A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is suddenly altered. This can occur when a clot in a blood vessel blocks blood flow to brain tissue, or when a burst blood vessel causes a part of the brain to drown in its own blood. These conditions cause brain cells to die or at least become damaged, which can cause temporary or permanent changes in body and mind function. Every year, 800,000 Americans have a stroke.

- Submit Datebook items to [email protected], or drop off press releases or photos at 5215 Scotts Valley Drive, Ste. F, Scotts Valley 95066. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Entries are subject to editing, and publication is not guaranteed.

It seems to me that I'm still waiting for winter to start. I look hopefully each week at the weather forecast, hoping to see a storm developing.

- Submit Datebook items to [email protected], or drop off press releases or photos at 5215 Scotts Valley Drive, Ste. F, Scotts Valley 95066. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Entries are subject to editing, and publication is not guaranteed.

Winter can be just as hard on pets as it is on humans. Wolves and mountain lions might live outdoors and thrive, but that doesn’t mean our dogs or cats should, too.

Making wine must be one of the most fundamentally simple processes there is. Essentially, all you need to do is pick grapes, crush them and allow the natural sugar in the juice to turn into alcohol. It's as basic as yeast eat sugar and make alcoholic juice.

In a recent column, I said that antibiotics are usually not necessary to treat most upper-respiratory infections. I have been asked to discuss antibiotics in more detail.