Staying Sharp
Trying to, anyway...
Another week of bitter cold winter weather, but Spring will be here soon, right? Meanwhile, doing what I can to keep the old brain active, learning and growing—even when nothing is blooming outdoors yet, there’s a lot going on beneath the surface…
ESSAY: MINDING THE AGE GAP
My sixth essay for Next Avenue (a great magazine produced by Minnesota Public Broadcasting), a light-hearted reflection on my aging faster than my older hubby…
VIDEO: @Doodle Chaos—Minecraft synced to the VSQ performing “I’m Not Okay” by My Chemical Romance
Our Peter loves playing Minecraft. Aiden is into Roblox. Here comes the next generation of video gamers! I enjoyed this creative video produced by Doodle Chaos… consider this part of my effort NOT to age faster than Stevo (see above)
VERY PUZZLING!
I was a demon crossword puzzler back in the day, but I got out of the habit. Now, with two of my favorite couples (Pat and Ash, Rose and Amrit) enjoying doing crosswords, I’m back at it. Every week New York Times puzzle master Will Shortz hosts the “Sunday Puzzle” on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Always impressed by the acumen of the call-in guests; don’t (yet) have the courage to throw my word guesses into that nationally-broadcast hat! Click the link above and have a listen!!
COMEDY: GARY GULMAN REMEMBERS THE DISCMAN
I never need an excuse to share some classic Gulman…
READ-A-THON TIME!
It’s Read-a-thon at Jarrettown Elementary School, and even though I haven’t been a fifth grader in a little while, I plan to participate in the challenge right alongside Aiden! The kiddos have various prizes and incentives attached to their daily book ingestion. The Numero Uno is, naturally, a chance to “Pie the Principal.” I have no school principal to “pie”, alas, but I’m motivated anyway. My goal: Read 15 books in 30 days (between now and March 25th). Here’s my lineup for Feb. 25-March 4:
HELLO, BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano (our neighborhood book club selection for the month anyway)
UNFORGETTABLE: A SON, A MOTHER AND THE LESSONS OF A LIFETIME by Scott Simon
MORE OR LESS MADDY by Lisa Genova
WILLFUL CREATURES by Aimee Bender
I’ll keep you posted—you guys keep me accountable, OK? If I fail, maybe I’ll allow Aiden to throw a banana cream pie at me (he wouldn’t need much prodding)…
RECIPE: BANANA CREAM PIE
Speaking of, here’s a terrific BCP recipe…probably too good to throw at a sweet little old grandma, though:-)
DOWN MEMORY LANE: SNIGLETS!
Comedy writer Rich Hall introduced the sniglet way back in the 1980s, and sniglets still make me smile. Here are some words that should be in the dictionary (but aren’t)
Bovilexia: The urge to lean out of a car window and yell "moo" while passing cows
Snackmosphere: The empty layer of air at the top of a potato chip bag
Doork: a person who pushes on a door marked "pull.”
Leplexed: unable to find the correct spelling for a word in the dictionary because you don't know how to spell it.
Mustgo: any item of food that has been sitting in the refrigerator so long it has become a science project.
Snuggage: The act of retying both shoestrings when only one is needed
Werxilation: When a screen door starts to close but catches itself and closes gently
Yardribbons: The patches of grass left unmowed after mowing
Zerblot: The last child chosen in a neighborhood sporting event
Which sniglets do YOU remember? Can you invent some?
BLOG PREVIEW: BASKET MAKING
Though I’m not sure why, everyone here in the USA HAS to have a favorite sport, so here we go!
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
I was thrilled to find this quote, which to me gets it exactly right. Instead of chasing elusive “happiness,” let’s find the joy in the journey this week, friends!