The sun is out, the lake has receded from our front yard, and I detect a haze of green buds across the water. I think it MIGHT just be spring! That’s a relative term here in the north woods, where seasons often leap from winter to summer, but I actually saw a few crocus blossoms emerge through the blanket of... READ MORE >
I hate to admit this, but I feel like the world is closing in. There’s just TOO much bad news! On my morning walk the other day I felt so demoralized that I had to counsel myself to focus on the pines towering beside the road and appreciate the magnificent world I live in. It helped for a few minutes,... READ MORE >
Can you imagine usYears from todaySharing a park benchquietly?How terribly strangeTo be seventy. ~The Beatles Well, I’m there—and beyond. We didn’t share a park bench, but I recently shared a few days with some precious life-long friends, all of us over 70. We don’t call each other OLD friends, though, at least not yet. In 1982 we decided to escape... READ MORE >
Grandma Wellumson made concessions throughout her life, first adapting from horse-drawn wagons to cars when they moved to Minneapolis. She was loath to give up her old carpet sweeper when her children proudly gifted her an electric vacuum cleaner, but she did. No more carpet beating. She even adjusted to television—a leap from gathering around the Zenith console radio. Thank... READ MORE >
I walk with neighbors every morning (well if it isn’t below zero, so we’ve missed quite a few days lately). One neighbor has missed walking for weeks because of plantar’s fasciitis. NOT FAIR! Both my husband Jerry and I have been plagued with foot issues for years. I finally understand why Grandma Wellumson wore ugly black orthopedic shoes. We do... READ MORE >
As we all heave a sigh at the prospect of leaving the pandemic behind (hope, hope…), a new specter haunts us: the war in Ukraine. Each morning I shudder as I hear news of the agony the Russian invasion has wreaked on Ukrainians. It’s hard to go an hour without worrying about those men, women and children living in fear—yet,... READ MORE >
Ever heard of the Blue Zones? They’re communities with the world’s highest life expectancy. Interest in these areas began with researchers who identified Sardinia as the region with the highest concentration of male centenarians worldwide. Seems a little sexist to me, but read on. Their work was picked up and expanded by Dan Buettner, Blue Zones Founder. He’s a National... READ MORE >
I’m feeling mightily pleased. Mightily proud. Mightily impressed at the generosity of the 47 volunteers at the First & Second Thrift Store. This past year, in spite of COVID and the chaos of downtown road construction, the thrift store took in over $140,000. After expenses, the store’s profit was $111,661. So why am I proud? Well, I’m the winter coordinator,... READ MORE >
Our friend Moshe Schein is a world-renowned surgeon. Impressive. He’s also quite a character, and we love him. Years ago, he insisted my husband and I take a baby aspirin every day. So—we did. Then I heard the Food and Drug Administration recommended against it. What??? Banking on Moshe’s wisdom, I continued. But I’ve been thinking… What is aspirin, any... READ MORE >
Have you managed to break your New Year’s resolutions yet? Year after year I make the same well-intentioned commitments, only to have them fall by the wayside within a week or two. One might occasionally last a month. I’ve resolved to read a half hour every afternoon, limit sweets to weekends, keep a daily journal, fast one day a week,... READ MORE >
