By John Hall for Blue Mountain Town & Country Gazette
As we move into the New Year, you are hopefully enjoying the first blasts of winter. They certainly are chilly! In this issue, we are going to look at winter, taxes and mental health. We have a light focus on mental health which, no joking intended, can certainly be affected by the darker, colder days of winter. Also, the need to start looking ahead to taxes, which are not that far off, can cause some extra anxiety as well.
Now, one of the wintery conditions we could easily encounter on the roads this winter is the snow squall. You might ask, what is a snow squall and how is it different from a snowstorm? That’s a great question and we answer it in our article, “What is a Snow Squall?” citing expert information from accuweather.com.
On the tax front, if you are part of a married couple, you might have interest in our article on whether it is better to file jointly or separately. There are multiple reasons and benefits why you might choose one way of filing over the other. We also look at how the IRS defines a married couple – it doesn’t always involve a marriage certificate. Read, “Tax Time: Together or Separate?” for more information.
One of the many things our bodies need for optimal health is Vitamin D. Vitamin D is very important for our bone health, as well as the health of our hearts and gastrointestinal tracts. In general, we get the majority of our Vitamin D through exposure to the sun. But in the winter it becomes more difficult to do that, especially in a region like ours. We do get Vitamin D from some foods, although it’s a fairly short list of foods, and of course we can take a supplement. We discuss this topic more fully in “Winter, Vitamin D and You.”
In “5 Steps to Improve Your Mental Wellbeing,” we turn to the National Health Service of the United Kingdom for insights and guidance on how to use five areas of activity to improve our personal mental health. In the winter months ahead, focusing on some or all of these areas could go a long way towards helping us avoid the winter doldrums.
And finally, in “Your Dog and Winter: Cold Weather Safety Tips,” we tell you how to keep your dog safe and healthy during the winter ahead. From keeping their paw pads protected to putting a couple extra pounds on them in the winter months, we give you ten top tips from the ASPCA for keeping your puppy dog safe and healthy.
So that’s the issue! We hope you enjoy it and find the information valuable. We look forward to having you join us next time for our Annual Bridal Issue. We always feature at least one local bride’s story – maybe it will be someone you know! Be sure and join us to find out. Until then.
