Topics

You don’t have to go far to find the antidote to the winter doldrums. Here are three Northeast Ohio inns that pamper both body and soul. Gather with friends. Cuddle with a sweetheart. Indulge in a solo retreat. Any way you want to get away can be a luxurious respite. Close and cozy, consider a mini retreat at one (or all) of these terrific destinations and embrace winter — on your terms.

Red Maple Inn is a hybrid Inn/bed and breakfast, with a touch of Grandma’s house.

General Manager Gina Holk has everything covered. Drop your bags on the carpet and grab a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. You’re home, only better — you don’t have to clean your room. This 18-room rural getaway is like going to Grandma’s if she had rooms for all the cousins, local gifts to buy in her foyer and Jacuzzi tubs in each bathroom.

The Amish carpenter-built Red Maple Inn is warm and homey, yet refined and indulgent. You’ll feel comfortable cozying up in a tapestry chair in a sweater (dare we say Snuggie) in front of the fireplace and overlooking the snowy Amish countryside.

Don’t grow roots into the chair. You’ll want to tour the fourth-largest Amish settlement in the country. Call ahead for details and booking. Guide Robyn Morris loads guests into a white van, distributes a comfort package and trundles guests to a number of places, depending on the day.

Destinations may include an Amish schoolhouse, private homes, a cheese factory, interesting retail businesses and more. Dress warmly for cold days because heating tends to be primitive in Amish buildings. Bring cash because you’ll have an opportunity to purchase handcrafted goods such as cutting boards, jelly, cheese, quilted items and more. Venturing out on your own? Smaller shops may not take credit cards — no electricity, no cards.

QUESTION: The osteoarthritis in my hip is getting worse. Is there a way to avoid a replacement?

••••••• •••••••• ••••••• •••••••• ••••••• •••••••• ••••••• ••••••••

ANSWER: First let’s define osteoarthritis. Sometimes referred to as degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis is the breakdown of cartilage in the joint and is a very common condition, especially as we age. It’s the result of wear and tear on our joints and can result in inflammation, stiffness and pain.

There are some factors that may increase the speed at which the joint develops osteoarthritis, such as overuse, an injury to the joint, previous surgeries, obesity and other health issues. The cartilage in the joint breaks down through a combination of time and any one of these factors. The severity of the arthritis will determine how much intervention may be required to ease pain.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

Osteoarthritis is first treated with over-the-counter or prescription pain medications. Physical therapy also can be helpful to strengthen the weakened joint and improve range of motion. Short-term relief may also be found through cortisone shots for pain and/or gel injections that lubricate and increase the shock absorption of the joint.

When these conservative measures are no longer helpful, surgical intervention through a joint replacement may seem like the only option. However, advancements in regenerative therapies are providing a new hope for many patients struggling with arthritis pain and can delay or possibly even prevent the need for a joint replacement. These newer treatments use biologic elements such as your own adult stem cells and platelets to ease pain. In many cases, they may regenerate lost cartilage and strengthen the joint.

Regenerative medicine procedures activate your body’s own stem cells to encourage healing and to speed repair for bone, muscle, joint, soft tissue and nerve injuries. With this treatment, doctors can concentrate a sample of your stem cells taken from your bone marrow and fat tissue.

The older we get, the better the ’70s look.

“When We’re Singin’ — The Partridge Family & Their Music” is an extensively researched book with a full-color 64-page section of photos. The best part? It’s written by Canton-area author Johnny Ray Miller.

Miller spoke at length with the cast. David Cassidy wrote the Tiger Beat favorite David Cassidy foreword, his first ever.

The book is focused on the music of The Partridge Family but also features the essentials from the TV show, with fun stories from the set. Until now there have been only episode guides for the show.

Fans of the show, David Cassidy, and ’70s music in general have a comprehensive look at that era with this recently published book.

“I think we all have something from our childhood that we latch onto that serves as an escape for us when we need to get away from the craziness of today’s world,” Miller says.

“We like to reflect back on whatever that innocence was of that time in our childhood. For a ton of us out there, that innocence was ‘The Partridge Family.’”

“When we’re Singin’ — The Partridge Family & Their Music” is available online at whenweresingin.com.

When we were kids, many of us owned (or tried to sneak a peek at) one of those cloth-covered diaries that  opened with a tiny, gold key.

So full of promise, of secrets, of — dare we admit — guilt.

We may have started our diary keeping with a sharp pencil and high hopes. We pledged to write our deepest secrets each day, the clean pages stacked with crisp potential.

Then we skipped a day, or two. And the diary became a tangible reminder of our failure to follow through. Who could plan for the future when we didn’t have the discipline to scribble a few thoughts on a diary page?

Diary keepers, you can skip this part. You’ve already made the transition to journaling with your stacks of leather-bound volumes detailing a life of reflection.

Bullet journaling is for the rest of us. Colored pens, gridded pages, tabs. This inspired list making/sketchbook/diary/calendar/to-do list is a mindful reflection of plans and dreams: no guilt required. If you write notes on a calendar, you’re already partway there.

Check out bullet journaling on Pinterest or go to bullet journal.com to get started. Toss the gold key and guilt and get a fresh start in the New Year.

February is American Heart Month. We all want to live longer. Thanks to heart health guidelines for preventing heart disease and stroke — the leading causes of death in the world — we now have a better understanding of how to do it.

“It doesn’t matter if you are 9, 29 or 79 — there is always a way to get your health on track,” says Sharon Minjares, director of the Wellness Institute at Lake  Health and an advocate for the American Heart Association. “Whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking, lower your stress or just feel better in general, when you make your health a priority, you can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.”

Prevention begins with an assessment by your healthcare provider that considers your race, gender, age, heart, stroke risk and high blood pressure. Personalized treatment focuses on four critical areas: obesity, cholesterol, lifestyle, and assessing risk for heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases based on family history.

The AHA still promotes diet and exercise as key for keeping your weight in check, but now suggests a team-based weight-loss treatment plan and strategies for slimming down work better for most people.

Remember hearing about that “bad cholesterol number”? It is not a main factor in guiding treatment these days. Instead, your overall health status and risks are the guide.

Exercise and diet works. As a guideline, 40 minutes of exercise three to four days a week should become part of your lifestyle. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables daily promotes good overall health, too. Reducing salt intake helps reduce your blood pressure in most circumstances.

The AHA recommends at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous exercise (or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity). You can divide that time into three or four segments of 10 minutes per day.