Category: Misc.

Mental Health

Debbie Roney Smith on

We know that making healthy choices can help us feel better and live longer. Maybe you’ve already tried to eat better, get more exercise or sleep, quit smoking, or reduce stress. It’s not easy. But research shows how you can boost your ability to create and sustain a healthy lifestyle. Making healthy choices can help us feel better and live longer, but stress can tempt us to revert to some not-so-healthy habits. You’re never too out of shape, too overweight, or too old to make healthy changes. Try different strategies until you find what works best for you. These tips from the National Institutes of Health can help you during Coronavirus and every day:

Build Healthy Habits~ Plan. Identify unhealthy patterns and triggers. ~Set realistic goals. Write down steps to help you achieve them.~Change your surroundings. Find ways to make healthier choices easy choices. ~Remove temptations. Work for changes in your community, like safe places to walk. ~Ask for support. Find friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, or groups for support or ask people to join you. ~Fill your time with healthy activities. Try exercise, a favorite hobby, or spending time with family and friends. ~Track your progress. Record how things are going to help you stay focused and catch slip-ups. ~Imagine the future. Think about future benefits to stay on track. ~Reward yourself. Give yourself a healthy reward when you’ve achieved a small goal or milestone, like a massage or personal time. ~Be patient. Improvement takes time, and setbacks happen. Focus on progress, not perfection.

 

 

1st Solar Plant in Jackson County

Debbie Roney Smith on

Gulf Power opened its first-ever owned and operated solar facility in Jacob City in Jackson County. Gulf Power says the new center is bringing them closer to making Northwest Florida a leader in cleaner energy. Last spring, Gulf Power began construction on the Blue Indigo Solar Energy Center. One year later, and the center is already harvesting emissions-free energy for customers across the panhandle. The Blue Indigo Solar Energy Center sits on more than 600 acres of former agricultural land south of State Highway 162, more commonly known as Jacob Road. The solar energy center would produce 74.5 megawatts of energy. That’s enough to power 15,000 homes annually. The solar panels will not damage the soil. This alleviates the concern that once the panels are there, the farm land would not be usable. The farm land would not be harmed in any way. The site is also completely unmanned; requiring no maintenance from the county or local municipalities.

New snake species named after Harry Potter character

Debbie Roney Smith on

There may be nothing about it that says “magic” or “witchcraft,” but a newly discovered snake species has still been named after a character from the Harry Potter series.

Scientists in India decided to call the green pit viper “Trimeresurus Salazar.” The name is an ode to Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, which is where Potter and his pals mastered their wizardry skills. Slytherin is known, among other things, for his ability to talk to snakes.

The scientists’ findings have been published in the journal “Zoosystematics and Evolution.”

Mayor Pamn Henderson re-elected in Callaway

Debbie Roney Smith on

Callaway voters re-elected Pamn Henderson as mayor last Tuesday. Henderson has been the Mayor of Callaway since 2017, and serves on several boards within the county. This was the first time she ran against other candidates for the position, running against Carl Sauls and Chip Singleton.
Mayor Henderson was appointed three years ago when the former mayor stepped down. Henderson then officially won the seat in April 2018 after running unopposed. Henderson won the election on Tuesday with over half the votes.

During her two-year term, she served as the city’s leader during Hurricane Michael. Henderson says she’s still working to help the city recover from the storm including clearing debris, securing roughly $12 million in grant money for several projects, and bringing more housing to the area. Within the next couple of years they are going to have 2,100 new housing units: homes, townhomes and apartments. In her new term, she and the city will take on a new challenge: preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Ikea Meatball Recipe

Debbie Roney Smith on

Ikea has released it’s famous Swedish meatballs recipe. This serves 4 and is pretty simple to make. Calls for a lot of ingredients but they are easily listed below for you. For the step by step instructions refer to the photo. It even has photos with each step! Happy cooking!

Ingredients for meatballs and cream sauce

  1. 500g beef
  2. 350g pork
  3. 1 onion finely chopped
  4. 1 clove of garlic (crushed or minced)
  5. 100g breadcrumbs
  6. 1 egg
  7. 5 tablespoons of whole milk
  8. generous salt and pepper
  9. ABOVE is meatballs and BELOW is for the cream sauce
  10. dash of oil
  11. 40g butter
  12. 40g plain flour
  13. 150ml vegetable stock
  14. 150ml beef stock
  15. 150ml thick double cream
  16. 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  17. 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Snake information~Be safe

Debbie Roney Smith on

Today’s forecast is sunny and warm, with a chance of…snakes. Spring in North Florida is when local serpents become active. Florida is home to 44 species of native snakes but only 6 of them are venomous. The vast majority of snakes you would find around your home are harmless. Snakes don’t do well with people so most neighborhoods have very little chance of having snakes.

A few ways to snake proof your home are ~keep grass mowed, ~store firewood on a rack, not the ground, ~keep brush and wood piles away from the house, ~keep shrubs and tree branches trimmed, ~seal gaps under doors (some snakes can enter through a hole as small as a pencil), ~and snakes can come in through pet doors, by themselves or by your pet, ~rodents attract snakes so call a pest company if you see any.

Stay safe~

This US Government Snake Bite Kit was donated in 2010 by Jim Donohue of Tallahassee, and contained all the items needed to treat snakebite (except the tourniquet) according to the best practices of that day. It is displayed in the Medical Exhibit at Camp Gordon Johnston Museum, between the Infirmary and the Barracks. No snakes are included in the exhibit.

 

Census

Debbie Roney Smith on

It is not to late to take the Census. It’s quick and easy. The 2020 Census questionnaire will take about 10 minutes to complete. It’s safe, secure, and confidential. Your information and privacy are protected. Your response helps to direct billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities for schools, roads, and other public services. Results from the 2020 Census will be used to determine the number of seats each state has in Congress and your political representation at all levels of government. You are required by law to respond to the 2020 Census. The goal of the census is to count every person living in the United States, once, only once and in the right place. Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution mandates that this population and housing count occur every 10 years. Census data guide how more than $675 billion of federal funding is distributed to states and communities each year. The 2020 Census questionnaire should be completed by the person who owns or rents the living quarters or any other person who is at least 15 years of age with knowledge of the household.

You should have received a census form(or several) in the mail. On that is your personal id number for the address which you lived in on April 1, 2020. You can fill out the paper form or click on this link to do it online.

https://my2020census.gov/

Washing machines and dryers use 10% of home’s electricity

Debbie Roney Smith on

Laundry is a fact of life, and in addition to your effort, it requires resources to get all those clothes clean and dry. In electricity alone—to say nothing of water—Americans used 10 billion kilowatt-hours washing laundry at home last year, and 60 billion kilowatt-hours drying it. Did you know around 10% of a home’s total electricity use goes to washing and drying clothes? Over the past two decades, increasingly tough federal regulations have required manufacturers to make washers that use significantly less energy and water. Improvements in efficiency include increasing the tub’s spin speed to extract more water from laundry, which in turn cuts the time required by the dryer. Heat-pump dryers are the most energy-efficient option. A heat-pump dryer extracts heat from a room’s air and uses it to heat the air in the dryer. A conventional electric dryer relies on a heating element. Some dryers use both technologies and are known as hybrids. Energy Star says heat-pump dryers use 20 to 60 percent less energy than conventional dryers. But heat-pump dryers are expensive—and slow!

Here are some ways to help reduce your electricity when washing and drying laundry.

Washing Machines: ~ Opt for cold water when you can ~ Increase the spin speed ~ Use high efficiency (HE) detergent ~ Avoid the sanitary cycle Dryers: ~ Clean the lint screen ~ Clean the dryer duct regularly ~ Try line-drying ~ Use the automatic cycle instead of timed drying ~ Dry similar items together.

211-For assistance during this crisis

Debbie Roney Smith on

The United Way supports 211, a free and confidential service that helps people across North America find the local resources they need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 211 and speak with a live, highly trained service professional in your area from any cell phone or landline. All calls are private and confidential. Every day thousands of people across North America turn to 211 for information and support—whether financial, domestic, health or disaster-related. 211 is a free, confidential referral and information helpline and website that connects people of all ages and from all communities to the essential health and human services they need, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 211 can be accessed by phone or computer. A toll-free call to 211 connects you to a community resource specialist in your area who can put you in touch with local organizations that provide critical services that can improve—and save—lives.

Need support? Dial 211 anytime to speak to someone about local assistance for food, housing, utility, health care resources and more.
Able to Give? Click this link for more information or to donate at https://www.unitedway.org/our-impact/featured-programs/2-1-1

Black Titi Flower

Debbie Roney Smith on

Spring is upon us, and so is planting season. One Florida panhandle native is black titi. This is an evergreen and easy-care large shrub or small tree. It’s also known as buckwheat tree, and is botanically known as Cliftonia monophylla. Black titi is commonly found in wet areas and at the edges of swamps from Louisiana through the Florida panhandle and into South Carolina. If you have areas in your garden that are consistently low and moist, this is the perfect plant! Additionally, black titi takes well to pond edges. These fragrant flowers provide an early-season nectar source for bees in February and March; a little late for this year, but luckily there is more to this plant than it’s beautiful flowers. The flowers give way to golden-amber seed pods that resemble buckwheat come late summer. The seed pods, which turn a pleasing orange-brown, and the shiny dark green evergreen leaves provide additional ornamental quality to the tree in fall and early winter. Black titi is most widely available with white flowers but there is also a pink variety. Happy planting!