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17 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | March 2014 | | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | March 2014 | 18 By Louise Ceccarelli I hope all of you are getting the email blasts—I know I have added quite a few emails in the last month. I've also heard from several residents that they enjoy getting the movie schedule ahead of time. We are adding new release movies as they become available. When we have a new release, we will add extra showings for that day. Please note the show times. Some movies are longer, so we need to adjust the show times occasionally. Remember, you can always call the Movie Hot Line at (951) 325- 7641 to refresh your memory on show times for the day. Have you purchased your wristbands for the Music-on-the- Plaza? Tuesday evening, March 18, we will be presenting "Glenn Smith" from 5 to 7 pm. The wristbands are just $5 each and guests are welcome. I think you will really enjoy Glenn's music, as he is a very talented musician. If you are interested, you can find out more about Glenn online at www.glennsmithentertainment.com. You will find some MP3 clips to listen too. I recommend you also listen to the last clip, "Spanish Classical", as that shows his ability in classical guitar, as well. In April, we will present the second Music-on-the-Plaza, with a group called "Nitro Express". They play a variety of music, with a heavy emphasis on country. Polish up your boots, as you are going to want to dance. Have you seen the new "Gallery" at the Lodge? If you haven't, please come down and take a look. There are so many talented people that live at Four Seasons, and this is an avenue for them to share their art with all of us. The hallway leading to the Ballroom is now officially "The Gallery Wall," with art of all kinds and styles on the walls and in the large hutch. Beautiful paintings in all mediums, pottery, lace, and more to come. Each month, one to four artists will be featured. If you are an artist or crafter and want to show your wares, there are instructions in the Arts and Crafts room and at the lobby information counter on how to enter you name for a chance to show your art. (Please note that this wall is for resident artists only). If you have any questions or suggestions about events, please feel free to contact me at the Lodge. A Note from the Activities Director Greetings Fellow Gardening and Landscaping Enthusiasts! My name is Michael Sincosky. I am the Landscape foreman for O'Connell Maintenance. I have been employed with O'Connell since 2006. Prior to coming to Four Seasons at Hemet, I served as foreman at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California. I have been asked to provide some insight into preparing for the upcoming spring and summer gardening seasons. There are a few things that will make your gardening and landscape experience more productive and satisfying. Hopefully this column, and those in the future, will provide you with tools and knowledge you will need to make this happen. First of all, preparation is the key to success. While you don't need a lot of tools, there are a few that will make it easier and not seem like so much work. Hand pruners, a small handheld garden trowel, and a pointed shovel should be enough to get you started. As you may have noticed, the weather has been unseasonably warm for this time of year. Even so, I believe we will have at least a few more hard frosts. This will have an effect on what types of flowers and plants will be successful for this gardening season. Four Seasons sits in a valley and is up against hills that make a climate zone that at times can be very cold and later on, quite hot. Knowing what types of plant material and when to plant, will ensure that you will have a successful and beautiful garden that should last through the season. During the times when temps get down to freezing, there are some colorful plant materials that thrive in spite of the frosts. The snapdragons I planted in front of the lodge, while slow to bloom this year, are nice and healthy and should last into the spring . Begonias and Dianthus, if planted, should go in after the danger of frost has passed. Last year, I planted blue salvia with red and white Vincas around the flagpole in mid June for Fourth of July. These lasted through the summer and looked very nice. If you choose to plant these types of colors you need to wait till the danger of frost have passed. If you can't wait to plant frost sensitive plant material, a frost cloth or burlap tarps should keep the frost off. Should any plant material get burned by frost, don't remove the affected burnt portion. The burnt portion will act as an umbrella and protect any new growth from more damage. One thing I have noticed here at Four Seasons is that the soil is not particularly rich in organic material. Amendment products like potting and garden soil mix will help a lot. Over watering and under watering can make or break your hard work. Remember, keep the ground around flowers moist but not saturated. Happy gardening! Ask the Gardner Health Matters Q: Question: I have noticed that my memory is getting worse with age, is that normal? A: Most people experience changes in their memory with aging; but there are several other causes of memory loss. Medication side effects, alcohol use, depression and dementia are just a few of the causes of memory loss you may want to discuss with your doctor. In order to better understand normal "age related" memory changes, let me provide an overview on how your memory actually works (information adapted from FamilyDoctor.org). The brain stores information in different areas that I will refer to as "compartments." The three compartments are short term memory, recent memory, and remote memory. Information stored in the short term memory may include a phone number you were just given. Information stored in the recent memory may be what you ate for dinner yesterday. Childhood memories and details regarding last year's family vacation are stored in the remote memory. Your brain has over 100 billion neurons and an estimated 1 trillion additional structural cells. To better comprehend how vast 100 billion is, consider the human heart. The heart beats around 60 times per minute, 24 hours a day. At this rate, a person would have to live for over 3,000 years before the heart had beaten 100 billion times. Beginning at age 20, several thousand brain cells die each day. Alcohol use and head trauma accelerate this process. In addition to this loss of brain cells, the chemicals your body produces to store information decrease with age making it harder to recall the previously stored information. Aging primarily affects the recent memory compartment which explains why you forget where you parked your car and why you can't remember the name of the person you met earlier today. The short term memory and the remote memory are not as affected as much by age. Being unable to recall a particular persons name or struggling to find a word that later pops into your head are also examples of normal age related memory changes. Memory changes that disrupt daily life such as misplacing things and being unable to find them, getting lost inside your house, or losing track of the day or season are not characteristic of age related memory loss. If you are experiencing any of these more serious memory changes, then write a note to yourself: "remember to tell the doctor what I am forgetting." If you would like to submit a question please contact Jennifer Trebler at jtrebler@vnasocal.org..