News lifestyle 2008-06-29 Andanh.com

Resorts deserve their "luxury' designations Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:21 EDT

JALISCO, Mexico . Getting robbed is never a good way to start a trip, but especially a trip that promised to be as idyllic as mine to El Tamarindo Resort on the tranquil Bay of Jalisco on Mexico's Pacific Coast. This was no ordinary robbery, however, as I was soon to find out. Returning to my casita after dinner the first night, I discovered not my passport, money or jewelry missing, but the contents of my mini-bar.

The cheese from my .welcome tray had been picked through, packages of cookies had vanished, and the remains of a chocolate-dipped strawberry proved that the thief was .persnickety in his food filching . the dark chocolate had been devoured, but the strawberry lay in front of the open mini-bar like a splotch of blood, a blatant souvenir from my night prowler.

What to do? Should I call the front desk and let them know I had been victimized by a hungry hombre? Should I send for the policia ? Or should I just be thankful that the thief was apparently a teetotaler and had expressed no interest in the pricey .selection of liqueurs the resort had stocked?

Before I could make a decision, I came face to face with the rascal, a masked bandito who frequently preys on unwary resort guests. Standing about 2 feet tall, he stared .insolently at me through the slits in the mask .revealing his beady eyes, swished his .considerable tail and .disappeared into the tropical brush, a chocolate bon-bon protruding from his mouth. Truly a robber lacking a single shred of remorse.

Pancake day is for blueberry lovers Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:33 EDT

Fresh blueberries at Reed Valley Orchard in Paris are ripe and ready to eat. Farm owners Dana and Trudie Reed will hold their .annual Blueberry Jubilee and .Pancake Day from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m Saturday. They'll serve blueberry pancakes .until 1 p.m. Families can .enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides, a nature hike, line dancing and live music. Call (859) 987-6480 or go to www.reedvalleyorchard.com. The farm is at 239 Lail Lane, Paris.

Tops in tailgating

The Brew Crew Six, tailgaters .extraordinaire, are .getting more national .attention.

Hospitals' wireless systems can disrupt essential devices Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:31 EDT

CHICAGO . Wireless systems used by many hospitals to keep track of medical equipment can cause potentially deadly breakdowns in lifesaving devices such as breathing and dialysis machines, researchers reported Tuesday in a study that warned hospitals to conduct safety tests.

Some of the microchip-based .smart. systems are touted as improving patient safety, but a Dutch study of equipment . without the patients . suggests the systems could actually cause harm.

A U.S. patient-safety expert said the study .is of urgent significance. and said hospitals should respond immediately to the .disturbing. results.

The wireless systems send out radio waves that can interfere with equipment such as respirators, external pacemakers and kidney dialysis machines, according to the study.

Chard as tasty as it is versatile Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:21 EDT

Swiss chard doesn't .usually win .popularity .contests in the produce world.

But this member of the beet family is a great, healthy way to add .variety to greens, .especially if you tend to grab the same bags of baby .spinach every week.

Swiss chard, also simply called chard, comes in many varieties and is easily .identified by its large (dinner plate size), firm leaves and its delicious celery-like stalks. It is available all year but is at its peak late summer and early fall.

Common varieties include white, which has bright, silvery stalks; ruby, which has deep red stalks and veins; and a multicolored chard . often labeled Bright Lights . that has red, pink, purple, orange and white stalks.

More shoppers are turning to reusable bags Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:34 EDT

Reusable shopping bags are everywhere, it seems. A few include pictures of the Earth and trendy phrases: .I'm saving the planet . what are you doing?. Some are colorful string bags, some organic cotton fabric, some made of recycled materials. Some are insulated. Many are compact and easily foldable. But it's not their design that matters. It's their purpose.

Bluegrass PRIDE program director Esther Moberly has used reusable bags exclusively for grocery shopping for about six months. She owns 12.

.It took me a while to accumulate enough for large loads from the grocery,. she said.

Moberly, whose work with Bluegrass PRIDE includes helping local businesses improve their recycling programs and waste-management practices, is a .reusable-bag advocate. She likes the .variety, and she said that because many have sturdy rectangular bottoms, they can fit into the trunk of her car easily with a smaller chance of spilling her groceries.

Family plus Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:48 EDT

Five years ago, Ivan and Alex were best friends, living in an orphanage in the Ukraine.

Today, the 14-year-olds are also brothers, having been adopted by Becky and Mike Child of Lexington.

But they were within a whisker of having to stay in the orphanage, where they would be turned out on the streets at age 16 or 17 with no skills and a dim future.

The Childs, discouraged by the arduous procedures involved in a traditional adoption, .almost abandoned hopes of enlarging their .family.

State parks roll out the festivities for Fourth of July Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:57 EDT

Kentucky State Parks will celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, contests and special activities.

Here's a list of activities at parks in Central .Kentucky. All of the events are on the Fourth of July unless .indicated.

Go to www.parks.ky.gov or call the parks for more information.

. Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park, 10299 Maysville Road, Carlisle: Activities July 3 to 5 will include a free walk through the battlefield at 1 p.m. and canoe trips down the Licking River at 9:30 a.m. for $10. On July 4, an all-you-can-eat buffet for $19.95 will be served at Hidden .Waters .Restaurant. Call (859) 289-55071

Feeding souls Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:05 EDT

No matter how busy her week gets juggling school, a full-time job and other volunteer work, Lori Clemons always knows where she'll be come Saturday afternoon.

For the past three and a half years, Clemons has rarely missed a Saturday shift helping pass out free bagged lunches to those in need through the Faith Feed the Hungry program, which serves an average of 500 people each week at the Salvation Army's offices on West Main Street.

.It's my passion,. said the 27-year-old northern Kentucky native. .I thought I'd try it out just one Saturday, and I've been going ever since. I just knew right then and there that that was where I needed to be..

Clemons' dedication to the 11-year-old Faith Feed the Hungry program earned her recognition as one of the Salvation Army's three Outstanding Volunteers of the Year this year. The other honorees were Stanley Adkins and Bill Foster, who helped during the Salvation Army's kettle season as van drivers, said Justin Mullikan, the agency's volunteer coordinator.

Some parents show their love with tattoos Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:27 EDT

When Matt Beaulieu imagined the birth of his first son, he thought: .Pig..

Actually, he thought .golden pig,. as in the designation in the Chinese calendar that comes around just once every 60 years.

So when the fortuitous point in history .coincided with the arrival of Herschleb Ewan Beaulieu last summer, the new dad devised a design for a tattoo.

It wasn't until January (Grandma ponied up the money for the tat as a holiday gift) that Beaulieu got inked. But, he said, there are no regrets that his bicep now sports a golden pig with a blue Virgo sign.

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