Gina Malone, editor
How can you not love a month whose first two days alone celebrate, among many sundry things, dark chocolate, freedom, optimism, tater tots, and groundhogs as weather forecasters? Of course, most of us think of February as the month when we celebrate Valentine’s Day and some may also know the newer celebration Galentine’s Day. But it’s also American Heart Month and so, in February, we at The Laurel traditionally look to our WNC community for health and wellness news and stories.
In this issue find books featured that celebrate an Asheville physician whose memoirs make for fascinating reading and that find poetry in the often difficult and painful experiences we and those we love face with physical and mental health. We visit some area businesses that work to keep us all in tip-top form: Hazelwood Family Medicine, Healthy Harvest Natural Foods & Wellness Boutique, The Horse Shoe Farm and Triveda Wellness. In our Shop Talk features, meet the owners of Asheville Salt Cave and Elements Wellness Spa.
As always, our Plough to Pantry section has lots of great articles on “green care,” or gardening, one of the healthiest practices we can engage in, whether we have an acre, a small garden patch or a few pots on our porches.
Short, cold winter days will soon be behind us. Time to prepare for marathons, to consider the body- and planet-healthy practice of cycling and to think about getting out on the waters for some fly fishing.
Virgil called health “the greatest wealth.” Certainly we’ve all, in light of the illness and death brought on by COVID in the last few years, been brought to greater awareness of guarding the treasure that is our own good health. Here’s to healthy days as we prepare to welcome Spring 2023. À votre santé!
Gina Malone can be reached at gina@thelaurelofasheville.com
