I made the horrible mistake of turning on the tv political shows this morning

because I'm pretty snowed in here until at least Tuesday; maybe cabin fever made me backslide on previous vows. The only thing that was any good was Harry Reid on Face the Nation; otherwise I never heard such a sorry bunch of gloating doomsday predictors. Well, Chuck Shumer did us proud too, but otherwise it was such a total wash that I finally got smart and turned the damned thing off. To hear most of them tell it, we don't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting anything done, much less regaining the House.

Good thing to know that President Obama has better things to do than to listen to those empty shirts! What a wonderful antidote to all the doom and gloom, and what a haven our BOG is. Thank you for being such a help indeed.

Barking up the wrong tree, here! I'm the last person to rely on for behavior feedback

since my own probably bears close watch.

Anyway, one of the methods I've read/heard about for growing neural pathways is simply to do normal things a bit differently - such as brushing your teeth or even eating using the non-dominant hand. Anything you do that requires hand-eye coordination such as playing a musical instrument, or IMO even composing and typing comprehensible material, also helps. So you must be right.

DNA is not absolute fate.

My parents died of other causes, and there's always been the possibility that I was adopted; people back then often kept that a secret, especially since the actual birth mother might've been a teenage relative 'in trouble' as they used to say. So I intend to fight tooth, nail, and claw against every malady imaginable. And, as you say, be as nice as I can to other people along the way!

Ooops. Awkward....

re post 5: When I said "Great news!" I meant for LFR, not the fact that I'm not a hypochondriac! Talk about poor, ambiguous composition. Guilty as self-charged. Don't worry, I'll also self-report to the English Majors Association. There'll be a heavy fine, but how else do you expect me to stop transgressing?

Great.

Now if they'll just develop a dementia vaccine for us, we'll be okay. Although actually I've read in many places that exercise, Mediterranean diet, and mental/emotional stimulation are the best hedges we have at the moment.

Wonderful news! I'm the farthest thing from a hypochondriac, in fact I have a bit of white coat

fever, but it still makes me feel so good to go for my checkups and necessaries. BTW, didja know you can now get a pneumonia vaccine and one for shingles also? At least probably the latter - if you have Humana, you'll only have to pay $3.50! I plan to get that done soon.

Regardless, having had to go without so many years, I can really celebrate when another person's blessed.

Spring is wonderful. So's autumn. Summer's hell. But at least I'll have more shade

while waiting for the new trees to get bigger, and I can put a fan out there. Sit and read and drink my coffee, maybe take the Chrome tablet out there too. Laptop's old and too heavy for packing around.

What a gorgeous range! I'm jealous.

No, this new one is electric because that's what was here before. Otherwise I'd have been out a huge expense to route another propane line. But it's okay, and it's a big one; looks good for a modern piece. Nothing's as pretty as the earlier designs, though. If money were no object, I'd buy out Elmira Stove Works in Canada - they make very expensive reproductions of antique appliances, including chromed-out pot belly stoves and kitchen stoves, refrigerators, you name it - for almost what my house cost.

Since I no longer cook for a lot of people, it makes no practical sense to have spent anything on a new stove, but for some reason I was just tired of the hot plate and toaster oven. This makes me feel more 'settled' somehow. Go figure.

My kitchen stove arrived, though! After using hot plates and toaster ovens for 8 years,

I feel rich! Always wanted to restore my 1920 gas range - beautiful thing - but it would've cost more than the new Frigidaire to make safely operational. So now I have one stunning plant stand, cornflower yellow and dark green with brass accents. Looks good on my front porch but it will look even better covered with potted plants this spring. I enclosed the porch with 1" white lattice, so nobody else has to look at it if they don't want to. I like the privacy and the warm weather breezes.

Michelle herself would make a fine president, don't you think?