Fun Spring Egg Recipes for Brunch

Dishes that say spring!

Tomato Strata Florentine

    For Individual Cups

  1. Evenly coat 4 (10-ounce) custard cups with spray.
  2. Place 1/2 cup of spinach in each cup.
  3. Sprinkle each with about 1/3 cup of bread cubes.
  4. In medium bowl, stir together tomato and seasoning until tomato is evenly coated with seasoning.
  5. Spoon 1/4 cup tomato mixture over bread cubes in each cup.
  6. In medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk.
  7. Slowly pour scant 1/2 cup egg mixture over tomato mixture in each cup.
  8. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of the cheese.
  9. Bake in preheated 350º F-oven until custards are puffed and begin to pull away from sides of cups and knife inserted near centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
    For Baking Pan

  1. Layer entire amounts of all ingredients as above in sprayed 8-by-8-by-2­inch baking pan.
  2. Bake as above.

Serves 4.

Italian Vegetable Custard

  1. In medium bowl, beat together eggs and flour until smooth.
  2. Stir in squash, zucchini, and 1/4 cup of the olives.
  3. Spread in greased 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking dish or pan.
  4. Bake in preheated 450º F-oven just until set, about 10 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together Parmesan cheese, basil, and garlic salt.
  6. Sprinkle over baked squash mixture. Top evenly with tomato slices, remaining olives, onion slices, and Monterey Jack cheese.
  7. Continue baking until cheese is melted, an additional 4 minutes.

Serves 4.

It’s the Berries Pie

  1. In covered blender container, blend cottage cheese, raspberries, and vanilla at medium speed until smooth. Set aside.
  2. In medium saucepan, stir together gelatin and sugar.
  3. Stir in milk and eggs until thor­oughly blended.
  4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat a metal spoon with a thin film and reaches at least 160º F.
  5. Remove from heat.
  6. Stir in reserved berry mixture.
  7. Chill, stirring occasionally, until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from spoon, about 20 to 25 minutes.
  8. Pour into crust. Refrigerate until firm, several hours or overnight.
  9. Garnish with fresh rasp­berries and mint leaves, if desired.

Serves 6.

Scrambled Egg and Chicken Wraps

  1. In small bowl, beat together eggs and milk until blended. Set aside. Heat tortillas ac­cording to package directions. Keep warm.
  2. Evenly coat 10-inch nonstick omelet pan or skillet with cooking spray. Over medium heat, heat pan until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Add chicken and chili powder. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is heated through, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in reserved egg mixture. As mixture begins to set, gently draw inverted pancake turner across bottom and sides of pan, forming large, soft curds. Continue until eggs are thickened and no visible liquid egg remains. Do not stir constantly.
  3. Spoon about 1/3 cup scrambled eggs into center of each warm tortilla. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of cheese. Top with salsa to taste. Add additional toppings, if desired. Roll up each tortilla or form tortilla pockets by folding over opposite sides of each tor­tilla to cover eggs, then folding remaining sides over one another.

Serves 3.

Quiche Florentine

  1. In medium bowl, beat together 1 of the eggs, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, and cheese. Stir in orzo until well blended. To form crust, spread orzo mixture over bot­tom and up sides of lightly greased deep 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate.
  2. Beat together remaining eggs, remain­ing garlic powder, milk, and seasoning until well blended. Stir in spinach and mushrooms until well combined. Pour into prepared crust.
  3. Bake in preheated 375 F-oven until puffed in center and knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serv­ing. Garnish with nectarine slices, if de­sired.

Serves 6.

How to Add Ornamental Grasses to Your Landscaping

Early spring is the time to plant ornamental grasses as well as to prune back last year’s growth of established clumps so that new shoots can grow unhindered.

Ornamental grasses have emerged as one of the gardeners’ greatest gifts. They are available in a multitude of colorful varieties and require very little care.

Most are drought tolerant and will grow in any kind of soil, although they generally do not like humus rich soil.

Different colors, sizes, and textures of grasses may be arranged in eye-catching groupings. Ornamental grasses also work well in perennial borders, with tall varieties providing an attractive backdrop for bushes and flowers.

Ornamental grasses are of two basic types: cool-season grasses such as blue fescue and feather reed grass that grow best at temperatures up to 74 F and warm-season grasses such as maiden grass and fountain grass that thrive in temperatures of 75 to 85F. The cool-season grasses do their growing in the spring and fall when temperatures are moderate. Warm-season grasses grow slowly in spring and flower in late summer or early fall. Some gardeners plant early bulbs such as tulips or daffodils with warm-season grasses. As the grass grows it will cover the bulb foliage as it falls back.

A mix of warm- and cool-season grasses can provide interest from spring through fall. Plant the cool-season grasses in front of the warm season grasses in a border.

To prepare grasses in spring, cut down dried clumps to several inches above the ground using a power hedge trimmer. You can also burn down grasses if they are far enough from other plants, bushes, and trees to avoid damage from the scorching heat.

For a solo specimen that will truly be an attention grabber, plant pampas grass. It grows to 12 feet with showy silver or pale pink plumes. Because pampas grass is hardy only to 20F, gardeners in colder climates may try Andes Silver or a six-foot variety called Pumila, hardy to 5 to 10 F.

For shady gardens, a good choice to plant is Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola,’ a Japanese forest grass that has been named 2009 Perennial of the Year. Japanese forest grass brightens up shady gardens with its gold colored leaves. Unlike other ornamental grasses, it loves rich soil and requires watering. Plants are nonspreading and can reach a mature height of about 1.5 feet.

Five Strategies to Save Your Sight

By Dr. Marguerite McDonald, a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at NYU School of Medicine in New York who specializes in caring for the cornea and other structures at the front of the eye. Dr. McDonald practices with the Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island.

Our eyes change over time, and the challenges to our eye health shift, too. People in their 20s and 30s may begin wearing eyeglasses or need a different eyeglass prescription. For those in their 40s, reading glasses and problems with dry eye—which may disproportionately affect women due to hormonal changes related to the approach of menopause—are common realities. And, double or blurred vision and sensitivity to light may signal the early onset of cataracts and make activities such as driving at night difficult for individuals over 50.

To promote optimal eye health for life:

Get regular eye exams: Many women (and some men, as well) are so busy taking care of families that they forget about their own health and wellness. Take the first step. Schedule an annual exam to help detect the five major threats to eye health, including glaucoma, cataracts, dry eye, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration.

Eat for your eyesight: Plan ahead to eat plenty of berries, two daily servings of leafy greens, two weekly servings of oily fish, and foods rich in vitamin C such like oranges and broccoli. Omega-3 fatty acids help maintain a normal tear film, which is critical for crisp vision that doesn’t fluctuate. Leafy green vegetables provide lutein and xeazanthin to help maintain the health of the macula, the part of the retina responsible for central vision. Vitamin C helps prevent changes due to aging in all of the ocular tissues.

Stay safe in the shade: Whatever the season, always wear a hat, sunglasses, or shades when outdoors. Exposure to bright sunlight may increase the risk of developing cataracts or age-related macular degeneration.

Make exercise part of your day: Being overweight increases your risk of diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol—conditions that may harm the retina and result in vision loss.

Maintain healthy tears: Tears nourish and protect the eye surface from excessive dryness that can lead to impaired vision and increased risk of infection. To help ease dryness, itching, and irritation, opt for over-the-counter artificial tear products (e.g., Optive, Refresh, or Fresh Kote). Chronic use of eye whitening drops (e.g., Visine or Naphcon-A) may actually worsen eye dryness. Talk to your eye doctor if using artificial tears becomes routine. In some cases, prescription eye drops (e.g., Restasis) may be beneficial.

Spinach with Lemon and Garlic
(Makes 4 servings)

First, heat oil in large saute pan or wok. Saute garlic over low heat until golden but not browned.
Next, raise heat to medium, add lemon juice, zest, salt, pepper, and spinach. Immediately life out of pan using tongs (leaving liquid in pot) and place in serving bowl.

Spinach With Golden Raisins and Almonds
(makes 4 servings)

First, soak raisins in small bowl of hot water to plump.
Then, heat oil in large wok or saute pan and cook shallots for about 3 minutes, until golden.
Toss in the almonds and cook briefly until they change color. Drain spinach and raisins (reserve raisin water) and stir in. If you need to add some liquid to keep greens moist, use raisin water, a tablespoon at a time. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper, and toss.
Cover and cook until greens wilt – about 4 minutes.
Stir frequently. If there is liquid left in wok when spinach is done, lift out greens, raisins, and nuts with tongs, leaving liquid in pot.

Preventing Macular Degeneration with Greens

Kale with Red Onion
(Makes 4 servings)

First, bring large pot of water to boil. Immerse kale in boiling water and cook for about 4 minutes, until it turns bright green and wilts. Drain kale immediately. Once it is cool enough to handle, coarsely chop.
Second, heat oil in large saute pan. Cook onions and garlic about five minutes, until onions and garlic about five minutes, until onions wilt and garlic turns golden. Stir frequently. Halfway through cooking, add one tablespoon or water. As water evaporates, it will steam onions, which will speed cooking and keep onions soft.
Third, add chopped kale, salt, pepper, and broth to pan.
Stir and heat through.

Spinach Salad With Fruit And Blackberry-Basil Vinaigrette
(Makes 6 servings)

Place salad greens and next four ingredients into large bowl. Gently toss.
Blackberry-Basil Vinaigrette

Pulse preserves, vinegar, and next four ingredients in a blender 2 or 3 times until blended. Gradually add olive il and continue to process until smooth. (May substitute blueberry preserves and fresh blueberries for the blackberries.)

Spinach and Lentil Soup
(Makes 5 servings)

First, heat the oil in soup pot over low heat. Saute onions and garlic in oil until onions are soft and golden. Add cumin, coriander, and paprika. Stir and cook until aromas intensify.
Second, coarsely chop spinach. Add it to the saute and cook until it wilts.
Third, add Tabasco, oregano, lentils and broth to pot

Stir together remaining ingredients and toss into salad just before serving.

The Best Black Bean Soup Recipe

I’m constantly looking for meat substitutes. There are tons of articles on limiting red meat for health reasons, and sure, it’s more expensive than vegetables, but the truth: I just don’t like it. So whenever possible, I cook vegetarian meals and am much happier.

Because of this, I try to incorporate other protein into my diet, things like nuts and beans. What are your favorite bean recipes?

One of my favorite dinners is Black Bean Soup. This is a recipe I’ve created after playing with numerous other recipes from cookbooks and Web sites. It’s simple and satisfying and perfect with a whole-grain quesadilla on the side.

Black Bean Soup

Optional garnishes:

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Saute onion, garlic, carrots, and jalapenos until tender. Add black beans, chicken broth, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree soup in a blender until smooth. Or you can use an immersion blender to puree in the pot.
3. Serve hot with the garnishes you prefer. If you are eating with quesadillas, be sure to dunk!

For other ideas, check out our Chili Recipes.

New Potatoes by June

One of the joys of country living is the harvesting and eating of delectable new potatoes in spring. The tender, succulent tubers only 1¼-inch in diameter, gently boiled and served steaming with a touch of salt, pepper, butter, and fresh dill is one of the rare delicacies that everyone can enjoy.

To have your own new potatoes by June, you should plant potatoes two weeks before the last possible frost. Some early varieties that provide excellent new potatoes include Charlotte, white rose, norgold russet, yellow Finnish, and red Norland.

Purchase only certified seed potatoes from nurseries, garden outlets, and hardware stores. Some supermarkets may offer uncertified seed potatoes that have been treated with growth retardant.

Place the seed potatoes in a warm area so they begin to sprout. A couple of days before planting, cut them into pieces leaving two or three eyes in each piece. Larger pieces provide better starting than smaller pieces.

If you have sandy soil, fine. If clay, dig it up and amend it with compost and fine mulch to provide drainage. Plant the potato pieces 15 inches apart with the cut side down, covering them with about an inch of soil. Before planting you may add 5-10-10 or 10-20-20 fertilizer. Add additional soil as the plants grow to keep the tubers covered. Or cover the bed with black plastic, cut slits every foot or so and plant the potatoes in the slits.

In the north countries such as Sweden and Finland, where new potatoes are considered next to sacred, farmers often plant potatoes above ground in straw and mound with straw and mulch as the plants grow. The results are very clean potatoes that are very easy to harvest.

When planted early, new potatoes are ready for harvest about the time peas are ripe, or when the potato plants begin to blossom. Pick the potatoes right before eating for the freshest flavor.

Breast Cancer: Better Test, Better Treatment

A new test called chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) looks for color changes in cancer cells to help identify — without ultra-expensive microscopes — those that are sensitive to certain therapies. Unlike other tests, it can be used on tissue samples stored in the lab. The Food and Drug Administration approved the CISH test last year, and biopsy test kits are now available to U.S. doctors.

“We’ve got a few targeted therapies that can dramatically improve your prognosis if you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, but we know that they’re not for everyone,” says pathologist Dr. Olga Falkowski. “These new tests will help doctors quickly and accurately identify women whose cancer is HER-2-positive, thus getting them the best possible treatment in the shortest possible time.”

A second test, silver enhanced in situ hybridization (SISH), deposits tiny amounts of silver to help detect HER-2 genes in cells. Used in other countries, it is awaiting FDA approval in the United States.

Barbie Celebrates 50 Years

For a woman of a “certain age,” Barbie looks pretty good—well preserved, in fact.

Would you believe that the lithe lady remains as popular as ever, raking in a whopping $3.6 billion annually in retail sales?

A fixture in toy cupboards around the world, Barbie is an enduring icon introduced to the world in 1959 at the New York Toy Fair. More than one billion dolls have been sold since, according to the doll’s maker, Mattel. Weathering controversy over the decades, Barbie continues to remain a hit with girls across America and the globe.

“She is everything that America’s little girls want to be when they cross over into Teenland,” wrote author William K. Zinsser in the article “Barbie is a million-dollar doll” that appeared in the December 12, 1964, issue of the Post.

At that time, Mattel reported that Barbie “employed” a personal secretary to answer her mail, along with 15 other people who ran the Barbie Fan Club, which boasted 8,500 chapters and half a million members.

Decades later, Barbie remains more popular than ever with children and adults alike.

“The Barbie revolution was inspired ten years ago by a real Barbie, the then 13-year-old daughter of Elliot and Ruth Handler, owners of Mattel,” writes Zinsser. “At that time the Handlers were manufacturers of plastic doll furniture.”

Ruth found that whenever she took Barbie into a dime store, she would buy paper dolls like Tillie the Toiler, then go home and spend hours cutting out the costumes and dressing the dolls. She also tried to dress real dolls, but they were clumsy and weren’t meant to wear clothes that had any real style. Handler thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a three-dimensional fashion doll?”

Well, the idea obviously caught on.

Although eligible for AARP, Barbie remains as youthful as ever, keeping busy during the years, with 108 careers and counting.

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

Increase Your Asparagus Harvest

It used to be nobody cared when they bit into a tasty spear of asparagus whether it was a she or a he. In fact, most people didn’t even know there was a difference. Gardeners happily planted popular open-pollinating varieties, such as “Martha Washington” and “Mary Washington,” and were pleased with the results three years later when they started harvesting. But now, having stepped out of the Garden of Eden, gardeners have become aware that mixing the two sexes, which is what Washington varieties were, is not the best way to produce the most abundant asparagus crop.

And sorry ladies, but in this case, the male hybrid of the species really does have the edge, according to researchers at Rutgers University who started a program in the 1980s to improve the performance of asparagus using a more productive male hybrid plant. The gentlemen of the species actually produce more and slenderer spears, while the ladies tend to be (how shall we put it) more on the pleasingly plump side.

The female plants waste a lot of time and use a lot of energy producing seed, which can be a hassle for gardeners when tiny sprouts begin shooting up like weeds all around the asparagus patch. It seems the guys produce a yield of spears that is 20 to 30 percent higher than the females. Many garden experts are now recommending Jersey varieties such as “Jersey Supreme,” “Jersey Giant,” and “Jersey Knight”—all products of the Rutgers University research that was done in, where else, New Jersey.

Note, however, that these Jersey male hybrids aren’t really all male after all. They are 93 percent male and 7 percent female.
As for the nutritive value of male vs. female asparagus, researchers in China have found male spears are higher in amino acid, carotenoid, iron, and zinc, while the female spears have higher fiber content, suggesting the males are of higher quality. The females, however, have higher soluble sugar, calcium, and fat content than the males.

Asparagus Tips

  1. Asparagus dormant corms can be planted a month before the last frost date.
  2. Asparagus plants prefer sandy loam, but will grow in heavier soils as long as they have good drainage.
  3. To plant, dig a trench 18 inches wide and deep. Add a few inches of rich compost and space roots fanning outward about 18 inches apart. Cover with a few inches of soil and wait for the plants to sprout, then slowly fill the trench with soil as the sprouts grow, never covering the tips, until the trench is filled to the top.
  4. If you live in a warm climate such as California, plant a California variety such as “Atlas,” “Apollo,” or “Grande.” These are crosses between New Jersey male plants and a nonmale California hybrid, designed to produce taller spears that won’t fern out prematurely under high air temperatures.
  5. Here’s the hard part: Don’t cut any spears until the third year. After that you will get more abundant spears each year for 20 years or more if you keep your patch weeded and add fertilizer to the bed every spring.

Attract Songbirds to your Garden

Summer is the perfect time for entertaining, especially for our feathered friends. So as you plan new landscaping this spring, keep the birds in mind and add some “songbird plants” to your yard.

The best choices are native species of trees and bushes. Native plants lure more native insects than do nonnative species, which in turn attracts more birds to feed on the insects. Birds plan their nesting at times when insect populations are most abundant, and having babies in nests ensures those colorful visitors with the melodious voices will be around longer for you to enjoy.

Birds, like humans, are attracted to bright colors, and red is one of their favorites. Many plants and trees have developed red fruits for that reason. The birds get a meal, and the plants get their seeds distributed for free. But certain color combinations are even more irresistible to avian diners, such as red and dark colors as when unripe fruit starts out red and then turns black when ripe. Examples include black cherry, poke weed, and wild raspberry. Other of nature’s color schemes also attract birds, such as the gray dogwood with its white fruit and bright red stems, irresistible to fruit loving birds such as cedar waxwings and Baltimore orioles.

The following is a partial list of shrubs and trees that can put your yard on the best-places-to-stop list for birds, both resident and migrating.

Deciduous Trees

Deciduous Shrubs

For more information about attracting desirable birds to your yard see, Landscaping That’s for the Birds by Rachael Liska in the May/June Country Gentleman section of The Saturday Evening Post.

Retirement Age: 65 and Rising

Kelly White has done a lot in his 70 years, from operating a bulldozer to running his own construction company. He’s worked in military intelligence, owned an apple orchard, and invested in the stock market. By almost anyone’s standard, he’s earned the right to slow down.

But the times, they are a changin’. Like many of his peers who have hit retirement age, White is working as hard as ever, “probably harder than I did in my 30s,” he says. These days you’ll find him crunching numbers and serving customers at the HoneyBaked Ham store in Silverdale, Washington, where he and his wife, Sue, put in close to 50 hours per week —apiece.

The Whites tried retirement and didn’t take to it. “We just got bored. We also lost a fair amount of money in the stock market spiral.” So they launched a new career as owners of a popular food franchise.

Ironically, the downturn to which White referred was the dot-com collapse of 2000 and 2001. That seems like small potatoes compared to the 2008 market collapse, which has made work a virtual necessity for many people 65 and older. Other key factors—Congress’s decision to raise retirement age, the escalating cost of health care, and an aging populace—have contributed to the new economic reality: Retirement age just isn’t what it used to be.

Retirement security “is being eroded from a number of sides,” according to a joint study by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for American Progress. “The decimation of retirement savings due to a sharp stock market decline, historically low interest rates, and in some cases, corporate fraud, has reduced household savings. In addition to these factors, retirement income security has also been undermined by rising health care costs.” The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed the trend in a recent report. “With the baby-boom generation about to start joining the ranks of those age 65 and over, the graying of the American work force is only just beginning,” it said.

Roughly 6.1 million people age 65 or older are in the work force today, compared to 3.8 million 10 years ago. No other age group has seen such huge jumps in employment in recent decades. Between 1977 and 2007, employment of workers 65 and over increased 101 percent, compared to a 59 percent increase for total employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of employed men 65 and over rose 78 percent; employment of women 65 and older increased by 147 percent. Although they’re still less than 1 percent of the total labor force, the number of working folks 75 and older jumped a whopping 172 percent.

In the latest AARP survey on the subject, 70 percent of “mature workers,” those between 50 and 70, said they’ll keep working through their 60s and 70s. Sixty-four percent of those working now cited financial need as the reason. Another 11 percent mentioned financial security and the desire “to save more for retirement.” Keeping health care benefits was another commonly stated reason.

Even with Social Security and pension benefits, many older people simply haven’t saved enough to retire. And some who thought they had enough watched the worth of their 401Ks and other nest eggs plummet by 30, 40, or even 50 percent this past fall.

“A lot of the value of my assets is declining precipitously,” says Tina Beer, 67, of Sarasota, Florida, who retired at 65 after 35 years in higher education, most recently serving as dean of liberal arts at the Ringling College of Art and Design.

A year ago, Beer went back to work. This time she chose a part-time and virtually stress-free position that allows her to be outdoors much of the time, which makes it fun. As a pet sitter and dog walker for Fetch! Pet Care, she can earn from a few hundred to almost $1,000 per month. The extra income helps Beer and her 73-year-old husband afford travel, entertainment, and the extras they couldn’t otherwise enjoy. Plus the job is flexible: If she and her husband want to go sailing for a couple weeks, she just notifies her employer, and he finds someone else to take her jobs.

Although Beer could have started her own pet sitting business, she affiliated with a franchise so she wouldn’t have to worry about filling out paperwork, finding clients, collecting money, or other details of owning a business. Beer’s only concern is not to earn too much. Social Security benefits become taxable once the total of adjusted gross income, tax-exempt interest income, and one-half of Social Security benefits exceeds $25,000 for individuals or $32,000 for couples.

Unfortunately, folks wanting to retire early or work past retirement age have to keep track of such things to avoid running afoul of Social Security and pension rules that can end up costing them.

Historically, 65 has been considered normal retirement age because it’s when people can claim full Social Security benefits. In 1983, Congress voted to gradually raise the full retirement age beginning with people born in 1938 or later. For anyone born after 1959, full retirement age is 67. Congress based its decision on the improved health of older people and increases in average life expectancy.

People can still start receiving Social Security benefits at 62, but there are reasons not to. If you’re under full retirement age when you start drawing benefits, you’ll lose $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the annual limit. For 2009 that limit is $14,160.

If anything, the trend now is to delay claiming benefits as long as possible, which is currently age 70. People who keep working will be rewarded in the form of a delayed retirement credit: A person born in 1943 or later gets an 8 percent higher check for postponing retirement until they are 70. Also, Social Security benefits are based on your top 35 earning years, so those who work past the normal retirement age and continue to make good money can ensure a bigger monthly check.

There are some obstacles, however, for those who want to stay in their current jobs, especially if their employers are among the minority still offering defined benefit pension plans. Under the terms of many of these plans, companies cannot make both salary and pension payments to the same worker at the same time. In addition, some pension plans base their payouts on an employee’s salary during the last year of full-time employment. A worker who stays with his current employer but downsizes his job and accepts reduced salary could actually lose money if the distribution is based on the lower salary amount.

Fortune 500 companies such as Boeing, Eli Lilly, and P&G have found ways around such predicaments. They still use senior, retired workers, but they find and retain them in nontraditional ways, explains Linda Muskin of Clarus Communications. For example, some firms contract with YourEncore (yourencore.com), which has a database of more than 4,000 retired engineers and scientists interested in working on projects in which they can make a meaningful contribution, have a flexible schedule, and get paid for their expertise.

Companies and retirees are less likely to butt heads with Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) laws governing postretirement compensation when they work through a third party, Muskin said. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry. Although the purpose of the law is to provide protection for individuals in these plans, some of its rules actually discourage postretirement employment.

Sen. Herb Kohl, (D-Wis.), who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Aging, has introduced legislation to eliminate these kinds of barriers for older Americans who want to stay in the work force longer and to encourage employers to recruit and retain older workers. The Incentives for Older Workers Act (S. 2933) addresses both the pension and Social Security dilemmas. It would prohibit pension plans from penalizing individuals for continuing to work on a reduced schedule, and it would revise the Social Security benefit reduction to $1 for every $3 earned before full retirement age. The bill also would allow individuals to earn delayed retirement credits for Social Security purposes for an additional two years until age 72, instead of the current limit of 70.

Bottom line: Retiring at 65 is no longer a realistic American dream for workers or corporate America. Public policy needs to change to reflect that fact.

If you’re 65 and fairly healthy, chances are good you’ll live another 20 to 25 years. To retire at the level recommended by financial planners, you’d need about 75 percent of what you were earning when fully employed, multiplied by the number of years you’re expected to live. As an example, someone making $100,000 would want to have at least $1.5 million in the bank. Such savers are the exception, not the rule.

Fortunately for seniors, the need to work longer coincides with a looming labor shortage forecast for many sectors of the economy as baby boomers age out of the work force. Economists say the spike in unemployment that occurred in 2008 is temporary. According to the Special Committee on Aging, the U.S. labor pool will face a shortage of up to 35 million workers by 2030. Fields already reporting shortages include health care, technology, social services, education, public utilities, and engineering.

A multitude of nonprofit and commercial ventures have sprung up to connect seniors with employment and service opportunities. SeniorJobBank (seniorjobbank.org ) is an online service aimed at the over-50 community where job seekers can search job listings and employers can post openings. The AARP Foundation offers two programs to help qualifying seniors find meaningful, well-paying jobs. The Senior Community Service Employment Program targets those 55 and older who are unemployed and need to work to survive. Seniors are placed at “host agencies” such as food banks and hospitals, where they work 20 hours a week and receive at least minimum wage. The jobs are considered temporary while the seniors hone their skills and the program helps locate permanent part-time or full-time work. Another AARP program, WorkSearch, provides career placement advice and the training seniors need to remain in or re-enter the work force.

For those who want to continue to feel useful but don’t necessarily need the money, a campaign called The Experience Wave (experiencewave.org ) is working to change federal tax law to permit older people to treat the time they spend volunteering for nonprofit groups as tax deductible. There’s an irony, of course, to this latest trend of seniors working past 65. One of the great achievements of the 20th century was making retirement a viable option for so many. The allure of travel, spending time with grandchildren, and enjoying a well-deserved rest had become the Holy Grail of the aging process. Here we are now, just a few years into the 21st century, and the goal is to make it easier for seniors to remain or return to work.

The best of both worlds, of course, would be one in which the laws were flexible enough that seniors could jump in and out of the labor force as it suits their needs, and employers could recruit older workers without anyone assuming additional financial risk.

Henry Ford once said, “Nobody can think straight who does not work. Idleness warps the mind.” It’s a sentiment with which Tina Beer and Kelly White and many of their peers fully agree. Over one-third of White’s fellow HoneyBaked Ham franchisees are “retired” workers.

“What I like about my job,” Beer says, “is it’s outdoors most of the time and, to me, that’s play. I get to play with adorable dogs and cats and supplement my income.”

“Unless you’re really active, you do begin a process of mental deterioration as you age,” White says. “Working keeps us young.” And that’s the silver lining to the new economic reality.

Cover Collection: Our Artists’ Brush with Spring

Spring is here, and our northern areas are encountering the almost-forgotten sights and sounds of this gently blustering season. There are whitecapped millponds, stretching and tossing after their icy hibernations; pussy willows sunning themselves like wise kittens; and increasingly frequent flashes of bright birds back home after their vacation down South.

There’s the first faintly perceptible yellowing of bare-limbed maples beginning to get dressed in their cool summer green; snow banks of spiraea blossoms making believe that winter has come back; lines of Monday-morning wash whipping like bright flags under the high-riding sun.

There’s the sound of peepers in springtime pools, reminding us that even April can get a little frog in her throat in such changeable weather; the drip of maple sap from a boy-broken tree branch and the back-to-work buzzing of bees; the chirping of newly hatched chicks; the eager rush and gurgle of city gutters and country trout streams; the satisfying crack of the first clean-hit ball and the mud sucking sound of boys’ shoes, unfettered by galoshes, as they play catch in a soggy field.

There’s a new ring to Sunday church bells, unhurried but clear over the balmy air, telling us that perhaps it is not yet irrevocably later than we think, that there is always a new beginning, another chance for our sad old world, one more hope for us all.

 

"Apple Blossoms" by Howard Scott; 1944
“Apple Blossoms” by Howard Scott; 1944
"Spring Storm Moving In," by John Falter; 1952
“Spring Storm Moving In,” by John Falter; 1952
"Flying Kites," by John Falter; 1950
“Flying Kites,” by John Falter; 1950
"Windy City," by John Falter; 1946
“Windy City,” by John Falter; 1946
"Hardware Store at Springtime," by Stevan Dohanos; 1946
“Hardware Store at Springtime,” by Stevan Dohanos; 1946
"Chicks in Incubator," by Stevan Dohanos; 1949
“Chicks in Incubator,” by Stevan Dohanos; 1949
"Recess at Pine Creek," by John Clymer; 1960
“Recess at Pine Creek,” by John Clymer; 1960
"Harbinger of Spring," by John Clymer; 1955
“Harbinger of Spring,” by John Clymer; 1955
"Oregon Baseball," by John Clymer; 1951
“Oregon Baseball,” by John Clymer; 1951

Hooked On Rugs

Country women, mostly from New England and the maritime provinces of Canada, began weaving (hooking) strips of tattered wool blankets and clothing into the burlap from feed sacks in the mid-18th century. Unlike the more affluent city folk, they couldn’t afford to buy rugs, so they sought inspiration from their surroundings—roosters, horses, and flowers —and crafted a new rug while sitting by the fire each winter.

Hooked rugs were mostly a way to cover the cold floors, according to Sally Van Nuys, owner of Amherst Folk Art & Rug Hooking in Amherst, Ohio. They were also used for warmth on the bed and were called bed rugs.

Eventually, craftswomen progressed from making do with available scraps to dyeing their own wools. Today’s crafters and artisans create rugs working from digital images they’ve transferred to the cloth they hook on.

“If you look back over the years, you can really see the evolution,” says Virginia P. Stimmel, editor of Rug Hooking Magazine.

The early rugs were primitive. By the late 1920s, Pearl McGown began designing and selling patterns, according to the National Guild of the Pearl McGown Hookcrafters Web site. In 1930, she began designing patterns and eventually developed more than 1,000 patterns sold around the country.

McGown began offering courses in dyeing wool in the 1930s, so that crafters had more control over their palette. And in 1940, she brought teachers together in Concord, Massachusetts, to share techniques and display their rugs.

By then, rug hooking had become an established hobby across the United States, with florals and nursery rhyme rugs particularly popular.

In the 1940s, artist Molly Nye Tobey broadened the craft, notes Kory Rogers, associate curator of Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont. Tobey learned to hook rugs from her grandmothers and began selling state-themed hooked rugs from her Rhode Island antiques store. Each rug had a color scheme based on something a state was known for, such as the sandy colors of oat fields in Oklahoma. She then depicted each state’s claim to fame. For example, the Vermont rug showcased cheese and maple sugar.

By the 1960s, the interest in hooked rugs had waned when the “modern” look of shag carpet and clean lines took hold.

But over the past two decades, crafters and designers have become increasingly creative so that there are now literally thousands of design choices to meet every possible taste. Some hook in the traditional Early American-style or in contemporary geometrics. Other designers, like Claire Murray, look to the sea for inspiration and go beyond the early sailboat motifs to include shells, starfish, mermaids, lighthouses, underwater scenes, and nautical ropes. And some artists transfer photos from the computer onto a pattern and hook rugs depicting their grandchildren’s faces.

Wool sells for $20 to $40 per yard, and the kits to make a 2-by-3-foot rug sell for more than $100. While the craft has evolved into a hobby for more affluent people, there are still rug hookers who shop at Goodwill for wool clothing they can cut up and use for hooked rugs. Those involved in online hooked rug discussion forums love to talk about their great deals, like the rug hooker who bought a size 24 skirt for $3. It’s even better if it’s white or camel-colored wool that can be dyed.

In the six years Stimmel has edited Rug Hooking Magazine, she has noticed an increase in the level of sophistication in the dyeing process. Six years ago, most hookers at shows were using strips the size of spaghetti noodles. It can take years to hook a room-size rug with pieces that small. Artisans are now using slightly wider strips and dyeing them in order to get the gradation of color they’re seeking.

“Some women and men are hooking rugs today that are unbelievable,” Van Nuys says. “A lot of them look like paintings.”

For people who don’t have the time or inclination to hook a rug, there are dozens of online retailers and stores selling hand-hooked rugs. Consumers who want high-quality, durable hand-hooked rugs should stick with 100 percent wool rugs since, according to experts, wool is naturally stain resistant and easier to clean. Synthetic fibers and cotton offer cheaper price tags, but do not last as long.

Machine-made hooked rugs can also be made well and generally sell for less than handmade rugs, according to Alex Peykar, president of Nourison Rugs, a worldwide rug manufacturer. “When it comes to machine-made, we don’t refer to them as ‘hooked’ anymore. They’re called ‘looped,’” he points out.

To spot a quality rug, Peykar suggests looking for dense loops that don’t allow any light through when you hold the rug up to light, adding “The more densely hooked and the more detail in design, the higher the quality.”

Consumers should expect to pay $1,000 for a very good quality 8-by-10-foot hand-hooked wool rug and $700 to $800 for one of good quality; machine-made wool rugs cost less.

If you’re just looking for a small novelty rug, Peykar says synthetic fibers would be fine since you can throw the small rugs in the washing machine. (Wash them in cold water on the gentle cycle.)

For those who like to change their décor every few years, machine-made rugs made with synthetic fibers last about two to four years, says Georgia Hare, marketing manager for rugs and art at StudentMarket.com , Inc. Consumers buying online are encouraged to ask for swatches or call the company to ask about colors, quality, materials, and production methods.

Those concerned about buying a rug made with child labor may shop for rugs made in the USA or look for certified designations such as “Rug-Mark” that indicate an adult manufactured the rug.
Hooked Rug Care: Tips From Experts

With a little care, hand-hooked rugs can last for generations. But by their very nature, they are more delicate than standard broadloom rugs, so require special attention.

If the rug is an heirloom or one-of-a-kind created rug, the owner should contact a textile conservator to examine the rug and determine what cleaning technique would be safest and most effective. According to conservators at the Shelburne Museum, some rugs can be washed, some can be dry-cleaned, some cannot be washed or dry-cleaned. The one thing that owners can usually do safely is vacuum the rug carefully and thoroughly on both sides using the floor attachment for rugs in good condition or the brush attachment for rugs in fair or poor condition. The beater bar should not be used on hooked rugs as they are easy to catch and pull.

Water washing is not recommended because even previously tested dyes can bleed. This is also true of spot cleaning. The spot should be tested first using the cleaning solution on a white cloth. During cleaning, check the cloth to make sure that dye does not transfer.

Machine-made rugs are usually backed with an adhesive, which can dry out if the rugs are dry-cleaned. Also, antique rugs that were hooked onto old feed sacks risk drying out because feed sacks were usually made of jute, which can become brittle with sun exposure. To increase its longevity and prevent fading, place a pad under the rug and keep it out of direct sunlight. Unless the rugs are made with synthetic fibers, don’t clean them with household rug cleaners, which are too harsh for wool. If you want to wash a stain off the rug, mix one part dish soap and 10 parts water and gently dab it off. But if it’s an alcohol stain, such as wine, don’t use water. Try to get the stain out of the rug with rubbing alcohol. If you use water, you’ll set the stain. Club soda is safe to use on other stains (not on alcohol stains).

When selecting a rug-cleaning company, ask a local, reputable rug dealer to suggest a cleaning company. Before giving your hooked rug to someone to clean, ask questions to determine whether the company is knowledgeable and experienced with cleaning hooked rugs.

Going Green with Sara Snow

In her 90-year-old, colonial-style Indianapolis home, Sara Snow easily rattles off how she religiously follows the tenets of green living. Dressed in pants made of wood pulp and an organic cotton shirt, this up-and-coming eco-friendly expert is among the true tree-huggers, “greenies” —her words—who do everything they can to live lightly.

All the food she and Ryan, her husband, buy is organic or natural, including the herbal tea she’s sipping. She uses cloth bags for purchases. Their German shepherd, Makana, eats natural dog food. Their bath towels, bed sheets, and bathrobes are made from organic cotton. She points out pieces of second-hand furniture —a small table, decorative tubs made of recycled tires. The natural living advocate advises shopping at local farmers’ markets for fresh produce or joining a community supported agriculture (CSA) group for a regular share of local, healthy crops.

They use natural cleansers—such as baking soda and vinegar—non-toxic shampoo and soap, and energy-efficient light bulbs. Behind the garage are two compost bins for tea bags, banana peels, and the like. Around front are curb-side recycling bins they regularly fill up. Her “green” list could go on, but the picture is clear.

This outgoing 32-year-old TV series creator and host on Discovery Networks, columnist, and new book author embodies the essence of what it means to live naturally, in tune with nature and the environment.

Her life is focused on spreading the “green living” gospel, ingrained in her as a child, to help other people make simple life changes she hopes will contribute to a sea change in their own health and the well-being of the environment.

“My mission is not to become some massive superstar and to have this whole empire built around me,” she said. “My mission is being on the ground and helping people find ways to live more naturally, so they can have healthier bodies, healthier children, and healthier homes. It’s so immensely important.”

Snow’s new book outlines a room-by-room guide to a more environmentally friendly home. Yet what we all need to do, she says, isn’t remarkably new. And it doesn’t have to be all that hard.

“We’re not inventing a new way of doing things. We’re really going back to the way we used to do things less than a 100 years ago. That’s why sometimes I call it simple living.

“We didn’t used to spray our crops with so many chemicals; we didn’t used to abuse our resources the way we do now; we didn’t used to view everything as being so disposable as it is now,” says Snow. Her first book, Sara Snow’s Fresh Living: The Essential Room-by-Room Guide to a Greener, Healthier Family and Home, comes out in March. Snow wants people to know that green living doesn’t have to be all or nothing. That’s a mistake a lot of people make, she says. They can take small steps, get comfortable with them, and move on to others. Living greener can be as simple as starting to cook at home more often, rather than going out so much, because you’ll likely eat healthier, she says, also adding to remember how your grandmother or mother made dishes, the food they cooked. Do some of those things. Buy locally grown foods and grow some of your own. Also, be intentional about not overbuying in general. Buying secondhand goods also helps cut down on needless waste, Snow says.

To make the biggest impact, Snow advises taking steps in three areas: eating less processed food and more organic food; cutting back on your home energy usage; and improving your transportation methods so you’re using less energy.

Organic products are still between 10 percent and 20 percent more expensive than nonorganic food, although in-season, local organic produce may not be any more expensive. If you can’t afford to buy all organic, Snow suggests at least buying organic milk (easy to find) and buying meat that’s hormone- and antibiotic-free.


Sara Snow’s Green Living Tips for the Home

In the kitchen

In the bathroom

In the bedroom

In the nursery

In the living room

In the laundry

In the office

Throughout the home

Outdoors

Even though her life was quite different from her public school classmates’, she never felt deprived, nor did she envy the more typical foods they ate while she drank soy milk and munched on carob bars. Her parents taught her food can be used as medicine to make your body well, or it can do some serious harm.

“We felt like we were really a part of something big. At least there was a purpose behind it all, and my dad was helping to save the world through food,” recalls Snow, chuckling fondly. The knowledge she gained while growing up shaped her career. Snow is a graduate of Butler University in Indianapolis in telecommunications and theater performance. She worked as a television producer for ESPN’s SportsCentury series and then as a morning news reporter/ anchor for the Indianapolis Fox affiliate. But the lifestyle didn’t suit her, so after seven years she left to blend her life’s work with her life’s passion—green living.

In 2005 and 2007, Snow created and hosted two eco-lifestyle series, now shown in reruns on Discovery Health and FitTV. They’re called Living Fresh and Get Fresh With Sara Snow. Segments profile how companies and real people are living greener lifestyles. She also has regular segments on CNN.com LIVE; has her own Web site, sarasnow.com; is developing another TV series; and hopes to write another book. With all the attention on green living in the country, what’s holding people back? “Sometimes I think the hardest thing is just the first change, breaking the mold and changing your habits,” says Snow, an advisory board member for Discovery’s Planet Green, the first-ever, 24-hour green television network. “Once you’ve made that one change, the rest are much easier.” Snow is optimistic about the future of the green movement 10 or more years down the road. “At the very least, we will have slowed the rate at which we are destroying this very fragile planet.”

Snow is impressed by the environmental awareness of college-age Americans and even more by younger children. She believes that by the time they are running companies and households, if we aren’t already seeing serious changes, we will by then.

“My hope beyond that is we will start to live less as little selfish individuals in our own little bubbles,” she says. “We don’t interact with our neighbors; we don’t spend time outside interacting with the natural world.”

As for herself, Snow would like to recreate that idyllic time when her family members relied on each other, supported each other, and lived close together.

“My personal hope is that I’ll be back on a little family community, and all of my family will be living in a plot of land together. It’s such a perfect way to live.” From Sara’s Kitchen:



Lentil Soup
Makes 10 servings

“There is nothing better on a cold day than a warm kitchen. And there is nothing better when I’m feeling stressed, tired, or overworked, than a bowl of this lentil soup.”

  1. Bring first five ingredients to boil and allow to cook for 45-60 minutes.
  2. Chop together onions, garlic cloves, carrots, celery, potatoes, and zucchini.
  3. Add vegetables into pot.
  4. Add 1 can diced tomatoes.
  5. Add salt, cumin, bay leaf, parsley, oregano, and thyme to taste.
  6. Allow to simmer 10 minutes more.
  7. Serve piping hot with warm whole-grain bread.

*Kambu, a sea vegetable, can be found at most natural food stores or in Asian groceries.

The Unforgettable Natalie Cole

In her book, Angel on my Shoulder, Natalie Cole tells the story of her parents’ move to a posh, all-white suburb of Los Angeles in 1947. Residents promptly informed Nat King Cole that home ownership was restricted to whites who celebrated Christmas. People of color or diverse faiths weren’t welcome because neighbors “didn’t want any undesirables moving in.” Cole nodded. “Neither do I,” he assured them, “and if I see any, I’ll be sure to let you know.

The Coles stayed put, fending off lawsuits and enduring cruel signs posted on their lawn. “My parents were very strong people,” says Natalie. “My dad wasn’t about to let anyone tell him where he could sing, where he could eat, or where he could live.”

Natalie was only 15 when her father died of lung cancer at age 45—he was a three-pack-a-day smoker—but she shares many of his traits. A gifted singer, she has 21 albums and eight Grammy awards to her credit; she’s a devoted Christian who admits that when she looks back on her life, “I see the many times I’ve been saved from bad situations.” And, like her dad, she refuses to back down, regardless of the challenge. Diagnosed with hepatitis C last year, she underwent painful treatment for the virus and emerged virus-free but with damaged kidneys. Her jam-packed performance schedule to promote her new CD was scrapped in favor of a new schedule. She is now on dialysis three days per week for three hours and 30 minutes per session. This regimen will continue until her kidneys regain their function (a long shot) or she decides to have a transplant. “I’m still thinking about that,” she admits.

Her latest album, Still Unforgettable, has done well in spite of her limited visibility. Now she is stepping up her public appearances, taking care to arrange for dialysis on the road between engagements. The Post caught up with her a few days before she departed for a major concert in Milan, Italy.


First of all, how are you feeling?

My energy is back, and my stamina is great. In many ways the chemotherapy (for hepatitis C) and dialysis (for kidney disease) have saved my life. The treatment schedule is a chore, but once you realize that dialysis is a part of your routine, you just do it. I was able to go back to work a couple of weeks ago, and although I was looking forward to it, I was a little nervous. We did two shows, back to back, with a full orchestra. It was great! The audience was really, really responsive.

The Post interviewed your dad in 1954 when he was preparing to record a children’s album with you and your sister. You were 4 years old, and he was concerned about your habit of yawning whenever you sang. Your new CD has you doing a virtual duet, Walking My Baby Back Home, with Nat King Cole. Yawning isn’t a problem, but how difficult was it to blend two voices, one of which is preserved on a recording that dates back 57 years?

My father had a very special sound, and thank God I inherited some of that. Not everybody can sing with Dad, which is why a lot of people didn’t attempt to record some of his songs until I did the Unforgettable: With Love project in 1991. I had been singing with him since I was a little girl, so I wasn’t intimidated by his voice, although his phrasing made me crazy. That’s when I realized what a great singer he was. As for the technical part, our engineer, Al Schmitt, was amazed at how well our voices blended. Al would look at the graph on the mixing board and the lights were exactly at the same level. He had never seen anything like it. I guess that’s part of my heritage, and it’s not something that I had to work at too hard. Singing with my dad is fun…a labor of love.

How did working on the new album help you emotionally deal with what was going on outside the studio—the hepatitis C diagnosis?

Music has always been a healing balm for me. It’s the one thing that really makes me very happy. I was grateful when we were working on the album that my voice wasn’t affected by my diagnosis or by my illness. The hepatitis didn’t get severe until I was finished in the studio, so I was able to work steady, work well, and keep my focus. Of course I didn’t have much of a choice since I was the producer of this project; I needed to be in charge. But for all of us in the business, music is what can get us out of any kind of funk that we’re in. It takes over, and that’s a beautiful thing.

You’ve been very candid about tracing your hepatitis C to the heroin addiction that you overcame more than 25 years ago. How have you made peace with your past?

I think it started with learning to be honest with myself. I had the privilege of spending six months in rehab, and it changed my life. One of the things that the twelve-step program teaches us is to be brutally honest. When you’ve been into drugs and you’ve almost lost your life and almost ruined other people’s lives, you have to take responsibility for it. A lot of people aren’t able to do that, especially in show business where there’s a compulsion to cover up everything and try to come off as if you are perfect. But people like you better when they find out that they can trust you. Now I can look at myself in the mirror and know that I’ve done the best that I can, and I don’t have to cover up anything. I think that’s why people respond not just to my music but to me as a person. They feel there’s something behind the song; they understand that I’m not faking anything.

How has your illness affected you aside from the predictable physical changes—the fatigue and weight loss?

I’ve become more of a day-to-day person. With a disease like this, you don’t take life for granted; your mortality becomes very much a part of who you are. I didn’t realize how close I had come to dying when I had the episode with my kidneys failing. Now I’m not in a panic to get things done. I have more clarity. My attitude has changed; I’ve got a little more patience and a lot more compassion for others. God has been really good to me. I’ve had a great life, and for the most part, I’ve been a healthy person. In two years I’ll be 60, and I look at my mom—she’s 87—and I think, “I hope I have some of her genes!”

Speaking of genes, some people say that as we get older we become more and more like our parents. Can you relate to that?

Hmmm…I think I’m a people person like my dad. He was very warm with people, and in return, people gravitated toward him. Also, my dad’s faith was important to him. His father was a Baptist minister, and his whole family was very active in the church. There was a time in my life, back when I was in my 20s, that I was on probation (for drug use). I could have gone to prison, but God looked out for me. Instead, I ended up staying with my aunt in Chicago for several months. She was such an important influence on me. Being with her put me in a spiritual environment at a very critical time in my life. Since then, even though I’ve continued to go through a lot of issues, I’ve known that God has his hand on me. There have been so many times that I’ve felt covered by God.

Last year had its highs and lows for you. As you look ahead, what is your hope for 2009?

Good health is always my first hope. After that, I would love to see our country become more spiritually minded. We need to lose our materialistic ways and reach out and help other people. As Americans, we need to see more of the world and understand how the world sees us. Sometimes we get confused. …We think we’re here to make ourselves happy, but that’s not it at all. We’re here to be of service to others, and that ends up making us happier than we could ever imagine.

What is Hepatitis C?

Deaths due to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are likely to double or triple in the next 15 to 20 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The reason? Most HCV sufferers—an estimated 150 million worldwide, 4 million in the United States—aren’t aware that they have it; therefore, they don’t seek treatment until it’s too late. Here’s what doctors know about the elusive virus:

Lobbying Efforts: Inside the Grandest Entrances in America

Call it the “surprise inside.” Sometimes the most unassuming buildings conceal the most astonishing lobbies—whimsical, wonderful, and completely unexpected. Here are nine show-stoppers worth a special trip.

Icon Brickell If Alice found herself thrust into a futuristic Wonderland, it might look something like the fantasy lobby dreamed up by Philippe Starck for the Miami condominium Icon Brickell. Starck, known for his dramatic interiors, took his cure from the ancient stone-carved statues of Easter Island. A pair of 22-foot-tall fiberglass moai-inspired statues rules over the lobby, surrounded by dozens of golden moai miniatures and frameless portraits. Enveloping it all is an acid yellow tint on the floor-to-ceiling windows that gives the lobby space an otherworldly hue.

Libery Hotel Call it “jailhouse shock.” The conversion of Boston’s historic Charles Street Jail into a $150-million luxury hotel resulted in one of the more inspired lobbies around. The jail’s central atrium forms the nucleus of the hotel’s lobby, bar, and restaurant. Original catwalks, once trod by prisoners ranging from protesting suffragists to noted imposter Frank Abagnale of Catch Me If You Can movie fame, have been restored and relocated. Other architectural elements, such as the cupola, were painstakingly rebuilt. A focal point is a specially commissioned mosaic by artist Coral Bourgeois that depicts historical scenes and personalities from penitentiaries and true-life crimes. The jail was decommissioned in 1990, and the property is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

McRae Offices Gray cubicles and industrial carpeting? Not in the offices of McRae, a marketing agency on the top floor of the Equitable Building in downtown Atlanta. The firm reached for the brass ring when it hired local artist Dianna Love Snell to hand paint an astonishing 40-foot mural of the Six Flags Over Georgia carousel. You can almost hear the pipe organ music. The trompe l’oeil rendering of this century-old merry-go-round is a nod to company president Joe Snowden’s native Atlanta roots and a conversation starter that immediately puts visitors at ease.

Hyland Software Headquarters The lobby of Hyland Software is minimalist and industrial—what you might expect of a technology company. But there’s one thing you wouldn’t expect, and that’s a giant stainless steel slide. It’s no prop. Employees actually bypass the staircase and elevator and take express rides down to the main floor. It was a first for the design and architectural firm of Vocon, but not Hyland. A plastic spiral slide was already set up in an employee-only section of the headquarters.

The Palmer House There’s a lot of competition for the eye’s attention in the lobby of The Palmer House in Chicago, but it’s the majestic scene above visitors’ heads that causes jaws to drop. It’s not exactly the Sistine Chapel, but it may be as close as it gets on U.S. soil. The ceiling is a seamless panorama of 21 murals portraying figures from Greek mythology. Art Deco artist Louis Pierre Rigal painted the canvases in his native France, which were then shipped and installed in the hotel’s lobby in 1926. Seventy years later, Italian artist Lido Lippi, who had worked on a restoration of the Sistine Chapel, was tapped to clean, restore, and apply a polymer to The Palmer House ceiling, ensuring the murals would continue to astonish visitors into the next century.

Comcast Center Gawk this way. The headquarters of the Comcast corporation, the newest and tallest addition to the Philadelphia skyline, is turning heads not only for its soaring glass-curtain exterior, but also for its stunning public art video installation in the main lobby. Dubbed the Comcast Experience, the LED display screen is massive—83 feet by 25 feet—and five times the resolution of a high-definition screen. Visitors can be forgiven for stopping in their tracks at the computer-generated images. Those 10 million pixels mean the constantly changing videos, ranging from NASA satellite images to historical sites and nature footage, look downright real. The technology was created by David Niles and presented to the city as a gift by Comcast and building owner Liberty Property Trust.

Curtis Center Philadelphia’s art collections stack up with the best of them, but one of the city’s most prized art treasures isn’t in a museum or gallery. Instead, it graces the lobby of the Curtis Center office building—once home to The Saturday Evening Post magazine. Dream Garden is the brilliant mosaic based on a painting by Maxfield Parrish and reinterpreted by artisans of Tiffany Studios. The 15-by-49-foot mosaic, which took six months to install, is comprised of more than 100,000 hand-fired glass pieces. Its iridescence renders it almost jewel-like in appearance.

Adam & Knight Offices The almost ho-hum brick-and-mortar facade housing the offices of communications firm Adams & Knight doesn’t begin to prepare visitors for what awaits them inside: a time warp back to the 1950s. The lobby features a functioning retro diner complete with booths, a milkshake machine, authentic memorabilia, and a refurbished Wurlitzer jukebox. Mr. Sandman, anyone? The lobby sets the stage for the agency’s playfully offbeat offices that spotlight co-owner Bill Knight’s collection of vintage advertisements and original travel posters.

Riverhouse Condominiums Visitors can practically feel ebb and flow in the lobby of Riverhouse, a luxury Manhattan condominium overlooking the Hudson River. Credit designer David Rockwell, whose vast portfolio includes the set for Hairspray on Broadway and the Cirque du Soleil building at Walt Disney World, for a theatrical interpretation of a nautical theme. A “water wall” of twisted aluminum spirals looks like an ocean wave. Nearby, lounge seats dubbed “chocolate whales” for their shapes have been hand-carved from poplar trees. They’re functional and sculptural. And then there’s the fantastical staircase—more twirl than spiral, as if caught in a soft breeze.


Visitor’s Guide

Some lobbies are open to the public. Others are private but available for tours. Call in advance.

Adams & Knight Offices
80 Avon Meadow
Lane Avon, CT 06001
(860) 676-2300

Comcast Center
1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 286-1700

Curtis Center
601 Walnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 238-6450

Hyland Software Headquarters
28500 Clemens Road
Westlake, OH 44145
(440) 788-5000

Icon Brickell
495 Brickell Ave.
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 371-1411

Liberty Hotel
215 Charles St.
Boston, MA 02114
(404) 917-0620

The Palmer House
17 East Monroe St.
Chicago, IL 60603
(312)726-7500

Riverhouse Condominiums
One Rockefeller Park
New York, NY 10282
(212)587-1200