Contributor Posts

Weather, clear, with clouds high.
Windless, trees are still.
I am missing you,
I always will.

When my days are over,
when our lives are one,
I'll remember always,
until this life is done.

Yellow split pea soup with Indian curry spices. Bright, flavorful, and filling! Vegetarian and gluten-free. As winter soups go, split pea is definitely in the stick-to-your-ribs category...... Read more 

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The first Full Moon of 2023 is in the sky tonight opposite the Sun at 23:08 UTC. Big and beautiful, the Moon at its brightest phase should be easy to spot. Still, for quick reference images captured near the times of all the full moons of 2022 are aranged in this dedicated astro-imaging project from Sri Lanka, planet Earth. The day, month, and a traditional popular name for 2022's twelve full moons are given in the chart. The apparent size of each full moon depends on how close the full lunar phase is to perigee or apogee, the closest or farthest point in the Moon's elliptical orbit. Like the 2022 Wolf Moon at the 1 o'clock position, tonight's Full Moon occurs within a about two days of apogee. But unlike in 2022, the year 2023 will have 13 full moons that won't all fit nicely on the twelve hour clock.

Photo by Niveth Kumar

What happens now,
when you know me not?
You asked me once,
then asked again,
"Who are you?"

You did that,
for most of the day,
until dinner time,
you said, "I know you".

How confusing
it must be
for you,
my sweet one.

I am trying to
allow you to adjust
to your environment
in memory care.
I miss you,
yet know I must
make this move.

It hurts.
Fortunately, you
won't remember.
I love you.

Long lay the stick,
on the path I trod.
I'm sure you are saying,
this sounds quite odd.

Pick up the stick,
is what I would say.
No one else will,
at least not today.

Why all the fuss
about a broken stick?
If I am walking,
the stick I don't pick,

may cause me to stumble
doing a head plant,
nose face in the dirt.
No, I won't. I just can't.

Long the hours
after the sunset.
Lonely the time,
I do regret.

The way of the warrior,
during life's struggle and strife.
Strong is the will,
a way of life.

Through belief of many,
together, never to part,
I'll protect you always,
you are my love, my heart.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Hurtling through a cosmic dust cloud a mere 400 light-years away, the lovely Pleiades or Seven Sisters open star cluster is well-known for its striking blue reflection nebulae. It lies in the night sky toward the constellation Taurus and the Orion Arm of our Milky Way galaxy. The sister stars are not related to the dusty cloud though. They just happen to be passing through the same region of space. Known since antiquity as a compact grouping of stars, Galileo first sketched the star cluster viewed through his telescope with stars too faint to be seen by eye. Charles Messier recorded the position of the cluster as the 45th entry in his famous catalog of things which are not comets. In Greek myth, the Pleiades were seven daughters of the astronomical titan Atlas and sea-nymph Pleione. Their parents names are included in the cluster's nine brightest stars. This well-processed, color-calibrated telescopic image features pin-point stars and detailed filaments of interstellar dust captured in over 9 hours of exposure. It spans more than 20 light-years across the Pleiades star cluster.

Photo by Stefan Thrun

Senior caregivers provide much-needed services for their loved ones, often helping them manage daily tasks while ensuring that they remain active and vital. For many caregivers, it’s a time-consuming, physically demanding job that isn’t always recognized, but you can make a big difference in the lives of these caregivers by providing products or services that will help them thrive. If you know you want to help but are unsure of how to get started, read on for some ideas that may help you.

Step 1: Write out a business plan

Brainstorm a few ideas for your business and think about the best fit for your specific skill set; do you have experience with professional cleaning services? If so, you might start a company that offers those services to seniors and their caregivers in order to make their lives easier and ensure that their living spaces are healthy. Do you have connections or resources that would prove helpful for caregivers who are looking for mental health support? Consider starting a business that brings senior caregivers together with the right counselor or support group. These services are extremely beneficial for individuals who work with elderly loved ones all day.

Once you have a solid idea of what you want to do, start writing a business plan that includes your plan for funding, the details involved in daily operations, your financial projections, and the structure you’re going to choose. Having a plan will help you map out each aspect of your business so you’ll have peace of mind along the way.

Utilize social media to bring in clients

Once your business plan is written out, you’ll need to figure out the best ways to find clients or customers. Social media is one of the most popular options for businesses of all kinds since it’s a cost-effective platform to share information and ads on. It also provides a wide reach, meaning you can help caregivers from all over the country or even the world, depending on what type of business you’re in.

You can also use social media to share infographics. Not only do infographics quickly capture the attention of viewers, but they also provide an easy way to present complex data in an uncomplicated format. Additionally, the creative use of visuals and engaging contents piques readers’ interest and makes it easier to remember what they read. If you’re looking for an affordable way to create eye-catching infographics, this may help. After choosing a predesigned template, you can adapt it with your own images, fonts, and icons.

Make sure you have the right permits and licenses

When starting a business of any kind, it’s crucial to ensure that you have the right legal status to do so. This might mean obtaining anything from a business license to a certification that proves you’re qualified to handle certain materials or equipment or that you’re knowledgeable about the services you’re providing. Do some research to find out more about your responsibilities as a business owner, specifically where your chosen business type is concerned.

Get your financial details organized

After writing out your business plan, you’ll have a solid idea of how much income you can expect to bring in as well as what your expenses will be, but it’s crucial to find the right tools to keep up with this information. Finding the best accounting software for your business type and using data analytics to learn about trends and reduce costs are important moves in the beginning, as they’ll help you stay on top of your needs and ensure that you can make accurate predictions for the coming months.

Starting a business that helps family senior caregivers is a rewarding experience that can make a major difference in your community and beyond. With the right tools, you can market your business on social media, keep track of your finances, and keep your customers happy in order to grow your company exponentially.

Post contributed by Claire Wentz at CaringFromAfar.com
Photo credit: Andrea Placquadio via Pexels

"In The Story of Ferdinand (public library), a gentle-souled young misfit bull sits out the perpetual head-butting by which his peers hone their bull-skills, choosing instead to smell the flowers under his favorite cork tree in solitude. His mother, at first worried about his bullness, recognizes her son’s difference and trusts that he would find his way" And so he does..... Read more

The dreams we had,
now dead and gone.
The couple's life,
has said so long.

Sad it is, for me,
missing my only love,
what has happened,
from Heaven above?

There is no tomorrow
without a today.
There is no today
without a yesterday.

Hold your love tightly,
never let it go,
for without your love,
you'll limit how you grow.