Seasonal Sensations

One of the telltale signs of the holiday season is the sudden abundance of cranberries in the grocer’s aisle. Like many crops, fall is harvest time for cranberries. Stirred from their sleepy marshy growing grounds when they reach their peak in color and flavor, cranberries are harvested from September thru November. Not surprisingly, the ensuing […]

Remembering Celebrations Gone By

reminiscing

Four letter words often get a bad rap which really isn’t fair. Sure there are some very strong meanings in a mere four letters, but there are also some lovely sentiments in words such as love, kind, help, good, and many more. And then sometimes the words are practically void of meaning in themselves until […]

Holiday Shopping With Small Businesses

By Faye Andris When the temperature drops and the holiday lights go up, then thoughts turn to hot chocolate, candy canes, and holiday shopping. The three Saturdays in December are some of the busiest shopping days of the year. It is always a great opportunity for small businesses to capture some of these shopping dollars […]

Cranks Up the Amps for Merry, Bright Holiday Lights and Fun

By Beth Whisman The familiar holiday lights in Uptown Normal will have an added sparkle this year. The popular destination has enhanced efforts to brighten the season and create a familiar space to reconnect with holiday traditions even as the social and retail landscape changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “There’s something about the canopy […]

Tips & Tails—Ask The Vet

Q. Do dogs get seasonal allergies like people do? A. Yes! Many dogs do have seasonal allergies, but the symptoms are different. Unlike people, when the pollen count is high, dogs do not typically get a stuffy or runny nose, scratchy throat, etc. Instead, dogs tend to get itchy and inflamed skin. They will almost […]

Remembering Celebrations Gone By

remembering

By Sandra Dempsey Post Four letter words often get a bad rap which really isn’t fair. Sure there are some very strong meanings in a mere four letters, but there are also some lovely sentiments in words such as love, kind, help, good, and many more. And then sometimes the words are practically void of […]

How Do You Do? CBD

CBD

Evidence continues to build through clinical trials supporting CBD and its effectiveness in addressing medical conditions associated to pain, inflammation, anxiety, and insomnia (sleeplessness) and more. These studies have compared against current standard of care regimens. Excitement among medical practitioners continues to build around CBD as a viable natural option for treatment of such conditions, […]

Come Back Home to Proctor Place

Although it has been said that life itself is a journey, life actually takes us on many journeys—most of which take us down paths and in directions we could not have possibly anticipated or planned. There is perhaps no greater feeling than finding one’s way back to familiar shores to be surrounded by loved ones […]