odds and ends...again

I checked the obituary page this morning and it appears that I made it through another day. Alright! Do I really read those pages? Yes, I do. It's a morbid interest, I know, but it is interesting to see where I place in the various ages represented there. At 73.5 years of age, I'm approaching the 'average age' for demise.

But I'm trying hard to stay in shape. I'm enrolled in the Senior Wellness program at a local gym and that's a 3 day a week commitment. For approximately 1.75 hours per day. I do do weights and resistance for 30 minutes and the rest of the time is spent in the pool, doing water aerobics. I love that part!

And I'm trying to keep my mind active; I read and I do puzzles all of the time. Plus, I paint. I paint in acrylics, watercolors and oil pastels. I just started the oil pastels and I love the feel of them. I haven't sold many paintings lately... but then again, I haven't had many shows available.

And then there is programming. Our twin grandchildren live in Susanville and that is very poor city. The schools in Lassen County don't offer much in the way of computer science and I know that's something our grandkids will need in their future. The programming that I used to do is obsolete, but I did some research and found 'Scratch', a computer language for kids and it was developed by MIT. Great credentials! So I bought the books for them and had Amazon deliver them right to their door. The kids came down a few weeks ago and we spent some great time together, learning how to use the language. I'm hooked! And I can put together simple programs... a shark chasing a penguin across the screen... then download the project to my computer and email it to them. I ask them to modify the program; have the penguin jump and add an octopus.

I'm guessing that the programming is also helping to keep my mind in good shape. But, if that is true, why do I try and put the salt and pepper in the refrigerator? My sweater in the freezer? I do silly things like that all day long; or so it seems.

Another 'mind' thing. I have become very much attached to the memories I have of my youth. I collect old photos of Manhattan Beach. Old images of Los Angeles. Each image releases a flood of memories and I delight in them!

My collections are all a part of my Asperger's side. I collected songs and I now have, after editing, 26,663 recordings. My art collection, now cataloged, has over 7,000 images. My photo collection, which includes the Manhattan Beach photos, Old Los Angeles, Old Lassen County, Old Westwood, Chico, Old Roseville, etc, etc has over 2,000 images. Luckily, I don't collect cars; I just collect images of each and every make and model ever made.

Speaking of cars. I'm looking for a car that I can get in and out of easily. I have a Ford Ranger and it sits far too high for me now. I bought it before all of my surgeries and now it's a struggle to get into it. I don't drive it very much, maybe 30 miles a week. Whenever I have to take my pain meds, my wife drives me in her car. It's an Altima and very comfortable... once you get in. It's the getting in that's troublesome.

I'm going to go to the local car dealer and tell him what I'm looking for... make, model, color, economy, appearance, horsepower are all things I don't care about. I have to get in and out of it easily. It's that simple.