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Alyssa, ALDI Test Kitchen

Citrus Ginger Rosé Punch 1/2 cup minced ginger

discard ginger.

In large punch bowl or pitcher, combine rosé, grapefruit sparkling water and lemon sparkling water.

Add simple syrup.

Serve in chilled glasses.

Tip: Freeze lemon slices in ice cube trays or silicone muffin trays and add them to punch for pop of color.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Leigh An, ALDI Test Kitchen

Lemon-Cucumber Salsa:

1 lemon, supremed 1 cucumber, diced 1/2 red onion, diced Find more seasonal recipe 1 tablespoon SimplyNature ideas to celebrate summer at Organic Wildflower Honey ALDI.us.

1 teaspoon Stonemill Ground Black Pepper

Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Skewers with Lemon-Cucumber Salsa Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Servings: 4 8 skewers

Soak wooden skewers for 15 minutes prior to grilling.

Heat grill to medium-high heat.

Remove rind from pineapple and dice into 1-inch pieces.

COURTESY PHOTOS

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Stir up summer in a glass with 3 new easy, breezy cocktail books

CHICAGO TRIBUNE PHOTO

drinking.

“Session Cocktails” (Ten Speed Press, $18.99), authored by drinks writer Though the official start Drew Lazor and editors of of summer is a few weeks Punch, an online beveroff, the signs of the season already abound: Air so thick age magazine, dissects the you can slice it with a knife, wonders of its subject, “sessionability.” Unfamiliar with oppressive sun beating down our heads, arms slick the term? Over the past few years, the cocktail world, with sunscreen. Ah, yes, from writers to mixologists, summer is here, all right, and what’s the best antidote has been touting lowerto sweating out the minutes proof drinking instead of knocking back highly spiruntil cool autumn? An iceited sips. Session drinking cold drink in hand. celebrates low-alcohol sipLuckily, a new collection ping with friends, the better of cocktail books will help to keep your wits about slake your thirst while you without the threatenteaching you some new tricks to bust out at summer ing scourge of drunkenness or hangovers. In “Session parties. Incidentally, these three books are published by Cocktails,” Lazor introduces Ten Speed Press, an imprint readers to easy-drinking riffs on classics like the of Penguin Random House margarita and Manhattan, known for its beverage ofalongside contemporary ferings, offering welcome points of view for better recipes culled from some JOSEPH HERNANDEZ Chicago Tribune

of the country’s top drinks professionals, arming you with a few cocktails perfect for last-minute guests or afternoon barbecues.

In “Drinking Distilled” (Ten Speed Press, $16.99) celebrated bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler invites curious novices and expert drinkers into his world.

Dubbed a “user’s manual,” the book covers such varied topics as gendered drinking, serving bachelor and bachelorette parties, tipping your bartender and how to stock your home bar. Morgenthaler brings more than two decades of industry expertise to bear, though he does so with a congenial, conversational air. This book is as easy to read and enjoy as drinking a cocktail.

Founding editor of Serious Eats’ drinks section, Maggie Hoffman knows a thing or two about building a home

bar. In her book, “The One Bottle Cocktail” (Ten Speed Press, $22), she effectively tells you to stick to just that: One bottle, whether it be gin or bourbon or agave spirits. “None of these drinks require bitters, vermouth or liqueurs,” she writes in her introduction. “There’s no amaro, no aperitif wine, no absinthe. Just one bottle of booze — which you might already have in your liquor cabinet or on your mantel — and ingredients you can find at your favorite grocery store.” Over the course of 80 cocktails, Hoffman shows you how to make complex, flavorful drinks with chef-y twists on common ingredients like maple syrup, honey, even vinegar. Not a

bad skill if you don’t have room for a full bar at home, or if you don’t stray far from your gin-and-tonic routine.

Session Margarita Prep: 5 minutes Makes: 1 cocktail 1 1/2 ounces manzanilla Sherry 3/4 ounce tequila or mezcal 3/4 ounce orange liqueur (preferably Combier) 3/4 ounce lime juice 1 barspoon agave syrup Pinch of salt Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.

Garnish with a lime wheel.

Source: Recipe from “Session Cocktails.”

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New Zealand hot spot a version of Yellowstone M.L. LYKE Special to the Washington Post

I’d been warned about the stink. It hit me the instant I stepped off the plane in Rotorua: a mix of bad egg and warm sewer gas that has earned this city on New Zealand’s North Island the nickname “Sulphur City” - or, less kindly, “Rotten-Rua.” I sucked in a deep breath and smiled. That subterranean scent meant I would soon be soaking in curative hot springs, smothering my body in primeval goo and exploring a land of burping mud pots, prismatic pools, boiling rivers and shooting geysers.

The Rotorua region, one of the world’s most geothermally active areas, is the Southern Hemisphere’s take on Yellowstone minus bison, bears and backedup crowds. Gases and steam hiss out of everywhere: In pastures, in backyards, in the middle of the city’s huffing lakeside park, where visitors find free thermal foot baths and cautionary danger signs. Modern-day eruptions there have thrown football-size chunks of mud and rock many stories high.

That volatility is, to borrow a Kiwi phrase, “a bit of a worry.”

But locals who live on this thin crust of quake-prone, jerkedabout earth with molten rock stirring beneath them remain unflappable. They’re used to a landscape constantly being made and remade by eruptive geological forces. “It’s a new country,” one genial fellow reassured me with a shrug. “Things are going to happen.”

Boosters began pitching the healing properties of Rotorua’s hot, mineral-rich springs and geothermal attractions in the 1880s, when they created the town as a tourist destination. In recent years, their descendants have upped the ante, casting the region as the adventure capital of the North Island: “New Zealand’s coolest hot spot.”

They’ve done their job well.

Last year, an estimated 3.8 million visitors flocked here, Kiwis slightly outnumbering international visitors. When they’re not detoxifying in mineral water at a local spa, tramping through acres of geothermal oddities or learning about native Maori traditions at a cultural center, tourists shell out dollars to raft Class 5 rapids, bungee jump, parasail, “zorb” down hills in large plastic balls, go on four-wheel-drive bush safaris, ride zip lines, negotiate courses of high ropes and zip downhill on a little land luge.

Before any thrills, I needed to chill. As soon as we set down our bags, my jet-lagged friends and I beelined to the popular Polynesian Spa in downtown Rotorua.

We arrived early and avoided the afternoon busloads of chattering tourists with their telescoping selfie sticks. I put on my jandals (Kiwi for flip-flops), took off my jewelry (silver turns black in sulfuric water), stripped to my bathing suit and started hopping from pool to pool - our “adult” package (about $22) included numerous mineral pools and no kids.

As I steeped in 100-plus-degree waters said to ease arthritic pain and promote ageless beauty, I slowly unwound, taking in the sweeping views of Lake Rotorua and the vapors trailing across it. This huge, water-filled volcanic caldera has, in recent years, spontaneously erupted in 60-foot geysers.

It’s a new country, I thought.

Things happen.

Rejuvenated and rested, I sat down to make a list of gotta-gos, sorting through the brochures I’d picked up at the helpful i-SITE information center downtown.

With limited funds and time, I was barely going to scratch the surface.

My first pick was the luge ride at an over-the-top, top-ofthe-hill funtopia called Skyline Rotorua, with gondolas, zip lines,

CHICAGO TRIBUNE PHOTO A boardwalk crosses the steaming pool at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. The structure rests on specially treated timber and is secured by stainless steel pens.

a sky swing, gnarly mountainbiking trails, fine dining and an on-site winery. I have a fondness for go-carts, and was a sucker for the toboggan-like luges - even though they had three wheels, not four, and felt a bit like an oversize plastic roller skate as I stuffed myself in. Within minutes, I turned into a grinning 6-year-old again, flying past braking slowpokes and screaming around corners on the paved tracks. Wheee! Five rides, with ski-lifts back uphill and a trip to and from the mountaintop in a gondola, cost about $43. A small price to be a kid again.

The next outing was greener and serener. We ponied up about $108 each for a three-hour experience at Rotorua Canopy Tours with suspension bridges, zip lines and an eco-excursion to one of the island’s rare bits of virgin forest. It was exciting to fly 70 feet high between ancient trees, looking down on giant ferns that reached skyward, crisscrossing and competing for sunlight.

Between flights, we bathed below in dense forest, listening to symphonies of birdsong - trilling melodies with throaty cackles and chuckles for a rhythm section. Our well-versed guides explained how native birds had been decimated in the country’s forests by introduced land mammals: Rats, stoats, pigs, cats, opossums and other bad influences. A percentage of our tour fees helped fund a program to trap on-site predators.

Even though it was almost two hours away, I had to see Waitomo and its famous network of ancient underground caves. Dozens of operators run tours by foot and boat. You can even rappel into the caves. We chose “cave tubing” with Tube It, about $108 each for a two-hour trip. We donned wet suits, helmets and headlamps, grabbed an inner tube and climbed down narrow, wooden steps into a mysterious black hole. Inside was a dripping otherworld of stalactites, craggy close walls and a blackwater

stream. We waded into the dark water waist-high, then chesthigh, turned off our headlamps and lay back on our tubes, which were pulled along by guides as we took in the sight above us: Millions of glowworms, hanging from tiny threads, shining like stars in the pitch dark. It was like being thrown floating into the universe.

Our gotta-go list included four geothermal parks. The youngest, 16 miles south of Rotorua, was Waimangu Volcanic Valley, with an entry cost of about $28. The place was leveled by an apocalyptic volcanic eruption in 1886, but has come back to life with lush, hearty vegetation acclimated to the extreme thermal and acidic soil conditions. We took a slow, 1 1/2-hour hike through the steaming rivers, silica terraces, lakes and hillsides, savoring the weird and wild beauty.

The most colorful park, WaiO-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, was a few miles down the road.

(Entry cost about $24.) Manga-

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THE COURIER Our favorite spot, though, was the rural Waikite Valley Thermal Pools, a 25-minute drive south of Rotorua, far enough to discourage bus clumps of tourists. The place has a simple, natural feel, with local newspapers advertising fertilizer sprayers, service bulls, diggers, bulldozers and numbered ear tags. I loved the sign next to the help-yourself water pitcher that said: “No we don’t have wi-fi. Sorry. Talk to each other.”

A warning sign at Hell’s Gate thermal park, 50 acres of steaming, rumbling geothermal landscape.

nese, iron, sulfur and salts have painted the place in yellows and reds, purples and greens. The stunning Champagne Pool, 165 degrees on the surface, was a vivid teal rimmed by a rusty orange, a color linked to arsenic and antimony sulfides. I loved walking the boardwalks built atop mineral terraces, lost in clouds of drifting hot steam. But the collapsed craters that pocked the park gave me pause. When would the earth crack open and the next giant hole appear?

The closest geothermal park to downtown was Te Puia, which combines geological features with an introduction to native Maori culture. Our entry, which cost about $50, included a visit to workshops at the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and a lively 45-minute Maori dance and music performance with a welcoming ceremony. The muscled, bare-chested male greeter, in a short kilt called a piupiu, rushed at us with a fierce face and a feathered spear, held aloft.

I remembered the first time I’d seen New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team challenge their adversaries on the field with this haka posturing - wide eyes,

stuck-out tongue. Scary. In the best way.

I’d just learned about Ruaumoko, the powerful and restless Maori god trapped underground (and none too happy about it), who is said to rumble about and cause volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. I hoped he was in a good mood as we walked Te Puia’s trails, past boiling mud pots that spit up bloops of hot gray sludge like oatmeal on a too-high flame. The highlight was Pohutu Geyser, which regularly erupts almost 100 feet high, spewing from an oozing mineral-stained terrace of fuming fissures. They all seemed, in my overheated imagination, ready to blow at any instant.

The mud baths and sulfur pools at Hell’s Gate were a big attraction. This hyperactive geothermal reserve, 15 minutes by car from town, was named by writer George Bernard Shaw, who said that this must be the “gateway to hell” and dubbed one of its 200-plus-degree, super-acidic pools “Sodom and Gomorrah.” A sign nearby warns: “People who throw litter or stones into the thermal pools may be asked to retrieve them.”

CHICAGO TRIBUNE PHOTOS

Wandering the grounds with an informative guide - we were first to arrive and had him to ourselves - we saw the clear, boiling pools that the Maori used for cooking and a sulfuric waterfall where native warriors healed wounds and washed away the blood of battle. By midmorning, we had eased into the park’s milk-chocolate-colored mud pools. The goo oozed between my toes, soft and silky. I started grabbing big gobs of it and covered myself and my friends until we were no longer recognizable.

The mud cratered and cracked on my face as it dried. When I rinsed off, my cheeks felt oddly sleek and smooth, as if I were wearing someone else’s skin. The cost of the tour, mud bath and sulfur soaking pools was about $65.

Everywhere we went, we sampled hot springs. We liked the Blue Baths in downtown Rotorua, housed in a handsome, 1930s art deco building, with an entry cost of about $8. The warm waters of the big mineral pool were like velvet. We had the place almost all to ourselves, and we discovered a brilliant piano player on afternoon shift upstairs in the tearoom.

Entry was modest, about $13.

There was no sulfur stink, and the setting was stunning. The multiple pools looked out on a roly-poly landscape as green as a golf course. Below, clouds rose from a nearly 200-degree stream fed by a spring that is the largest single source of natural, boiling geothermal water in the country.

After a quick soak, my friend and I hiked to see the spring, which also feeds the thermal pools. The short trail was shrouded in mist and outlined by

PAGE 7 big ferns. I felt as if I were walking back in time, into the age of the dinosaurs. When I reached the trail’s end, I could barely make out the boiling spring through the blur. Then, for an instant, everything cleared and my breath caught in my chest. That boiling water was rising, climbing one foot, two, more. Would it stop?

“Wow. Did you . . . ?” I asked my partner. She nodded. “Whoa.”

Even when the boil died down, and our vocabulary recovered, I was still rattled.

There was only one cure for my geothermal jitters: More hot water. I hurried back to the mineral pools, slipped out of my jandals and went neck-deep, mmm-ing and sighing, looking out on all that vivid green clouded in steam. Slowly, I began to melt again, a stranger in a stranger land, strangely content.

For information: rotoruanz. com/visit/travel-kit/i-site; bookme.co.nz/rotorua

Minerals give the Champagne Pool at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland its trademark color. At the surface, the water is about 165 degrees.

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5 must-have home features for comfortable living As we move through the different stages in our lives, our housing needs change too. The home you were excited to move into in your 30s might not be ideal for those now nearing retirement.

According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, between 2015 and 2035, the number of people over the age of 75 living alone will nearly double from 6.9 million to 13.4 million. Being prepared for retirement and aging is important, so we're going to take a closer look at the specific housing features that would most benefit those who are looking to downsize or find that perfect home to "age in."

1. Walk-in showers Installing a walk-in bathtub

or large shower is a good idea for ease and safety. Having extra room to move is not only aging-friendly, but a timeless trend that is easy to maintain.

Clayton, one of America's largest homebuilders, features optional walk-in showers with benches that are available in many of their homes. This is a feature that's great at any age.

2. Wide doors and hallways Spacious doors and wide hallways do the double duty of making your home look great while providing enough space to maneuver a wheelchair or walker through if needed.

3. Open floor plans A home design trend that is perfect for any homeowner age is an open floor plan. But for

boomers, an open floor plan is more than just an aesthetic feature. Having wide spaces that allow you to move around is essential to maintaining your independence as you grow older. It also helps add more natural light and is ideal when gathering with family and friends.

5. A customizable floor plan The features listed so far are part of what is commonly known as age-in-place design.

These home features work for people of all ages, but are designed so you can age into

them. In addition, make sure the home you purchase is single-story and fits the lifestyle you want for your future.

Source: Brandpoint

4. Low maintenance Fixing up an older home with good bones might look fun on TV, but it's not something you will want to deal with in your retirement. Rather than trying to troubleshoot problem after problem, look for a newly constructed home. Not only will you have fewer maintenance issues, but you can design a flexible floor plan that fits your lifestyle.

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New services, technologies can help with aging in place

AP PHOTOS A Meals on Wheels American Volunteer delivers a meal to a homebound senior in Trenton, N.J. From ride-sharing apps to grocery deliveries, digital door locks to “smart” medicine dispensers, more help than ever is out there to help people live safely and comfortably in their own homes as they get older.

KATHERINE ROTH Associated Press

There is nothing quite as devastating for many older people as having to leave the comfort of home because of poor health or limited mobility.

But a new generation of services and technology is making it possible to stay at home longer, safely and happily, experts say.

“Most people would rather stay in their own homes as they age, and technology has made that easier in so many ways,” says Amy Goyer, a family and caregiving expert with the AARP and author of “Juggling Life, Work, and Caregiving,” published by

the AARP and the American Bar Association.

“There are a lot of resources to tap into, even for those on a limited budget.”

She recommends starting with the “caregiving” page of AARP. org and your local Area Agency on Aging network (see www.n4a. org ), which is federally funded and also can lead you to a range of state and local resources.

Beyond technology, a little creativity often goes a long way toward helping people manage to live at home longer, Goyer says.

“If a person can’t do stairs, for example, consider ways to put everything they need on the main floor, like maybe bringing

a washing machine up from the basement,” she says.

Some of the latest services and technologies that make it easier to “age in place”: SAFETY Digital locks, which can be part of a smart home system, can be set so the door is unlocked for a small window of time to allow a caregiver into the house. Different codes can be set up for different people. They can be monitored from afar on phones, as can digital doorbells, which might help both the hearing and mobility impaired.

Digital medication dispensers can send text notifications

to loved ones to let them know whether someone has taken their pills. Cameras can be installed so loved ones know whether home health aides have come by. And there is a wide range of medical alert systems, some even including a GPS. “My aunt fell in a parking lot and luckily someone was there and picked her up, but if they hadn’t been there, a medical alert system could have made a world of a difference,” Goyer says.

Also, simple things like lowering thresholds, improving lighting, putting in railings and removing small rugs can make a home much safer.

TRANSPORTATION Many counties and community agencies have some kind of senior taxi run by volunteers to take seniors to doctors’ appointments, grocery stores, senior centers and other errands. Ridesharing companies have also proven helpful for many. The site www.GoGoGrandparent.com , for example, is designed to be easy to use for seniors — they don’t need to use a phone — and taps into local ride-sharing services. It can be paid for by relatives living out of town, who also receive notifications of pickups and drop-offs.

Justin Boorgaard co-founded the company with friend David Lung in 2016 to help Boorgaard’s grandmother maintain her mobility and independence.

“Her independence, and the independence given back to her family is something we believe the world needs,” he says. “We screen drivers and use only those with the best reviews. We filter them to make sure they have cars with room for walkers, canes, foldable wheelchairs or service dogs, and we step in to help if something’s not going right.”

FOOD “Meals are a big thing when you’re trying to set everything up for aging at home, and a lot of people don’t have the energy or ability to cook for themselves,” Goyer says.

In addition to Meals on Wheels, which is administered by local communities and delivers reasonably priced prepared meals to those unable to cook for themselves, “there are all kinds of interesting options out there for all kinds of budgets,” she says.

Services like BlueApron and HelloFresh will deliver either ingredients or meals, and Pea Pod , Amazon Fresh and InstaCart can deliver groceries and other items across most of the country.

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“Even grocery stores that don’t have a delivery service will often deliver grocery bags out to the car for those who can drive up,” Goyer says.

laundry.

Caregivers, too, should make sure they have supports in place for themselves as well as their loved ones.

SUPPORT The Agency on Aging and other local groups often have lists of services, many run by volunteers, that can provide help with household chores as simple as changing a light bulb or doing the

SOCIAL NETWORK Isolation and loneliness are health threats that should not be taken lightly, Goyer says.

Faith-based organizations often have networks of people who can stop by and say hello

THE GOOD LIFE every so often. Goyer says it’s also worth looking into national programs like the Foster Grandparent Program, which pairs seniors with younger people, and also the Senior Companion Program and the Senior Corps volunteer program. All are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the same organization that runs the Americorps volunteer program, and can be found at www.nation-

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Many communities have started a Village to Village Network , where people can pool resources to get things done more efficiently; for example, someone who can drive might deliver groceries to a neighbor in exchange for a cooked meal.

“Sometimes it takes some creative thinking to figure out all the pieces of the puzzle,” Goyer says.

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A Meals on Wheels volunteer delivers a meal to a senior in Baltimore.

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