Woman's World October 3, 2022

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7 NATIONAL FLOWER DAY Enjoy nature’s beauty Brighten the day with a stunning fall bouquet! To make: Fill a 6" tall pitcher halfway with water. Snip 6 pink garden roses and 5 stems each of purple decorative and pompon dahlias to 8". Place the roses in the pitcher in a tight, rounded mound, then insert the dahlias around the roses, alternating colors. Nestle in 1 hydrangea stem from a grocery-store bouquet to add another layer of fluffy texture. Pro tip: “Cut dahlias in the morning, while they’re open,” advises Jan Johnsen, author of Floratopia. “If you don’t, they’ll stay closed!” JOKE OF THE WEEK A guaranteed pass Brian was pulled over for speeding, and the police officer saw lighter fluid, matches and torches in the back seat. Pointing to the items, the officer said,…

MOVIE Get lost in the drama with Tár! Enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the international world of classical music with this fictional drama about a female composer who is about to take the world by storm. Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is the first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra and is widely considered one of the greatest living composers and conductors. She’s just days away from recording the groundbreaking symphony that will take her to the very height of her already incredible career, but can she make it through the stress, fear and excitement that are building to a crescendo? See it in theaters on October 7. CW Take a wild ride with Walker: Independence! Go back in time to the 1800s for this prequel to Walker, in which we meet Abby Walker,…

• The Judy Garland Show, a musical variety series, debuted on CBS in 1963. One episode featured newcomer 22-year-old Barbra Streisand. • Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz was first published in 1950. It has since run in more than 2,600 newspapers. • “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen was a worldwide hit and went to #1 in 1980. It stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. • Cats, based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, opened on Broadway in 1982. It ran for nearly 18 years. • Produced by the Louis Marx company, the Big Wheel first hit the market in 1969, but later gained popularity in the ’70s due to its low price point.…

Fiction COZY MYSTERY Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower Eerie and enchanting, this whodunit set in 1885 follows Willa Noble as she interviews to be a housemaid at Emily Dickinson’s home. She gets the job, and they soon develop a friendship. Then when Willa’s brother, Henry, dies, she confides in Emily that she believes it was murder. Emily offers to help, only to discover there are high-powered people who will do anything to protect their dark secrets. WOMEN’S FICTION Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks This heart-gripping new novel from bestselling author Nicholas Sparks is a story of love and loss. Colby Mills, head of a farm in North Carolina, once had dreams of pursing a music career. He meets Morgan Lee, who graduated from a college music program, then questions his path. Meanwhile, Beverly and…

“Mom, I don’t want to be here anymore—I want to go home!” 11-year-old Will Gibney shrieked uncontrollably as he sat hooked up to an IV in a hospital infusion room. “I wish we could,” Laura Assaf told her son. Since infancy, the Guilderland, New York, then sixth grader had suffered from a host of physical and behavioral issues. He was hard to soothe as a baby, unresponsive to pain and grew to be hyperactive and prone to sudden outbursts of rage. By age 6, doctors had diagnosed him with sensory integration disorder and autism, and put him on a variety of medications. But Laura, a practical clinical psychologist, felt something else was going on and, after extensive research, she found a specialist who determined Will had autoimmune encephalopathy—his body didn’t produce antibodies…

We all know animals can boost our mood, but new studies show that they can also help heal illness and boost immunity—just like Toshi did for Will. In fact, one study recorded in the National Library of Medicine found that petting a dog for 18 minutes leads to a significant increase in an antibody called secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA), a key player in fighting infection. “Another effect of animals on our immunity involves our stress response,” explains Dr. Austin Perlmutter, M.D. “Chronic stress is well-known to compromise our ability to fight off infection.” Research published in the American Academy of Pain Medicine journal reveals that therapy dog visits provided significant reduction in pain and stress for chronic pain patients. Explains psychologist Denee Jordan, Psy.D., “Pets reduce cortisol, a stress hormone, while boosting…