Fit, bitter

As a birthday gift this Second Year of Raisin, I requested and received the Fitbit fitness tracker. I am delighted. I coveted this item, but was too cheap to get one for myself. I have been committed to exercise for a long time. All the cool women at both my gyms wear some sort of …

Advertisement

Life Goals

After I retired, I started making some annual goals. (Before I retired, I focused on getting through the work week.) These goals are in broad categories (health, financial, personal). Don't worry, I am not going to itemize these. Not only do I not want the accountability that comes from “going public,” I also like that …

Collectibles

What do you collect? I didn't really have any childhood obsessions (minus the paper dolls) and as an adult have spent a regrettable amount on shoes and dresses but I would hardly call the rats nest in my closet a “collection.” My true collectible has emerged in later years: condiments. Or more accurately, unusual ingredients. …

The Retiree’s Guide to Surviving the Winter

I would never malign my good fortune in being retired. And winter indeed has its blessings. Not the least if which is the extended holiday season with activities ranging from crashing my former department’s cookie swap to decorating my mother's tree. Our season culminated delightfully with a New Years Eve family reunion in Vermont: 20 …

Awake

A couple of times per week, for no apparent reason, I find myself sleepless between 1 am and 4 am. I would like to tell you I do my best thinking in these hours, that I solve nagging problems and weigh heady issues. You be the judge. What follows is a representative sample of what …