All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Trends In Housing: Boomers’ Downsizing Leaves “Trail Of Luxury Ranches” In Colorado

From a Wall Street Journal article by Katherine Clark:

Tom Bradbury, a Denver real-estate developer, and his family are listing South Comanche Ranch for $22 million. PHOTO REBECCA STUMPF FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL“If you look back in the day to the ’70s and ’80s, there were these guys…raised with this mythology of the West,” said Ken Mirr, a local ranch broker. “It was attachment to something Hollywood produced. Their children aren’t necessarily always as interested in operating the properties. Sometimes the kids just see cows and think ‘What should I do with this?’”

Operating costs vary dramatically, depending on how much infrastructure ranchers have on their land and the level of agricultural activity but can often be millions a year.

Decades ago, a generation of America’s wealthiest, raised on television shows like “Howdy Doody” and “The Lone Ranger,” headed west with dreams of owning some of the country’s most prestigious ranches. Now, as those John Wayne- loving baby boomers age out of the lifestyle or die, they or their children are looking to sell those trophy properties.

To read more click on following link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/baby-boomers-are-leaving-behind-a-trail-of-luxury-ranches-11566487531?mod=hp_listc_pos3

Health Studies: Physician Prescribed Omega-3 Fatty Acids Safely Reduce High Triglyceride Levels

From the journal Circulation on August 19, 2019:

Circulation JournalThe use of n-3 FA (4 g/d) for improving atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk in patients with hypertriglyceridemia is supported by a 25% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events in REDUCE-IT (Reduction of Cardiovascular Events With EPA Intervention Trial), a randomized placebo-controlled trial of EPA-only in high-risk patients treated with a statin.

The results of a trial of 4 g/d prescription EPA+DHA in hypertriglyceridemia are anticipated in 2020. We conclude that prescription n-3 FAs (EPA+DHA or EPA-only) at a dose of 4 g/d (>3 g/d total EPA+DHA) are an effective and safe option for reducing triglycerides as monotherapy or as an adjunct to other lipid-lowering agents.

Hypertriglyceridemia (triglycerides 200–499 mg/dL) is relatively common in the United States, whereas more severe triglyceride elevations (very high triglycerides, ≥500 mg/dL) are far less frequently observed. Both are becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States and elsewhere, likely driven in large part by growing rates of obesity and diabetes mellitus.

To read more click on the following link: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000709

Top Political Podcasts: Mark Shields & Ramesh Ponnuru Discuss Latest In Washington (PBS)

Mark Shields and Ramesh Ponnuru PBS Newshour Aug 23 2019Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Ramesh Ponnuru of The National Review join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including President Trump’s trade war with China and attacks on the Fed and how they’re affecting the U.S. economy, three recent Democratic departures from the 2020 presidential race and the legacy of billionaire GOP donor David Koch.

Top RV Campgrounds: Silver Falls State Park In Oregon Is “A Standout Scenic Treasure”

From the Oregon State Parks website:

Silver Falls State Park RV CampingPeople call it the “crown jewel” of the Oregon State Parks system, and once you visit, you know why. Silver Falls State Park is the kind of standout scenic treasure that puts Oregon firmly onto the national—and international—stage. Its beauty, boundless recreational opportunities and historic presence keep it there.

Waterfalls:  Where else can you walk behind a waterfall? Check out the famous South Falls and see what a 177-foot curtain of water looks like from behind. It’s part of the Trail of Ten Falls, a spectacular, nationally recognized hiking trail that weaves through a dense forested landscape. The trail passes a series of breathtaking waterfalls along a rocky canyon, and descends to a winding creek at the forest floor. This 7.2 mile loop is considered to be a moderate hike, with an overall elevation change of 800 feet.  Several connecting trails with separate access points make shorter routes. For everyone’s safety— absolutely no pets allowed on the Canyon Trail.  Pets on leash are allowed on all other trails.

Silver Falls State Park RV Camping map

Boots, bikes, paws, hooves: The park offers more than 35 miles of backcountry trails for mountain biking, hiking or horseback riding (see guided ride info below).  Bears and cougars live in the more remote park areas.

To read more click on the following link: https://oregonstateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/silver-falls-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=OR&parkId=402235

New European Art Books: “In Montparnasse – The Emergence Of Surrealism In Paris” By Sue Roe (2019)

From inside the book on Amazon website:

In Montparnasse Sue Roe Chapter 3 excerpt from Amazon website

In Montparnasse Sue Roe CoverIn Montparnasse begins on the eve of the First World War and ends with the 1936 unveiling of Dalí’s Lobster Telephone. As those extraordinary years unfolded, the Surrealists found ever more innovative ways of exploring the interior life, and asking new questions about how to define art. In Montparnasse recounts how this artistic revolution came to be amidst the salons and cafés of that vibrant neighborhood.

Sue Roe is both an incisive art critic of these pieces and a beguiling biographer with a fingertip feel for this compelling world. Beginning with Duchamp, Roe then takes us through the rise of the Dada movement, the birth of Surrealist photography with Man Ray, the creation of key works by Ernst, Cocteau, and others, through the arrival of Dalí. On canvas and in their readymades and other works these artists juxtaposed objects never before seen together to make the viewer marvel at the ordinary—and at the workings of the subconscious. We see both how this art came to be and how the artists of Montparnasse lived.

To find out more: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/533938/in-montparnasse-by-sue-roe/

Stories From The Road (Trip): “Big Bend Country”… “The Wild West Of Texas”

From a National Review Magazine online article by Heather Wilhelm:

Big Bend CountryTry to get to Big Bend National Park, a stunning mix of ecosystems perched on the Rio Grande. Sure, you can fly into El Paso — and then you’ve still got about 300 miles left to go. No matter which way you approach the heart of West Texas, it’s a long haul. (Well, unless you have a private jet. But then you’d be missing half the fun.) 

As the writer S. C. Gwynne has pointed out, the American frontier didn’t end in California, but in the wild west of Texas. On the way out to Big Bend country, through hardscrabble landscapes, breathtaking canyons, and vast swathes of open sky, you can see why.

If you take my preferred route — it’s longer than necessary, on purpose — you’ll stumble across the former home of Judge Roy Bean, the hard-living, saloon-dwelling, 19th-century “law west of the Pecos,” who kept a black bear as a pet. You’ll pass through Marathon, a one-horse town with an impossibly lovely hotel — the Gage, built in 1927, famous for its White Buffalo Bar.

To read more click on the following link: https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2019/09/09/the-great-american-road-trip/

Future Of Smaller Homes: “Bumblebee Spaces” Stores Bed, Wardrobe On Ceiling Freeing Up Small Rooms

From an 1843.com online article:

Bumblebee Spaces website home space savingsA startup called Bumblebee Spaces is trying to make micro apartments more appealing by adding movable furniture. Beds, wardrobe and drawers are stored up on the ceiling, to be lowered quietly on white suspension cords at the touch of a tablet, like a scene change on a theatre stage. In theory this frees up floor space. Once he’s raised his bed in the morning, Dabdoub sometimes does yoga and meditation. In the evening, he can sit on the couch and project Netflix onto a blank wall, which would otherwise be occupied by the bed’s headboard.Bumblebee Spaces website home space savings bed

Bumblebee is putting a new twist on the Murphy bed, a mattress that folds down from the wall. That bed was named after another inventor in San Francisco, William Lawrence Murphy, who was living in a tiny one-room apartment in the early 1900s. According to lore, he was trying to woo an opera singer who refused to come to his bedroom. So he devised a way to fold up his mattress into the wall and convert the bedroom into a lounge. Lust fuelled innovation.

https://www.bumblebeespaces.com/

To read more click on the following link: https://www.1843magazine.com/upfront/postcard-from-silicon-valley/how-robotic-furniture-will-improve-our-lives

Top Camping Vehicles: Overland Discovery Rents Fully Loaded 2020 Jeep Gladiator Camper

From a 303Magazine.com online article:

OVERLAND DISCOVERY 2020 JEEP GLADIATOR Camping gear listOverland Discovery currently owns six Jeeps and two campervans that are located here in Denver but are in the process of equipping more to offer the experience to those traveling to the Las Vegas area, a prime outdoor destination with 16 national parks within driving distance. The lineup currently includes two and four-door Wranglers and Rubicons, two RAM ProMaster campervans and a new 2020 Jeep Gladiator – a Rubicon truck with exemplary power, towing capability and a king-size rooftop tent for maximum comfort. OVERLAND DISCOVERY Logo

Each vehicle is automatic with 4×4 capability and comes with a rooftop tent with a memory foam mattress, blankets, pillows, camping chairs, propane stove, YETI cooler, cookware, and two gallons of water. All you need to bring along is your food, an extra cooler for drinks and a sense of adventure. “Seeing people experience adventure and the look in their eyes when they get back is just as satisfying as experiencing it for myself,” said Ramirez.

https://www.overlanddiscovery.com/

To read more click on the following link: https://303magazine.com/2019/08/jeep-rental-camping-gear-overland-discovery/

Books Worth Reading: “The Trojan War Museum” By Ayşe Papatya Bucak

From an NPR book review:

The Trojan War Museum and Other Stories by Ayşe Papatya Bucak book NPRThat’s the kind of astonishing illumination you’ll find in The Trojan War Museum, Ayşe Papatya Bucak’s debut story collection. These are stories that reflect the author’s Turkish heritage and a curiosity about our human search for meaning as profound as it is lyrical. The stories are music. They beguile and illuminate with narratives about yearning and desire, circumstance and courage, resilience and discovery. Reading them, while the reading lasts, replaces seeing.

I found myself lingering as I read — Bucak’s prose has a sort of musical cadence to it; these are fables about enchantment, myth and actual history. Her subjects — schoolgirls stuck in the debris of a disaster, an art collector’s exotic oeuvre, a Trojan War Museum imagined and re-imagined by Zeus and his fellow deities, a widow’s chess match with her dead husband’s ghost — occupy a dreamscape of surprising encounters, art history, and Turkish culture. Each story is a vignette that has at its core a re-weaving of human relationships.

To read more click on the following link: https://www.npr.org/2019/08/22/753170034/the-trojan-war-museum-is-a-gorgeous-gallery-of-dreams