U Magazine - October 2014

Breast Cancer

Warrior

Katy Yoder’s Yearlong Battle

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U Magazine Table of Contents

Contributors .........................................................................................4

In The Spotlight Living Positive, Staying Strong .........................................................5 Katy Yoder is a breast cancer warrior, and her story is inspiring.

Singing in Harmony ........................................................................ 10 Harmony4Women lends their voices to help local nonprofits.

A Skilled Leader.................................................................................13 Fire Captain Tricia Connolly is dedicated to her community.

The Compelling Edge .......................................................................22 Sandy Cummings wants to tell the story at High Desert Museum.

Knowledge & Advice Welcome Home: How to Love Your Home .....................................9 Fun on the Road: Holiday Travel Toys ...........................................16 Gorgeous Gourds................................................................................18 High Desert Life Styles: Boot Boogie ............................................. 21 What We’re Reading..........................................................................25 Caring for Others: Your Parents and Caregiving .........................26 Homemade Halloween ....................................................................27 At the Workplace: A Stress-Free Career is Possible...................... 31

U Magazine

Editor’s Note In 1985, the first National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Body wasCopy founded.

That same year, a local high school teacher and counselor by the name of Sara Fisher was diagnosed with breast cancer. For the next seven years, she along with thousands of other women fought the good fight against the unknown.

Because truth be told, back in 1985, there wasn’t a whole lot known about the disease. It was relatively uncharted territory, and women who were diagnosed with breast cancer often went through years of treatments riddled with pain and uncertainty.

In her honor, St. Charles Health System helped organize Sara’s Project, a breast health education and outreach partnership.

During the 30 years since National Breast Cancer Awareness Month was established, the campaign has evolved and taken on a life of its own. Its purpose is still the same: to increase awareness of the disease and raise funds for researching its cause, prevention, diagnosis and cure. But now, hundreds of advocacy groups like Sara’s Project help push the campaign beyond just the month of October. And the greater awareness has led to early detection, successful treatments … and fewer deaths.

In the next few pages, U Magazine tells the story of another beloved local woman who took on breast cancer in 2013. Katy Yoder’s story is an inspiration, but she along with Fisher are only two women out of hundreds of thousands who have been diagnosed in the U.S. And for that alone, we hope this 30-year campaign never stops searching for that cure.

Althea Borck, editor

is a product of The Bulletin’s

Special Projects Division, P.O. Box 6020, Bend, OR 97708.

All content is the property of The Bulletin/Western Communications Inc., and maynot be reproduced without written permission. Printed

by Northwest Web Press, www.northwestwebpress.com Story ideas may be submitted to editor Althea Borck for consideration. Contact her at 541-383-0379 or aborck@ bendbulletin.com

Staff members for The Bulletin’s special projects division include: Martha Tiller, Special Projects Manager; Althea Borck, Special Projects Editor; Stacie Oberson, Special Projects Coordinator; and Kari Mauser, Special Projects Editorial Assistant.

Cover photo by Kevin Prieto / Model: Katy Yoder with her horse, Willow

U Magazine is on Facebook!

Visit us a www.facebook.com/u.magazine.oregon

Published: Saturday, October 18, 2014 To subscribe or learn more about all our publications, call 541-385-5800 or visit us at www.bendbulletin.com

U Magazine | October 2014 | 3

U Magazine CON TR IBUTORS

ANNISSA ANDERSON, a freelance writer and public relations consultant, also studied culinary arts and worked as a pastry chef in another life. Though she’s lived in the Northwest for the past 20 years, she spent her childhood living abroad.

An avid crocheter and origamist, JOHN CAL worked as a baker, head chef, ukuleleist and Sno-Cat driver before settling into writing. He enjoys filling his time with yoga, postcard writing and collecting bowties. John also collects candy from around the world — he has a 100-plus specimen collection (and counting) — and lives in Sisters with his dog, Hank.

A junior advertising student at the University of Oregon, MOLLY HOVER spends her free time consuming the media in various ways — online and off. Her aspirations for advertising include writing, of which she is getting wonderful experience by freelancing for The Bulletin’s Special Projects. For her, the world offers an endless possibility of stories waiting to be discovered.

TARA LAVELLE is a native Oregonian who has been writing feature stories for local newspapers in Central Oregon for more than 10 years. She stays busy playing with her 6-year-old son and his two dogs, who she affectionately calls the “numskulls.” She also has two grown daughters, and her first grandchild is on the way. Her family loves camping, riding dirt bikes, river walks and gardening.

Enthusiastic and outgoing, BRIDGET MCGINN enjoys meeting new people and sharing their stories. She spends her days working as a marketing and advertising professional, making photos or documentary films and spending time with her family. She may also be seen being dragged along the end of the leash of her newly adopted beagle puppy.

GREGG MORRIS is a local freelance writer and musician. You can find him around town finishing articles at the local tea shop, performing with his band Organic Music Farm or homeschooling his 10-year-old daughter.

Supposed free time is spent in the woods with his wife and daughter or skillfully executing his duties as a member of the Deschutes County Search and Rescue team.

After three decades in Seattle, SUE STAFFORD returned home to Oregon to put down roots in Sisters. The “dry side,” with its beauty, weather and slower pace, affords her the opportunity to pursue her gardening, hiking, and movie going. Sue’s experiences with motherhood, teaching, fundraising, horticultural and expressive arts therapies, and hospice case management inform her writing.

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Living Positive, Staying Strong Katy Yoder bravely charged into battle with breast cancer a year ago — and has made a point to see the good through all the bad.

by Susan Stafford, for The Bulletin Special Projects / photos by Kevin Prieto

T

he first things you notice about Katy Yoder are her startlingly blue eyes and her quick bright smile. Behind those eyes and that smile resides a passionate fundraiser and organizer, loving wife and mother, accomplished equestrian, freelance writer, devoted daughter and sister, and loyal friend.

For the past year, in the toughest role of her life, Katy has become a breast cancer warrior. Diagnosed in July 2013, after briefly dismissing the transient lump in her right breast as simply due to hormonal changes, she bravely girded herself with a phenomenally positive attitude and the support of all those who love her, to take on an enemy with whom she was only too familiar.

Her father, Robert Muir Graves, lost his seven-year bout with cancer of the parotid gland in 2003. Katy often tapped into the memories of her dad and how heroic he was through his ordeal.

“He didn’t let the surgeries, the pain and body changes stop him from continuing to work,” she said. “He even kept teaching as a guest speaker at Harvard in golf course architecture. His cancer had affected his speech and his face looked like he’d had a stroke,

but he kept on going anyway. With that kind of an example, I knew I could do it, too.”

Besides her father, Katy’s cousin had ovarian cancer and her uncle contracted pancreatic cancer. The combination of breast, pancreatic and ovarian cancer in one family qualified Katy for genetic testing to determine if her breast cancer had genetic origins. It did not and, as Katy said, that made her a breast cancer pioneer in her family.

Family and Horses

In addition to the courageous example of her father, Katy had a lifetime of strong family connections and positive life experiences to draw on for strength to face her opponent.

Growing up in Walnut Creek, Calif., on a family compound with nine cousins, two sets of aunts and uncles, grandparents, and a great-grandmother, Katy and her two sisters, Betsy and Victoria, and her parents experienced the love and support provided by that environment.

U Magazine | October 2014 | 5

SARA’S PROJECT

Sara’s Project is a breast health education and outreach partnership created by St. Charles Health System, area physicians, community members and cancer survivors in honor of Sara Fisher, a beloved teacher, counselor and volunteer who died in 1992 after a seven-year battle with breast cancer.

Their mission is to promote early detection of breast cancer, build awareness, and provide support to the more than 200 women in Central Oregon who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

For National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, shoppers at Ray’s Food Stores can donate by rounding up their grocery receipt amounts, with all the money raised going to Sara’s Project. The October Mammothon program encourages St. Charles caregivers and their spouses system-wide to have their annual mammograms.

When more than 150 schedule their screening during the month of October, a donation is triggered to allow Sara’s Project to fund mammograms for 40 qualifying uninsured women in Central Oregon communities.

Sara’s Project is also partnering with Susan G. Komen of Oregon and SW Washington to host a telecast of the Breast Cancer Issues Conference on March 21, 2015 at St. Charles Bend, with topics for breast cancer survivors and those at risk.

For more information on any of these programs, visit www. sarasproject.com or call Lizzi Katz at 541-706-2969.

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She had many wonderful opportunities as a young woman, including a summer internship during college for Sen. Samuel I. Hayakawa, a California Republican, in Washington, D.C. After graduating from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in journalism, she worked as the executive assistant to the thenretired Hayakawa when he served as a roving emissary in Asian affairs for Secretary of State George Schultz.

Following that she ended up managing a personnel office in Walnut Creek where she met and married her husband, Gary. The day they returned from their honeymoon in 1991, Gary was called to active duty with the Air Force reserves and sent to fly C-141 transport planes in and out of bases around the Iraqi war zone.

In 1993, with a desire to raise their then two-month-old daughter Amy in a smaller community, they left the Bay Area and moved to Sisters, where Amy would have easy access to nature. Katy’s parents fell in love with the Sisters area when her father designed the Big Meadow golf course at Black Butte Ranch, and they relocated at the same time as the Yoders.

Amy’s contact with the natural environment had a big impact on her as she is now a senior majoring in Geo-hydrology at Montana State University and will graduate in May. When Katy was diagnosed with cancer, Amy already had plans to study for a semester in Iceland and asked her parents if she should still go.

“I told her to do exactly what we had raised her to do,” Katy said. “Go out and live your life and then share it with us.”

Katy has received great support from her sister Victoria, who sold her house in California and moved to Sisters to help care for Katy. Victoria lost her husband to cancer two years ago, and it meant a great deal to Katy when she came north.

“Victoria chose to jump into the deep end with me, which means even more,” Katy said.

Having cancer has given Katy a heightened appreciation for her entire family, especially Gary.

“If our marriage was strong before my cancer, it is absolutely granite at this point,” she said. “Gary showed me beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is there for me.”

Katy’s heart belongs not only to Gary but also to her equine companions. Her love affair with horses is one of her earliest memories from those days on the compound.

“I felt complete freedom on the back of a horse. … My horse Topper was born when I was 5. I watched him being born, and we went on to win

at the Grand Nationals in Oklahoma City when I was 16. He and I were a perfect team.”

She continued her equestrian pursuits as a member of the horse show team at Cal Poly and training horses for clients during college to help pay the bills. Her current Mustang, Willow, is a chestnut just like Topper had been. Although Katy hasn’t had much chance to ride since the cancer diagnosis, just knowing Willow is down in the barn is comforting.

“Even if all I do is go to the barn and give her a kiss on the nose,” she said.

Katy says she is getting stronger every day and is feeling ready to start riding more. That is amazing considering what she has experienced over the course of the last year.

‘The Avalanche Started’

When her inner voice finally yelled louder than her denial, Katy met with her OB/GYN who confirmed that the lump absolutely required a closer look. And as Katy put it, “the avalanche started right then.”

A mammogram, ultrasound and numerous biopsies confirmed that Katy did indeed have cancer in her right breast. The tumor was determined to be of a size and rate of growth that surgery could be delayed until after the Sisters Folk Festival, for which Katy is the development director, was over on Sept. 11, 2013. Upon hearing the diagnosis of cancer, accidentally from the radiologist who thought she already knew, Katy was speechless, shocked, in disbelief, and couldn’t fully absorb what it meant.

“From that moment on, the use of mascara was not an option,” she said. “I never knew when I was going to cry.”

Katy’s knee-jerk reaction upon hearing the cancer diagnosis was to remove both breasts and be done with it. Surgeons at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland convinced her that because the cancer appeared to be slow growing, they could do a protocol called a sentinel node biopsy in which they remove only a lymph node to see if the cancer has spread out from the breast. This was done rather than immediately beginning radiation therapy.

When the results came back positive for the lymph node, Katy elected to have a lumpectomy with breast reconstruction and a corresponding reduction of her left breast so they would “match.”

All of those procedures were done during one trip to the operating room.

However, all did not go as planned.

The tumor was bigger than originally thought.

The tissue sent to the lab showed that they had not gotten a clean margin, necessitating a repeat surgery

one week later with recovery starting all over again. After the first surgery, Katy spent a night in the hospital, then in a hotel to be available for her follow-up appointment at OHSU. She then returned home to Sisters with three drains sticking out of her, needing to be protected during the car rides. She returned to Portland for the second surgery in which they opened her up, removed more tissue, and finally got clean margins. Another hospital stay followed, then the hotel, and then home to Sisters.

With not being able to work and her husband being away from his real estate job to care for her, the gas and hotel vouchers provided by Sara’s Project were a great help. Thanks to the many friends who were providing meals, the grocery vouchers were not needed. The nurse navigator provided by Sara’s Project was always available to answer any questions and relieve any of Katy’s concerns.

any physical exertion. She has two sleeves from LympheDIVAs. One is covered in henna tattoos and the other with designs by illustrator Ed Hardy — both definite fashion statements.

Prior to the cancer diagnosis, a hysterectomy had been ordered for Katy due to a benign tumor in her uterus. That operation had to wait while the cancer was addressed. After chemo was finished, the hysterectomy was finally performed and turned out to be a positive because the less estrogen in the body the better as far as breast cancer is concerned. Following that surgery, she was back to work in a week.

Adjusting to a New Life

Katy offered some very thoughtful advice from the trenches to friends, families and caretakers of cancer patients.

“Cancer is a very effective teacher.

My life is fuller and more meaningful than ever before.”

With her final appointment in Portland at the end of October 2013, Katy was cleared to begin chemotherapy in November at the St. Charles Cancer Center in Bend. Tests revealed it was a close call as to whether further treatment was necessary, but Katy elected to do chemo given that her cancer had been faster growing and larger than originally thought and because of the lymph node involvement. She received chemo once every three weeks for three months.

Infusion was through a pic line inserted right to the tip of Katy’s heart so the chemo would circulate quickly and freely.

Another problem developed at this juncture when her arm swelled and blood clots clogged her three main arteries, necessitating Katy taking a blood thinner until the end of May 2014. Because the blood clots and scar tissue can lead to lymphedema in the arm, Katy wears a special pressure sleeve whenever she travels, exercises, flies in a plane, or does

Never ask someone what the prognosis is, a question she still hears. Be a good listener, giving the patient someone with whom to talk to and cry with. Don’t share your friend’s or relative’s experience with cancer, good or bad. Keep things positive without being a Pollyanna.

Katy wanted to focus on health and healing so she appreciated people telling her she looked beautiful even when she knew she didn’t because they were telling her, “You’re not disgusting.”

Don’t make thoughtless comments about a patient’s appearance like, “What have you done to your hair?” Even now, as her once thick head of dark curly hair is growing back in, she is asked that question. Katy used a great flying analogy of what it’s like when you’re battling cancer, “You are already operating on one engine.

It takes only the tiniest mosquito flying by

and you can’t take it.”

When sharing what really helped her, Katy said talking with women who are breast cancer survivors and hearing they are five, 10, 15 years out gave her hope.

“They were a manifestation of what I want,” she said.

Watching three seasons of “Downton Abbey” helped take her away from the stress and pain, as well as things that made her laugh.

“Gary and I have been really good about laughing at the absolute absurdity of this entire process and everything involved,” she said.

In jest, Katy refers to her “Frankenboobs.”

She is still adjusting to the concept that her body is never going to be the same.

“When I look in the mirror, I am shocked with what I see. In my mind’s eye I still look the same as I always have.”

Post surgery and treatment, Katy is being proactive by being as healthy as possible. She admits that prior to her diagnosis, she had lost her balance for a while in her life and had forgotten how to have fun and take time to look inward.

“It was my choice,” she said. “I simply fell into a routine that didn’t have time for enjoyment. Cancer has been a real blessing.

It’s been real hard but it woke me up. … I figure if this doesn’t motivate me to make positive changes in my life nothing will.”

Katy has reassessed her priorities, is using all the tools of Western medicine as well as complementary therapies, regardless of whether they are FDA approved, and is drawing great strength from the Science of Mind magazine.

She concurs with the belief that through your thoughts you can create a healthy body and healthy environment.

“What I focus on will be created so I’m focusing on perfect health,” she said.

Free of Worries

The medical community considers someone is in remission if they remain cancer-free for five years. Katy says that as far as she’s concerned, she is post cancer, as if she had a really bad cold and now it’s gone. She doesn’t worry because she believes if you worry about something, that attaches energy to it.

Brisk 30-minute walks at least five times a week, hiking in beautiful places, kayaking, and playing golf now fill Katy’s leisure time.

U Magazine | October 2014 | 7

A healthy diet including cancerpreventing cruciferous vegetables, and limiting her intake of sugar, which stimulates cancer cells, are all part of Katy’s regimen for staying cancer-free.

Katy is fully back in the saddle at her job with the Sisters Folk Festival and is extremely thankful for all the support she has received.

“I will never forget how I was treated during my cancer journey,” she said.

“My co-workers and the board did everything they could to support me and reassure me that my job was safe when I recovered. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

Folk Festival board president Jack McGowan stressed the feeling of family within the organization and how everyone wanted to do all they could to support Katy.

“We have all been amazed at Katy’s stoicism in light of the challenges she faced,” he said. “She had an undying emotional commitment to the Folk Festival, even on her most challenging

8 | U Magazine | October 2014

days. We love her so much and I say that for all the staff, board, volunteers, and entire community of Sisters. She’s an amazing lady and the personification of leading with her heart.”

To help with medical expenses, the community of Sisters threw a fundraising event for Katy with silent and live auctions and a dinner. The Belfry, where it was held, was wall-towall people, a testament to her place in the community.

“Cancer is a very effective teacher.

My life is fuller and more meaningful than ever before. … I’m grateful to Gary, my family, and dear friends who have made this journey such a blessing.”

With a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye, Katy makes a point not to dwell on the past year. Instead, she looks ahead to her plans for the future.

“Stay healthy, do meaningful work, and have fun!”

WELCOME HOME

How To Love Your Home Through The Years DESIGNING with age in mind.

We’ve spoken in the past about aging in place and how to make educated decisions about products in your home. With the ever changing market of materials, we thought it was time to refresh your memory on some key components in designing with age in mind.

We still feel that the biggest trend in aging with your home, is living on one floor, or at a minimum having most of your living occur on one floor. We often find that second and third levels in the home are neglected. Having one floor does impact the layout of a home and how it is designed but it doesn’t have to limit you in space or a look.

Another trend is less to no home maintenance. This is no surprise when people have done weekend chores for years. They are tired and ready to play more than work. Designers are cognizant of this and design homes with,

LED light bulbs

are taking the place of incandescent or fluorescent to limit the need to change light bulbs for up to 5 years and still have the warmth of an incandescent bulb with less energy consumption.

In the kitchen, using fewer wall-mounted cabinets and more drawers.

Low to no maintenance on interior surfaces.

For example, more kitchens and baths countertops are being designed with man-made quartz based surfaces like Caesarstone, Silestone or any variety of others.

Flooring surfaces are moving towards harder woods like hickory or porcelain tile and are moving away from maintenance heavy bamboo, travertine or slate.

The drawers should have heavy-duty, soft-close glides.

How appliances are used and where they are installed should be reexamined. Does a double oven make sense? Could a dishwasher be mounted higher to help with arthritis or a bad back?

Curbless showers

are more popular by design choice these days. By planning for proper water flow and drainage with a channel drain, as well as doors, you can create an accessible shower that is design forward as well as practical. While designing that curbless shower be sure to add blocking between the studs for grab bars for stability and balance which tend to decrease as we age.

No two homes are exactly alike.

It is so important to think about the next five years and make a plan. Even better, the next ten years. It is a proven fact that you will not only enjoy your space and or freedom to not be updating and maintaining all the time, but also save money. Life is too short.

We think you should be enjoying your home every minute you can.

U Magazine | October 2014 | 9

Singing in

Harmony

by Tara LaVelle, for The Bulletin Special Projects / photos by Kevin Prieto Harriett Davis loves to sing.

She compares the feeling to the joy of eating her favorite dessert, crème brûlèe.

“Every time I had that, I felt like a different person,” she said. “It was wonderful. And so the music is like that. It’s almost a spiritual experience.”

But Davis has some obstacles to overcome.

She is blind and wears a hearing aid. Before she lost her eyesight, she sang with the women’s chorus Sweet Adelines in Southern California for five years. As her vision started to fade, she could no longer see the chorus director and made a hard decision.

“Little by little, I realized that I didn’t belong there anymore,” she said.

That was more than 15 years ago, and with the love and support from her family, she is singing once again with Harmony4Women in Bend.

In its sixth year, Harmony4Women is an all-female a capella chorus with singers ranging in age from 11 to 90, from varying backgrounds and musical experiences.

Davis’ granddaughter, Sierra, accompanies her grandmother to weekly rehearsals, singing alongside her and gently rubbing her grandmother’s hand to signal the director’s changes.

10 | U Magazine | October 2014

Harmony4Women is more than just an a capella chorus; they are a group of women volunteering their voices to help local nonprofits.

It took s o m e g e n t l e persuasion to convince her grandmother that it’s OK to be blind and still be able to sing, said Sierra.

Harriett and Sierra Davis are two of the many women with inspiring stories that join each other on the risers and sing with passion, making Harmony4Women a unique and uplifting chorus.

Each September, any woman who loves to sing is invited to join. Led by musical director Connie Norman, the group attends a total of 11 rehearsals during an eight-week period.

Norman uses her professional skills, along with plenty of laughter and patience, to shape the chorus into a dazzling four-part harmony a cappella group. But this is no amateur hour.

During the group’s first rehearsal last month, the harmonic sound of more than 70 voices made some of the women feel as if they were floating.

“I have goose bumps from that chord!” exclaimed Norman.

Norman has been directing for more

“The first time we experienced a concert it was thrilling when the curtain opened to the roar of the crowd.

A stage full of women singing, it was really amazing.”

— Nancy Ueland, founder than 25 years. Her choruses have competed nationally and internationally.

“She really knows her stuff,” said Nancy Ueland, founder of Harmony4Women.

“Connie can take this group from a cold start and teach them how to breathe, how to sing, and how to listen to harmony parts. She is a very talented teacher.”

The group’s hard work will culminate with a public performance Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Tower Theatre in Bend. Once the concert is over, the group disbands until the next fall.

Harmony4Women The 2014 Harmony4Women benefit concert is set for 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Tower Theatre in Bend. Tickets are $17 and are available online at www.towertheatre.org. This year’s concert will feature songs with an emphasis on home and heart.

Harmony4Women will host its annual Singer Sign-Up Party in late August or early September 2015. Female singers interested in joining Harmony4Women can visit www.harmony4women.com or call Linda Gardner at 541-385-0356.

There is a singer fee of $50, which covers the cost of printing the music and CD. Scholarships are available.

The number four in the name represents both the four-part harmony and the four nonprofits that benefit from ticket sales, explained Linda Gardner, team leader for Harmony4Women.

The nonprofits include the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Bend Branch, Grandma’s House of Central Oregon, Soroptimist International of Bend, and the Bella A Cappella Harmony Chorus.

Grandma’s House is a nonprofit, faithbased home and outreach ministry that provides safe shelter to homeless, abused and pregnant teenage girls.

The AAUW, Bella A Cappella and Soroptimist International of Bend provide annual scholarships to women, as well as various outreach programs to the community throughout the year. AAUW scholarships are for women continuing their education. The average AAUW scholarship for one student ranges from $3,000 to $5,000. Bella A Capella is affiliated with the Sweet Adelines. The group offers scholarships to young female singers. Soroptimist International of Bend offers two scholarships a year — the Live Your Dream Award for a woman who is the primary financial support for her family, and the Violet Richardson Award, a scholarship

for girls ages 14 to 17 who have dedicated time to volunteering in their community.

Harmony4Women receives grants and sponsorship from local businesses to help cover the cost of renting the practice hall and theater and printing flyers and posters.

When the chorus was formed in 2009, the original plan was to get women’s nonprofits together and make money for them and to help the groups work together, said Gardner.

“In terms of grants, that’s huge because a lot of grantors like to see groups working together for a mutual benefit,” she said, adding that the gist of it was to make it a fundraiser as well as a community service project.

Last year’s concert and silent auction raised $11,000. The goal is always to raise at least $5,000 for each nonprofit, said Gardner.

In addition to the friendships and singing, Harmony4Women is an eight-week music education course for the women that also builds community. At the initial singer sign up party in early fall, each member goes home with a specially created CD and sheet music that includes all the songs they will be learning.

“The CD has all the harmony parts so the singers can actually determine in the first U Magazine | October 2014 | 11

few days which part fits their voice the best,” said Gardner. The CDs are created by the Central Oregon Showcase Chapter of Sweet Adelines.

Harmony4Women is open to anyone who can pretty much carry a tune, said Gardner.

On average, at least 90 percent of the women have some singing experience, such as a church or high school choir.

“But it’s not like we’re all terribly accomplished or 100 percent music oriented,” said Gardner. “Many of the women haven’t sung in a choir since high school.”

The number of women in the chorus this year is around 75. The biggest group they’ve had is 80, and the smallest group was 65.

The director’s goal is to have 100 women and teens on stage.

With so many inspiring stories among the singers past and present, it’s no surprise the idea for this chorus was born from a profound personal experience.

In 2003, Ueland was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. After undergoing chemotherapy, she went through several bouts of bone marrow failure four years later. It was during the second round of illness that Ueland says she

12 | U Magazine | October 2014

had a near-death experience.

“I came very close to dying, and in one of those experiences, I was at the edge. But I kept hearing music behind me,” she said.

When she felt better, Ueland was determined to do something with the music she heard — a sound she describes as a deeply resonant a cappella chord.

“When I came out of that experience, the

first thing I did was open my chorus book,” she said. “I sang every song for three hours. It was like this huge healing revelation.

“I had never been sick a day in my life.

Then, turning on a spin, I became a patient.

But in reality, those illnesses made me who I am. When you go through something like that and then come back, you can’t go back to the normal minutia of life. You’ve got a different viewpoint. Being sick brought out the best in me, brought out the person I am supposed to be. I am eternally grateful.”

Ueland knew she wanted to sing, work with the community somehow and help nonprofit groups. She was introduced to Gardner, who at that time was involved with the Women’s Resource Center and is a past president of the Bend AAUW, and also to Woody Medeiros, executive director of Grandma’s House.

A plan was set in the spring of 2009, and they managed to put together a concert the following November.

“The first time we experienced a concert it was thrilling when the curtain opened to the roar of the crowd,” said Ueland. “A stage full of women singing, it was really amazing.”

a skilled

leader

A year into her promotion at Bend Fire Department, Tricia Connolly makes every effort to learn from and prepare for any challenge.

by Gregg Morris, for The Bulletin Special Projects / photos by Kevin Prieto Fourteen years ago, Tricia Connolly decided to bring her wildland firefighting skills to Bend and give structural firefighting a try. Knowing that making the highly-competitive Bend Fire Department’s squad would take plenty of effort, Connolly prepared for the entrance exams.

Her hard work paid off as she turned in the highest score of all the applicants on the written exam, secured the top spot of potential recruits and became the first female Bend firefighter hired in the department’s 109-year history.

“It’s super competitive here,” explained Connolly, who lives on Bend’s west side with her husband, son and their Springer Spaniel. “There are some very talented people. I feel very fortunate.”

During her time at the Bend Fire Department, Connolly has parlayed her strong work effort into becoming a better firefighter and moving steadily up the promotion ladder. She was hired in 2000, graduated to engineer in 2005, and, in October of last year, was one of four to be moved up to fire captain in the first departmental promotions in six years.

“I’m trying to learn as much as I can to improve in my role as captain,” said Connolly. “I expected most of the challenges this new position of leadership would bring.”

Dave Howe, Battalion Chief of the Bend Fire Department, has been with the U Magazine | October 2014 | 13

department for more than three decades and has known Connolly since she first applied to be a firefighter in 2000. He has seen her rise through the ranks during the last 14 years.

“The fire captain, also known as the company officer, supervises all personnel and activities at a fire station,” explained Howe. “This person is in charge of ensuring a quick response to emergency calls, the performance of best practices on scene, and all facets of station life, from building maintenance and vehicle readiness to training and crew effectiveness.”

Prior to being promoted to captain, Connolly was AIC Captain, or Acting in Capacity of Captain, for five years, which means she was trained to step in as captain during times of need.

Connolly’s path to serving Bend winds through the mountains.

Born and raised in Palo Alto, Calif., Tricia headed to the University of Montana to hone her love of snowboarding, mountain biking and trail running. She began to fight fires seasonally as a Type II wildland firefighter, participating in prescribed fire and other wildland fire operations in Idaho. She then became a repeller (think smokejumper, but with ropes) in Washington state. By 1994, Connolly decided she wanted to attend paramedic school. After hearing co-workers’ praise of Central Oregon, she

“I love our community and the fact I get to help our community. …

Making that difference is the best feeling in the world. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” chose a school in Bend.

“Trish had been a wildland firefighter, and she is self-assured and easy to talk to,” said Howe.

“She is also quite strong and fit, so the physical challenge is not a big issue with her.”

Connolly has seen many changes in her role of firefighter since she joined the department in 2000. The job is now geared toward medical and other emergencies rather than busting down doors, dragging hoses and battling blazes.

However, physically strenuous duties such as fighting house fires is still in the job description.

Luckily for Bend, Connolly is up for the job. As a test of her athleticism, she has competed in events such as the Portland Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge,

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14 | U Magazine | October 2014

where she won her division.

“The biggest change I’ve noticed is the impact of growth in the community resulting in the call volume steadily increasing,” said Connolly. “We are doing our best to match that growth. Luckily, Bend voted in the last bond to allow us to increase staff.”

The next rung on the ladder is battalion chief, or shift commander. They are in charge of the five captains at each station and they ensure an effective coordination for the shift. Prior to that promotion level, the captain will train to be an AIC BC, or Acting in Capacity of battalion chief. An AIC BC is trained in the

appropriate duties to step in if the regular battalion chief is sick or on vacation.

“Trish has all the tools to attain the level of battalion chief,” said Howe. “She has an uncommon ability to learn very quickly from her experiences, and she has doggedly pursued training for career development. Trish has a high level of energy and a strong tolerance for new experiences.”

“Those are huge shoes to fill,” admitted Connolly. “For now, I am just trying to improve myself in this role, while looking forward to the future.”

That role requires a 48-hour shift, followed by four days off.

Connolly balances her work with the responsibilities of being a mother and a wife. While she is gone for the two days, her husband steps up to care for their son, who is in third grade at William E. Miller Elementary School in Bend. She notes that her successes are made possible by the help of her family, friends and co-workers.

“I love our community and the fact I get to help our community,” said Connolly. “Everyone I work with feels the same way. Making that difference is the best feeling in the world. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

TO YOUR HEALTH

Painful Desert Rocks

Weather in the High Desert is usually pretty terrific and, of course, dry. Very dry. It is a desert after all. These dry conditions can lead people to become dehydrated easily. Unfortunately this dehydration is a leading risk factor for kidney stones. When the urine is concentrated, small crystals can accumulate and create a kidney stone. When a kidney stone is large enough (usually larger than 3 millimeters in size), it can cause significant pain when it tries to pass out of the kidney. When the stone enters the ureter (the narrow tube that naturally connects the kidney to the bladder), it can block the flow of urine from the kidney and can lead to severe pain in the flank or the abdomen. Some people will experience nausea, vomiting, and blood in the urine.

On occasion, people become extremely ill with stones, and death is even possible.

In order to diagnose a kidney stone, a doctor will often perform an x-ray evaluation, CT scan, or ultrasound.

Once the stone has been diagnosed, pain control is the first step. Many

stones will pass by themselves often with the help of medications and good fluid intake. For larger stones, surgery is often necessary. Sometimes a small temporary tube must be placed in the ureter called a stent that bypasses the obstructing stone to reduce the sharp pain caused by

the backed up urine. Stones can be broken up into small fragments with shock waves and then the smaller pieces may be passed more easily. Special doctors called urologists can also drive a small camera up to a stone and break the stone with a laser while the patient is under anesthesia.

Once a person has passed a stone, they are usually highly motivated to do whatever is necessary to prevent more stones in the future. Drinking more water every day is crucial. Reducing animal protein intake is also helpful in lowering the risk of stones.

Consuming sodas, energy drinks, and black tea increases the risk of stones especially in young people.

If you think you might have a kidney stone, call your doctor or the urologists at Bend Urology and they can help you manage this potentially dangerous and painful condition.

U Magazine | October 2014 | 15

Fun on the Road Digital distractions have come a long way from handheld Nintendo Game Boys beeping in kids’ hands in the backseat of the car. Nowadays, it is all too easy for parents to give their child an iPad or portable DVD player for long road trips — especially during the holidays.

But what happened to the types of distractions that didn’t require batteries to operate?

In the digital age, it can be refreshing to give kids games and toys that allow them to be the power source. I took my belief in non-digital games as well as my nostalgia for these toys with me when I visited three local toy stores — Leapin’ Lizards, Wonderland Toy Shoppe and Tumbleweed Toys.

16 | U Magazine | October 2014

The Stores

Leapin’ Lizards My journey started with a classic for those who grew up in Bend: Leapin’ Lizards, nestled in the heart of downtown. Molly Hungerford, a shop employee, showed me around the shop to her recommendations. We managed to pick three that fit our age categories from the array of toys they have in stock.

by Molly Hover, for The Bulletin Special Projects photos by Kevin Prieto and Kari Mauser

Ages 2-4 WATER WOW! Melissa & Doug | $9.99 Uses water to draw and practice letters in a non-messy way. Single player.

“One of our most popular travel items.”

www.leapinlizardstoys.com

Wonderland Toy Shoppe Next on my list was Wonderland Toy Shoppe in the Old Mill District.

A myriad of colorful toys and educational games caught my eye as Mandi Mahoney, a Wonderland employee, greeted me. After showing me more than a dozen of the staff’s favorite options, we narrowed it down to three.

LOTTO GAME: ANIMALS The Purple Cow | $13 Bingo-style lottery game for 2-4 players that uses magnetic animals instead of numbers.

“Perfect all-in-one game.”

www.wonderlandtoyshoppe.com

Tumbleweed Toys South of Bend in the Village at Sunriver, Tumbleweed Toys draws people of all ages through its doors to peruse the endless variety of classic toys and games. Many of the choices promise to be a great fit for just about any kiddo, including the picks by owner Natalia Bokish. www.villageatsunriver.com/ shopping/directory/items/view/ tumbleweed-toys

SUPERPEGS MINI Miniland | $24 Place super-sized pegs into the grid to match the included picture cards, or create other imaginative designs.

“This is great for travel — it’s not only entertaining, but also helps with motor skills, shapes and colors.”

Keeping children entertained (without going digital) during holiday travel.

Ages 5-8

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Classic hangman game (for two or more players) that uses a wooden board and dry-erase marker.

Like the Rush Hour app, this game uses a scenario on a card that challenges the player to get the red car through the exit without removing the other vehicles on the board.

“Something great parents can do with their kid while still focusing on driving.”

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“Learning and craft travel game. Helping them learn colors and numbers.”

“Word twist on a Rubik’s cube.”

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Durable plastic-covered multi-shaped magnets that can be manipulated into all sorts of structures and designs.

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“Get the creativity flowing in a magnetic way that the whole family will enjoy.”

“Determination will be tested in the quest to get these travel-sized puzzles solved.

Everyone will want a chance at it.”

U Magazine | October 2014 | 17

Winter Squash

VARIETIES

SPAGHETTI Green on the outside, the light yellow flesh of this mild-tasting squash has the texture of spaghetti once it’s cooked.

Simply bake until tender and scrape out the cavity with a spoon to separate it into juicy, pasta-like strands.

BUTTERNUT One of the more versatile of winter squashes, butternut has smooth, tan skin that is easily peeled. The deep orange colored flesh can be boiled or roasted and added to stews or curries.

Pureed, it becomes the base for a brightly colored, delicious soup.

DELICATA Small and oblong with green and yellow stripes, the sweet yellow flesh cooks up to be nutty and pleasantly dry. One of the few winter squash with edible skin, delicata is great for baking, filled with stuffing, or just plain.

KABOCHA Shaped like a pumpkin with rough, dark green skin, the exterior of kabocha squash hides its surprisingly sweet and smooth, dark orange flesh. While harder to cut and peel than butternut squash, its flavor when baked makes it all worthwhile.

Gorgeous Gourds

by Annissa Anderson, for The Bulletin Special Projects photos by Kari Mauser

ACORN These small, dark green and orange-skinned squash are great for baking, as they are easy to halve. The small cavity is ideal for stuffing.

RED KURI Red-orange kuri squash looks like a mini pumpkin, but without the ridges.

Its flavor is sweet and nutty. Red Kuri squash can be easily substituted in recipes calling for butternut squash and makes a fine puree.

PUMPKIN Though not technically a squash, pumpkins are part of the gourd family, and are cooked in much the same way.

If using a pumpkin for cooking, make sure to select a small sugar pie pumpkin.

Large pumpkins sold for jack-o-lanterns, while technically edible, are watery and stringy making them undesirable for eating.

18 | U Magazine | October 2014

These unusual shapes and fall colors can be transformed into delicious meals.

W

inter squash are as pleasing to look at as they are to eat. Their unusual shapes and gorgeous fall colors grace any kitchen counter or tabletop for days, or even weeks, before they are cooked and enjoyed in an endless variety of dishes.

All winter squash – actually available from early fall through the winter – are the fruit of various members of the gourd family. While some are thin-skinned like their summer cousins, most have hard, thick skins and seeds and deep yellow or orange colored flesh. Varieties include acorn, butternut, delicata, kabocha, Red Kuri, and spaghetti squash, and each have their best uses (see “Winter Squash Varieties” for details).

Whether pretty and dainty or bumpy and bulbous, winter squash are a delicious way to get much-needed vitamins in winter. They are a good source of iron, riboflavin, and vitamins A and C. Versatile and easy-toprepare, winter squash can be baked (roasted), steamed, sautéed, boiled, or even microwaved.

Baking, or roasting, is often the preferred method for its simplicity and

the way it seems to bring out the sweetness of the flesh.

When cooking, most hardskinned winter squash are baked with the skin on then peeled or scooped, while thinskinned squash are peeled first.

While halved winter squash are excellent for filled, baked dishes, they have many other uses. Their roasted flesh, when firm, can be added to soups, sauces and stir fry.

Tender pureed squash makes a silky and satisfying base for soup.

The sweet, mellow flavor of cooked squash can also benefit from a variety of sauces, glazes and toppings.

Spaghetti squash, delightful when just scooped from its skin and lightly buttered, can also be served with a vast number of sauces, similar to pasta.

When choosing a winter squash, make sure to pick it up; one that feels heavy for its size will have moist flesh. Look for skin that is mostly unblemished and free of mold, and inspect the stem area (if still attached) for mold as well. If using a pumpkin for cooking, always look for a small one that will have tender flesh.

Squash Puree Squash puree can be made from virtually any kind of winter squash and can be eaten plain, or reheated with embellishments such as butter and chopped roasted hazelnuts or mini marshmallows. Squash purees are also a healthy addition to baked goods such as quick bread, muffins and cakes.

To make squash puree, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut a winter squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and set the squash, cut side down, in a baking dish. Add 1⁄2 inch of water, cover tightly with foil and bake for about 1 hour, or until tender. Remove from oven and allow it to cool. Scoop out the flesh and pass through a strainer, ricer or food mill. Store in refrigerator for up to four days.

Butternut Squash Curry with Cashews (Serves 4) This vegan curry really hits the spot on cold fall and winter evenings. The recipe can also utilize leftover baked squash; simply omit the first step and add squash pieces after coconut milk has simmered for several minutes so cooked squash is just reheated, not overcooked.

Ingredients:

1 cinnamon stick

One 3-pound butternut squash or other orange-fleshed winter squash, peeled and cut into 1 1⁄2–inch chunks

6 bay leaves

Kosher salt 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced 1 serrano chile, minced

1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 can coconut milk 1 cup salted roasted cashews 1 tablespoon lemon juice Steamed basmati rice, for serving

Method: 1) Sprinkle squash lightly with salt. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown half the squash in oil, turning once, 6 to 8 minutes; reduce heat if squash starts getting dark. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with another tablespoon oil and remaining squash. Remove second batch squash to the bowl.

2) Add last tablespoon oil to the pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 12 to 15 minutes. Add chile, cinnamon and bay leaves to onion in pan. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add turmeric, cumin, and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.

3) Return squash to the pan and add coconut milk. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer until squash is tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in cashews and lemon juice, and add more salt to taste. Serve immediately over rice.

U Magazine | October 2014 | 19

Cardamom Squash Bread (Serves 8) This riff on zucchini bread works much in the same way, using squash puree to moisten the bread. Subtle spice additions result in a fragrant breakfast or afternoon treat.

Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 teaspoon ground ginger â „2 teaspoon cinnamon

1

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup squash puree 1/4 cup buttermilk

â „2 teaspoon salt

1

Method: 1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and salt.

2) Using an electric mixer, beat the butter at high speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between additions. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed, beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the squash puree and buttermilk. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Turn it out onto a rack, then invert and let cool completely. Slice and serve.

20 | U Magazine | October 2014

High Desert Life Styles

BOOT e i g o o B

Fall is in the air, and with that comes a desire for comfortable footwear that protects against the random snow shower while adding style to your outfit. So if practical fashion is what you’re after, ladies, then these boots are made for walking!

Compiled by Althea Borck, photos by Kari Mauser; Boots courtesy ccMcKenzie Shoes & Apparel (740 N.W. Wall St., Bend)

1

4

2

5

3

6

1. Jambu | Madison Short Boot 4. Teva | Delavina Tall Boot $139

$189

• Waterproof leather upper • Biodegradable with wool felt lining • Memory foam footbed • Composite sole for traction and durability

• Waterproof leather and canvas blend upper • All seams are sealed to protect against the elements • Canvas lining with Mush-infused insole for comfort • Composite sole for traction and durability

2. Teva | Delavina Short Boot $149 • Waterproof leather upper • All seams are sealed to protect against the elements • Canvas lining with Mush-infused insole for comfort • Composite sole for traction and durability

3. Rieker | Astrid Tall Boot $159 • Non-water resistant man-made upper • Lambswool lining with padded footbed • Composite sole for traction and durability • Anti-stress upper and lower for pliable wear

5. Pikolinos | Le Mans Mid Boot

$225 • Natural vegetable-dyed leather with adjustable lace-up front • Water resistant with soft leather/ textile lining for all-day wear • Composite sole for traction and durability

6. Frye | Valerie Mid Boot $428 • Non-water resistant soft leather upper • Lamb fur lining from Australia with a cushioned leather footbed • Composite heavy-duty sole for durability and traction • Back zipper provides easy on-andoff for high arches

Water resistant vs. waterproof

When shopping for winter boots, it is common to see the words “water resistant” and “waterproof,” but what is the difference? Water resistant boots will repel water so that it soaks into the boot more slowly. Waterproof boots are made of a material or treated material that doesn’t soak up water at all. In other words, water resistant means that after a while your feet will be wet and cold, but if it’s waterproof, you’ll be warm and dry. Of course, in either case, it’s best not to tromp through a giant puddle thinking you are in the clear!

Products are available to spray or rub on boots, but be careful. Always read the fine print as it may harm the dye or texture of the boot.

U Magazine | October 2014 | 21

The

Compelling

Edge

From NBC News to the High Desert Museum, Sandy Cummings’ goal has always been to tell a story.

by John Cal, for The Bulletin Special Projects / photos by Kevin Prieto

On perhaps one of the cleanest and most well-organized desks I’ve ever seen sits a pile of visitor comment cards.

“It’s good to keep up on what people think of the museum,” she said, straightening the stack. “It keeps us sharp.”

She fidgets a little. She’s normally not on this side of an interview.

“It’s weird for me to be on this end. My role has always been as an observer. I don’t like being on the other end,” she said with a laugh. “I tell other people’s stories.”

It’s been just four months since Sandy Cummings has been the Director of Communications for 22 | U Magazine | October 2014

the High Desert Museum, and though she’s new to the job, she’s not new to the museum or Central Oregon.

“I’ve been living in Bend for eight years,” said Cummings. “My husband retired, and we decided to move here.

“We were living in California, and thinking about retiring in a few years, but could not imagine retiring and staying in L.A. We were driving through Oregon and loved it. We came back to Bend when the weather was bad and cold and still loved it.”

Cummings loves snowshoeing in the winter and hiking in the

summer.

“I’m also a really bad crosscountry skier,” she said, “and I keep telling myself it’s about time to buy a kayak.”

But even as a longtime Bendite, much of Cummings work was on the road.

Before her transition to the museum, Cummings was a Senior West Coast Producer with NBC News, working for the news agency for 23 years, the lion’s share with “Dateline NBC.” An Emmy Award-winning producer, Cummings was responsible, end-to-end, for her “Dateline NBC” assignments, from coming

up with ideas, to conducting interviews, to writing and editing as well as overseeing the program’s coverage of the West.

“Everything, from start to finish, you’re trying to figure out what the story is, how to make it compelling, is it compelling, and how to make it understandable,” she said.

Much of her year was spent away from home and her husband Bruce, a retired senior producer of “NBC Nightly News.”

“We joked that I was always in a place that started with A: Alaska, Australia … but I’d be up somewhere to do a story and find another, and it got harder and

harder to be far from home. It wasn’t so much the frequency with which I was gone, but the duration. I never knew how long I was going to be away.”

In her work for NBC, Cummings was present in operating rooms during awake brain surgery and the separation of conjoined twins.

She traipsed around Australia with Steve Irwin. She was present for the O.J. Simpson verdict and was there during both Michael Jackson’s 1993 child sexual abuse trial and the 2007 announcement of his death. And then there was Sept. 11, 2001 and its aftermath.

“It’s all about storytelling,” continued Cummings, which is the message she brings to the museum. “I’ve been coming [to the museum] since before we moved to Bend. It’s such an incredible place. This museum could be found in any major city. The work done here is great, and seeing these,” she said, indicating the stack of comment cards on her desk, “I get to see the impact of what this place does.

That’s the story of this place, and it makes me want to keep the museum about the people, about sharing its story with visitors.”

So in June, Cummings became a part of the museum’s team.

“I’ve always been a fan of the museum, and it’s been refreshing to do something different and in some ways be in town more,” she said.

She’s spent a lot of her life sharing the stories of people across the country and now, in many ways, advocates for the history of Central Oregon by telling its own special story.

“The High Desert Museum’s mission is to tell compelling stories about our region,” said Dana Whitelaw, the museum’s president.

“Sandy’s storytelling background is a perfect fit from creating a new tagline to video that captures the spirit of learning that is created

every day at the museum.”

Cummings’ national experience makes her a truly local asset and has primed her to bring a focused professionalism and fresh creativity to everything from TV commercials to print media to visitor orientation.

“Her skill set is exactly what the Director of Communications requires,” continued Whitelaw, “and she was ready to jump in with both feet.”

But even with her new local focus, she also does work for TV Storyteller, her production company that has produced feature

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U Magazine | October 2014 | 23

An Employee Owned Company Est. 1977

Photo courtesy Sandy Cummings On location with Steve Irwin and NBC News correspondent Sara James in Cape York, Australia.

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24 | U Magazine | October 2014

documentaries such as “Lost and Found,” a story about how two retired teachers from Bend changed the lives of displaced African orphans with the help of a group of prison inmates in eastern Oregon.

“As a teenager, I thought I wanted to be a travel agent or an archaeologist,” said Cummings, “but I really fell in love with [storytelling] in high school when an English teacher invited me to join the school newspaper.”

NBC News correspondent Keith Morrison called Cummings “one of the most accomplished storytellers on TV,” and when the former president of NBC News retired — the famed Neil Shapiro — he gave everyone on his team handwritten cards as his farewell.

Cummings’ read: “It’s great to see a nice person succeed.”

In a world where so many people feel the need to push and climb their way to the top, Cummings has reached her own definitions of success by being true to who she is.

“NBC was completely competitive, but I didn’t think I ever needed to be pushy to open doors,” she said. “The goal was always people, real people. The goal is to inform people and to share their stories, going into

that with an open mind.”

And yes, while her resume includes a plethora of the who’s who of cultural zeitgeist, it’s the quieter everyday moments that more readily come to mind when she talks about her career — catfishing in Georgia with Stone Phillips, sitting in Carly Simon’s Martha’s Vineyard home, finding coffee at 1 a.m. for an exhausted Mike Myers during an interview.

“I think stories will always reveal themselves if you start doing the hard work of telling them,” she said.

And Cummings’ story is continually revealing itself.

She keeps showing more and more compelling layers: kind observation, hard work, and a passion for people. She’s helped grant wishes for the Make-AWish Foundation, volunteers with Saving Grace, a local Bend organization that serves domestic violence victims, and assists the homeless through The Shepherd’s House. She also serves on the community advisory committee for the St. Charles Cancer Center.

These traits have always been a part of who she is, and as she continues to go the extra mile for the museum, it’s the visitors and residents of Central Oregon who get to experience her story.

What We’re Reading

by Susan Stafford, for The Bulletin Special Projects

Brief reviews of recent selections made by Central Oregon book clubs.

Now that the curtain has closed on summer, all book groups are up and meeting again. They are reading a great variety of books, both fiction and nonfiction, new and classic.

The first Author! Author!, featuring Jess Walter of “Beautiful

“Boys in the Boat”

by Daniel James Brown Pine Meadow Readers Although Jesse Owens stole the spotlight with his four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, a less well-known victory at those games is illuminated in Daniel James Brown’s 2013 true story of sacrifice and relentless effort by a rag-tag group of young men from “foggy coastal villages, damp dairy farms, and smoky lumber towns, all over the state” to win the gold medal in crew racing. Centering the story on Joe Rantz, a Pacific Northwest boy who was abandoned as a child, Brown paints a vivid picture of the socioeconomic landscape of 1930s America. PMR enjoyed Brown’s account of the remarkable eight-oar crew team from the University of Washington who defeated not only the Ivy League colleges and Great Britain but, most importantly, the German team rowing for Adolf Hitler. PMR discussed how Brown highlighted the importance of working together to accomplish an improbable shared goal.

“The Circle” by Dave Eggers Redmond Couples Book Group National Book Award finalist Dave Eggers’s newest novel was enjoyed by the RCBG, who had a lengthy discussion about the effect of social media and the role of privacy in our lives.

The title refers to the world’s most powerful

Ruins” fame, was a thoroughly enjoyable evening listening to this Spokane native, who entertained the audience with his delightful wit. Having not read any of his books, I am eager to immerse myself in his work.

Internet company, where Mae Holland is hired, feeling she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. Located on a large California campus, the Circle connects users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and giving rise to a new age of civility and transparency. What begins as the story of Mae’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a suspenseful novel that raises questions about history, privacy, memory, democracy and the limits of human knowledge. Although the RCBG has read other Eggers books they considered to be better than this one, they did enjoy the discussion about how technology is changing and impacting our lives.

“The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Ann Fadiman Chapter Chicks The CC found this an intriguing book, well worth reading and discussing. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction in 1998, Ann Fadiman’s story of young Lia Lee explores a clash between the Hmong culture and Western medicine, in which no one wins.

Lia, living in Merced, California with her Laotian immigrant parents, is diagnosed as having epilepsy, with seizures caused by the misfiring of neurons in her brain. To alleviate the seizures the doctors prescribe

anticonvulsant medication. Her parents call her condition qaug dab peg — the spirit catches you and you fall down — and believe the wandering of her soul causes her affliction. They prefer animal sacrifices as the appropriate treatment, as practiced in the Hmong culture. What ensues is a tragic case of cultural miscommunication and misunderstanding. The CC enjoyed a rich discussion of topics including what makes a good doctor and good parents. They also questioned whether better communication would have changed the medical outcome and what did the U.S. owe the Hmong for their service in Laos during the CIA-run “Quiet War.”

“The Grapes of Wrath”

by John Steinbeck Paulina Springs Book Club Every six months, the PSBC chooses to read a classic. Since it was the 75th anniversary of Steinbeck’s epic Pulitzer Prize-winning story of the Joad family, caught in the Great Depression-era poverty of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, the group chose to explore the 1930s world of poverty and dispossession played out in the lives of migrant workers who never lost their human dignity. Discussion centered around the number of similarities between the conditions of the poor when Steinbeck wrote the book and the conditions today. They concluded it is disheartening to see how little has changed for the poor in the U.S.

U Magazine | October 2014 | 25

CARING FOR OTHERS

Your Parents and Caregiving: Caring for Difficult Parents

There comes a time when most of us face the reality that a parent is declining. As a society, we generally expect that adult children will bear the responsibility for making arrangements for care of elderly parents. This responsibility for many often becomes a normal extension of a loving parent/child relationship. However, the stress of caregiving challenges the strength of family relationships with parents and siblings. If family relationships were good, often family members will work together as a team for the sake of the parent. On the other

is being cared for by a qualified hand, for family members who • Honor thyself: Identify your caregiver under the supervision personal boundaries. Learn experienced some degree of of an agency. what you can do and cannot “dysfunction”, the process is much do. Be clear with your parents • Create a back-up plan. Often more complicated. There are no about what is acceptable and the services of a geriatric care perfect relationships of any kind, unacceptable behavior, and manager, guardian or elder law but the degrees of dysfunction what you will do and will not do attorney may be a better choice can vary. Parents may have for them.

Follow through with for your parents and you. played favorites, pitted one sibling your boundaries. This is an These professionals are skilled against another or may have been opportunity to recreate a new in dealing with challenging abusive. For some, the trauma of role for yourself based on the family issues and can act as a an abusive relationship can run reality of now and not the past. buffer in stressful situations. deep which affects their ability to Don’t allow guilt to interfere. effectively care for a parent. What • Listen to your parents. If It is better to let a third party possible, ask your parents to is an adult caregiver child to do? manage care for your parents communicate their concerns Slipping back into behaviors and needs than to compromise about their changing care feelings from your childhood can your emotional and physical needs. This process can be be painful. It is not mandatory healing if handled in a nonhealth. that you must take care of your confrontational manner.

Most families have never been elderly parents. If you decide you • Secure outside assistance. totally “functional”. No matter want to take care of your parents, If you feel you are unable to how dysfunctional the situation, the level of involvement can range provide an active role in your family members must have the from assuming total control to parent’s care, consider hiring willingness and ability to set being a go between. Following an In-Home Care Agency. An emotions aside to cooperate for are some tips for managing care agency can help you identify the sake of their parent’s care. for dysfunctional parents: the kind of care needed, select For those who are able, caring appropriate caregivers and for a difficult parent may offer manage the care schedule. It the reward of making peace, will provide peace of mind breaking the cycle of dysfunction knowing your family member and finding acceptance.

Nancy Webre, BS, MS CEO/Owner, Geriatric Care Manager

Locally Owned & Operated Since 1982. State Licensed & RN Supervised

26 | U Magazine | October 2014

Homemade HALLOWEEN Creating Halloween costumes from scratch for kids and families can be both fun and memorable.

by Bridget McGinn, for The Bulletin Special Projects / photo by Kevin Prieto Along with leaves beginning to change color and the weather becoming chilly, another sign of the autumn season is the appearance of racks of bright Halloween costumes in the stores.

As enticing as they might be, not everyone is drawn to the prepackaged versions of princesses and vampires that can be readily purchased.

Those with an innovative mindset find that putting together their own costumes from existing or found items can bring

a great deal of satisfaction and create shared memories for the whole family.

“I really like the challenge of being creative,” said Redmond resident and mother of three Christina Joss. “And it can be expensive when you have five people to dress for Halloween.”

In creating her family costumes, Joss has the advantage of being adept at sewing and altering.

For last year’s spider costume (her children

U Magazine | October 2014 | 27

Robert Joss, the youngest child of Christina Joss, wore a homemade Batman costume, complete with Batmobile. The costume itself was a hand-me-down, and the Batmobile was made from several boxes taped together and painted. The seat belt was made out of an old towel torn into strips and crocheted.

ss hristina Jo rtesy of C u co to o Ph

were bugs) she found long-sleeved T-shirts at thrift stores, cut off and stuffed the arms and attached them to another long-sleeved shirt. She draped inexpensive spider webbing over herself and her children to complete the family ensemble.

Along with her husband, Nathan, and her children, Quintin, 11, Kiera, 6, and Robert,

28 | U Magazine | October 2014

2, Joss starts thinking ahead to Halloween during the summer months. The children draw sketches of how they imagine their costumes, and Joss works with them to make the outfits a reality.

“I make my rounds of the thrift stores at least once a month,” said Joss. “This year we are all going as superheroes, so I’ve been looking for tights, leotards and sheets I can dye and make into capes.”

Teresa Baily, manager of the Brightside Animal Center Thrift Store in Redmond, looks forward to meeting and helping people like Joss.

She said it is common for people to come into the store looking for cheaper versions of things to make their own costumes.

“I just love chatting with people and finding out how creative they can be,” said Baily.

“Around this time of year I’ll notice people ringing up unusual things and I’ll ask about it.

Just last week a lady was buying a lime green bridesmaid dress and she said she was going

to cut off the bottom of it and be Tinkerbell for Halloween. I’m always amazed at the great ideas people have for their costumes.”

The thrift shop sets up a special area devoted to Halloween with items that the staff has been setting aside for months with the holiday in mind. Old prom dresses, wedding gowns, wigs and oddly tacky things make it into the display.

But Baily encourages visitors to explore the entire store for inspiration.

“Thrift stores are awesome for DIY-ers,” said Baily. “You can do a lot with stuff we have everyday. We have a craft section, sheets, fabric, a variety of hats and shoes, just about everything.

Put your creative hat on and come find random things on the cheap.”

This approach has worked well for Sisters resident Angeline Rhett and her family.

“Ninety percent of my costumes are based on thrift store finds,” said Rhett. “I usually see or find a cool piece and build a costume from there rather than pick a costume and search for pieces.”

Rhett, her husband, Henry and two sons, Simon, 12 and Oscar, 11, always create their own costumes, which are generally made on the fly.

“All of our costumes tend to be very last

minute,” said Rhett. “Right now I have a cool dress with some potential, and no one else has even started thinking about it.”

Rhett has six large bins of costume paraphernalia gathered over the years that provides a good source of inspiration for the family.

“We are able to recycle and rebuild and re-create new fabulous costumes every year,” said Rhett.

While thrift stores can be a great source of inspiration, they can also be an affordable resource for those seeking certain items to complete their costume.

“Many people come in with their creative buzz already on and they are on the hunt for specific items for their costumes,” said Marcy Hosket, manager of the Humane Society Thrift Store in Bend. “We are more than happy to help. Last year we helped one guy scour the store for anything rainbow.

And another lady was looking for anything that she could spray paint for a steam punk look.”

To help nudge those without ideas in a potential direction, Hosket always puts together a special theme display. This year the focus is on zombies.

“Each year we sort through the donated items and pull out things like wigs, hats, etc. Every year has its own personality,” said Hosket.

“Last year we had an extra lot of wigs for some reason. This year it

is ‘create your own zombie.’ We’ve got torn jeans, beat up shoes, stuff we wouldn’t otherwise be able to sell.”

Like Baily, she recommends not limiting the costume search to the Halloween section.

“The regular clothing sections also have some good stuff that could be thrown together to come up with a good costume,” said Hosket.

“People have a lot of fun with it. We see a lot of parents encouraging their kids to have more fun and be creative with their costumes.”

Joss credits her experience of making costumes with her family as a child for helping inspire her costume creations with her own children today.

“When I was a kid everyone had to make their own costume and that was really the fun of it, figuring out ways to make do,” said Joss.

While the costumes she made didn’t last, the memories did. Joss fondly recalls several outfits she created with her mother’s help as a young girl, including Pocahontas and the year she made her own stick horse and went as a cowgirl.

She appreciates the opportunity to create similar memories with her own family.

“It’s kind of nostalgic now to create costumes with my own children,” said Joss.

Christina Joss’ family got dressed up Star Wars style for a photo last year. All of the costumes are homemade.

Photo courtesy of Christina Joss

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At the Workplace

by Connie Worrell-Druliner, for The Bulletin

A Stress-Free Career?

It’s possible, but it all depends on how you respond to the demands of the job. ing and ending stress. We’ve all heard, and probably even shared, the wise saying, “you can’t control others, you can only control yourself.”

But, the reality is, it applies to work stress, too.

Maybe you have employees call in sick, leaving you shorthanded for the day, or issues with a computer cause you to lose a day’s work of progress on a big assignment. From your own professional life, you could probably list hundreds more potentially stressful situations you’ve experienced first-hand. Just thinking about them can trigger your heart to pound and palms to sweat, but that response doesn’t have to define how you respond to the challenges.

If you had to describe your life with just one word, you’d likely be tempted to say, “Stressful.”

A July 2014 survey from National Public Radio, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health found that more than 60 percent of Americans feel stressed and more than 25 percent feel a “great deal” of stress. And Forbes cites the American Psychiatric Association as indicating that more than three-quarters of Americans deal with stress-related conditions.

That amounts to millions and millions of stressed-out people in the U.S. alone.

Most individuals believe and act like stress is an unavoidable, uncontrollable part of life, especially in their professional life. But science may be proving them wrong.

“New research in neuroscience and psychology shows that we may be more in control of our emotions and anxiety levels than we think,” reports Forbes.

This is because “stress comes from the way we think and react to outside stimulus,” not from the outside stimulus itself.

Stressed or Challenged

Stress Defined

The word “stress” is part of our daily vocabulary, but you have to wonder if we really know what it means. The Mayo Clinic medically defines stress as “a physical, mental and emotional response to a challenging event – not the event itself. Often referred to as the fight-or-flight response, the stress response occurs automatically when you feel threatened.” The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) narrows it down even more to define job stress: “The harmful physical and emotional responses that

occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker.”

Your Response Is The Key

Now, take another look back at those two definitions of stress. There is one word that appears four times — response. And that one word is both the scientific and practical key to manag-

The moment one of these or any other, upsetting, unexpected situation occurs you have a choice. Will you respond with panic or be ready to step up to the challenge? The CDC explains that a challenge “energizes us psychologically and physically, and it motivates us to learn new skills and master our jobs.”

This is ultimately where the idea of “good stress” comes from. A challenge makes you feel empowered, energized and motivated, and afterward leaves you feeling satisfied.

Life will never be perfect, and there will always be unfortunate, upsetting and unexpected events to deal with throughout your career. But think about what kind of boss, leader, co-worker or client you’d want to have — one that stresses out or one that tackles a challenge. Then decide what kind of person you’ll be.

You can experience a stress-free career; the choice is ours to make.

Connie Worrell-Druliner is the founder of a locally owned business, Express Employment Professionals,

offering human resource solutions. Express can help your organization, by finding qualified workers, solving your retention needs, and providing knowledge based training to your workforce.

U Magazine | October 2014 | 31

32 | U Magazine | October 2014